Nov 16 2012
Garden Notes
Stevie, my former neighbor, has moved to Hawaii, where she is hopefully being welcomed by the goddess Pele. According to Stevie, if Pele doesn’t like you, you’re out. Kind of a cosmic club bouncer.
Before Stevie moved to Club Pele, she gave me some lovely parting gifts, such as this stunning 12 year old Japanese maple:
She is also the source of the palm trees, bamboo, and garden set, so it’s kind of “Garden by Stevie” around here.
While we were digging up the maple, I noticed some roses that needed some care:
I’m hoping that they, too, will be Roses That Could, like the ones on the balcony. I have been watering and fertilizing them and hoping for the best, but I think it will require more rehab than Eminem to get them back in bloom.
They are joined in the remedial room by some agapanthus donated by another neighbor. The deer ate them down to little stubs, but I’m hoping to nurse them back to health. One is in Rose’s garden:
Here’s a close-up:
You can see they’re pretty munched.
The others are in pots for now, but I’ll plant them in amended soil once it rains a bit and the ground is softer. I really think that Luna being on patrol here, as well as the presence of Schatzi, who meanders all over the property, has kept the deer away. So far.
I realize that I never showed you the beds Mark helped to build this spring next to the shed in front of the house:
He found the wood, and I bought the soil and plants. They are lobelia, alyssum (white and purple) and portulaca. They have actually grown quite a bit since they were first planted:
I don’t think I showed you my terrarium project from months ago, either. There are two under the arch of the balcony by each lounge chair. Each one contains moss, sea shells, and an air plant:
Finally, the rare yellow geranium is finally in bloom:
I got it last year, but it didn’t flower then. I didn’t give up, though. It’s funny how well living things respond to regular food and water, isn’t it?
It’s been a good year for the garden. I’m already thinking of projects for next year: making a water garden out of a half wine barrel; planting lavender beside the house…