| Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 07:29 am: |   |
Hmm...just found this forum. Wish I'd found it a few weeks ago when I needed to vent.
The all CA native front yard had gone to weeds, 6 footers all the way up to the house. I hoed and whacked and pulled and sweated and cursed, but finally got all the weeds cleared. I assessed the plants living underneath and kept some and yanked some out and began designing this forgotten land again. In the past 2 weeks, I've added a bunch of new plants, a bridge over the dry creek, and some mulch. It's looking decent again, but I still have a ways to go.
I need some rocks and have several plants waiting to be planted, but it will have to wait until next weekend, because I'm off to visit a friend this weekend. We're supposed to have another heat wave. I hope the kids keep the plants watered until I get back.
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| Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2003 - 01:26 pm: | |
Back from the trip. Had to call in late to work on Sunday cause the plants REALLY needed water. It was 105!!
Got some new plants for the front and they're all sitting out there waiting...too hot to plant.
Also got 7 new Clematis and many succulents. |
| Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2003 - 01:32 pm: | |
Well, the weather has finally cooled down and today begins my weekend. Was going to try and get some planting done, but the neighbor decided to "prune" the passionvine that was hanging over his side of the fence and erect a frame with a piece of wood in it to block our view of each other's homes. Yuck! Ugly! The "pruned" passionvine is now all dead on top and such a mess, I decided to just remove it (it was planted on my side). Took all morning. Now I have to figure out what to do to block the view of the ugly fence and his new "screen". Maybe an evergreen shrub of some sort and a couple of the new Clematis........ |
| Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 09:44 am: | |
I am sore and achy today. I planted 5 manzanitas, 2 penstemon, dug up some native Iris in the backyard, divided it and replanted it in the front yard. Planted 2 ceanothus, dug up 2 wax myrtles and replaced them with wooly blue curls. Then I took a break and detailed my car from 1-4. Had a piece of pizza and started tackling the neglected back yard, cutting back, cleaning up and got 50 of the 100 bulbs planted and several succulents. I made a Hebe bonsai for the DH and finally quit around 8. The Clematis are still waiting.......maybe today....... |
| Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 08:50 pm: | |
I worked all morning moving in some medium sized boulders and making my "rock piles" and got the rest of the plants for the front yard planted with the rocks as backdrops. It's really starting to look filled in now. I got my first compliment from a passer-by. She asked if I was the one doing the landscaping and remarked how nice it looked..."very artistic", she said. Wooooo Hooooo! It felt nice to have someone notice it. I'm sure the neighborhood wonders what all these weird looking plants are and why I don't have lawn. I think I'll paint a little sign on one of the rocks that says "This is a native California landscape"
The Clematis are still waiting.......maybe next weekend....... |
| Posted on Monday, September 29, 2003 - 07:52 pm: | |
What I hate most about fall is the short days. I don't get off work til 7 and by the time I get home, daylight is gone. Sure puts a damper in gardening time. |
| Posted on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 08:27 pm: | |
What beautiful fall weather we've been having this week. Today was the first day of my "weekend" and it was in the 70's, a little brisk & breezy and clear sunny skies...beautiful! I got more of the daff bulbs planted. Also planted 3 of the Clematis...have almost decided where to plant the remaining 4. Did some cleaning & cutting back, then took a break to get an oil change and shop with my son. Bought more bulbs.....am I nuts!!!!
Planted the Hopseed Tree in the front yard. It looks really good! I think tomorrow I'll get some mulch, gold fines, and more cobbles and finish that area. |
| Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 04:43 pm: | |
Whew! Busy gardening weekend. Puttered around not doing much of anything on Thursday, but I sure made up for it yesterday and today.
Yesterday I pruned the Escallonia waaaaaay back. Actually "raped" is probably a better word. I cut almost everything off except 4 large trunks with a few leaved on top. It let's a lot more light in the yard and it really needed "shaping". The way the darn thing grows, I'm sure it will be filled in again in no time.
Dug out 'Angel Face' today and put Marilyn Monroe in her place. She looks fabulous! I replanted Angel Face in front of the house where there was already another one. Got the rest of the Pink Chintz thyme and pansies and violas planted in the same area.
Then I decided to take my trusty pole pruner and and cut the overgrown lemon tree waaaaaaaay back. Didn't cut it as drastically as the Escallonia, but it's a whole lot smaller than it was and I got all the branches off the roof.
Also got the last of the Clematis planted today. Put Kermesina on the fence by the spa and Multi-blue at the corner of the patio. I think they'll like their new homes.
Also, cleaned up the overgrown area by the spa and found lots of space...so, some of the plants that had been waiting for a home finally got planted.
I've almost got everything planted that's been sitting around from buying sprees earlier this year. Sure feels good! Of course, now I'll have to go buy some more. LOL |
| Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 09:10 pm: | |
I did some cutting back yesterday and started lots of cuttings. Mostly just did some clean up and reassessing and designing in my head.
This morning, I planted the new succulent area, did some watering and then went to Sierra Azul nursery. I came home with about 10 new plants. I guess I'm just not happy unless there are plants waiting in the wings. LOL
Not too many left waiting, though, I new pretty much where everything was going, so it was just a matter of plopping them in the ground.
I was going to install the paver patio in the front yard this weekend, but we're having a mini "heat" wave. It got up to 92 here today and we had a gorgeous sunset
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| Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2003 - 08:25 pm: | |
The day was supposed to get up in the 90's, but it only reached 80F, so it was a great gardening day. I wore shorts until the sun went down, then it was sweatpants and a sweater.
I finished planting all of the new stuff except for the sages. I'll do that tomorrow night after work. Pulled out all the scraggly summer annuals and decided to shovel prune a salvia 'Nuevo Leon' that has always looked kind of straggly. I put a Nepeta nervosa in it's place. Still can't decide where to put the new grass, so I'll move it around a little more before planting it...maybe next weekend.
Planted a Heuchera 'Velvet Night' that's been waiting since early summer. Dug out a Crinum Lily that's never bloomed. Can't decide if I will swap it or plant it somewhere else. Made several more cuttings and separated some woodland grass and daylillies. Also, thinned out the Anomatheca that's starting to come up by the bushel-fulls!
The garden's starting to look decent again after being neglected for the front yard landscape project. Now, I can go back and finish the front up. |
| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 10:36 pm: | |
Another gorgeous fall day with temps in the high 70's. I had forgotten how the plants come alive with spring intensity in the fall. They really hate the heat of summer, except the truly xeric ones.
I found some fertile seeds on 2 of my clematis, Dutchess of Edinburgh and C. durandii! Wooo Hooo! This right after I had e-mailed Suzymac to ask if I could have some of hers, of course. LOL
Now if only I can germinate them.
Collected seeds from some of the other plants and took some cuttings for the swap (if I can get off work). Finally planted the flat of Elfin Thyme that's been sitting around for a month while I decided where to plant it.
The Abutilon still has aphids. I sprayed it with Ultrafine last week, guess I'll give it another spraying tomorrow. Planted some of the seeds that I got from Seedrack.com. I sure hope they take. This is the first year, I've seriously tried to grow from seed, having dabbled a bit in the past. The one I'm really excited about is the Aulax (African Feather Bush). Got my fingers crossed! |
| Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 09:12 pm: | |
Gro-o-o-an! My back hurts, my neck hurts, my shoulders hurt, my knees hurts and my hands are on fire.
Started doing the little patio out front last weekend. Picked the 50 pavers I had just thrown down haphazardly, levelled (I thought. HA!) the area and spread 5 bags of sand. Decided I needed more sand to do the job right and 25 more pavers. I got up bright and early this morning and went and bought the sand and paver and came back to "work like the wind" and beat the coming rain.
Well, I did beat the rain, but I spent the entire day, re-levelling, moving the sand around and laying all 75 of those pavers...one by one. I pounded them with the heels of my hands, jammed sand under them with my fingertips. I even made a few little shallow steps going off the patio area. It looks good and looks level, but I'm lucky I can even type.
DH pulls up around 7. I call out to him "Call the pizza man, cause my everything hurts and I've been working my butt off all day!". Then I proceeded to dig some holes and plant 3 native Iris and an Epilobium.
Some neighbors walking by stopped to chat and told me how much the yard looked like an area that they go to in the mountains to pan gold. I was ecstatic! It looks like what I want it to look like! Wooooo Hoooooooo! Of course, I had to tell them that it was all CA native plants and that it was supposed to look like a little slice of natural CA scenery. They said it did exactly that and complimented me on the job I had done and thanked me for giving them such a scenic view for their evening walks. It made me forget about how much pain I'm in.
Sheesh...I hope I can move tomorrow. I don't think I'll ever, NEVER EVER, lay another patio!
Now, if it's not raining in the morning, maybe I can beat the rain again and get some more plants planted before it starts. Then I'll get some firewood, light the chimenea and sit on the back patio with a cup of tea and watch it rain.
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| Posted on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 08:33 pm: | |
Yep, I overdid it. Could hardly walk all weekend. I guess I don't use the muscles of my inner thighs very much. I was okay as long as I didn't try to sit, stand or walk. I must be crazy, because I still had about 10 pavers to lay around the edges for the "finish" and put some cobble edging around one corner for a planting area, so sore and stiff, off to the rockery I went. Got 2 more bags of sand and the cobbles and 1/2 cord of firewood. The rain started just as I got back, so scratch any yard work, but I had to unload the wood and stack it in the rain. It took 4 trips in the X-terra to get all the wood. Finally got it all done and stacked. Wet, cold, sore and tired, I changed into dry clothes and finally got to sit in front of that warm fire with my tea. Ahhhhhhhhhh
Rained again yesterday and worked today, so the finish will have to wait until next weekend. Hopefully, I'll feel like moving again. |
| Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2003 - 08:34 pm: | |
Wooooo Hoooooooo! Got the patio area done! Finished the edges by making gently sloping steps coming off of each end. Laid 8 or 9 bags of large cobbles as terraced planting beds and dug in 4 bags of topsoil to raise the areas. I made 2 offset terraces on one side of the front path coming off the front, and 1 large raised area between the side and the driveway. They act as a border between both sides of a "sunken" path leading up to the patio. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.
Planted a couple of 6-packs of Iceland poppies in the larger area. Planted a CA fuchsia and a PCH hybrid Iris in the top smaller terrace. Haven't decided what to plant in the bottom one yet, but I added topsoil and dug it in, so it's ready to go!
Dug up a native Solanum....whhhhuuuuuuhhhh (gaspin for air), cause it was doing so well and has been planted for over a year. Sure hope I didn't shock it and kill it. It looks much better in it's new location.
I've been walking pretty well all week, but I sure could feel those muscles being worked again. I know I'll feel it tomorrow. Hope it's not as bad as last week.
Spread a couple of bags of shredded redwood mulch.
Finally got the Salvia spathacea and buckwheat in the ground.
Added some bacopa to each of my window boxes. They look much more finished now. |
| Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 09:24 pm: | |
Went to the rockery today and got 18 more pavers (what am I? Nuts!!!), 2 bags of sand, some compost, Iceland poppies, and 2 Emerald Carpet Manzanita to replace 2 that died.
Finished planting the "poppy area". It looks great! Adds a lot of sunshine-y color.
Then I put in the walkway to the paito using the pavers. Of course it was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but I had planned on that 'cause things usually are, so it wasn't a big surprise and I was prepared (for once! LOL)
My friend, Susan and her great nephew (visiting from England), Michael came by around 2:30, so I took a tea break with them and visited a while.
A nice break.
I still had half the walkway to finish when they left around 4, so I grabbed a shovel and got cracking as they were pulling out of the driveway. LOL
Got it all done just before it was too dark to see. It looks pretty good. Haven't quite figured out how to stop the sand/dirt from washing away, yet. I may try some decomposed granite. The other option is ground cover, like Thyme, but I think I want to keep the "dirt/rugged" look and a path of green doesn't seem to fit in with that. Guess I'll mull it over this weekend. |
