Gnashing of teeth!

Today we had lots to do in the garden. Weeds abound, and lots of plants needed to be rearranged, potted up, and otherwise fussed over.

First I went to see Jo, who gave me Aloe arborescens and Aeonium cuttings, and an Agave attenuata pup! I was almost late due to chatting with Alison, Rick and the world's most enthusiastic dog, Peekaboo.

I got back to the garden and met a lady called Jackie her dog. She made a point of telling me that she always picks up her dog poop, and often other people's too. I thought "how nice... and this is not the first time someone has impressed on my how responsible they are regarding dog poop..."

Max came by and asked to be put to work. I gave him a sharp tool and let him loose on the Cannas, which he cut down really quickly. Next he cleared the bed behind the Wrong Way sign of evil baby Nasturtiums. Thanks Max!

While he was doing that a really nice lady whose name is Juana asked what was up with the sign. What sign? Why this sign taped to the poop bag dispenser at the top! (left) Oh my. Someone is really annoyed by dog poop - a dog owner no less. Don't read it if you are sensitive! I pondered what to do with the sign. I do appreciate the sentiment (some people don't pick up - is is nasty) but worried people might think I put it there. And it's not very friendly.

I left it up til the afternoon, and speaking to Jim found out this is version 2 of the sign - another one was posted several days ago. OK, so I think by now everyone has seen it, so I removed it. Sign posting person, thanks for trying to make the garden nicer for everyone - I appreciate the effort.

In the meantime Matt was busy in the Aloe area of the succulent slope, having moved a specimen from the middle back bed. We added Aptenia cordifolia from Leah as groundcover all around, and weeded a lot. We also moved a Crassula erosula "Campfire", Aloe glauca (Blue Aloe), Sedum nevii "Silver Frost" and Aeonium around in the middle back bed (photo top), moved the Salvia "Anthony Parker" to the red bed, and a clump of Hemerocallis (Daylily) to where it was, and potted up about 20 Aster "Bill's Big Blue" for the sale, as well as two roses.

Lots of new flowers in the garden!













L: Lotus berthelotii (Parrot's Beak, Coral Gem)
R: Agapanthus with Nasturtiums and California poppies behind













L: Kniphofia uvaria (Red Hot Poker)
R: Hemerocallis (Day Lilly)













L: Alstromeria (Peruvian Lilly)
R: Buddleja (Butterfly Bush)

O bulbous day, calloo, callay!

My parents are here, so it is a week of garden stuff. Looking at gardens. Looking at THE garden. Buying stuff to put IN the garden. In other words, I have spent money, again...

Tuesday we went to Sloat Garden Center. Managed to get away with only the following - the bulbs were 25% off:

- 1 Helichrysum italicum (Curry Plant, Immortelle)
- 6 small Malephora crassa (Bush Orange Ice Plants)
- 1 Hymenocallis festalis bulbs (Peruvian Daffodil, Spider Lily)
- 2 Hymenocallis "Sulphur Queen"
- 10 Oxalis triangularis bulbs (Burgundy Shamrock)
- 9 Crocosmia "George Davidson" bulbs (yellow)

Then we had a very windy tour of the Golden Gate Park Arboretum, and on the way home dropped by Costco. Surprisingly there I got:

- 24 Hemerocallis bulbs (Daylily) "Stella D'Oro"
- 3 Eucomis comosa "Sparkling Burgundy"

So everything on the cheap, maybe they won't make it, or bloom this year, but you never know! Hope springs eternal at P. Garden.

The list goes on (and on)

My parents are coming to visit, so with such tasks as cleaning the fridge for the first time since the Jurassic era, and returning the car to car status, instead of mud-filled gardening-shed-on-wheels, I have been a bit, shall we say, frenzied.

Despite all that (or because of it? Procrastination anyone?) we spent quite some time gardening today. Ticked off the list:

- Finish bottom front bed and next-to-arbor twig weaving with Leah's branches.
- Plant two large Cordyline australis "Red Sensation" in the wine barrels, and a little orangey one (no name, thanks Lowes, but it was just $3.33...) in the top bed.
- Plant four clumps of Crocosmias, three of Hemerocallis (Day Lily), one of Zantedeschia (calla lillies,) and one of Equisetum (horsetails) from Joan. Oh, and a HUGE, and I mean VENTI sized Buddleja, up by the soon-to-be-bench.
- Plant Anigozanthos rufus (red Kangaroo Paw) (have been wanting one for ages - finally succumbed to cheap Lowes garden center price, no doubt it will die tomorrow) and Phormium tenax "Rubrum"
- Plant big flat of red-flowered Trailing Ice Plants (Lampranthus spectabilis) all around the big Agaves at the front. No Matt, they won't choke us all in the night. They're cute!
- Move some Crocuses, Tulbaghia (Society Garlic) and other stuff around.
- Put axle grease on the top of the chainlink fence at the back. Just in case cacti aren't enough. Hah!
- Empty muck bucket of horse poo and coffee grounds into the "good" composter, and 2 wheelbarrow loads of weeds onto the heap.
- Hellos to Ron-and-Tank, Jim-and-George-and-Kelly, and John-and-Riley.
- Water, until 9pm...

So that was from about 8am-noon. Then Matt came back from his softball game and we had lunch, then popped over to Joan's. I have only spoken to Joan on the phone or via email before, and she has been dropping off all sorts of plants for the garden recently. Finally I get to meet her and she's just cool. Let us crash around in her garden and dig up stuff until the car was stuffed. Told us all about the neighborhood and the wildlife and, well, it was just neat. Thanks Joan - I hope I can keep these plants as wel as you have. I did the Martha/string trick on the Crocosmias ;)

Of course due to ponies needing to be fed, we scrambled directly down to Pacifica next (with Joan's plants) and offered buckets of $20 bills to our little darlings to eat (might as well, damn expensive beasts) then zipped home to plant. I feel like a lunatic stabbing away, trying to dig a hole in the hateful, rocky dirt in the dark. And no doubt the neighbors think so too. Oh well. C'est la poo-poo. ;)

Photos, from top:
Agave garden
Cordyline entranceway
Echium, aka bumble-bee central
Kangaroo Paw
Phormium