New Chapter For Our Garden

Trail blazing :-)

Plant screen soon to be transformed into a mural for pathway

Blank canvas for a whole new plantscape! Woohoo!!!!

Front Yarden Farewell

Backyard Young Fruit Garden

Looks like the young guava tree sapplings are established. This is the second year in the ground. Expecting fruit in next year or two. Yippeee!

Our first potted orange tree has a few fruits. 

The espalier apple tree known as the fruit bowl has a variety of cultivars including gala, gravenstein, yellow delicious and fuji. Woot!

#droughtshame solution

A local entrepeneur discovered a way to reduce drinking water usage for gardens by transporting potable water to clients.

http://www.raindancenow.com

Love it!! 

Summer Grape Harvest 2015

What could possibly be better than a garden buddy? 

Yep, you guessed it: two garden buddies

Boots and Tigger discovered the red grape clusters this morning! 

Woot! Nothing better than chilled grapes with dinner.

Plump Pumpkins

A crop of pumpkins grew from the unsifted compost this year. What a fun fall surprise!

2014 Water Wise Challenge

At the beginning of the summer we made a water wise goal to drop water bill by 50% from last year. We didn't want to lose the edible garden and still wanted to build the mostly ornamental Backyard Bistro. So we let go of the lawn and collected gray water from kid's baths (which was a fun chore to collect and redistribute into rain barrels). 

By chosing plant material that include mosty succulents, natives and a few water loving plants (fuschia, burgmansia and bougainvilla) we have been able to enjoy a low water haven without compromising the desire for color.

North Facing View in late afternoon

Hanging Fuschia on Hummingbird Island

North Facing View from End of Patio (arch on right side of image is Hummer Island) and directly across from patio to the right is Grape Arbor (below)

Close up

Close Up and Personal

A Trial Veggie Box Installation -Phase One

Jake's magical handy work has spread across the street to our neighbor's place. The first phase of this installation is two 4x10 beds with irrigation. A modification of the pipes was needed and as a result a sturdy box was made to encapsulate them.

Final Grape Harvest

So the last few clusters of concord and red grapes are being harvested tonight by Lance and Ian! Loving the grapes!

Week of July 4th Humble Harvest

Finally! The first post-worthy grape harvest. Three years of patiently tending four young vines. 

June's Humble Harvest

Backyarden Glimmer of Hope

Three years ago a planting of Thompson, Red Seedless and Concords were installed in the backyarden. The first year yielded a cluster on each vine. Second year, about two more clusters. This year we have at least a dozen Concord..... Not sure what is happening to the others.  ???? 

What makes the experiment exciting is just the pure pleasure of watching it grow. 

Failure to Flourishing

Have you ever tried to make lemonade from lemons? That is how this *repurposed* hummingbird feeder collection ended up on Hummingbird Island.

I couldn't figure out why the hummers weren't enjoying the homemade nectar in the cute mosaic glass feeders hanging all over the garden? They provide easy access, are colorful and loaded with nectar. ?!? Come to find out they are toooo shiny. Oops. :-/

So, I removed the mold-covered nectar topped with floating dead ants and replaced it with a bit of cactus soil for succulent cuttings. And voila!

Spring is Sizzling Already

"And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden...You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden."
-Rudyard Kipling

This spring included two horticulture classes: Propagation and California Natives. Ooohh the possibilities are so much greater in the Bistro now! As I was musing about what I want it to look like in three years, I decided I would need to propagate my favorite plants and purchase the most desired over a period of time.

Plants being propagated include:
Hoya Pubea (nectar on Hummingbird Island)
Brugmansia (for fast growing standing eye-level fillers along fence and for nightime fragrance)
Geraniums (for color and knee-level fillers)

Purchased (over a 6 month period):
Hoya Pubea
Lonicera Japonica Purpurea (fragrance)
Jasminum Stephanese (fragrance and beneficals)
Ficus Pumila (wall cover)
Angel Vine (wall cover)
Bacopa, white (green color divider in raised planter)

First Fruits of the Season

Jake decided to water the plants once he scraped away the weeds from the base and discovered a couple green berries. Yep! A humble little crop from four strawberry plants that were completely neglected since the fall and watered through a dilapidated soaker hose network pieced and plugged together with screws/washers and electrical tape! Just one deep soak for three hours, great soil, sun and the weeds left intact. Hmmm, maybe I should do something about the last item on the list.

April Does A Yarden Good!

The bulbs are springing up in clusters of 6-10. Check these out!