Pink Ice Plant

I've been dying to show you the pink ice plant. I planted it last summer so it was pretty small, but it's fabulous this year. Up till now, the landlord kept turning down the sprinklers and everything I planted in that hot spot died. Then I remembered ice plant from my hot summers in Riverside County and knew it would be the perfect plant. Plus it's a perennial so I don't have to keep buying it again each year.

Of the snapdragons I planted last year, only one made it to this year. And it's white. I'm not sure if it came up from seed or overwintered. But the way the gardeners go nuts with their weed whips, it's amazing any seedling survives long enough to bloom. The landlord wants me to let those vipers into the backyard, but there's no way if I can help it. I don't want everything trimmed to within an inch of it's life. I can't do much about the front yard because it's a common area, but the backyard has a locking gate and I hope he continues to respect that.

Snails

On Sunday I bought and planted 4 out of 6 of the plants that were in little peat pots. Then on Monday morning, I saw that snails had totally eaten the top off of one of the two remaining plants. The next morning, I saw they'd destroyed the other one too. Little varmits. Grrrr. I put what was left of them in a covered terrarium. I have little hope that they'll recover without any leaves but at least I can try. One was the Anaheim pepper my boyfriend was so happy to find. It was the only plant he picked out. So I'll have to see if I can get another one next week. I'll be gone all weekend so I won't be able to fix it till next week anyway.

As for the snails, the beer in a dish didn't work at all so I'm back to using Deadline. Don't yell at me...it's no garden if the snails eat it all.

Finally Got the Garden Going

I finally corraled my boyfriend into taking me to a nursery where I got 4 varieties of tomatoes, an Anaheim pepper, and soybean and flower seeds. Weeds were already growing in the spot I cleared for the tomato plants so it took me another hour to clear it, clean up debris and get 4 of the tomatoes planted. Two of the tomatoes are supposed to be pink so this should be interesting. I still have about half the garden to clear.

I'm pretty worried that my boyfriend is going to lose his job, and then we'll have to move and I'll lose the garden, but I'm going to go ahead and plant it as an act of faith, because we can only live in the present, not the future.

Roses in Bloom

I just had to share these rose photos with you that I took Sunday. If I forgot to go in my backyard for a week or two I miss so much. I never get bored with these striped roses. Each one is unique.

When I was out driving around I spotted a glorious orange rosebush. I'm thinking about adding an orange rose to my garden now, even if the original color scheme was supposed to be a fairy garden in purple and pink. I need more yards, that's all there is to it!

Pink Epiphyllums

It's beautiful out so I got my camera and took those epiphyllum photos. I also spotted one of those elusive spiders I've been trying to get a photo of. They are extremely shy, and even though I was far away he ran off after only 2 fuzzy photos. But if you can tell from my photos which spider it is, I'd love to know. This is the first year I've spotted them in my yard.

Epiphyllum Love

Thanks for following Mike.
Now that the epipyhllum is in bloom, it's a much lighter red than I was expecting. Just beautiful. I'll need to get out there today and take photos. If I recall right the blooms last a while.

I definitely want to spend some time outside today. It's going to be a perfect CA day. I never take our weather for granted. I know much of the country is still covered in snow.

The ice plant I put in the front yard in the 'bald spot' has grown like crazy in the spring rains and is about to burst into specatacular ice pink blooms. I'll finally be able to compete with the African daisies my neighbor planted in the yard across from mine. Everything else I had planted in that spot had died when the previous owner turned off the sprinklers. The new owner is really into landscaping and our new front yard looks posh.

Gardening in a Tiny Yard

I just spent an hour in my garden enjoying it and making it look better. First off, I take one of those trash grabber tools. I picked up about 20 things that had fallen into my yard from my upstairs neighbors balcony, including a dirty diaper, chip bags, a charcoal bag, random bits of plastic and wrappers, a t-shirt, some broken toy parts, and a tiny tennis ball which I assume belongs to their chihuahua. I used to try to give them their stuff back but they never seem to learn so now I just toss it. Except for the dog ball. I threw that back up on their balcony and made it in one shot.

Then I used the weed whacker to get the sprawling lantana and jasmine off of the sidewalk. Then I had to hand prune a bunch of the jasmine vines which are determined to be king of the garden. I watered my potted plants, and finally transplanted the spider plant that was completely root bound in his little container. Someone just gave me a hyacinth plant as well, so I watered that again. The pot is so small it needs water daily, so I really need to figure out where I want it and get it planted.

Then I swept everything I cut down into a pile. I'll let it dry a few days so it takes up less room in the dumpster and then I'll toss it out.

My roses are in glorious bloom.