Heat Wave

 I think Mother Nature is skipping Spring again. 

I'm taking advantage of this warm evening weather to repot some of my planters. It 's too hot to work in the yard during the day. What happened to low 70s temperatures?  Instead it's hitting the upper 80s to low 90s. At this rate the plants will bloom quickly and then go into their hot, summer dormancy. Noooo! 

Baby It's Cold Outside!

 It's cold, but I'm staying warm indoors while waiting for Spring.

This Fall, I mulched the yard in prep for winter and now I'm praying that some of my plants that are self-sowers survive my mulching.

Agrostemma Milas was such a surprise for me. I purchased it in 2021 from Annie's Annuals. It really didn't do much that first years and then died. I thought it was a goner. But Spring 2022, it came back in full force! It's a self-sower that is very hardy- at least I hope so! We'll see if it survives my mulching. If not, I'll purchase more from Annie's.

Another surprise self-sower is origanum libanoticum, cascading oregano. Again another plant that totally flopped for me in 2021. I thought it was a total goner too, but it too surprised me in very early Spring 2022. It bloomed for months. And the bees just loved this plant. Not only did I enjoy the grace of this plant, but I also enjoyed the bees and hummingbirds that were loving the blossoms. 

Chipdrop

 In 2006, I changed my yard from grass to drought tolerant landscaping by using the lasagna gardening method. Back then, I had a large drop of wood chips dropped on my driveway. Today, I did the same since those chips from 2006 have totally decomposed and the ground is looking barren.

With the drought continuing and not seeing an end to it in the near future, I got another chip drop. Hopefully this does the trick of covering the barren places to keep the moisture in while providing nutrients for the soil as the mulch decomposes.

End of Year Reflections

 Goal of this past year was to increase my garden beds, phase 2 project.

In September, I got busy digging and planted. I decided to take a gamble on October/November rains.

Planted drought tolerant plants in area that the dymondia was looking sad due to the drought. Yes, dymondia is drought tolerant, but it does best with morning sun and afternoon shade. 

Also extended a bed. I put in stepping stones and more drought tolerant plants. Luckily heavy rains came to the Bay Area early. Gamble is paying off with rains!  I'm looking forward to seeing the drought tolerant plants take off next Spring. 

Hidden Treasures

While amending my garden beds, I first discovered these tasty, sweet treasures. I didn't realize the flowers were carrots. 

And these were a total surprise since I didn't plant any potatoes this year. These gems were hiding in a corner by the upside down planter. I guess I should investigate what might be growing under that planter.

Gardening During Pandemic

Thank God for gardening! Between dealing with my demented mother and this pandemic, gardening has been my savior. 

I did a number of fairy gardens this year. This arrangement if my favorite! 

In 2009, I changed my yard from grass to dymondia, a drought tolerant ground cover. I started with plugs. I noticed that not only had it made an excellent ground cover, but it was starting to encroach the flower bed area and covered the stepping stone path.

So, I took care of that problem this past winter, 2020. To the bedding area, I removed some of the carpet roses and have planted different drought tolerant flowering plants--new to me. It's an experiment to see what works.

One of the plants is a California native called Sticky Monkey Flower. It comes in numerous colors. The first time I saw this plant was during a hike at Arroyo Seco. Yes, a true native plant! That plant's flower was orange. My Sticky Monkey Flower plant is planted under a volunteer oak tree since they love growing under oaks. I plan on adding a couple more Sticky Monkey Flowers to my yard this year.

Sunflowers

One mammoth sunflower stalk before it developed lots of heads.

A droopy stalk with lots of droopy heads needing to be cut off the main stalk.

I want to save my sunflowers from critters and birds getting to the seeds. 

All the tiny flowers have dried.

What it looks after some of flowers have been removed.

All of these heads will come inside to dry. Once the green part has turned brown the seeds are ready to be removed. Some seeds will be saved for next year, some we will eat, and the remainder will be feed to the birds this winter.