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Showing posts from February, 2023
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 Ugh!  I noticed a gaping hole in one of my Golden Barrel cactus when I was wandering through the garden yesterday.  We are in the midst of 3-4 days of rain, which will be followed by a morning freeze - BAD, bad bad.   I will try to lay some poly-tarp on them just for a few days to keep the slope as dry as possible.  I thought being planted on the slope would provide them with enough drainage, and most do seem nice & firm.   These were just planted Spring 2022, if they can make it through this deluge should be fine in the future.   Goo. and more and more goo. 😒 Here is the before - thankfully those big boys Goldens seem solid.  The rot was on a mid size 10" and a much smaller 3".  One portion of the Golden Fox cactus was rotten in our earlier rain in December 2022.  But it looks like the rest of the plant will pull through unscathed.  Fingers crossed. On a positive note, the manzanitas by our driveway smell & looks glorious!  I brought some of the flowers inside and

and to the Party in the Back, Mullet garden cont'd

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 When we moved in 14 years ago, the backyard was large and devoid of any garden - full of clover, weeds & horrendous clay.  I was used to gardening in the Portland area and this was quite a change, and added to that was the very dry heat.  I remember trying to dig into the sloped area and it was like cement.  I would just chip chip chip away at it, amend the soil, plunk a plant in and hope for the best.  I was so desperate to get some green going, looking back it's all like a fever dream.   I really should have had a plan, lol.  Whatever, it was a great learning experience, and I likely improved the soil with all the fevered planting and amending. Unfortunately I don't think I have a photo of just the bareness of it all.   I know somewhere I have a picture of when the pool was dug.  Here is one version of the slope that looks decent. And now, above the pool is filled with aloes, agave, golden barrel cactus, river acacia, a large arbutus unedo tree& various succulents. 

Never too late to start

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 Hello!  I'm disappointed I didn't start documenting the garden when we initially moved to Livermore, Ca (about 14 years ago) from Portland, OR.  Frankly I wish I had documented THAT garden as well.   It has undergone much change, and I will try to dig through old photos as I go to establish where I started.  Currently I'm transitioning to a mullet garden- perennials in the front and cacti/succulents in the back.  😀 The front is pretty set,  I've ripped out all the grass and added d.g. pathways in California gold surrounding perennial beds.  With a few aloes and succulents thrown in for good measure. Here is a sample of the front right garden from April 2022, when this perennial garden heads into summer the blooms change to dahlias, penstemon & salvias.                                  A beautiful poppy 'Orange Chiffon' from                                                   Annie's Annuals in Richmond.   Left Garden with path to the front porch.  Mainly