in the Not-So-Secret-Garden

Sedum anglicum & California fuchsia
Rudbeckia and California fuchsia
"Pete", the remaining yearling twin of Doereen's last year's production.

Pete had jumped over the fence while I was looking with amazement at the newly sprouted asparagus. He was quite surprised to find me there..he'd leaped over the virginia Creeper covered picketty fence and landed just a few feet from me. We doe-se-doed around the hummock until I was "on the flat" and he was hiding behind the asparagus.

and dang it, now I have to go to my "real" job.

cucumbers

OOPS! Somebody forgot to check the cucumber vines yesterday. The excuse, of course, is that it was 108° and since I am a Pansy, sticking my hot arms into a bunch of stickly-prickly cucumber vines & leaves just didn't sound like much fun. Not that it sounded like fun this evening either but its only 100° out and zucchini sized cucumbers are just wrong. I believe those are tomatoes
# 5 and #6. Can hardly wait for the Early Girls to catch up to the Sweet One Millions. The little melon, whose name has slithered off my brain once again, has gone from tennis ball size to baseball size. I don't think they are to get much bigger than a softball...I could be wrong...Wait. Are tennis balls and baseballs the same size? They aren't are they?

My left pointy finger still hurts from its sudden altercation with the very sharp, very serrated steak knife last night. I bought one of those funny looking splints for it this morning just so it wouldn't keep getting slammed into something at work. Also bought a package of "assorted finger cots" which look like teensy condoms and which work well to keep bandaged fingers dry. That was stupid. Now I have no excuse to ignore the dirty dishes.

Sweltering

It is only 11:00a.m. but already 90°. My body will be immersed in this ol' stock tank shortly. Except for the occasional Sac. Co. Sheriff's 'copter flying overhead, it is a pretty private swimming hole. It is also ecconomical: does not require a pool guy (hey wait! Damn!) nor higher taxes for "improvements", nor a life guard (damn again!). when not in use it is covered with a blazing blue tarp to keep the riff-raff and leaves out. I don't have to share with wild children, grumpy old farts, nor boozed out teenagers. Nobody pees in my pool. Life is good.

bye-bye fishies

There were two cute little goldfish in this "raised pond with never-blooming-water-lily" for several weeks...but then something either crawled up or flew in and had fresh sushi. I wondered why the water had gotten so dirty..and then I wondered why I wasn't seeing little fishies come up for food...so today I did a close inspection... and now I know. Currently there is a lone mosquito fish gamely swimming around in there. I plan to get it some friends soon.

Where's Charlotte?

Friend Al found her web with newly hatched babies in my gate recently. Aren't they cute? They look like little crabs. Now let's not start rumors that "Weeder has crabs." okay?

actually, they look like a cross between crabs and lobsters. Cralobsters? Cralospters?

You lookin' at ME?

Any day (maybe any moment) now DOEreen is gonna have her babies hidden somewhere so Phoebe-dawg and I will have to pay close attention so that we don't suffer the wrath of mama. It is truly amazing how she will just materialize before our very eyes..her disappearing act is every bit as good. Last year she hid the boys a hundred or more feet apart for a few weeks, as is the proper deer protocol. This was my first close up and personal experience with does & fawns and I was happy to learn that I really wasn't seeing things as in "Wait a minute. Weren't you just hiding under the euonymus in the front yard..and now you are peeking at me from behind the Bunya-bunya in the back?"

Poor Phoebe loses her freedom in the big yard most of the summer but by fall, Doereen no longer threatens to smash her flat with those little sharp, pointy hooves. During the winter and spring they just look at each other, Phoebe happily wagging her tail and Doereen just contemplating while chewing her cud.

Its a pretty peaceable kingdom here.

Happy Summer Solstice!

The tomato plant (yes, that's just one) is NOT on steroids. However, its roots ARE buried in the gleanings from the compost pile. It seems to be very happy here in the dog's yard. It is safe from those cute little deer who peer longingly through the gate.

The cucumber vines have already given me 6 picklers..of course they are being eaten raw..not yet enough for a jar of cukes anyway. This morning I discovered a little melon. I have, naturally, forgotten the name of it but it looks like a mini watermelon. I have the name somewhere. They are supposed to be bigger than a softball but smaller than a soccer ball when ripe.

Inbetween the big Early Girl and the cukes is a Sweet One Million cherry tomato. The plant is tiny but absolutely loaded with 1" tomatoes. I can hardly wait to just stand out there and graze. Much as I am enjoying this cool weather (70's and 80's) the tomatoes revel in the occasional HOT day. We do need more HOT days. We've not had our usual quota of June HOT days this year. (I'm not really complaining.)

I may succumb to the Papyrus Temptation today. I've fondled and left a very nice specimen, at Target of all places, twice now.... but the third time might be my undoing. Heck, its only $19.99 and its 5' tall.. It could live in a little water garden.. somewhere...that's my delimma. WHERE? Here I am, trying so hard to plant drought resistant things and I get the bug for a wateraholic. Did I mention that I am lusting for a lotus also? oh dear, oh dear........

Right now I must attempt to make myself presentable to go join my nephew (his birthday today) and his father (father's day) for brunch. We are heading for Yuba City and The Dancing Tomato. It is reported to have very yummy food.
(Interesting that my nephew has now passed me in age by at least 5 years...
History claims that I was 14 when he arrived...history is twisted.)

Wouldn't you just know that I have to drive right past Target on my way home... hmmmmmmmm.......

a few more of

the things blooming in the Not-So-Secret-Garden. I don't know why this program won't let me post as many photos as I want! grrrrr. anyhow, these go with the posting below.

June blooms

These are a few of the things blooming in the Not-So-Secret-Garden at the moment. They can all be listed as "mostly" deer proof, drought tolerant, perennial, and beautiful. The plan is to fill this space (25' x 75') with more of the same and eventually have to water neither much nor often. (as opposed to my neighbor across the road who has a ginormous lawn that she waters every morning and every evening, 15 minutes each time...7 days a week...and which looks like yummy pasture within 24 hours of her once a week mowing) But I digress. The soil in this patch is mostly clay with some very gravelly spots and is blanketed with a few big truckloads of ground up trees (and the occasional munched toy, candy wrapper and such). I have attempted to ammend the planting areas with compost and a "decent" soil mix, the deer fertilize as they "prune" (they didn't prune all of the sweet peas this year-yippee!) and the battle with the Bermuda grass is a constant.

It is a fun place to putter. I've met a lot of neighbors whilst working out there as the garden is along a very busy road. (once a deputy stopped to ask if I'd seen someone they were looking for "because you're always out here working". I love that the cops noticed!)

Several years ago I unwisely planted a scarlet Oak at the east end of this garden area. Beautiful tree. HUGE now. LOTS of shade. I should have planted it at the north end! My property is SO shady that its hard to grow the sun worshipers. The other problem being that where there's sun there are deer. Thus the veggie garden is in the dog's yard, along with tasty bloomers. flowers, that is. I could have more sun touching "my" earth if only I could afford to hire a tree service and then erect taller fences. Some day....

after 70 years, the shed is gone

Dad built this shed in the late 1930's. It was his workspace through two houses and assorted projects for at least 50 years. It had been the playhouse for rodents for the past 20 years. Now I have a nice concrete slab to contemplate ...mosaic? Hen house? Both? and I have tons of old, rusty, tools and gizmos for artsy-fartsy projects. But there is still much clean-up to do, nails to pull, boards to be stacked, wall to be finished and then painted... before I can play.

My most wonderful neighbors came last Sunday and helped take the shed down.
It was a dirty dusty task but humor abounded and it really didn't take all that long. Karen, our neighborhood Martha Stewart, made yummy pizzas on the BBQ, the weather cooperated by staying cool, and everyone got to go home after just a few hours of toil. Nobody got hurt. I can't thank them enough!

My brother has been working on "the wall" ever since. We got all the boards up yesterday but still have to finish the corners and figure out how to finish the roof. The little shed will then be cleaned out and reorganized and I will have ONE place for all my tools and "stuff" . In the meantime, I have a huge pile of lumber to rid of nails, stack, and then re-stack down by the road for the county's free pick up. There will be at least one dump run for the hazmat stuff.

I was thinking of having another shed built but there is something so "right about having that airspace clear after all its years of darkness, that just an open patio of sorts sounds heavenly. The spot is pretty shady. I got to see some very nice mosaic work in an East Sac. garden last Sunday morning and now I am so inspired... something whimsical... something unrefined and delightfully tacky...

So this morning I need to stop at ACE on my way to work and get a new blade for the Sawsall so that I can cut all the long boards into something acceptable for the county refuse. (no longer than 4') The big magnet will be getting lots of use (and for a long time, I'm sure), finding all the nails that managed to fall out of the rotted wood. Its a wonder that none of us has stepped on a rusty nail..I'm sure we have stepped on them but for some blessed reason, the nails have remained on their rather benign sides and not attacked us through our shoe soles.

That's all the news fit to print this morning. There's a whole 'nother chapter on whether or not I need "intervention" ...... have spent more money on plants this year than in the last ten...but they're so cool! Now I'm wanting a lotus. Oh do I want a lotus. The plant, not the car.

toodles~

Calandrinia grandiflora

Just as pretty as "winecups" don't you think? But I still want the Winecups.

Misc. May photos

Mom. this garden angel looks so much like our late mother! She's been hanging arouond on the rusty bucket full of campanulas for many years now. she keeps an eye on things. the saucer magnolia was not happy in all the shade but the final blow was last summer's drought. So this spring it became a shrine unto itself.


ok. I give up. every time I try to put the correct caption with the correct photo the caption either dissappears, or the photo dissappears/ Or the words remain with the wrong photo.

the next photo should be the clematis with the morning sun shining through and that should be followed by the new saucer Magnolia Shrine-unto-its-Dead-Self.

Please forgive me for I have no 5 year old child in the house to explain how computer programs work.


The orchid cactus really took off this year. It appears to need fertilizer. Why can I never remember to feed it?

Spring! or fall?

The calendar states that today is May 7th. The view outside is of gray sky and fog. FOG? In May? Looks like October! Well, the plant life does not state "fall" but the air... I honestly had to go outside to make sure that a neighbor's house wasn't on fire! Fog. In May. My goodness.

It is overcast and quite warm this morning. The past few days have been quite humid and, I imagine (having never been there) very Georgia-like. I don't "do" humidity well. Must take the big mower out for a spin tomorrow. The grasses and the spent chasmanthe are tall and in dire need of removal. Still haven't seriously looked into hiring someone with riding mower to tend to the orchard but believe I will. I have no urge to defy elderhood by doing it myself again this year.

The sweet peas were a bit of a disappointment this year. Perhaps there just wasn't enough sun for them. Pretty colors, tall vines, VERY short stems on few flowers. The feral sweet peas in the Not-So-Secret Garden were much nicer until the deer discovered them last week. Years ago, before the deer moved in, I had a tipi of sweetpeas in the Not-So-Secret Garden which nearly became a traffic hazard. People would slow down and/or stop to look. I suppose the feral peas that bloom down there are the offspring from that early tipi. Its all but impossible to find a sunny enough spot for flowers that isn't accessable to the deer on this place. Phoebe's yard is one of the safe havens for flowers and the Dear Doggie doesn't seem to mind that half of her yard has been turned into flower and veggie beds.




The Not-So-Secret Garden has lots of new plantings of "deer resistant, drought tolerant, California natives" this year and when those "take hold" the area might just become another traffic stopper. Not that traffic needs to be stopped. Slowed down to the posted 30 MPH would be nice though. My goal is to not only have a pretty front yard with "proper plantings" but to make folks reconsider big front lawns that require lots of water and mowing. (The lady across the road could fence her lawn in and raise at least a half dozen happy sheep on it.) and speaking of front gardens, I was totally taken aback a few mornings ago when a fellow walking his dog smiled as he allowed the dog to jump the ditch and pee on my flowers. He then crossed the road to walk up the short dead-end across from me, and allowed his dog to enter every home's front yard to "mark it". WTF?


Over the years I have collected a LOT of stuff to plant things in. I think this old coffee pot-with-bullet-holes was a relic found in Eastern Oregon. the asparigus fern is quite happy in it. Its hanging on the make-do deer fence in the back yard. Funky but functional fencing. Also inexpensive.

A dear friend, Star, gave me a start of this beautiful bronze iris a few years ago and it has finally really taken off. She thinks the name is "Play With Fire". I'm not a huge fan of iris but this one is such a beautiful bronze color what's not to like?

The deer have not discovered the clematis vines...yet...The big pink one is Ernest Markham. Blooms are 6" across. It shares an arbor with a honeysuckle and a jasmine. I haven't located the tag for the dark purple, much smaller one yet..no photo this post. Both are absolutely loaded with tender buds. Shhhh. Do not tell DOEreen or her son.

Should head back outside and listen for the baby white-breasted nuthatches. They may have fledged yesterday. When I peeked into the box on Monday, a fully feathered youngster peeked back. I think that there are at least two babies in there.


The American Goldfinches have thinned out considerably but the usual herd of Lesser Goldfinch is munching thistle as usual. The Bewick's wrens are buzzing about in the yard. They raised at least two broods last year. At least one of the nests was in a brush pile that I wanted to get rid of. Dang. Maybe this fall. I want to have brush piles but these two have gotten so huge that I worry about the fire hazard. I have yet to spy a Black-headed Grosbeak in this yard this spring but many customers at work have reported them at their feeders. Which reminds me! This is the week when the Western Tanagers show up in the back 40. Its time to hit "post", grab the binos and take a walk.

toodles~

Phoebe's yard

Phoebe's yard was looking pretty dog eared (..oops, sorry) and since the deer were (are) eating everything else on this place, it seemed logical to put all the yummy flowers (and now a few yummy vegetables) in the dog's yard. Phoebe doesn't seem to mind and hasn't even smashed any plantlife in her exuberance...plus, there is a nice view (now) from the den and one bedroom.

The soil in this part of the yard is hardpan so lots of compost and potting soil and shoveling have gone on in the last 5 months. Its too bad I don't have any photos of what this area looked like a dozen or so years ago. My brother tells me it was all shrubbery, some of which reached across the 25' expanse to touch the house. I'm kind of surprised I don't remember that. Even though I was living in Oregon then, I did come down to visit every spring....maybe I never looked out of the windows?

At any rate, the first photo is how the area looked last December when I got this wild hair. No, that isn't true because I don't see the 6' tall Texas privet, nor the 5' rose-with-no-name, nor the big patch of Vinca major. It is true that this was in December but earlier in December it was even uglier. (can you imagine?)


The photo with all the clever labels (for me, clever) was taken in March. Wine barrels had been moved, re-soiled, planted with sweetpeas and Bronze fennel and a lovely phormium..oh, and the lettuce and Swiss chard. The stump had been rolled in from another part of the yard so that the birdbath would have a base.
Then I got a yard of compost dumped into the bed of my pick-up, drove it home on what felt like back wheels only, dumped it in my yard, then wheel-barrowed it to Phoebe's yard. It was delightfully light and fluffy.

Once the river rock and a short bit of rail road tie started to define the bed, it seemed only logical to make a "cute little path" from the gate to the patio slab; a distance of about 30'.

My neighbor makes lovely, FLAT pathways. He says "Use a flat shovel!" Yeah, WELL. My flat shovels must be duller than a book spine or I'm really a wuss because I couldn't move more than an inch of hardpan at a time. Back to the regular shovel. The path ended up a tad bumpy and lumpy but that's okay. Phoebe doesn't care and neither do I. I dug out about 15' before finding other things to do for a couple of weeks. (It was too hot to dig. Then it was too cold to dig. Then it rained. Mostly I was lazy.)

Thursday while I was at work, the Decomposed Granite Fairy left me a 1/4 yard of light blond DG! So........Friday morning I was out with the shovel, the wheelbarrow and a lot of good intentions. Had to finish digging the path then laid the weedblock, and dumped in load after load of DG....finishing up about 15 minutes before the rains came.

It has been raining ever since so the path looks a bit more like a stream bed right now but that's okay too. the rest of the path, at least on the north side, will be lined with more river rock and succulents will be planted along the edge.

I need to invite the neighbors over to walk back and forth on it for a day to pack it down real good. ;>) Pretty sure if I supply the wine, they will come...

Wish I knew how to make this thing (Blogger) let me show more than 4 photos at a time. Guess I need to borrow someone's 5 year old kid to show me how.