Great Bones, Dead Plants.


Due to water restrictions, this Cambria herb and vegetable garden has been allowed to die until the rains return.
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The "bones" of the garden, a series of curving stone walls, are better visible in the garden's fallow state.
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Beautifully crafted.
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Sadly, the lemon tree is near death.  If plentiful rain arrives soon, it might survive.  It hurt to see this. 
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Rosemary, on the other hand, has new growth even without water.  However without water, likely the flavor is harsh.
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A few ghostly pumpkins.
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Besides the walls, the star of the garden at present is a potting shed of great charm.
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Carefully detailed.  Like Rosemary, Wisteria laughs at drought. 
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Beautiful glass above the shed's door.
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At present, housing a melancholy lifelessness.
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Beautiful, though.
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Oddly, the shed also housed Santa's throne.  
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Kids, remember to ask Santa for rain.
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Comments

  1. Beautiful dry-stone walls, a lovely potting shed with its lovely glass window but so sad to see all of those plants dying and the lemon tree struggling to survive. When we have water restrictions I collect my shower water in a bucket and to save some of my more tender plants.
    xoxoxo ♡

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    1. I save shower water as well, and now am thinking about the clothes washing machine water--that would water my Syzygiums in the back so nicely...it makes so much sense to use the water twice, if we can.

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  2. Although my own vegetable garden doesn't look much better, this post made me even sadder than the last. The tree, at least, is worth an extra measure of support. I'd been thinking of buying some of those bladder-style bags to water trees - this may have made the decision for me.

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    1. As I said in another comment, I'm thinking now about the washing machine water. That is supposed to be the biggest bang for the buck where grey water is concerned...

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  3. A bit eerie but oddly beautiful too. And the space remarkably tidy as well.

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    1. So dry = no weeds. Drought is good for weed reduction.

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  4. I have a hard time seeing photos like this. We have similar climates with what I assume are similar annual rainfalls (don't know where you are in CA, but I found LA annual fall to be around 15", we are around 14.5"). While I understand you are having some record low years, that comes par for the course when calculating averages - some years are better, others are worse. Having said this, I find the CA vs. Spain approach to the problem quite different. We never have watering bans, for instance, although most Spanish yards do not have grass, either. But, certainly homeowners should be allowed to water trees? Or is this a naive opinion? I also have a hard time with the inability of home owners to collect rainwater that falls on their property - makes no sense to me. Another question: are your water bills calculated on a flat price per unit, or does the price per unit increase as the consumption increases?

    Sorry about the rant, but I just don't get it. Maybe it simply comes down to overpopulation.

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    1. Most excellent comments, thank you. I can rant myself--here most people don't think twice about rain or water, or plants for that matter. If all of So Cal was solid concrete most people wouldn't even notice, as long as it is sunny and they can find a parking place. There's a profound disconnect from nature.

      The water bans here are almost exclusively mostly political, because 85% of all the water in California goes to agriculture, and most of agriculture still uses flood irrigation, as wasteful as it gets. Yet residents are told to save, and we are--water use is down--but saving 20% when you are only 15% of total water use doesn't amount to much. It's pretend.

      Cambria is a special situation, because the area is isolated, population is very small and the water supply is equally small. There's also a moratorium on growth--no new homes of any kind are allowed. There is no money for a large water project to better supply during drought periods. From what I can read, Cambria residents are still allowed to use non-potable water in their gardens--they must either have a tanker deliver it, or go get it themselves with a tank in the back of their truck. The water itself is free. I don't know why this garden didn't at least get a tank and water their lemon tree.

      The thing about rain water collection is that storage tanks are so expensive and properties are generally small, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to store more than 50 or 100 gallons, which doesn't last long in the dry season.

      See? I rant too.

      It does simply come down to overpopulation. Our species is choosing quantity over quality at our peril.

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    2. Sorry to pour salt on your wounds. It's obviously a very frustrating situation. I am extremely surprised, however, at the continued use of flood irrigation. Totally nuts. Here that's only done in more northern areas and those near river beds. In LaMancha, the only large-scale crops grown are non-irrigated: grains in the winter, grapes and olives. Oh, and sunflowers, and corn for cattle (tough stuff). That's it. Probably not a perfect system either, but a bit more logical.

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  5. Beautiful, there's no denying that. But also incredibly sad and eerie.

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    1. More quiet than eerie in person--the earth is willing to wait for rain. It is more patient than we are.

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  6. My favorite style of wall! My least-favorite garden state (water-starved). :(

    (Those white pumpkins sort of creep me out. Not sure why.)

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    1. Mine favorite wall also. Made me want to find a pile of rocks and start building.

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  7. Your stone walls are great and the potting shed looks so nice but so sad everything is dying of drought.

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    1. The earth is patient where humans are not. The rains will return!

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  8. It makes me sad to see this, I really do hope there is lot's of rain soon.

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    1. They have a good chance for some rain this weekend! Yay!

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  9. Nice! Very fairytale-esque.

    Great blog, dog.

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  10. Beautiful but so sad. I really hope your winter is wet wet wet.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! We need all the hope we can get at this point.

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