Temperatures are climbing back up to normal this week and we will see 100º by Saturday. Therefore, my garden work needs to be done early in the week. I worked hard last week to remove caterpillar-infected leaves from the grape vines, but I still have many more to tackle. I read on the local nursery’s…
The blackberries above grow in a space only about 12 inches wide next to the wall. This is the side of the house that has the air conditioning units, and it was a slope when we moved in. We cut it back, poured concrete, built a wall, and brought in new dirt to go next…
Larkspur. These reseed themselves in the garden every year. I tried last week for a shortened to-do list for the week, and still, it didn’t happen. It reminded me of this quote from C.S. Lewis. Interestingly enough, my children picked this video to watch on Sunday, which was a great thing for me to see in…
During a break from the wind, my dad helped me finish taking out the Liberty apple tree. He also cut down the two grapefruit trees you see in the photo above (on the left; one is just a dead trunk). I still have the roots to remove on those two, but they are down…
Some of you expressed an interest in knowing more about some of the things that Winter has been doing. This post will tell you. In our church, when a girl is 12 years old, she enters the Young Women’s program. This program goes until age 18. Each young woman works toward the goal of…
My first peony! I’ve seen Claus Darby’s name on several of the photos I’ve pinned on Pinterest before, but it wasn’t until Friday that I started reading his blog, inspired by the photo I saw on Pinterest of his sunken white garden. The more I read, the more I realize how much my white…
Garden: Every year in April, shortly after just starting to set lots of fruit, my snow peas succumb to powdery mildew. I use drip irrigation and there hasn’t been any rain, but I still have this problem each year. So, I will be taking out my peas this week and planting something else in their…
Gardening: 1. Dig out apple tree. This is proving difficult as the roots are large, but I will get it out. 2. Finish pruning espaliered apples 3. Plant apricot in place of apple 4. Plant warm season vegetables. It is going to be 87º F today (my fig tree has leafed out and has fruit…
The garden at sunrise Saturday morning I have another child’s birthday coming up shortly, so I have some sewing to do! She asked me for a blouse and some pajamas, so I need to make those this week, and possibly another gift or two. She also asked for a puzzle, so I’ll make a…
Cooler weather has returned, along with a rainstorm that came last night and lasted until the early hours of this morning. I’ve got a long list of tasks this week that I hope to be up and doing. Here are my plans: Sewing: 1. Make birthday gifts for Elsa: skirt, doll dress, dress, and…
January is a busy time in the garden for me. A month before my last frost date, it’s time to prune fruit trees, prune roses, trim hedges, fertilize the garden, plant seeds, and even harvest (I have several things big enough to eat in the garden right now, including chard, leeks, beets, green onions, parsley,…
Twenty one years ago, I woke up one January morning to a huge earthquake and my mother screaming for me to get out of bed. My family was unprepared for the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. I was grateful that we didn’t lose water in our town, as my parents didn’t have any stored–and grateful that…