tz_garden

 thanks to  Gerhard  I have a few new pretty things for the garden!  He asked if I would like to try an Aloe 'Birds and Bees' and I jumped at the chance.  Livermore is fairly close to Davis, about 83 miles according to Google. USPS did a nice job and I received the package in one day. To recover from 24 hours in a box, and because we were 90° I potted the Aloe, placed under an umbrella until I find the perfect sunny focal spot! And he added a nice surprise, Hechtia epigyna.  The wooden beads will be easy to move around or remove when it clumps.  I love this shade of green! And a beautiful x Dyckcohnia 'Zebra', the coloring! I'd just been sprucing this area to the side of the pool, re topping it and adding moss rock. *steps up to the "hot plunge" as my Dad always calls it, ha ha ha. Perfect, not too close to the walkway. Since I was already sweaty and dirty, I thought to attack the mess of the stock tank.  I believe this is 4' round. I forgot to take a

The past few weeks of cool August weather have been glorious!  I fear September will be extra hot to make up for it.  *Old pipes & pig. I have cleaned up a few messes that I just couldn't stand any longer.  The crinums (2 big clumps) were just a mess, and don't really "belong" in the slope. After blooming they are bleh. I have them in the front garden, and the perennials hide the mess, so they work better there. Moved in Adenathos sericeus and a Mangave that was mostly hidden in a different part of the yard, hopefully it handles the move o.k. The slope is partial shade.  I just noticed Dr. Feelgood giving the Mangave some love.  Moved this beautiful creature, Brachychiton rupestris 'Queensland Bottle Tree' into place.   A wee Eucalyptus macrocarpa, with shade protection.  I figured in the ground was safer than in the little grower pot.  So many lizards this year, there are babies running every which way!  This guy was comfortable and let me take his pictur

 The clean-up is done!  I wanted the alstromeria gone, but also needed this shady spot by the front porch for 3 Pseudopanax crassifolius I snagged from  Waltzing Matilija .  I was hoping to make a better, cleaner transition from the garden to the porch.  The porch has a variety of staghorn ferns, orchids & tillandsias -it all just felt too messy.  The planter is already starting to do that nice rusting thing. I chose a ginger 3/8 for top dressing, to go with the Corten steel as it changes color. If I don't like it together, I can pick the rock off and replace it. I'm still looking for the proper plant for the planter on this side.  The Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light' is a place holder.  I like it, but it feels like a weak plant.  I think it must have been raised by indulgent parents.  The Begonia is Sophia Angel Wing, which I couldn't resist because of the color... and really because it shares my first born daughter's name.  Kris  suggested a mangave, and I t

The front entry is still a work in progress.  The second smaller planter arrived Sunday, but was delivered to the side yard not the typical drop off spot -the front porch. Took me a while to find it.  Also, I can't just blame the delivery - I realized I don't have a plant picked out for the other side.  I would love to put an agave there but it's full shade.  Maybe I'll luck out and find a shade tolerant agave, perhaps Agave guiengola?! Any suggestions? A quick peek, trying to dig deep into restraint and keep the area clean.  Not my forte.  And 5 different type of rock is not really restraint is it? I'll finish up this week, I'm desperate to get the porch tidied up.  It's a mess with shovels, bags of rock, wheelbarrow, etc.  So, today all I can offer is a random Monday morning walk through the garden.  I moved this fern (mounted by Ivan in the Y of a branch) to higher ground.  It really suffered from the move to Livermore from Berkeley, but has adapted to hi