Happy Kalanchoes

Sometimes you can find great deals if you know enough about plants to spot a good thing when you see it. A few days ago I spotted some kalanchoes in 3 different colors (pink, yellow and orange) at one of those dollar for everything stores.  They looked pretty sad. But they are succulents and tough little plants.  So I brought three of them home and let them overnight inside by house for 48 hours so they could adjust to cooler temperatures than inside a heated store. I didn't want them to freeze.  Then today I took them outside to plant them in a shallow bowl and they looked so much better. The leaves were nice and plump and the flowers were bright and happy. So for under $5 I got a lovely dish garden in fall colors.

Saying Good-bye to My Favorite Rose

As if to say good-bye, my favorite rose presented me with a bouquet of all stages of bloom on one branch. I hope the new owner (the place is in escrow) has the good sense to let the rose go on bringing pleasure to the next renter. It's huge right now because I stopped trimming it when the current owner said he was going to rip it out. And nothing else is blooming on it, except that one branch, as if it was a present to me.

So I cut it off and put it in a vase to enjoy as I pack up the kitchen.

And of course I took photos of it to share with you. I paid $5 for this bush at a swap meet. Best bargain ever!

I'm moving to the desert so the garden there will be completely different than anything I am used to. But the yard is gigantic and the landlady doesn't seem too particular about what we do with it. And she's an avid gardener.

Sod Happens

After many months of staring at a dead front yard that looked like a vacant lot baking in the sun, the owner finally saw fit to start putting in landscaping.  They say they want to put the complex up for sale next week, which means strangers tromping through my house again.

But to keep it positive, we have sod!  They started putting it in at 8 AM this morning.  My heart did a little leap to look out the window and see green again. It was May 2 when they ripped it all out and Sept. 1 when they started putting it back together. So much for them buying it, fixing it up and selling it in one month.

Ladybug or Ladybird

I always feel blessed when a lady bug lands on me. I couldn't help but wonder if it thought this bumps were more lady bugs.

A Visit to Silverado

I got to enjoy 3 days at my friends ranch in Silverado. The nature there is so soothing. I can sit there for hours watching the birds, squirrels, lizards, and other living creatures.

Go Gourd Go!

I was so mad when the new apartment complex owners (a faceless nameless corporation) ripped out the entire front yard for some future drought resistant garden.  So when this little gourd sprouted in the dry hard packed soil, I couldn't help cheering.  Of course it will be scraped away if and when they do plant, which will be sad, but for now I'm cheering for the last act of rebellion! I wonder how big it will get before something takes it out.

I've often cleaned gourds on the front porch, so this seed must have landed in the garden and been churned up when they scraped away all the topsoil. I could be wrong, but none of the other plants I've put into the front yard have this growth habit.They turned off the sprinklers weeks ago, so I have no idea where it found enough moisture to grow, but I have a feeling I should start watering it as summer approaches.  I know I shouldn't get too attached to it but I already am.

Striped Roses I Will Miss You

It's emotionally difficult that the owner is dragging his feet on ripping out my garden. So I grab photos when I can, expecting the rosebush to be gone the next time I come home from grocery shopping. It's like a slow torture having so much of my life in the control of someone else I don't even know.

First Rose and Last Rose of Spring

Every year I take a photo of the first bloom on each of my rose bushes.  But now that the new apartment owners have ripped out all the plants in the front yard, I only have the roses in the back yard left. And those were already supposed to be gone.  But the painters have mysteriously disappeared, leaving 5 ladders in our back yard, and everything in disorder.  So I was both saddened and joyful when a purple rose bloomed. So I am calling it both the first rose and the last rose. It's gorgeous. I wish I could take it with me.

I think this would have all been less painful if it had happened in winter, and not with spring in full swing. Sigh.

Purple miniature rose.  The end of my fairy garden.

The work crew has disappeared and left five ladders in our backyard.

Ouch

I haven't looked in the front yard yet today, but my boyfriend said they are completely ripping out everything in the flower beds. And just when the jasmine was in full bloom, the pansies a riot of color, and the roses covered in buds.

I will try to look to the future, either to moving out, or the plants they will put in to replace these.

Yellow Roses

Good morning. I awoke to the sound of chainsaws as the landscapers wage war on the old landscaping. I truly hope they don't cut down the rose I planted to honor a vet. So I cut off the last flowers and put them in a vase in my kitchen just in case the rose is gone when I come home today.

New Owners Uh Oh

Our building has a new owner. The company plans to fix the place up and sell at a profit in a month. A man standing on the lawn with a marker made me think 'uh oh.'  I said, "Can I help you," and he said, "Just doing some landscaping."  The last owner did landscaping, so it doesn't need to be done and is a waste of money, but more to the point, I hope they don't dig up all the roses, pansies and ice plant that I spent my own money on, and once again I hope they don't invade the backyard (which up till now I've managed to keep for private gardening) and rip everything out. I hate renting.

The only reason I'm not having heart palpitations is because I want to move anyway. I just don't have the resources.

Plant Sale Coming Up at the Huntington Library

A great chance to get some unusual plants. I'd be all over this if the need to move to another state wasn't looming over me.
http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=3904

Making a Gourd Planter

For Earth Day I'm making a gourd hanging planter. I got the artwork burned onto it yesterday. I want to macrame the hanger. I was hoping to get done today but I have to go to a memorial service that could take up most of Saturday and I have an archery event all day Sunday. But when I get it finished I'll be sure to share photos.

Nasturtiums Gone Wild

Some plants thrive on neglect. Case in point, my nasturtiums.  They are blooming their little heads off this year. The only water they got was rainfall and dew. The brown eyed Susan vine is also thriving. I've tried planting nasturtiums in the front yard, but the gardeners think they are weeds and always rip them out. Maybe in Mexico they are weeds.

My rose bush was a riot of blooms as well. Every year I look forward to this one blooming. This year it outdid itself. Not bad for a $5 bargain from the local swap meet.