Wildflower season is “past peak” and I’d like to remind you that the glorious, youthful, bright flowers now enter the very important stage of making and dispersing seed. Though my camera is still drawn to brightly colored flowers, I try to point it at the broken stems, brown seed pods, and graying leaves that are […]
seeds
Wildflower season is over
The wildflower season is over. Annuals appeared, plants bloomed, flowers went to seed, seeds were collected, and beds were cleaned up. This year, though, was my slowest yet with regard to harvesting seeds and cleaning up the beds. The first seeds germinated around December. The peak bloom occurred in March and April, though this years display […]
Veggie garden speed post
Wanted to post these pictures real quick-like. I finally got around to starting the tomato seeds that I bought from Tomato Growers Supply Company. I bought: Better Boy, Bush Early Girl, Celebrity, Sioux, Super Sweet 100. I’m not much for heirloom tomatoes. Maybe if I am super successful with these I’ll add some heirloom next […]
Can you feel the heat?
All of a sudden it got really hot here. And more heat is predicted for tomorrow, the next day and the next day and the next day. Welcome to summer. I got a few new, used lenses for my Nikon D7100 today. Couldn’t wait to try them and they didn’t disappoint. I tried to capture […]
I am a lazy gardener
It has been hard to post because I have not been doing a lot of gardening. Of course this is part of my plan, my New Year’s resolution, my goal … to become a lazy gardener (use the newly installed search feature to find other posts on lazy gardening by typing in “lazy.”) That said, […]
GB not BD
Correction: Sorry but it is Carol of May Dreams Gardens who sponsors the monthly GBBD. I’ve corrected it below. Once again, thanks go to Carol! It’s the middle of the month, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – GBBD, (thank you, Carol) but I have decided to post a Garden Bloggers not Bloom Day. My garden does […]
Cutting back poppies and harvesting seed
I received an email requesting more info on how to cut back California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) so that they bloom again. This is what my poppies do through the bloom period and how I handle it. After poppies have bloomed for a while their stems become very elongated and the leaves and stems turn powdery […]
SLUGS!
All of the sunflower seeds that I planted around the yard have mysteriously disappeared. Seeing birds around I accused them of eating seeds and sprouts. And maybe they did, but the real culprit is the yucky garden slug. You want my evidence before I malign yet another peace-loving garden creature? The pots of sunflowers that […]
Sunflowers
When I first started the sidewalk native plant garden – way back in 1998 – I planted lots of sunflowers. Each year sunny, funny-faced flowers swayed on stalks six feet tall and taller. People asked how I grew them. It was easy – put the seeds in the ground and wait. People still ask me […]
December Highlights
December is the height of the gardening season in California, yet looking back over what I have posted this month there is little on what I am doing in my garden. I’ve written about what’s blooming and fruiting at Rancho, disease attacks walnut trees, visit to Station Fire burn area of the San Gabriel Mountains, […]