What happened to February?! It simply disappeared in a flood of rain and grey skies (plus we were traveling the first week). In any case, it simply flew by without me getting in front of my computer to write about it. With the cold and wet weather, there hasn’t been much change in the garden. We are having an unusual amount of rain, or at least it is unusual compared to the last few years. Normal for the Northern California coast, Fort Bragg area, is about 40 inches. That is compared to the SF bay area where it is about 28 inches. The mossy low spots in the yard feel like a wet sponge, they squish when you walk on them. My sandy, fast draining sol is saturated. One small blessing is the absence of mud.
Along with the rain we’ve had hail, and even snow once.
Hail on the back deck
The result is some sad looking plants.
Unhappy Baby Blue Eyes
Prevailing garden lore claims that the best time to plant in Northern California is the fall, but I think I will reconsider the recommendation in light of the damage (and death in some cases) of those plants I set in the ground last autumn. Everything planted last spring seems to be surviving well.
This will be a quick update since the cooler weather has slowed down any new growth, with the exception of the bulbs.
The pollinator meadow, which was seeded last fall, will need thinning soon.
Pollinator Meadow
And the raised bed garden is producing lots of wonderful salads. It’s just warm enough during the day for the cool season veggies to be happy.
Raised Beds – cut and come again lettuce and radishes
The peas are also happy in this weather.
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- Edible peas
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- Flowering Sweet Peas
There is a dry gully at the edge of our driveway, no longer dry. Under that protective basket is/was a small veronica bush planted last fall. It liked a moist spot but probably has been drowned under current conditions.
Dry Gully?
Casey and Quinn are overjoyed with their own personal pond for cooling off after a game of catch.
Casey and Quinn in their own personal pond