Hummingbird Mint

 I planted the pink hummingbird mint from a 4" pot in the Fall 2022; look at it now!! It is as tall as me, wow!!!

Green Rose

 

After learning that there is a rose that has green flowers, I purchased one for my garden. Green rose, rosa viridiflora, might be the oldest roses that originate from China. This rose is asexual since it doesn't have a stamen or stigmas, making it sterile. Yes, no hips are produced. One needs to get a clone! The rose is cultivated by grafts or cutting off pieces of the stem and replanting them. 

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.