It has been awhile since we've meandered around the garden, so let's go check out what's happening. At the front of our home, past the small yellow fence, lies mostly flowering plants with a few citrus and fruit trees peppered in.
When we purchased the home about 2 years ago, this front yard was a terrible mess of scraggly grass and a pine tree that was uprooting
everything. This was one of the first areas we tackled upon moving in, yet, probably the least tended-to at this point. Our Pin-Cusion Protea is one of our favorites growing in the garden, and amazingly takes minimal effort. We've heard from passersby, nursery folks and gardening friends that these things are incredibly fussy, but thus far it seems to have found a perfect home.
We have our grafted apple consisting of a Gordon, Yellow Dorsett, Fuji and Anna in the front yard. I accidentally turned the water off to it in early summer, and it almost died. There is also an Ein Shemer, and this is the first year it really has produced. We chomped on the last of the apples just today. Delicious.
This Plumeria above is just about ready to bloom. Each summer it presents such bright, white flowers that hold one of the most lovely fragrances ever. The natural aroma of the Plumeria is fragrant, yes, but it is so much more mild (and better!) than anything you may have smelled coming from a bottle at a store. The commercial cosmetic markets have really mucked up this fragrance.
Ah, the Matilija Poppy. This is one of those plants that we saw growing down the street, but were unable to make it take root in our soil. We've seen these blossoms before, but after the summer winds down, so did the plant. This year it seems to be strong and hearty, but only time will tell. And, just beyond this sunny-side-up-flower, is one of 4 fig trees we have planted around the garden.
As you walk down our side-entrance, lies our tiny bit of a lavender garden. I have about 15 plants, of various types, planted here. We have already done a major picking of these flowers for drying, but it looks as if there are a few more ready for harvesting.
Just beyond the lavender, on the other side of our gate and into our back-yard is a little stretch of dirt that is possibly the most fussy area in all the garden. In summer, it gets a good amount of sun - both morning and afternoon. Yet, come Winter, it maybe has an hour or so of direct sun daily. It has become a hodgepodge of fuchsia and our outdoor orchids.
In the beginning of the backyard is a citrus and guava garden, a random banana, and another area for the majority of our citrus - where a few roses have snuck in. We harvested bananas a few months ago, and these leaves have also become home to two Oriole (below) nests and one Bushtit. After a quick look yesterday, it looks like Mama is still sitting on her eggs.
Above is our Meyer Lemon trees, chalk full of incoming fruit, and below is our Rio Red Grapefruit.
The lower part of our garden, just down a few steps, was once a tennis court. It was removed just before we purchased the home and we've slowly transformed the area. To the left as you come down the steps, are two of our newest garden boxes (pictured below). The box the the rear is my flower-growing box, but somehow a few pepper plants grew legs and planted themselves here.
Growing up this trellace right now are some of our cucumbers. This lot have not been doing all that good this year, and we're not exactly sure why. Last year these guys were quite prolific, and we even had enough to jar as pickles.
Our young Poinsettia.
These are the original boxes we put in a few years ago.
The asparagus get to grow into a large bush at the end of summer. When they die back in fall, I'll add some manure and compost to the box, and next spring they will come back again.
Rosemary and a Kaffir Lime with fruit.
Here is the main chicken coop, some artichokes, and a Cot-n-Candy Aprium. I used some BT on the tree earlier this summer, and all the leaves dried up and the tree looks terrible. I won't be doing that again.
Our Valencia has given us at least a hundred pounds of oranges this year. I started eating them so early they were super sour, and now, this late in the summer, they are almost too sweet.
Here are the new chickens in our Eggloo coop. We start the new chickens in here until they are large enough to live with the big chickens in the main coop. Some folks gave us 6 young bantams, and I don't think they will ever be able to live together, so I might be building another coop this weekend.
Some people have issues with drugs and alcohol. I have issues with citrus, and I think it's getting worse. Here is a Chinotto sour orange, which is used in Italy for candy making. Why did I buy this tree? I have no idea.
The curry l
eaf (Murraya koenigii) is a favorite of mine. The leaf provides a flavor that just can't be replicated. In the background is my goldkist apricot, which didn't make a single flower or fruit this year.
The Holiday Avocado flowers every year, but hasn't made a fruit yet. Soon.
The boysenberry and blackberry patch did extremely well this year. Very few berries made it inside the house because Alison and I would sit in the yard eating handfuls.
The passionfruit is starting to take over. We hack it back two or three times a year, which has proven to be futile.
The Golden Delicious Squash is a new variety for us this year. So far, they seem to be doing pretty well.
