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SIXTY

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 Age is just a number and all.   But I'm not loving the sound of that.  Better to think about the gift that keeps on giving, Sophia! We share a birthday and celebrated the duo birthdays this past weekend.  Sophia and Ivan are in Oaxaca, and i can't wait to hear about their adventure.  We went on a hike, and landed in a sea of Matilija poppies.   And as luck would have it, we ran in to the goats for hire.  Right this minute, I'm having the windows washed - the 2nd story is too high for me to deal with.  Plus the solar panels are getting a scrubbing.  Another task I'd be terrified to do. I spent Monday and Tuesday afternoons moving pots, ladders, etc., away from the house. I asked Ivan move the big Platycerium superbum off the porch to keep it from being damaged. They are doing a soft pressure wash of the house as well.  He took the opportunity to add more sphagnum moss to the interior.   And he mounted a baby I had bee...
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Kensington Cloud Forest

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 I'm lucky to visit  David Neumaier's garden  every few months or so.  He was part of the Garden Conservancy Open Garden tours this past weekend.  Of course we went to his garden first!  My first order is always checking the street-side Agave ovatifolias. It was a gorgeous day, sun overhead.  I could see he had been really getting in there and making changes to the front slope.  A Spring Clean! I love the variety, it feels so exuberant!  Russelia equisetiformis was firecrackering blooms, on our way down the driveway. Almost to the front... I love the cascading softness of this tall grass on the corner.   We made it!  Ivan and David are great friends. Ivan was over early to help field questions and such.  Along with the large pond on the lower level, David has several container water gardens.   Ceratostema ?, he has several varieties - dang the way they drape is stunning.  I had one in my kitchen window that ...
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Drifting Plans

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 Our plan was to visit some gardens in the Berkeley area, brought to you (or me) by The Garden Conservancy.  Of course, we started at David's Kensington Cloud Forest. A gorgeous day, my daughters looking at the pond on the lower level of the garden.   As it turns out, I didn't read the fine print.  You were expected to purchase a ticket for EACH garden, oops.  David certainly wasn't checking if people had tickets - his was the garden I actually did buy tickets to (thinking it was for all).  Since I had purchased a membership, no biggie - I just needed to select and download the individual tickets.  A closer look at David's pond.  He mentioned he added white sand to the bottom, it made such a difference you could really see those fish.  The pond is large enough the fish have nooks and crannies in the rocks to hide in if a raccoon visits. Also there is a motion activated sprinkler to deter the racoons, which Ivan has set off a few times, h...
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