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Showing posts from May, 2023
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  Garden chores in May, with cool mid 70's weather.  Ahhhh!  I've begun grabbing the smaller pieces of rubble from the slope (that I added in 2022) and am slowly rubbling around the beds.  I had more rocks than I really needed for the slope, but threw them in and knew I would pluck them out when needed elsewhere.  Threw in some crassula muscosa in the gaps, and some various sedum on top hoping they will spill over as the summer moves in.  More likely next year they'll achieve the pretty waterfall look. Not horribly impressive, I know - but as I go round and round the beds I think it will add a pretty crevice affect.  And a good use for a chopstick & cuttings where I find small planting spots. The salvia has bloomed through the Aloe plicatilis, I think they like eachother. Aloe distans, the spiky snake has found a spot in the mammillaria area above the puddle rock.  I'd like to find a colorful garden snake (art) to perch on the other side.  The Talavera ones are too
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  Back home after a week away.  We were planning on visiting my daughter Olivia for a weekend in Santa Barbara (she is a student there).  Unfortunately she had a flare-up with her autoimmune disease and ended up in the hospital for 4 days 😢.  So Sophia and I drove down early to be with her.   James & Vincent flew down for the weekend,  balancing work for James and finals for Vincent.  She is better, and in the thick of it for the last few weeks of school.  I'm so grateful she is feeling better, and the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital was lovely and gave her great care.  I'm going to photo dump some spring bloom photos from the front perennial garden. Closer up of this fat orange poppy that was buried under the blue honeywort, I almost completely missed the blooming! All the roses are flipping & flopping, I will get out there this week and do a nice trim back. One of my favorite poppies, Sugar Plum.  So fluffy! I gave Dave Austen Princess Alexandra of Kent a good trim, a
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 I had a  fantastic time visiting  Waltzing Matilija  Nursery on Friday, May 12.  I learned of Troy McGregor from  Gerhard Bock's blog  Succulents and More .  I left Livermore at 9 and drove to Berkeley to pick up Sophia & Ivan who were as excited as I was to get to the nursery in Pittsburg.  Someday soon I will have Sophia and Ivan do a guest post or posts!  They are very active visiting gardens in and around Berkeley, and just dig plants.  All kinds, and they know their stuff. A quick peek at their cabinet of specialties before we were off!  *There are plants everywhere in their apartment, they'd do a better job of showing that off so I will let them.  I can't wait for them to have an outdoor garden.  And 40 minutes later, we made it!  Troy told us this garden in the front is just 2 years old.  I was immediately drawn to the puffy yellow flowers of the Phylica pubescens.  They repeated in a few spots throughout the front and are beautiful.  He didn't have any for