Rescuing a Floral Kingdom

Has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I thought you all would nod.

 

First of all, I am not a gardener of lovely florals, roses, cacti, perennials. Give me some radish seeds, tomatoes, green beans---and I feel at home.

Then we moved to here, our new house, where older people families had lived for about a eighteen years. Some one, some really dedicated person, filled the narrow side yard with roses, cacti, some geraniums, and more cacti.

The last owner ignored it all. He didn't water them or pull weeds. When we moved in, the narrow garden was nearly dying.  Twisted and brown, the rose bushes were barely hanging on. The geraniums were a scattered bunch of leaves, with no blooms.

Well then.

Such lack of care infuriated me. We gave them all a good amount of care, water, and hovering over them. Please, Please, don't die.

I did pruning, pulling, and praying.  Finally, after six months, there were results.

This gardening played havoc on my arthritis and migraines. So, we hired a gardener, Efren Delgado, who is one of the head gardeners in this huge place.  He walked through our floral kingdom, hmmmed, and said I will fix this.

The photos below show how my "yard" looks.  I have no idea what the types, genres, whatever they are. Since I never post photos like this (because) I am ignorant.

These are inherited from our folks.

This is about 50+ years old.

We got this from a rock hound's estate.

This is from the Idyllwild fire.

Quapla: Kah Plah and
Engage, Make it so.

The previous owners who nearly killed these have moved on. These are ours now. Radishes may yet be planted, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

All I Want for Christmas Is...

Christmas is difficult when it comes to selecting gifts.  For other people, I am over-flowing with ideas, absolutely bursting with enthusiasm and anticipation.

I cannot say the same when someone asks what I would like for Christmas. This frustrates my dear adult off-spring.  My husband doesn’t care.  He will buy something that he knows that he likes, and therefore I will like.

Such happy little gnomes

Gnome make-over

Gary Pennick at Klahanie had a delightful gnome and fairy garden at his previous apartment.  He wrote about imaginary (?) events that transpired in this garden.  That began my own small collection of Gnomes.

But this year?  Oh, yes, I know what I would like!

I must re-think this Gnome thing.  So this is what I want for Christmas.

Source: ThinkGeek

We all go through stages and phases.

Wednesday Words: The Garden

Source: Ayla87

The sun filtered through the garden, breaking through the dense foliage.  The twining squash vines sported hearty zucchini, which (as we know) would muscle its way through the other vegetables. 

Source: micromoth

Butterflies were dancing over the blooming lavender and dahlias.  Over in the corner, isolated from the serene garden, were two gooseberry bushes.  Brooding and sour, they knew it was only a matter of time before they would be picked and treasured.

Source: Newsham

For now,  all was at peace.

Many thanks to Delores@thefeatherednest  .  Please go to her site to read other contributions!

Them that has...

Back in April, I helped Bright Eyes and Sunshine plant some tomato plants.  Honestly, I thought those plants didn’t stand a chance in the whole of God’s green Earth.  But, dang it, those eight plants are loaded with red and green tomatoes.

Such promises!

So simple, a child could do it!

I, on the other hand, bought a “Topsy-Turvy” tomato planter, and prided myself on the choice of an ‘Heirloom’ tomato plant, expecting a massive overload of tomatoes every day.

Ha! Ha! Ha!  My tomatoes!

So very nummy!

Ha, I say.  Ha.  I have had maybe ten tiny cherry tomatoes, but the rest of the plant is empty.  It did not help that I discover one of those tomato caterpillar worms chomping away at it. 

It did not help that the sun wasn’t adequate, since we could hang the thing in only one spot, which gets sun from 2 to 8 p.m.  It also has not helped that I got fed up with the care it needed.

Art mimics life.

With my granddaughters’ plants, the tomatoes sit happily in sun all day, get lots of water (the girls love to use the hose, any excuse will do), and had less expectations.

The girls love to take me out to see their plants, loaded nearly to maximum with lovely big tomatoes (Marion and Big Boy brands).  “Here, Grandma.  You can have some.  We have plenty,” they say to me.  I tried to show them how wonderful it is to wash the tomato off at the hose, and then eat the tomato warm from the garden, just like an apple.

All I got from them was, “Oh, we really don’t like tomatoes unless Mommy cuts them up in a salad.  Take all you want.”

Why don't I get any tomatoes?!

This weekend I will go and buy a flat of tomatoes, a cheap planter like I gave them, and set those things out.  Dang it.  I may even get some tomato food and a natural worm repellant.  I will get some tomatoes eventually.

So it is true, that old saying:  Them that has don’t care.  Them that don’t, care.  I have no idea where that gem came from, but it wasn’t from me.