tz_garden

👎 to 100°s this week. Gross.  Humidity is 12%, . I AM grateful the nights cool down, which makes the mornings comfortable.  My oldest daughter Sophia and her partner Ivan spent Labor Day weekend with us, and Ivan is always up for some labor! He started his attack in this back dark corner by pruning the 3 Cotinus -purple smokebush.  I like the color, but dang that smell is overwhelming when you cut them.   And then as he kept offering to "clean this or that up", an old rose bush was removed along with some agaves (I don't remember planting them there, but there they were!), dead palm leaves & nuts, the stout Yucca and one of the trio of smokebush.  What took him 2 hours would've taken me a full day if not 2! THANKS IVAN! Sophia and I were inside making homemade Bao for dinner, at least we fed him. My goodness, they were delicious!  I had not made them before, the hoison eggplant were my favorite. I did some clean-up myself, after his feats of strength!  And talk a

 thanks to  Gerhard  I have a few new pretty things for the garden!  He asked if I would like to try an Aloe 'Birds and Bees' and I jumped at the chance.  Livermore is fairly close to Davis, about 83 miles according to Google. USPS did a nice job and I received the package in one day. To recover from 24 hours in a box, and because we were 90° I potted the Aloe, placed under an umbrella until I find the perfect sunny focal spot! And he added a nice surprise, Hechtia epigyna.  The wooden beads will be easy to move around or remove when it clumps.  I love this shade of green! And a beautiful x Dyckcohnia 'Zebra', the coloring! I'd just been sprucing this area to the side of the pool, re topping it and adding moss rock. *steps up to the "hot plunge" as my Dad always calls it, ha ha ha. Perfect, not too close to the walkway. Since I was already sweaty and dirty, I thought to attack the mess of the stock tank.  I believe this is 4' round. I forgot to take a

The past few weeks of cool August weather have been glorious!  I fear September will be extra hot to make up for it.  *Old pipes & pig. I have cleaned up a few messes that I just couldn't stand any longer.  The crinums (2 big clumps) were just a mess, and don't really "belong" in the slope. After blooming they are bleh. I have them in the front garden, and the perennials hide the mess, so they work better there. Moved in Adenathos sericeus and a Mangave that was mostly hidden in a different part of the yard, hopefully it handles the move o.k. The slope is partial shade.  I just noticed Dr. Feelgood giving the Mangave some love.  Moved this beautiful creature, Brachychiton rupestris 'Queensland Bottle Tree' into place.   A wee Eucalyptus macrocarpa, with shade protection.  I figured in the ground was safer than in the little grower pot.  So many lizards this year, there are babies running every which way!  This guy was comfortable and let me take his pictur