tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308491552024-03-12T17:09:23.519-07:00 Growing A Garden In Davisgrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-58285591102791205312018-08-18T12:08:00.000-07:002018-08-18T12:08:24.787-07:00How to be an open minded garden visitor...and not
I have been gardening most of my life in one way or another and have gardened this particular space for 38 years. It has had many iterations but the current one is a result of a number of things, most importantly my retirement 3 years ago. At that time, space set aside for children's play in my family child care home reverted to mine, all mine. With a few specific goals in mind I forged growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-38460245311807313012018-04-21T07:47:00.000-07:002018-04-21T07:47:56.266-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day April 2018
It is a cooler and damper than usual month here but the plants don't seem to mind. A little extra precipitation is appreciated by all. In particular the scented geraniums are blooming extra profusely...
...as are the common pelargoniums.
In the maple tree bed Orthrosanthus multiflorus "Morning Flag" has come into its own after settling in for a little over a year. Last growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-85502305605216728002018-03-15T10:58:00.000-07:002018-03-15T10:58:06.993-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day March 2018
Spring is coming. Even with colder than usual temperatures hanging on (or should I say returning? We had a great February!) the plants will not be stopped from their usual routines.
Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Peach' has begun to bloom after hanging on through the winter. Although it is technically an annual it seems to have not minded this past winter and is ready to go again, growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-45251862619158339142018-02-15T16:40:00.000-08:002018-02-15T19:34:47.432-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day February 2018
While it is far from spring and we need more winter (as in lots more rain) no one told the plants. So the garden is celebrating and one of the biggest shows is the narcissus of various design.
Narcissus Erlicheer
Narcissus "Ice Follies"
There are also quite a few hellebores of various shades of pink for the most part. I have one white variety but it just doesn't show up growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-44740188250264545472018-01-15T10:02:00.000-08:002018-01-15T10:02:21.702-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day January 2018
Welcome to Bloom Day in my Central California, Zone 9b, garden. While there are not swathes of flowers there is still quite a bit blooming. We had some dips just below freezing in December but for now the frost cloth is wadded up in the garage. I am not going to tempt the weather gods by folding them and putting them back in their box.
On the patio this aloe has attracted the resident growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-7337097562561509222017-12-15T09:38:00.000-08:002017-12-15T09:38:02.255-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day December 2017
Cold winter weather Central California style does not mean the end to blooms in the garden. On days when the midday temperatures can be in the 50s or 60s pollinators are hungry for a treat so gardeners need to include plants that scoff at the cold.
Anisodontea 'Strybing Beauty' is definitely a plant that fills the bill. Although this will be cut back later in winter togrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-70746800250331743332017-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:002017-11-15T00:00:32.429-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day November 2017 Fall is a time of renewed blooms for some plants...the heat of summer always causes a dip in blooms that then recover for a bit before winter actually arrives.
Melinus nerviglumis however has taken a while to bloom this year and is only really getting going now, seen here backed up by an iris I am beginning to think is 'Eleanor Roosevelt'. This was a passalong plant and I have called growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-36258222742402257012017-10-26T10:02:00.000-07:002017-10-26T10:02:29.284-07:00Front Arbor Remix
The lath house is now filled with plants and in that post I mentioned the pieces I reused in it from the old front arbor. I also mentioned that parts of that old arbor were reused in the new front arbor and I was asked to have a look at that. So...
The original arbor was bought at Lowe's and had metal supports on the bottoms of the side supports. Those were mounted in concrete and growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-24219121887736088122017-10-21T20:19:00.001-07:002017-10-21T20:19:44.146-07:00A Lath House For All Seasons
Sometimes garden interests get a little out of hand. One could hypothetically develop an interest in a certain kind of plant, for example, rex and cane begonias. So one buys a few then a couple more and pretty soon the best spots for them are crowded and then there is no more room. So the gardener has to stop buying them. Just kidding! What the gardener has to do is cut down an old decrepit growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-49920720734880698252017-10-17T11:54:00.001-07:002017-10-17T19:28:41.657-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day October 2017Fall is slowly arriving in my Central California garden. The fires less than an hour from here are closer to being contained and the air is not as smoky as it was. It is, however, still less than clear...the winds have stirred up dirt from a long summer of no precipitation and tomato and sunflower fields that have been harvested and tilled. Lots of dirt and dust. Any rain that shows up later thisgrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-90889337105926044472017-09-27T13:17:00.000-07:002017-09-27T13:17:20.611-07:00A Cautionary Tale, Or, Black Widows Live here TooThis is somewhat of a cautionary tale but it does, as many tales do, have a happy ending. Many years ago, when my children were young and I had a family child care program in my home, I built a sandbox in the back corner of the garden. I dug out the soil, lined the bottom with shade cloth, built two benches along the fence, and filled the pit with play sand.
It was a great success for growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-77775523092889960682017-08-16T11:11:00.000-07:002017-08-16T11:11:17.954-07:00Foliage Follow-up August 2017
This little vignette has been making me happy this summer. I see it from my preferred seat on the patio and am pleased with the combination of heuchera, hellebore, purple tradescantia, columbine, and orthrosanthus multiflorus all backed by the foxtail fern growing in a large container.
Dipping my toe into Foliage Follow-up, organized by Pam at Digging. Follow the link to find moregrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-55327350252588014742017-08-15T10:31:00.000-07:002017-08-15T10:31:10.384-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day August 2017
It is Garden Blogger Bloom Day, and we have Carol at May Dreams Gardens to thank for that. Head over there to see more blooms around the world! I personally have Carol to thank for the zinnias blooming here and there in my garden...she talks about hers often and posts lovely pictures of zinnias in her garden so this year I actually remembered to start some seeds and then scatter the plants growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-6876492532364470632017-08-11T15:46:00.000-07:002017-08-11T15:46:38.290-07:00Tenderloin People's Garden
While on a quick day trip to San Francisco to get a San Francisco library card (way better selection of e-books!) and a National Parks senior pass before the price increase (you only have until August 28 people!) my friend and I stopped by Soluna for lunch. As we crossed the street I noticed this wonderful urban garden.
The Tenderloin is one of the few neighborhoods without a growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-66502374650428138742017-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:002017-07-24T10:34:04.965-07:00Enough Tomatoes
It is caprese time in my little orto! Thank goodness. I am of the belief that the one thing everyone who gardens should have in their summer garden is tomatoes. Nothing tastes as good as a tomato warm from the sun. I enjoy all the fruit and vegetables I am able to harvest from my small garden but tomatoes are the thing I relish the most. And they have become one of the hardest things forgrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-53468320353251072952017-07-17T14:49:00.001-07:002017-07-17T17:38:42.864-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day July 2017
It's been a hot few weeks and the garden is in its usual summer bloom slowdown.
This year I remembered to start some zinnias from seed and plant them out in various spots to try to brighten up the hotter days, some in the pots that have tomatoes and cucumbers in them. This Gulf Fritillary is one of many who hang around for the Passiflora caerulea in the side yard (not so much it seems for the growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-41624637734378985212017-06-30T18:42:00.001-07:002017-06-30T18:42:52.202-07:00Impatience Inspired Dinner
It is that sweet moment when the garden is on the cusp of providing bounty and the cook gets impatient. There have been a couple of tomatoes on salads this week and even one cucumber. Before last week's heat wave we picked 4 decent sized zucchini. But it is still a harvest that can be managed in two hands, no basket needed. I have been watching the the first borlotti beans swell growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-21355411020925241772017-06-20T20:39:00.002-07:002017-06-20T20:39:51.286-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day June 2017
Four days into an eight day heat wave is a good time to finally put together these photos taken on Bloom Day. That was five days ago so some of the blooms have since taken a hit from the triple digit days. The only gardening happening here is checking for what needs watering each morning and a bit of deadheading before hiding out and reading all afternoon. Thank goodness for AC and the librarygrowingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-2932596611032130782017-05-16T07:54:00.000-07:002017-05-16T09:33:36.059-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day May 2017
This month I decided to get up close and look at individual blooms. It's a good way to really see the parts of the flowers and notice similarities and differences.
First up is Salvia clevelandii, a native sage that is drought tolerant and has a great fragrance. That is, if you like the smell of sage as much as I do. Some people think it is a little strong.
Several aloes are growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-54076012877517639222017-04-29T19:56:00.000-07:002017-04-29T19:56:01.475-07:00Discovering the Lost Arbor
Many years ago...maybe 15?...my dad built an arbor in my garden.
At that time my garden had a lot of sun and, since I was running a family child care home, I wanted some shade for the children. So I planted not one, but two Lady Banks roses, one on each side. They did a superb job of providing the shade I once wanted.
Fast forward to April 2017. Now almost 2 years growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-85420799207103210162017-04-16T18:15:00.000-07:002017-04-16T18:15:48.689-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day April 2017
It has indeed been a wet winter. In fact, it has been the wettest rain season on record in 122 years of record keeping. The drought has been officially declared over...for this year anyway. Parts of the Central Valley are still low on ground water and will be for years even if the rain keeps up for the next few winters. But as far as day-to-day living, things have eased up. And the garden has growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-39586130782924467162017-03-15T13:46:00.000-07:002017-03-15T15:18:47.449-07:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day March 2017
Today is Garden Blogger Bloom Day and my garden is participating wholeheartedly. The winter rains have encouraged plants and gardener to come out and enjoy a "normal" spring and all are taking advantage of that encouragement.
Two pots of tulips opened their blooms for the first time today. These pots are easy to move into view when they are in bloom and will be moved back to the side growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-11268242055589633132017-02-15T14:09:00.000-08:002017-02-15T14:09:00.662-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day February 2017
What an amazingly different winter this has been! Or maybe its just what I would have considered a normal winter 6 or 7 years ago. Rain, rain, and more rain! Only part way through our rainy season and we are 4 inches ahead of our yearly average...and way ahead of what we have had the last few years. The California reservoirs are pretty much full and thus far the failed dam crisis has growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-87521658660070934132017-01-15T15:05:00.003-08:002017-01-15T15:05:56.456-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day January 2017
Here is Central California I feel as if I went for a trip in the TARDIS or the way-back machine. We have had what I vaguely remember being a 'normal' winter. With rain and fog even! The whole garden is relaxing and breathing again as am I. The drought is not over no matter what anyone says but the current crisis is eased.
And now for this month's blooms!
Lavandula pinnata's growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30849155.post-15918179497976943472016-12-15T14:47:00.000-08:002016-12-15T14:47:23.468-08:00Garden Blogger Bloom Day December 2016
There are still plenty of blooms here in my Central California garden...roses, lavender, begonias (in their winter home in the nano-greenhouse), solanum, abutilon, and cannas continue to brighten the cloudy and, as of today in a big way, rainy days. But this may be the week that everything changes.
Gomphrena Tiny Buttons is continuing to bloom although its leaves have begun to growingagardenindavishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15959600840504166899noreply@blogger.com7