Another weekend, but this time with added rain

First daffs are up!

After a couple weeks of dry, sunny weather we were reminded it's actually winter right now by a good rainstorm at the weekend. I think the garden appreciated it. I went out on Saturday and saw the first daffodils have opened, which is always a real treat. Lots more to come, and they'll be flowering through April so come and see 'em.

I was busy tidying up weeds and mulching, enjoying the new growth that's coming in thanks to the rain, when I was joined by Emily and we went down to weed the Mariposa Center Garden. This strip is really coming along nicely - all the plants we chose are excellent for a hot, dry site with nothing but seasonal rain, and we feel quite pleased with ourselves about it!

Before and after: MCG strip

The only big issue there is the hole in the fence. That fence, owned by Caltrain, has been broken through so many times that we planted around the hole, calling Caltrain frequently to ask them to fix the hole so we can complete the garden. No luck yet. If you can make a quick call, the number is 1.800.660.4287 and they will take your report on weekdays 7 am - 7 pm or weekends and holidays: 8 am - 5 pm.

Another sign of spring:
cherry plum trees flowering!

We had just about finished weeding when it started sprinkling with rain. Quite hungry, we figured we had 25 minutes until the SFPT were dropping by with a tour group to see the garden. We headed up the hill to Pepito (excellent tacos) with Matt and ended up being a few minutes late for the tour. Oops.

The tour group was enthusiastic to hear about how we started the garden and we took them down to the SPUR project to see what's happening there (nothing yet!). After they left I and managed to plant two of the lavenders we have been saving for the lavender hedge. Got to move a lot more mulch to make room for the rest though. Emily stapled Jamba Juice community appreciation cards into our leaflets available at the front of the garden (get one - 10% of your Jamba Juice purchase goes directly to us!) and we were done for the day.

Later that day I was delighted to get a call from John who invited me over for some plant donations. I am always astonished by his lovely garden, and he gave us some new Aeoniums and Aloes and a Nolina and all sorts of cool stuff. Can't wait to plant them.