more from SF

This is the missing photo from below. It was REALLY hard not to buy orchids!
Hibiscus are so very lovely and do so well here that if they weren't considered a delicacy by the resident deer population, there would be rows of them in my yard.








5 mph traffic on the Bay Bridge. I did a good job of banishing all thoughts of the '89 earthquake from my mind until we were safely on the whole earth side of the bay. Actually, just willing the other vehicles to stay in their own lanes and not attempt to play destruction derby kept me well occupied. Once a lady tried to merge into us on the way to SF. On the way home we watched two cars in front of us attempt to merge into our lane from the left and from the right. There are entirely too many lanes of too many cars all going too fast. (except for when we were all going 5 mph. 5 mph would be fine if not for owning a 6 oz bladder. L o n g way between potty stops even at 60 mph!)

Orchids

Oh to be able to tell you that these are my orchids and blooming ever so nicely in my house. I could tell you that but I would be telling whoppers. I've yet to get an orchid to re-bloom after bringing it home or receiving it as a gift. They need more better brighter light and that stuff..oh yeah, fertilizer! There should be a bi-weekly (and monthly) alarm on this computer that not only tells me to go fert. whatever is in dire need at the moment but which also won't allow me to read my e-mail until the fertilizing is done.

Much drooling was done on the orchids but neither Angela nor I weakened...at least, not for orchids. :>)

Hey! What's up with this blogger? I moved 3 photos over here but there are only two showing! Remedial Blogging 101. That's what I need.

Looks like the SF Flower & Garden Show is going to be in several little posts. Again, I apologize for not having the names of things. Maybe next year. 

SF Garden Show

These are just a few of my favorite things at this year's San Francisco Flower & Garden Show.
Some day I may remember to WRITE DOWN the names of the plants and/or artists as I take the pictures. Please forgive me as this was the first flower & garden show I got to take my little digital camera to! It takes me awhile (years) to get my act together.

The Bromeliads were fabulous. Most would fare better in the coastal climate than here in the hot interior altough, one could surely create the proper micro climate and enjoy many of them .. Jack Frost probably being the biggest bug-a-boo. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that the biggest display of Bromeliads was done by The Bromeliad Society of San Francisco. www.sfbromeliad.org

The show was also a succulent lover's heaven. Not only were the big displays causing viewers to drool but there were many vendors selling a vast selection of succulents to willing buyers. If it weren't for my housing being currently "up in the air" I probably would have filled Angela's van with llittle potted thingies. I did buy a couple of Tillandsias because they look like sea plants and there was a lonely abalone shell in my kitchen.




Wondering what to do with Aunti Silvie's old silverware collection? I am always a sucker for this kind of art. If it weren't for the fact that I am a born klutz, I would take up welding.

Will post more pictures later. Right now the job-that-pays- the-bills is calling. 

Not now! I'm hungry!

It was actually a bit early in the day for a "nooner".
Maybe there will soon be lots of little ladybugs to eat all those darn aphids. 

and more evidence of serious gardening.

Oddly, I've never seen a bird anywhere near this birdbath.
Maud in the fall..pretending that she's Eve?
These tools may even be older than moi! 

Serious gardening

Hmmm. There are more photos...where are they? I need a remedial class in Blogging. ;>)


 

Helebores,,shy and otherwise

Some day I want to do a nice and tidy Hellebore bed. There are so many new colors available now! These were my mom's favorites and have been here for eons. I remember her telling me that they are "fussy and don't really like to be moved." But..I have dug 'em up, put 'em in pots or in other areas of the yard and they just said "Fine. We'll bloom where we are planted!"
These must have been feeling shy and not in the mood to pose....or maybe that was one of our very cold (for here) days and I didn't want to pose them. These are the whitish ones with more of a pale green hue. And freckles. 

They're taking over my world!

Wild onions! Chasmanthe! Vinca! Oxalis! Bamboo! And I'm SO far behind!! The weed-whacker got a lot of exercise yesterday and the mower got a little. Trouble with the mower is that the mower pusher can't often tell what may be hiding in the onions, chasmanthe,vinca, or oxalis. Hence the weed-whacker. Its a much less disturbing noise one hears when the whacker string hits a solid object than when a mower blade does the same. My mower blades pretty much always look like they've spent time in some horrid war.

Note to readers who may have deer issues; They won't eat wild onion, chasmanthe, oxalis, bamboo nor vinca. But be careful what you wish for.

It doesn't take much looking around this 2.5 acres to understand why I wish to go running back to Oregon...to a smaller yard, or even a small acreage IF most of it is fenced for livestock. All these weeds combined with all the traffic down here is giving me nightmares. And/or claustrophobia. (fenced in by weeds. fenced in by traffic) No, this country girl needs some breathing space. A nice bucolic town with a library and a left leaning population...ahhh. Heaven. Yes, I do remember that snakes are plentiful there. That's why I name them all Fred. Fred can change length, color, diameter..I tell myself this. ONE snake of many colors. Not 40 gazillion to surprise the bejezus out of me. We have never ever found any snakes on this property. I used to run into the occasional alligator lizard but I haven't even seen any of those the past few years. (they're probably hiding in the WEEDS!) And yes, I do remember that it rains more than here. This is ok. The sun also shines in Oregon. Once in awhile.


I suppose I ought to get off my duff and put the mower to work. All of this stuff needs to be dealt with before it dries out and becomes a fire hazard. Firemen are pretty high on my HEROS list but having my property in flames is not how I want to meet them.

Besides, the yard is so untidy that even a few freshly mowed pathways will improve its appearance as well as my mood.



 

History

Would somebody please tell us the best way to market our dad's collection of LIFE magazines? We have, I think, all the issues from November 23, 1936 to December 30, 1946. We also have many, many NEWSWEEKs from the 1930's and a few Times. 

Its SPRING!!

The kumquats did survive all that nasty mischief that Jack Frost tossed at them in January! Whether it was the sheets ever so carefully (not) wrapped around the tree or the natural canopy of the olive trees, the fruit was saved from freezing. (whew. What a crummy sentence that is!)

Somewhere I have a formula for yummy sounding kumquat/oatmeal cookies. Its probably hiding under my cauldron. I will miss having fresh citrus when I move back north.

More signs of spring; The clematis is coming back to life. Make that "clemati"...there are several.



And of course, there is the Sea of Chasmanth..

Annoying, yet it is bound to be prettier than the mc mansions that will no doubt be built over it. I won't ever come back to see the progress (destruction), preferring to remember the place as my exclusive play area, as my parents' wonderful flower and vegetable gardens, as the place my dear brother handed sweet, little, innocent me an olive right off the tree and said "Here eat this." It isn't easy to give up the homestead but its too much for one person to keep up. The water costs keep going up, gasoline for the mower keeps going up, I keep getting older...the house keeps getting older...the traffic continues to get worse...and Oregon is calling me back. Thank goodness (and my wonderful friend, AL) for digital cameras!

It is possible that the guys won't get their funding and the sale will fail. I hope its a "go". It would be nice, I think, to spend my later years doing something besides mowing weeds & chasmanthe and moving sprinklers all the time. Now if I could just convince my friends and brother to move north too! 

what's not to like?

I've never understood why some folks are so anti-moss. Its beautiful! I encourage it...it does give up during our hot, dry Northern California summers. Maybe I'll change my tune if and when I get moved back up to Oregon. But can't you just imagine teensy-tiney Leprechauns cavorting in the moss? 

Spring has sprung

Chasmanthe: Zones 13, 15-24. "Plants are fairly hardy, but late frosts may damage flower buds."
This is the gospel from Sunset's Western Garden Book. Obviously, my acres of chasmanthe didn't read the book because even though we had a long spell of record breaking cold here most of last month, the plants are all budded out and beginning to bloom. The hummingbirds will be happy.

I discovered, rather after the fact, that waiting until the chasmanthe leaves turned brown before mowing them down only succeeded in spreading their seeds. Rototilling also spreads the bulbs. Do both and voila! You have acres of Chasmanthe!
Still and all, they are a pleasant green contrast to typical gray winter weather. Just beware if you have a few, that they can expand their territory faster than you can remember what they are called.

The Acacias, Flowering Quince, nut trees, daffys and other narcissus, Helabores, Camellias, Violets, Vinca, Pansies, Violas, Rosemary, ...what am I forgetting? ALL in full splendor right now.
Oh yes, the little Snowdrops. They have been blooming for a month already.

Makes a body want to be outside, digging, weeding, planting, mowing....too bad its still too wet to do so. Not that we don't need the wet! So my friend and I are about to start on our succulent project. We have a stockpile of funky little (and big) planters, baskets, and tins that we are planting baby succulents in. Once they fill in nicely, they will be for sale. At least, that's our plan.

Don't forget that this weekend (Feb. 16-19) is the 10th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Go to www.birdsource.org/gbbc for further details. This is open to everyone, there is no need to preregister, and there is no fee required. DO IT! You may be amazed by the number and variety of birds lurking about in your yard. Or in your park, schoolyard, refuge, or cemetary. All ages and all skill levels are welcome. You will report your findings on line and be able to see how your yard and town fit into the big picture.

If you are already feeding birds in your yard, this is a good time to bring in the feeders for a thorough cleaning. Then put them back out filled with quality birdseed and enjoy the show! (don't use that cheap birdseed from the local grocery because it has lots of "filler"; seeds that our birds don't eat. Plus, it contains many weed seeds that are then spread to our surrounding landscape.)

The goldfinches love Nyjer thistle seed, which isn't really a thistle and which has been treated so that it will not grow when it falls on the ground. Most of the birds that fly UP to feeders prefer black oil sunflower and safflower seeds. The millet is usually eaten by the birds that prefer to dine on the ground.

Enjoy! 

Oh Balls!

Seems when you have a long narrow lot with lots of neighbors bordering it, you get one or two with a lot of balls. These were gathered one summer when The Strange One decided to take up golf. Later he switched to shooting arrows into my yard. He is no longer around. Current collection of neighbors seem to all be good ones.
Phoebe still finds the occasional tennis ball from the neighbor with the tennis court, the occasional soccar ball from the grade school behind us, and an assortment of balls from the little boys next door. The latter two we usually lob back over the fence. The tennis balls are usually "dead" but I know a Black Lab who is ever so happy to receive them.
Spring has sprung, the wild garlic has riz and so has this daffy! I think this old step ladder is about 50 years old. And no, it is not the ladder I fell off of a couple weeks ago. This relic quivvers with the weight of a squirrel. I weigh a tad bit more than a squirrel.
Ta-DA! The bird house is back up where it belongs. Is that not a lovely job of bracing The Brother did to make the pole stand up? :>) 

Its Spring!!!!

What to my wondering eyes should appear but quince blooms this morning! Oh my gosh, it really is February...which is the start of Spring in these parts. We certainly are lacking in rainfall though.

The infamous bird house is back atop the infamous post as of today and the body did not fall off of the ladder this time! Needless to say, the three-legged ladder was used. Correctly. The leg is feeling better which makes me happy that I didn't spring for the x-ray (more money to spend on plants! woo-hoo!) and my imagination is beginning to believe that there isn't a blood clot at the back of my calf after all.

The bridal wreath just can't wait another day to show signs of life either. Dunno which variety this one is but it has been here longer than I have so qualifies as an heirloom.

There is a daffodil in bloom but I forgot to take its picture. A few violets and the hellabores are adding color to the otherwise frozen brown landscape. There are buds on the chasmanthe.
Yes, it is Spring.