tz_garden

 A small makeover in the front corner, by the fire lane. We're settling on 80 degree days, which has been lovely.  It cools down nicely in the evenings.  Can you guess what needed cleaning up? At first I was going to just clean up the flax and the hot lips salvia.  But quickly this turned to "oh, let's just take this out".  We are next to a fire lane that gets used by walkers and their doggies, bicyclists, kids going to and from the nearby schools.  No vehicles.  Here is a partial picture of the fire lane, this is maintained weekly by the city (and our tax dollars).  It is lovely to have the borrowed landscape next to us. *My husband hates that strip of dirt where the bicyclists cut thru.  lol otherwise we have no complaints, we feel lucky to have the nice open space next to us. I couldn't quite fit everything in the 2 bins, but it was pick-up the next day (today,Thursday) so I took care of the rest the next morning.  I had a leucodendron that was in a too shaded

  Some pretty things here and there.  I've been raking, trimming tree branches but my before & after pictures seem awfully boring.  I'm going to share a few shots from the last few days instead.   I had a few mangaves give up their fight last year with the wet/freeze combo we got around February.  I think I have 3 or 4 that made it through and are looking better now.  Below, mangave is sending out pups - I'm going to leave them be until Spring.  As well as the foxtail agave behind- they have pupped a bit as well.  To do: add them to the slope. Reminder add more gazania!  They bloom for a good portion of the year here, and are such pretty spots of color. Gazania Otomi  The echeverias look like sea creatures right now, and the beautiful blooms that last for weeks. Various salvias reblooming after a good shear late August. Dude, these spikes are ridiculous.  To do: move away from the path. Delphinium rebloom, always a nice surprise.  A few dahlias blooming nicely FINALLY.

 Falling into Fall.  We're still hitting just under 90's, but it cools off so early in the evenings it really doesn't feel it.  Livermore lows are high 50's right now.  Overall, I've been neglecting inside but did end up painting my bedroom after a much needed closet purge.  More importantly, after repotting my philodendron squamiferum and changing locations - she's pushing out a beautiful leaf!    *the paint color is bold, but I love it!  This room has 3 windows and lots of white trim. Look at the PINK!   Outside- here are some fun before and afters... None of the flowers made it through the heat, lol.  I'm always shocked to look back at pictures to see the actual growth that can happen over 4-5 months. It's really amazing. Before After (difference placement) but look at those "hip bones" that were grown in just a year! Some random blooms, which I feel a bit short on at the moment.  Always pretty, Lisianthus Penstemon, and coreopsis. Gomphrena

 A monster has outgrown her pot.  I doubt I could've done this project justice without Ivan & Sophia's help.  At the very least, I would've made a terrible mess inside.   Basically all roots in the pot. Unfortunately, we had to kill the nice pot. Ivan crushed charcoal, mixed in moss and made a great mix for a moss pole to support the monstera. He was covered in charcoal dust!  The finished moss pole, over 6' tall. Voila!  Back in the front room, no worse for the wear.  *Excuse the messy floor. Lowe's has marked down almost all their pots by 40%, I snagged a few talavera pots.  They aren't my "go to" but I think a few thrown in for color are nice.  Balloon cactus in a rounded pot, I'm hoping in a few years this will look a bit like a hot air balloon. Dancing preying mantis spotted, go get the dang grasshoppers! Silver ball cactus, Parodia scopa grouped together in a shallow gray pot. A talavera strawberry pot stuffed with various succulent cutti