Happy Fall y'all

Full moon last night and tonight really, so watch out for the lunatics and happy first day of Autumn!

I'm ready to move some plants around and plant more in an area I've been working on. It's a sloping hill, about 20x20 on the south side of the house going down to one Sycamore tree planted about four years ago.

You know how you think and think about a part of your garden, before you finally decide what to do? Well, it was so weedy with this filagree, terrible stuff that has screw shaped stickers with a fish hook on one end that attach to your dog.

So, this is what has been done:
The weeds are all killed, dried up over the summer.
I raked them off last week and now I'll water the area with a sprinkler to get any more weeds growing so I can kill them, too.
I've got a wide bed in mind along a path of sorts at the top of the area. That''s it so far, hahaha Oh and I put in some log steps down the right side. I have some mulch left to cover the bed, I think, left over from my 'connection' in pine needle territory.

I have some autumn sage and some Desert willow to plant, a redbud or too, and a lilac, some from the last garden club exchange. These I can plant as a start for the border, or around the edges.

Now that I have a water spigot nearer, I can't be stopped, eh? It's fall planting time!

It's nice to have a place to share. :-)
Sue

I have a new rehab half done by my driveway. Have tree roots from neighbors trees and street scape trees. I removed both last year with help at the end when the roots got to deep and large. Well they are back so I am going to try a new idea. I will take photos tomorrow. Hope what I have in mind works.

Sue enjoy your project. I had one last year where I did a total redo of a portion of the back landscape. Took me weeks and I really did not think I was ever going to get done. I did and I am very happy with the result. Again, tree roots were the major problem. But we have to have the trees or everything will fry.

You go girls! I'll post photos of some of my projects here too. Mostly, it's mulching time for me when I get home.
kwanjin sent me a song I really like by a group called Blackmore's Night. The song is called "Under a Violet Moon". You can find the song on YouTube. : - )
This photo may not be violet but it looks like it has a violet circle around it. Too cool not to share.
WIB!
SW

It'll be fun to share Fall projects! Sharon, once on our old street in the suburbs, the tree guys came to 'prune the roots' of our strret trees, trying to stop the sidewalks from being damaged... What followed was a heavy rain and wind storm and most trees, having had their roots sliced on just one side, fell into the street! One van...smashed! Live and learn, I guess.

Here is the area I'm working on. It's bloody hot out there now, but it's in the shade in the afternoon. We have heat in the ninties again! Went to the nursery's 'Ugly Plant Sale' (half price) and picked up some salvias, agastaches, a cranesbill, and some pink muhly grass. I thought I'd plant groupings and leave the middle for wildflowers and grasses. That's the idea, anyway. Now I'm looking up everything in Plantfiles and when it's cooler, I'm out there again!

Oh, moved a bunch of stuff the other day...things that were in the wrong place or too close together. Gaura, an autumn sage and a pineapple sage sprout.

In the picture you can see the Sycamore at the back and the path in the foreground. I started to spread small gravel on the path going down the right side.

suewylan

Where the heck is North Fork,Ca. I live in Hemet,CA. I'm about 10 or so miles from SW. I too want to start moving some things we put in the wrong spot. I'm waiting for cooler weather, yeah right, it's 100+ plus here today. Got to get some more daffodils in also, love those. Put some very tiny seedlings in of portulaca a few days ago. Don't see them now as our 2 free roaming chickens must have scratched them up. Hoping those hardy babies will still come up! Again, yeah, right!

Syvia,
It's someplace up north near Sacramento? Just guessing, I don't really know where North Fork is.
Sylvia, you didn't tell me you have free range chickens. You'll have to cover your seedlings with chicken wire or some thing like an old collander or birdcage until your seedlings are big enough not to be attractive to the chickens.
I can never get portulaca to grow for me, don't feel bad. So sorry about the seedlings. Still have cone flower seed for you, and you are more than welcome to come collect any seed I got and maybe even some cuttings.
Does anyone know how to take cuttings off the Lions Tail Bush. I love that guy! A real hummer attractor. : - )
I'll be back next Sunday. ES and Cyndi are holding down the farm. It might just dry up and blow away in this weather. But it is nice at the beach! : - )
I love collecting the seeds this time of year. : 0- )
(That's my Piggy Face). LOL! : - )
WIB!
SW

I'm nearest to Oakhurst, which is just south of Yosemite. We vacationed at Bass Lake here, 2 miles away, and so decided to move here.

North Fork, is famous, among the 3000 residents anyway, for being in the Exact Center of California, don't cha know? There's even a plaque at the 'Exact Spot'. :-)

I'd love to have a Lion's Tail!

Sue

Sue, that is a major work project.

We need to do an intervention. We could all show up, bring plants and have it done in a day. Then go to the lake and camp out.
I have many plants that I am separating but the majority are cannas. Is there water on the site? What do you have in mind?

SW, it is time for you to get off the beach and get back home.

Have a great day tomorrow. I will be finishing my driveway rehab. We are still at 100 degrees so I did not get done yesterday so I will finish tomorrow. Later Friends.

Sharon, man, I would love that! I could use the help! It's 95 here today at 3000 feet. We'd all go swimming and to the Forks hamburger place afterward...dinner with a lake view. Bass Lake is a pretty lake with pine trees right down to the water.

Thank goodness that area is shaded about now, but i fear for the plants I've moved. Always tricky if the soil falls apart too close to the roots. Gaura, I noticed has a long tap root, which of course I yanked out of the ground snapping it off. It's still about four inches long so I'll see.

I'm writing for Examiner. com as Madera County Gardening Examiner( when it's hot like this) , so if you in my area Oakhurst Yosemite Mariposa or near, check it out. We're Zone 7.

http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-fresno/sue-langley

Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6710959&fbid=10150093890037788&id=791087787&ref=nf#!/pages/Madera-County-Gardening-Examiner/149313288420387?ref=ts

Here's a photo of the lake

Here's a Fork's Burger. lol! We'll all be hungry after our virtual day of gardening together, huh?

suewylan

Oh man that burger and fries looks so yummy. Has Guy Fiere(sp) been there yet?

SW, Chicks didn't bother my seedlings for one day so figured they were O.K. NOT. Gone! So sad, however I have more. I have one extra bird cage which I've put on my orange mint. Chicks had been eating it. Must find something else to cover more seedlings. I have an old screen door that would work. Thank God we save junk that comes in handy when we least expect it.

Sylvia

You know me, Sylvia. If it hangs around long enough I'll find a way to recycle it. LOL!
DH and I have been to Bass Lake, Sue. It's beautiful there, but it SNOWS there in the winter!
You know I just can't handle the cold. Maybe a summer visit? Love the firs in the woods, they smell so good! I don't recall if they had camping on the lake.
We stayed in a timeshare. It was really nice. Very quiet in the winter. I think we'd gone to a Bee Convention there.
Have a Bee Conv. in San Luis Obispo, coming up in Nov. It will be cold, but I should be able to handle it better than the inland temps.
Not coming home from beach until I have to! : - b
Went Boogie Boarding today. Was sad to find that my wetsuit was looser than I remembered.
The water wasn't as cold as I thought it'd be. : - ) I caught some good rides, a couple of crummy ones. Came in to rest and warm up, then went back out. I'd forgotten how much it takes out of you fighting the waves to get out far enough out, to catch a good one. Had a wonderful time on the water. : - )
Hoping to go back out tomorrow.
I know it's hot at home. Cyndi & ES are coping just fine.
DH is stuffing me like a pate' goose. I have to keep telling him if I try to eat another bite I'll burst!
Hope he believes me, 'cause my tummy isn't used to all that food. : - (
DH just woke up from his nap.
WIB,
SW

dillonsnana- No Guy yet, I think...he should come though. That's the first thing our guests ask is "Can we go to the Forks?"

SW -we get about 4-5 little snows that last a day and 1-2 snows that are 8" and are gone after 2-3 days. It's not the annoying snow and best of all no scraping of windsheilds which I've heard is a big pain.

So, here is the project so far..the Ugly plant sale plants are planted in groups, kind of at the corners, and I put down the rest of the pea gravel on the path down the side. Some laces, I had to really soak the ground to dig and some is nice and crumbly, especially under the mulched areas. Nice!

We're leaving for a week so I'll wait to plant the rest. All have nice watering basins to get them through this heat and hopefully it will cool off. Stormy today but no rain. Anyone have thunder today? I heard there were lightning strikes in Fullerton today.

I just found a source for native California wildflower seeds and a native meadow mix. The place I ordered from before, Wildseed Farms in Texas, has a lot of Shasta daisies in the Western Wilflower mix which have taken over. I've had enough of them...they can stay on the outer edge. At first I liked them because they remind me of my Grandma's row of them, but....

The meadow mix will go in the center of this planting area and I'm determined to keep the filagree and other weeds out. I like the idea of using all Cal natives.

Here's the seed source:

S&S Seeds in Carpenteria http://www.ssseeds.com/

Here's a better photo

Sue, that is going to be so much fun. I am wanting to come and do it. But I do need to get a life.

I never planted California Poppies. I think the birds did but every spring I get a flush of poppies all over the front landscape. And they are easy to control because they are easy to pull. I also did not plant another plant that comes up during the winter and has a yellow flower. Very invasive but when it gets hot, it disappears so I do not care. It starts with an Ox and is sometimes called salt something. Must have come in on a plant but after 5 years I have controlled where it is going. I also have Australian violets that are invasive in Australia. They do not freeze but they do pull back. The violets love the heat and water. How is your source of water and is it expensive?

I am just reviewing in my mind what I could send you as a gift for your new project.

We woke up this morning to a drizzle of rain and clouds. Still in the high 90s but without the direct sun hitting you, it was pleasant.

Suppose to get into the mid 70s mid week and chance of rain.

Wow, thanks, Sharon, I would love anything from you. I'll think of things, too. I visited a garden friend today and that is the most fun. Don't anybody interrupt our conversation, we're talking in short hand practically! We usually bring plants and seeds to each other and then when we do the 'garden tour' she tells me, this is from you, and that is from you. Once in a while, I say, wait a minute...I never had that! hahaha

Today I brought her two little purple euphorbia volunteers and some penstamen seeds found on seed heads from the 'Ugly Plants' They were from 'Violet Dusk' and the pods were so hard, that I had to use pliers to crack them. Thousands of the tiniest seeds. I have more of those. Does anyone have Verbena bonariensis, the tall Buenos Aires verbena? Those volunteer once in a while? I love volunteers!

We have our own well, 16 gal per minute. Thank God! It was expensive to have drilled, but now it's free, eh? When we widened our driveway all my poppies had to be bulldozed, so we photographed them. :-) Nice that you have them naturally!

I saved seeds from last year of the poppies. I will send some seed if you want them. I am surprised they did not come up again.

First rainfall of the Autumn season came this weekend to break our heat wave and relieve my mind and mmy watering chores in the newly planted bed. Yea! Still raining a nice steady rain this morning. I can imagine it soaking into the roots of my Autumn sages and agastaches. Thanks, Sharon!

I might have some lupine to share next year. Still trying to get it established here on the farm.
Maybe some black, white and Russian sage too. Will check with DH to make sure the Russian sage is native. : - )
WIB~
SW

After the rains of two weeks ago, the weeds are popping up in my new planting beds. I need to zap them one more time with Roundup before planting the wildflower seeds.

One bit of good luck was that the True Value near us is remodeling the Garden Shop and was selling all their gallon plants for $1! These plants were normally $4.95 to $6.95! Nice! This will help fill out around the edges of this big space. The more planted area, the less weeds.

All the weeds sprouts are from the filagree, my personal nemesis, now. They have a seed pod that looks like a screw with a fishhook on one end. Our dog, Maggie gets tons in her fur and since filagree is non native, I have no qualms abut killing it!

The sprouts are popping up around the new plants put in in the last few weeks, so I took the hoe or my trowel and scraped them off in the watering basins around the plants.

Erodium cicutarium Fillaree-seedpod Awful in dog fur!

Sue,
I kind of like the filagree, but agree my dogs don't. My worst plant pest is the foxtail followed by the thistles. Have to cut them thistles out of my dogs hair. Poor babies.
Foxtails are by far the worst because of the way they are shaped they actually seem to burrow deeper into the fur, or God Forbid, in the dogs/cats nose, mouth, ears, and private orifices. Girl dogs have it worse, because they squat to pee. It can be an expensive nightmare. : 0 (
Sigh . . .
Good news is that you got a great deal on those plants! : - )
Also the rains are washing the dirt off my Christmas Trees, so it looks like we're going to have a Green Christmas in CA this year. : - )
DH hasn't had a day off since we got back from vacation. He's tired, and so I didn't ask yet about the black sage. I will if I can catch him in a good mood. Juggling two full time jobs is really hard for him, since I can't help like I used to.
Bees are still making honey up north, past Bakersfield. Long bee season this year. Usually he's done around the end of Sept.
Then my ES is out working the Pumpkin Patch (PP) with his younger brother helping out. : - )
So much to do and so little energy.
Got to try, no matter how much it hurts, to help out DH & the boys.
WIB,
SW

I was able to do the next step and plant my meadow just after the last rain and before one that lightly came down on the new seeds. Thank you, Mother Nature! There are more details and photos in this blog post.

http://wp.me/p10S9N-bI

For the last two weeks I have had a badly pinched nerve, probably caused by lifting rocks. Don't make my mistake! I thought I'd never get out to the garden, had to really rest to heal it. Arrrrgh. :-)

Sue
Madera County Gardening Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-fresno/sue-langley

Wow, Sue, you don't lift rocks. That's what levers are made for, and dollies, and forklifts, and men, and and teenaged boys or girls. Don't do it alone, get help, okay? Or you'll be going to the Chiropractor every week for a tune up like me.
Sounds like you pulled some muscles, too. Dang it, girl, take better care of yourself. I worry!
But you know I can't wait to see what your newly seeded meadow is going to look like. I do hope you will get some good photos to share. : - )
Off to check out the blog.
Sue, very informative. Thank you for filling in a blank spot for me. Yes, I was ignorant, and didn't know what people meant when they referred to blogs or blogging. I actually understand tweeting better. However, I digress. I enjoyed the blog a great deal, as I said very informative, and the photos too. : - )
WIB!
SW

I totaling don't 'get' tweeting, but having the blog, or web log, is fun. Since I think of our search for land here, building the house and then the garden as a story, it just fits, I think. Especially since it wwas also a big lifestyle change as well, I'm hoping to encourage anyone else to follow their dreams. If I can do it....anyone can.

I lived in my home, a tiny thing, in Fullerton for 30 years and didn't have any idea how to sell a house, pack up everything and actually move. Guess I come from a long line of stay-ers, not move-ers

Oh, the back took two full weeks of rest, pain pills, heating pads and no gardning to become better. All better now, but I thought it would never get better at the time. hahaha Be careful everyone!

Sue,
You should check in with us on the Daily Thoughts thread more. : - )
You'd like it. : - )
Anyway, for once I'm trying to stay on topic and haven't had much to contribute since we're having a green Fall/Winter (although technically Winter doesn't start til Dec. 21st). So I was all excited when I finally found some fall colors here at home. : - )
One of two photos.

The only other tree to really turn colors that are pretty is in the following photo. : - )
That would be two of two.
Be careful, and don't forget to clean out your gutters if you have 'em!
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

I'll try....hahaha Pretty, SW!

Dang it,
I missed that I hadn't inserted the photo, sue. Okay, I am laughing too, LOL! : - )
When I get tired I do forget things. Can you tell I was tired? LOLAM! : - )
This is the 2 of 2.
Duh, duh, duh, da! : - )
WIB!
SW