Winter Creeps in Like a Kitten

Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December,

But the days grow short when you reach September,

When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame,

One hasn’t got time for the waiting game.

– Frank Sinatra, 1965

Primula; Pretty in Pink

September is upon us and it is time to start thinking about wintering the garden. Thankfully; here in Northern California, this doesn’t have nearly the sinister implications facing gardeners in the colder climates of the world. We don’t get any ground freezing and the temperatures are usually mild in comparison; our winters just mean lots and lots of rain, which for me is a good thing, less watering and happier soil!

Onion crop is coming along!

Onion’s flower is about to open!

My test onion crop appears to be doing well, the first couple of flower heads have formed and look to be about ready to open. The onion bodies look to be large and well-formed and I am hopeful that I can turn my one sprouted onion into the start of a recurring onion bed.

First ripe strawberry

I was also able to harvest and enjoy the first strawberries of my garden season. These were transplants from runners emanating from starters which I picked up at my local garden center 2-years ago. I wasn’t totally hopeful in getting any berries, but thought I would give them a go. The berries are not huge; yet, they are just as tasty as any other berry I have ever grown. Next year, I will definitely be picking new starter plants as this one is just not putting out berries nearly as proficiently as a healthy new starter plant does. That’s gardening though, experiment, see what works, see what does not, and plan accordingly next season.

Primrose; dazzling in hot pink!!

More Primrose!!

Dahlia v. Mystic Haze

August was wonderful for flowers; including another rebound of my Primrose plants, speckling the patio with brilliant glints of color here and there. My first foray into the world of Dahlia’s, with the variety Mystic Haze, couldn’t have gone better! She continues to put out a profuse showing of her beautiful scarlet red and yellow flowers to the delight of the local bees and hummingbirds!

Peace Lily continues to keep herself wrapped tight!

Ms. Anthurium also likes the rolled-up look!

Even in late Summer, Early Winter; some plants in my collection continue to produce amazing new flowers and bracts! My Peace Lily; which lives outside on the patio has finally thrown up two new flowers, both of which are still tightly rolled, possibly still trying to keep warm! My indoor Anthurium must have seen the Peace Lily and didn’t want to miss out on the game has also shot up a new bract, just as tightly rolled up as the Lily. It will be a race to see who opens first!

I will leave you today with my garden companion; who appears to be getting bigger and bigger: Miss Kate E. Did

Miss Kate E. Did

Until next time….

HAPPY GARDENING FRIENDS!!

~ Noah

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It’s A Beautiful Day In The Gardenhood…

…A Beautiful Day for New Growth, Oh, Won’t It Be Nice? Won’t It Be Nice? Won’t You Keep Growing, New Flowers!!!

Peace Lily flower about to unfurl

As the homage to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood suggests; my patio garden is exploding in new flower growth. My little strawberry plants are finally setting their first fruits and my experimental onion has set her first flower.

Amazon Sunset; Parrot’s Beak

Anthurium’s New Bract

Mr. Onion’s first flower

First Strawberry!!

Of course, it is not all new growth which keeps my garden being the place I retreat to and enjoy a nice rest after a long bike ride. Many of my garden’s long-time favorites are also keeping busy trying to keep up with the upstart flower buds! My little daisies are putting on a magnificent show and continue to add a wonderful contrast to the stark whiteness of the snowflake’s delicate flowers. My newest addition; Dahlia v. Mystic Haze, continues to flower profusely, showering my yard in her deep crimson blossoms and attracting hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

My Dainty Daisy’s

Daisy’s Part II

Miss Dahlia’s Newest Flower

Finally today; I leave you with a short tale, as told by Miss. Snapdragon and her Sister, and a cute garden critter caught making his daily visit to the garden!

Orange and Yellow Dragons!

Compete with Pink Dragons for Attention!

All the While Hoping to Avoid Mr. Squirrel’s Digging Attention!

Until next time…

HAPPY GARDENING FRIENDS!!

~ Noah

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Crashed Hard Drives and Katydid’s

No, Katy didn’t crash my hard drive; I mean this Katydid…

Garden Visitor

A happy return after a couple of weeks without being able to update my little corner of the gardening universe! The unfortunate and untimely demise of my computer’s hard drive; which apparently decided that it was in dire need of an extended vacation, has kept me away from my blog far too long. Thankfully, one new hard drive and some software updates later, the dusty old Dell is back up and running well.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of new garden images opted to join Mr. Hard Drive on his impromptu excursion to parts unavailable, so I only have a select few images to share this week.

Miss Did; Katy if your…

So, what’s new in the garden?

Well, of course there is the resident critter, the above mentioned Katydid, who has taken up residence within Big Boy avocado’s foliage; the Dahlia, which continues to produce the most spectacular flowers; and finally, one of my Orchids, which has decided to give blooming a run for its money!

Hello Dahlia!!

I can’t wait to see what little bit of wonderful springs forth from the emergent bulb which Ms. Orchid has slowly been unfurling in my living room.

I wah, wah, wah, wah Wonder….

Speaking of Big Boy Avocado; the original muse for this slice of the garden world I call my blog, he has now reached nearly 5-feet tall and seems to be getting taller every day. Seems that replanting him into a larger container and bringing him outside to enjoy the fresh air and warm sun was just the nudge he needed to reach for the skies.

Big Boy Avocado

That is about all that I have to share with this update; however, as is a somewhat regular custom here in Noah’s blog world, I will leave you today with this parting shot:

Strawberries in the making

Soon to be Strawberries

Until next time…

HAPPY GARDENING FRIENDS

~ Noah

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Garden Visitors and Brilliant Blooms

Vespinea Dolichovespula

I am not sure how much my garden visitor helped with the flower pollination tasks; however, he or she is a magnificent insect and the subject of what is now close to the top of the list of photos I am most proud of that I have captured in my garden.

The visitor; Vespinea Dolichovespula, better know as your friendly neighborhood Yellow Jacket and colloquially known as the Wasp, surely must have helped a little bit with pollen movement by feeding on my flowers/foliage and accumulating pollen on his or her body during and transferring it throughout the available buffet selections.

I love the wasp’s mid-flight body posture which reminds me of someone looking in through a store window to glimpse their offerings before shopping. Mr. or Miss Wasp is definitely acclimated to Oakland’s rather casual culture, I can hear him/her saying: “Nope; I’m good, just browsing the salad bar right now, thanks.”

The hydrangea have a new friend

Either way, the garden is happy and I am blessed with beautiful flowers and foliage in every nook and cranny of the patio. The plants are relishing the beautiful weather here in Oakland, CA, which this week started with a couple of days of light rain which were immediately followed by our current balmy summer temperatures. I also added a new addition; A beautiful Dahlia v. Mystic Haze, which I picked up at my local CVS of all places. She is my first Dahlia, but appears to be acclimatizing well.

Dahlia v. Mystic Haze

The Calla Lily I added to the patio garden last season from a starter plant from my local nursery has finally thrown out her initial flower; however, not where I expected nor in the color I expected. The prime suspect for the change of color is Mr. Hydrangea; as this Calla is distinctly not the white variety I planted last year. I am assuming that the hydrangea must be having an effect on the planter’s soil acidity.

First Calla Lily of the Season

Hello Lily, welcome to the garden!

Sneaky Lily; hiding amongst the Ginger

I am still surrounded by amazing Snapdragon blooms bursting out everywhere and the stunning flowers of the Amazon Sunset, Parrot’s Beak. The garden has definitely been thirsty though; requiring between 15 and 20-gallons of H2O each day while our local temperatures are above 80 degrees. We are currently seeing the temperatures rise into the 100’s, which will make life difficult for potted plants without lots of water! I love this weather and even more than the weather, I absolutely love the fact that my apartment complex pays for the water!

That is about all of the news that’s fit to report from this side of the gardening world; so today friends, I close with these parting shots.

Enjoy!

Snappy the Red Dragon!

Amazon Sunset, Parrot’s Beak

HAPPY GARDENING FRIENDS!

~ Noah

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120-miles, 6-applications, and a Dahlia…

 

Lithodora Diffusa v. Heavenly Blue cast his shadow on the road ahead

The inevitable tightening of the belt string has begun in earnest; I have balanced the household budget between the must pay (rent, utilities, credit cards, etc.), the should pay (cell phone), and the probably a good idea to buy (food!) items and it will be tight but I should be just dandy until I can land another position. Most of last week was spent on the aforementioned budget and plugging away at finding a likely candidate for Noah’s Career v. 3.2. 

On Fire!! Amazon Sunset, Parrot’s Beak

I have been filling what precious little time is left doing what having a day job usually puts a serious damper upon; namely, pedaling my bicycle where ever it is that I feel like going or just hitting the local driving range and getting a $5.00/bucket of range balls and working on my golf game. I continue to eagerly await the happy voice mail or  email from a Human Resources professional near me real soon with my orders to come in from the cold.

Happy Hydrangea – a sign of good things to come!

I will continue to apply for those positions which I am qualified, adding to the six lucky companies who last week were graced the opportunity to hire me!

Patience Kwai Chang, Patience – I must continue to remind myself that it has only been one-week!!

What is it they say? When the going gets tough, the tough purchase a Dahlia? Meet Mrs. Dahlia v. Mystic Haze, apropos to my state of mind over the last week. Ha ha!

Welcome Dahlia v. Mystic Haze

My latest addition is definitely a bright beauty in a dark(ish) week

Elsewhere around the garden; the hydrangea are exploding into their full spring bloom. The Helen Mount viola have also made a remarkable comeback from the brink of death from dehydration!

Helen Mount Voila

A viola here, a viola there, viola, viola, everywhere!

I will leave you today with the following shot; I thought that the flower stalk of the coleus set against the pink flower of the Ornamental Strawberry (fragaria x. lipstick) was interesting and I wanted to share. Until next week friends.

Happy Gardening Everyone!!

~ Noah

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