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 Fabulous Fall!  Echeveria Perle von Nurnberg colors are so good right now.

I haven't written in a bit, I've been busy tidying up garden areas - tomatoes, pumpkins, etc.  Mostly though because my daughter Olivia had major abdominal surgery due to her autoimmunie disease.  She's doing well and I took her back to college yesterday.  She was in the hospital for 5 days, then home with us for about 5 more.  Other than navigating her backpack for classes (she's not supposed to lift over 10 lbs) she's doing so well.   

I cleaned up Yucca Rostrata 'hold for Gretchen' -I know a lot of people don't like the apron trimmed.  I'm a firm believer you can do what you want in your own garden.  *She arrived with that blackish area, I bought this from the Ruth Bancroft garden 3 years ago during a sale.  The black isn't mushy and looks worse in the photo than real life.  She must have gotten some damage at some point.


 Sophia and I picked 'blue doll' pumpkin, it was around 20 lbs.  We split it between us, and roasted to our hearts content.  It was delicious!  Will definitely grow (and eat) again!

The sun is hitting the golden barrels from a different angle and earlier in the day, I love how they glow.


I think the dudleyas are beginning to wake up after what MUST be the last of 90 degree days.

All 3 Hakea's I purchased in the spring from Waltzing Matilija have made it!  *So far.  The Hakea petiolaris struggled the most but has put out some new leaves recently.  Below is Hakea laurina, and I'm thrilled to see the beginning of little puffy blooms.  This is roughly 5' tall, hard to tell from the picture.  


I cleaned up the blue barrels of their little pineapple looking old blooms.
Much better!
Dr. Feelgood said "stop, and look at me!"


Aloe Helenae with her leaves still tightly curled from the hot weather - I'm looking forward to seeing her loosen up a bit.

Cereus Forbesi spiral cactus has grown so fast,  it has a bit of a crazy pattern because I moved it at one point.  It spirals depending on where the sun is - oops.
When I was just about done for the day, I squatted down to pick up some leaf debris and got some thorns from cephalocereus senilis x leuchocephalus right on my errr"pants" I had to run inside and remove a thorn that went right through and stuck in a delicate area.  At least I didn't hurt the plant,  I hope!
I'm loving the beautiful Fall weather, we may even get a few drips of rain Monday?  
Still more clean-up to do, there are redwood needles everywhere - they drive me nuts!

I'm feeling happy that I still have November to be outside to prepare for winter.  January/February are the coldest months for us, and when we usually get rain.  How much longer do you get to be outside in your garden?  


Comments

  1. sOctober 21, 2023 at 4:57 PM

    I love the garden update. That pumpkin was heavenly. We roasted it and ate it with our meals for days after. So good every time!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 21, 2023 at 6:06 PM

      It was so fun to pick it together and compare notes! Up next for our culinary adventures I’m planting Bulgarian honey garlic - we can use the leaves for samardala.

      Delete
  2. Kris PetersonOctober 21, 2023 at 6:53 PM

    I'm glad to hear Olivia's doing well. Adding surgery to college curriculum can't be easy! Your succulents look fabulous - I couldn't spot a single redwood needle. As your garden muse, I imagine Dr Feelgood deserves all the attention he demands ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tz_gardenOctober 22, 2023 at 8:28 AM

      Thank you, she is a tough cookie. Oh, yes Dr. agrees with you!

      Delete
  3. danger gardenOctober 22, 2023 at 9:55 AM

    I'm sure there has to be a story behind the name of your Yucca rostrata? ('hold for Gretchen') Please tell!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tz_gardenOctober 22, 2023 at 12:05 PM

      haha, yes. A group of us went to visit the Ruth Bancroft garden, I knew there was a sale for members - so I definitely knew I was going to peek around at plants. I wanted a Yucca rostrata, but the price was still quite high even with the sale (I can be a cheapskate). James, my husband said "just get it"! Well, ok - I've never spent even half of that on one plant. I guess I can be a cheapskate. Ok ok, I thought - I've got Ivan and James here to help lift it in the car, so yep let's do it. After we carefully looked at the 3 available rostratas up & down and sideways, we picked the most perfect one. Paid for it, gulp and loaded it up. Ivan and Sophia sat in the back getting poked by the plant the entire way home. When we arrived home, as we unloaded my new prize we saw a tag stuck in the pot "hold for Gretchen". Hahahahha, I don't know why but this struck us and we were laughing our butts off! Anyway, I had a metal plaque made with "hold for Gretchen" and it's stuck right there by the Yucca.

      Delete
  4. Hoover BooOctober 22, 2023 at 7:48 PM

    Your garden looks lovely--so nice to have relief from summer's heat. Hope your dear daughter has a fast and complete recovery and is feeling better now. Enjoyed seeing all the succulent plants in your photos. Redwood litter...oh, :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tz_gardenOctober 23, 2023 at 9:05 AM

      Thank you so much, she is feeling better. I spent a few hours picking up redwood litter (and the neighbor's dropping olives yesterday, it wasn't so bad - better than housework!

      Delete
  5. Beth at PlantPostingsOctober 23, 2023 at 4:40 PM

    That Echeveria is attractive! And all the succulents look so healthy. The pumpkin looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete

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