week 51

Planted tulips, 21 bulbs- a month late. (mis-read bag in refrigerator) one is shattered. Lesson in not buying from Wayside. The WFF bulbs are fat and unblemished in comparison. I left one bulb out for the squirrels- on the fence, and covered the digging places with debris. We'll see if they find them. The squirrels seem well fed but hungry. They continue to eat the rose new growth.
Also planted camassia bulbs.
Planted 2 red kale from CCSF. watered fuchsia in front.
Changed battery in downstairs irrigation and time to 1 min.
Next year do red berry wreath on front door.
Cold and hale often.

Week 51 - Dec 16

I moved the purple leaved plant inside. They say 37 degrees tonight. I watered things on the bench. I went to the CCSF nursery sale on Thursday. They have poinsettas, white mums, pink wax flowers, all kinds of wreathes. I got a maidenhair fern, 2 red russian kales, a succulent to hang, 2 society garlics.
I got the clematis another 1/3 pruned. I'm sposed to plant the tulips this week.

Week 50

I half pruned the clematis, from 4:30PM til 5. -- too dark to see what was what.
More another day.
Rain probably tomorrow.
I took the 2 new long fronds of Ming fern, cut 6 red roses, some dusty miller. It will make a Christmas arrangement with the white/pink store bought Peruvian lilies.

week 47

Took out Park annuals- NEVER AGAIN!. Planted cyclamen, big pink
pinched Dublin climbing rose- 62 blooms right now.
blue hibiscus ending. Camellia yuletide is blooming to the west first.
hot, and cold days. maybe rain next week.
big job- took the leucospermum to street with Dave and dumped water, cut roots and remade holes, and made more holes. Cut back osteospumum in there.
took irrigation lines out of S Holmes rose. Letting it drain naturally, before repotting in late Dec. Pulled out blue(waterlogged). Decided to pull out licorice and all lantana in later December.
took extra pots and soil to cellar
swept, weeded, but no roundup.
cut more back on santolina, for more garbage can room. Re-installed wire cage for stake at curb.
planted red swiss chard, and califlower. planted 2 reblooming iris from WWF- cloud ballet
planted fressia, more scilla.
Dave took up a big bag of debris. Bless him. It's only a start.
watered fuschia
Put up Gatto sign

week 47, November

I cut back the santolina today. I have to do more, but I got to talking to the neighbors.
It was very hot today. I planted the dormant Parisienne Clematis. I watered all the newly purchased plants. I assesed what needs to be done as a priority.
There is standing water in two big pots. This is bad. What to do?
I had pruned the maytens, and the olive need it too(with the long stick).
The Sasanqua is starting to bloom. I got a new vase, and put 6 camellia blooms in it.
The regular clematis needs pruning, but I need to look them up first.
I took the standard rose futher up the walk- it tipped over. Then I got a nice pot that has turned pink to put the cyclamen in. It'll look good. I must plant it out soon.
There is one bloom on the Park plant- finally, as I begin to pull it out.

week 45

The blue hibiscus pruning looked good in a vase- 15 or so. They lasted about 6 days. I changed the irrigation to 1 minute/per day. I majorly pruned the licorice and the austrailian shrub. (Will the florist at the BART station take the cuttings?) Some of the pots won't drain anymore. Must put on the to do list, a major repotting. OY that'll be a big job, and messy. The jasmine vine is starting to cover and has some blooms.
Margaret says she will take the standard rose when I take it out of the pot. She gave me five gallon pots to put them in. I have a few cup-like campanulas blooming, and they look good with the dustymiller-like foliage plant in a vase.

week 46

Here's a picture of the front garden in 'o3- the plants were small. I've changed the plants several times, but it ends up to be very jungly. It's a nice outdoor room and a sun pocket with less wind- great for reading but no view. cats like it! You can observe the street but not be in it.

I bought at Floorcraft today a featherleaf lavender, an old deep purple heliotrope (free!) a very purple mexican sage, red chard, cauliflower, 4 pink cyclamen for the front in winter. 3 foxgloves that should bloom nicely next year. It was their 70% off sale. good deals. I got Osmocote too. Also an OXO watering can.

week 46

This is our view, looking straight out. The back yard is about 2-3 stories down. We can't see it unless we lean out over the edge of the deck. There is a view of that, and a view of the computer whiz in a sleepier moment.

November week 45

Members of the Glen Park garden club in my backyard garden May '08.

November 13 week 45

Three shots
here of my backyard in
May, 'o8. One includes me.
And there is a photo of the front yard too, from '03, when the plants were small.

Week 45

this is an '06 pix of our street- not too inviting. Mostly 40's little boxes. Our 100 year old house was the first on our 'street'. In fact it was not a street then- it was a cowpath. We have endangered salamanders in our yard. Probably from when the hillside was oak grassland. The house is detatched and is one of the only places where wildlife can come and go from the back yards. yard is 25' wide. We park in the front yard. This is grandfathered in the zoning code.
I heavily pruned yesterday in the rain in the front. I couldn't stand it anymore. I cut an irrigation spagetti line by mistake and had to repair it in the dark. Some of the blue hibiscus prunings made good floral arrangenents. I found that the Chopin Clematis has 4 blooms on it!

partial To Do week 45 November

Clematis- prune underneath, from Jap Maple,

Rose prune all

Prune Japanese anemone

Dig best Mexican sage, divide, replant

Prune tea trees

Research bamboo

Consider honeysuckle + which one? Fall 08 parks

Consider aesthetic pruning Jap maple

Burgungy rose? pull both

Consider vine pull (Name?)

Pull Lantana

Pull oregano

?Pull yellow meadow rue (find name)

Keep astiilbe…. Consider why? Pull12-08

Pull non-blooming peony12-08?

Campanula vidalli, pull after 12-08

Decide on pink tea tree 12-08

NEVER AGAIN

Salvia forcksaholei

Veronica any- Or wait til12-08, then pull)

Yellow meadowrue

BUY

Plant tatsoi Fall Floorcraft

Buy Kent Bell order Order

Buy heliophilia (for front) Annies

Buy more Delphinium ?? Order

Salvia involcrata ”Rosebud” Fall Annie

Chinese foxglove

Lily bulbs

Freesia bulbs

Fairy wand Fall Annies

Blue daisy--Felicia elongate ? ?

First post

This is my first post.
I started a jounal in a very nice handmade book in the winter of 1998. I gave it up about 6 months later when I had the stroke.
So I've gardened at home for 10 years and it is my 2008 garden resolution to start it up again,. At first my thought was that I would get more advanced in sketching and drawing, but even with the time not-working, I have not done that. My reasoned excuse is that my hands tremor too much. So, I am going to be taking photos for the blog! I think I will include some that were from the garden club tour in May.
I have a degree in Landscape Architecture and a license, but it's been so long since I practiced that you would hardly know. I have an extensive backround in art, as an art consultant and art / architecture publishing. It's my design skills that lead me to flower arranging. I can grow the flowers, cut them and arrange them, and all of it is calming (usually).
Over the years (I have lived here in the Sunnyside neighborhood since 1985) I have redone the back yard two or three times. The flower garden stated as a 2' wide strip about 5 foot long. I bought from White Flower Farm and didn't know about any local nurseries. I had never planted a perennial before! I've come a long way!
Dave is helping me with all the techie stuff. I can't thank him enough.