Photo of the Day: Toyon – Christmas Berry
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), aka "Christmas Berry" or California Holly, is a native tree and favorite hangout for all sorts of birds and wildlife. Once established, it pretty much tolerates anything -- blazing sun, drought, fire, shade, lousy soil, mule deer, etc. They're usually 8-10 ft tall, but this tree is over 30 years old and easily 20 ft tall (happy tree). Most of the year, it has deep green, densely packed leaves that make it a good screening plant and offers cover for birds. Late summer it blooms with white flowers which give way to clusters of these red berries [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Tarantula Hawk
Walked out of the house this morning to be greeted by what I thought was was a hummingbird, but turned out to be a Tarantula Hawk, which is a *very* large wasp.
Photo of the Day: Hummingbird Sage
Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is another native that I really like. It's a low growing sage that spreads by rhizomes and can colonize a whole area. When a colony is in bloom, there are so many hummingbirds it can sound like a swarm of bees. Beyond the flower and the low growth habit, one of the other things I really like about it is it's ability to thrive under live oaks, pine and eucalyptus -- all trees known for being notorious allelopaths (i.e., they secrete chemicals that make it difficult for plants to germinate and grow under them). The sages [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Foggy Morning in November
Misty November morning. Fog settles over the pond and creates a shadowy, silent scene.
How to Build a Keyhole Garden
I built an exceptionally productive keyhole garden using cedar fence boards and pipe strapping. Total build cost was around $200 and the results were amazing. Here's complete instructions on how to do it.
Photo of the Day: Peppermint Twist Rose
While most of the rest of the garden is hunkering down for winter, a couple of the roses are kicking out one more set of blooms. This one is "Peppermint Twist." I think you can tell how it got its name.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 4
Added 8 more ounces of hot peppers and 1/2 TSP of salt. No additional water. Will probably have just one more addition because the weather cold nights are knocking off the pepper plants.
Photo of the Day: Painted Plumeria
Most of my Plumerias bloom pink or yellow and stay that way, but not this one. It blooms pink and turns white over the course of a few days. As the color changes from outer edge to the center of the flowers it looks like someone comes and paints them with little colored accents. One day I'll figure out the variety.
Video: “Happy Red” Japanese Tomato
Bought a Japanese tomato with no idea what it would be. I wasn't disappointed.Last spring I picked up a variety of odd-ball tomatoes from a local nursery. One was a complete mystery because the tag was printed in Japanese. An attempt to use Google Translate revealed only that it was "happy red" and "not much disease," which, fortunately, turned out to be true. Here's a quick video from August on the tomato: And here's the plant tag from the tomato. If anyone reads Japanese, I'd love to know what it says. Click the "Comment" link below to add your [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween everyone! If you're going to a party tonight, don't end up like this guy. Cleanup is rough.
Photo of the Day: Toyon – Christmas Berry
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), aka "Christmas Berry" or California Holly, is a native tree and favorite hangout for all sorts of birds and wildlife. Once established, it pretty much tolerates anything -- blazing sun, drought, fire, shade, lousy soil, mule deer, etc. They're usually 8-10 ft tall, but this tree is over 30 years old and easily 20 ft tall (happy tree). Most of the year, it has deep green, densely packed leaves that make it a good screening plant and offers cover for birds. Late summer it blooms with white flowers which give way to clusters of these red berries [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Tarantula Hawk
Walked out of the house this morning to be greeted by what I thought was was a hummingbird, but turned out to be a Tarantula Hawk, which is a *very* large wasp.
Photo of the Day: Hummingbird Sage
Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is another native that I really like. It's a low growing sage that spreads by rhizomes and can colonize a whole area. When a colony is in bloom, there are so many hummingbirds it can sound like a swarm of bees. Beyond the flower and the low growth habit, one of the other things I really like about it is it's ability to thrive under live oaks, pine and eucalyptus -- all trees known for being notorious allelopaths (i.e., they secrete chemicals that make it difficult for plants to germinate and grow under them). The sages [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Foggy Morning in November
Misty November morning. Fog settles over the pond and creates a shadowy, silent scene.
How to Build a Keyhole Garden
I built an exceptionally productive keyhole garden using cedar fence boards and pipe strapping. Total build cost was around $200 and the results were amazing. Here's complete instructions on how to do it.
Photo of the Day: Peppermint Twist Rose
While most of the rest of the garden is hunkering down for winter, a couple of the roses are kicking out one more set of blooms. This one is "Peppermint Twist." I think you can tell how it got its name.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 4
Added 8 more ounces of hot peppers and 1/2 TSP of salt. No additional water. Will probably have just one more addition because the weather cold nights are knocking off the pepper plants.
Photo of the Day: Painted Plumeria
Most of my Plumerias bloom pink or yellow and stay that way, but not this one. It blooms pink and turns white over the course of a few days. As the color changes from outer edge to the center of the flowers it looks like someone comes and paints them with little colored accents. One day I'll figure out the variety.
Video: “Happy Red” Japanese Tomato
Bought a Japanese tomato with no idea what it would be. I wasn't disappointed.Last spring I picked up a variety of odd-ball tomatoes from a local nursery. One was a complete mystery because the tag was printed in Japanese. An attempt to use Google Translate revealed only that it was "happy red" and "not much disease," which, fortunately, turned out to be true. Here's a quick video from August on the tomato: And here's the plant tag from the tomato. If anyone reads Japanese, I'd love to know what it says. Click the "Comment" link below to add your [keep reading...]
Photo of the Day: Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween everyone! If you're going to a party tonight, don't end up like this guy. Cleanup is rough.