We never give Bodie human food, but sometimes she helps herself to garden crops. She’s particularly fond of strawberry guavas.
gleaning
Tag: garden
happy garden
Phaseolus lunatus
Tui’s garden
Tantilla planiceps
We last saw a black-headed snake in our yard 14 months ago. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was the same snake? My herpetologist friend Greg says, judging by the size of this one, it’s likely four or five years old … so it’s possible.
Asplenium nidus
Bird’s nest fern (native to Australasian tropics) under bougainvillea (native to South America). Both doing nicely in our Mediterranean climate.
Dr. Living Stone, I presume
Up till now I’ve not had much success in caring for Pleiospilos and Lithops—“living stones” from South Africa—and I’ve envied the ease with which my neighbour manages to grow them. She gave me these ones back in April, and so far things are looking good! New leaves are emerging!
Here’s what I did differently this time:
- I repotted them into 12 cm deep pots with drainage holes
- I used a ratio of 25% cactus mix to 75% pumice for the growing medium
- I put them in full sun, watered them once or twice, then left them alone. They may have got a little splash when I watered adjacent plants, and through June Gloom they‘ve had damp air, but I did not actually water them for six months.
Ideally, these succulents should only get water during the growing season (now!) Fingers crossed I can keep them alive through winter. Maybe I’ll move them under shelter when the rain comes (though my neighbour doesn’t do this). Hmm …
hidden
Whenever I see a curled leaf—especially in my garden—I get curious about what’s inside the burrito. In this case, I’m pretty sure it’s a tobacco budworm or fruitworm, neither of which I want in my veggie garden. Sorry little wormie!
soil
It’s that time of year!
shakkei
Some days I forget to relish the view. Today I feel double gratitude, for the place that I live and for the partner who likes to sculpt a little surprise and delight.
hashiworks 