It has been an unusually cool spring in the eastern Sierra making gardening somewhat of a challenge. Not that I am really a "gardener" in the true sense of the word - I tend to throw a few things into the ground and into pots each year and practice the Darwin method of gardening. The strong and hardy will survive my neglect and the rest, well those were obviously going to take too much coddling for me. The exceptions are tomatoes. I will fuss over, tie up, look at every day and otherwise obsess over tomatoes. This year I haven't even got any tomatoes in the ground yet and it is almost Memorial Day. Maybe today I will go buy tomato plants.
Got the potato tower set up yesterday after scavenging some fencing from friends. Then I find out that they actually make potato towers you can buy - you don't have to cobble it together from scratch. But, this is actually more my style and I'm going to try the Sunset magazine "hide it with bamboo" technique. The potatoes are coming up like gangbusters and I keep throwing straw and compost over them - they seem to like the cool weather. Beets are in, onions are doing well. What else to plant? Tomatoes and basil for sure. I could use more of these containers and line this fenceline with a garden since it is one of the few areas in our yard that gets good sun.
We have a scraggly little rose bush over near where we park that doesn't get the care it deserves but despite that is rewarding me with these amazing blooms this year. Huge roses and I see them everytime I park the dog car. I've tried to pay more attention to it this year and make sure that it is getting enough water - but it certainly is hardy, determined to survive and look good doing it.
Our climbing rose is all over the place. I forgot to cut it back last winter and it makes getting through the gate a bit of a challenge, but isn't it glorious?
I was never a big rose fan but I'm converted. They are hardy, showy and don't require much fussing over. They seem to do better when pruned every winter so I'll try not to forget next year. Like thinning the iris it seems so "do-able" right now.
I potted up the peonies I bought last month and while I was doing that I heard this stellar jay - the one that has been hanging around the yard for weeks - going nuts on the other side of the patio.
He (or she) must have a nest nearby because I see this same bird every day - all around the yard. And I've seen this bird corner my cat and force him into the house just to get away from the squawking. The same sort of thing was going on - I knew the cat had to be somewhere near.
I came out with my camera and that disturbed the jay not one bit - it's focus was still on the cat.
Finally I realized where the cat was hiding -
Under the white chaise lounge there on the right. The jay was flying from perch to perch all around the chaise lounge putting out the panic call - so I shooed the cat out from under and let him in the house just to give the bird some downtime and the back yard some peace and quiet. I haven't found the nest but I'm keeping an eye out. I'd love to see some baby jays.
Despite the cool weather the water hyacinth and the other water plants are doing well and I think this little water feature may take on a more natural chemistry with these plants. I read up on water hyacinth and divided this one so that I could put a chunk in the lower pool... and once it warms up I bet I'll see some real growth. Advice is to let the hyacinth cover about 1/3 of the pools. Their roots harbor little fish (if you have that sort of thing) and take up nutrients, the shade keeps the algae down, and you just keep the plant trimmed so that it doesn't take over. And compost the trimmings. If I want to overwinter the hyacinth I'll probably have to keep it in an aquarium - I don't know that I'll do that - but it is good to see the water feature evolving into a somewhat more natural environment. We have little frogs with BIG voices that live in the rocks around this water and I love hearing them in the evenings.
I can't wait to see the blooms on the water plants.
Mule Days is coming and although I'm not taking my horses I will be riding and enjoying the vendors and the shows. EHV-1 and the lousy economy has really put a damper on the show and many have said that it should have been cancelled. It is a tough call and I'm not the one making it - and I'm not going to 2nd guess those who have - but my horses are staying right where they are until I hear the all-clear from the vets and there are no new cases popping up in California.
We've got the Holiday Rambler over at the fairgrounds and it'll be our shakedown in it this weekend... fun, fun, fun. Photos and posts to come!
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