Frozen

 The plants are fine.  The gardener is frozen these days, too busy procrastinating to accomplish much. 

Leonotis leonurus planted mid-November 2017:
It has grown since.   Flower stems are already developing.  No procrastination there. 
Though managing to finally plant the Grevillea rosmarinifolia in a spot I assume I will regret, since no other place seemed even remotely better, I've done little else out there.  Another hummingbird attractant
It's time to procrastinate about ordering the big pile of mulch to spread throughout the garden.  I always dread doing it, though it's never as bad as anticipated.  It's getting over that hump and making the order...in the meantime, frozen.  
Not frozen--Leucospermum 'Yellow Bird's big spring show is about to start.  
 Not frozen, and oh so blue, a Western Scrub Jay:
 The Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'  I planted in April of 2016 sat for almost two(!) years doing zilch.  It must have sensed I was growing disgusted, so it started growing.  I'd given up on it and moved the boxwood behind it.   Grrr.... 
Now you decide to grow.  Thanks a lot.
The Lemonade Berry I moved in the fall is dying.  Not a surprise--the root system was wound round and round--it spent too much time in a pot long before I bought it.  I have some Oak and Toyon seedlings that could replace it.  
 We got a little rain this past week--a quarter inch, maybe.  Our seasonal rainfall total since October 1, 2017 is 2.27",  or 57 mm.  Pretty sad.

That's all I got:
 So much whining!  Stop it and enjoy the garden for what it is.  The old Hydrangea flowers are gorgeous in their coloration.  They usually turn brown, but not this year.  Even mildewed and decomposing, marvelous color--tan to chartreuse to aqua to pink to rose to tan... 
 A new 'Bartzella' Peony mysteriously arrived in the garden this morning.  Something happened on a trip for garage door lubricant and spackle.  Oops.

 The orchid-on-a-board is doing well despite our three week stretch of nights down to near 40F (4C).  When the Acer leafs out, the orchid will be shaded for the summer.   The plan was for it to enjoy the gentle sun of winter and be protected from Summer's Death Star. 
 The Alstroemeria that vanished over the summer never to return (I thought), returned to flower, unscarred by snails, slugs or earwigs, because there aren't any snails, slugs or earwigs.   Because dry.  Wonderful.  So quit whining. 
So order the mulch already.  Get 'er done.  Then it can be Spring, because it almost already is. 

Comments

  1. Paltry as it may be, your rain total is higher than mine! Our season-to-date total here is 1.88 inches. My rain barrels are all about full now, though, which is something. I had to manually transfer what I collected from the rain chain in plastic trugs to the largest tank to get there, though - the garage roof doesn't shed nearly as much rain as the house roof.

    I'm more than a little envious of the 'Bartzella' but I've promised myself I won't buy another peony until the one I have decides to bloom. I have, however, been lavishing extra water on that plant for the past couple of months to make up for Mother Nature's stinginess with the rain.

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    1. I need to add more diverters--the house roof collects a LOT.
      Hooray for your full rain barrels!

      No blooms?!? My original plant blooms every year--which one do you have? 'Bartzella' is supposed to be the bloomiest--we'll see what happens.

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    2. My Itoh is 'Keiko', a pink-flowered variety. I purchased it with buds in 2013 and it bloomed that year but never since. This year, I've cleared more breathing room around it, mulched, fertilized, and watered more. We shall see if that makes a difference...

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  2. Mulching is a job I hate too, especially when combined with gardening on a slope. How do you get it to stay put? Less rain I guess.

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    1. Yes, far far less rain. Mulch here tends to mummify due to our dryness, and holds on even better when it does.

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  3. I've just realised, I was going to post about old Hydrangea heads at the back end of last year and, typically, forgot. I may just do one. Whatever, they look fabulous in that shiny container. My sort of arrangement.

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    1. My sort of arrangement, because it is easy. That's as much of an arrangement as I can manage.

      Yes do a post--they are so striking, those old Hydrangeas, mildew and all.

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  4. I about fell out of my chair laughing at your comment of 'too busy procrastinating to accomplish much'. This is exactly how I feel right now. ha... It is too wet and cool out to do anything in the garden so I sit inside thinking up projects, chores etc to do. I love the way you put the orchids on a board. I have attached a small one on the log that I placed my staghorn ferns on. It has attached itself and it bloomed last summer. A fun experiment. Isn't it annoying when you give up on a plant and all of a sudden it decides to take off and grow.

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    1. We all like to do what we are good at, and alas, I'm a wizard when it comes to procrastinating! One ability I wish I didn't have.

      A professional San Diego orchid grower attaches most of his plants to boards or pieces of branch because that is what so many of them do in habitat--so he sells them that way and recommends they be grown that way. Set in a tree they can eventually attach to the tree (frost free climates, of course).

      I like to figure out why plants won't grow, but the Ceanothus had me stumped. Now I'll never know.

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    2. I'm always amazed how root bound some things I bring home are, and how there is evidence of the plant having moved through multiple "potting-ups" without ever having had the benefit of being untangled. Those poor things - we don't make it easy for them... For the record, I'm a master procrastinator, too!

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    3. I always look for fresh stock--plants straight from the grower--or 4" pots, because at that size the root system is either small or can be trimmed. OTOH, sometimes you have to have it anyway.

      Hail fellow procrastinator! I was going to reply to your comment sooner, but, you know... ;^)

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  5. Hope you get at least a little more rain before things heat up... and by a little more, I mean a lot.
    Good call on the peony. When the weather and the mood are working against you, it's always a good idea to self-medicate with a few plant purchases rather than stupid mulch.

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    1. Retail therapy, yes!

      Our rainy season is about over--we'll be okay for this year, reservoirs in good shape...but another drought next winter will be grim. Chance of showers again this weekend--thanks for the wishes!

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  6. I understand your procrastinating moments. Yes.love the sweet, old colours of the hydrangia blooms. Yes nature can be fickle like a spoilt child it pleases itself. We had a very hot. humid no rain summer. Now I can not complain for the moments.


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  7. Alstroemeria are summer dormant (mediterranean plants from Chile) I inherited some and was horrified when they died. Poking up again now.

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