Signs of Life

To my amazement, even in the middle of winter there are signs of life in my yard. Not many, but just enough to keep my spirits up. Observe:


Alpine Strawberries. They actually fruit in cooler weather. So tiny, so sweet!

Lemon balm (right- it loves the cold!) and Cuban Oregano (left-a real trooper, this guy is hardy and neither cold nor heat seem to phase it).

Elephant Garlic - I bought this at the Sacramento Food Co-Op with dreams of plucking large, mild cloves of garlic from the ground next year. For a while it just lay in the ground, no signs of life. Now that the cold hit, it finally sprouted; I am amazed!


I know these don't look like much, but I had to share that I finally got my shipment of Blueberry bushes. I have one Misty and one O’Neal variety, both southern types that enjoy heat more than the kind that grow in places like, say, Alaska. They're just twigs now as they are in their dormant stage, but I hope in a few years they will be enjoying our climate and give me all sorts of berries. (The soil in Sacramento is too alkaline to grow them in the ground, so I have them in boxes filled with a special potting mix suitable for acid-loving plants.)

Edible Landscaping and Me

Barren, neglected flower beds

Flower bed now planted with strawberries and perennials like sage, lavender and sedum

Since moving into a new house, there has been lots to learn and do, especially relating to landscaping and yard care. I have had my battles with poor drainage, an over-zealous sprinkler system, common knotweed and stinging nettle, slugs/snails, and I have learned a lot already.

I've been eagerly researching information on edible landscaping, raised bed gardening, and which plants grow well in my climate and neighborhood. (US Zone 9, Sunset zone 14, and what appears to be silty soil on top of clay - not ideal but pure clay would be worse). My goal: Low-maintenance perennials that will attract pollinators, and as many edible trees/plants/shrubs as I can squeeze onto our property.

I have already written about the unproductive orange tree which came with the property. I decided that I'll give it a year and if it doesn't shape up under proper care, I'll replace it with something that does produce fruit. Since moving in, I have planted the following edibles in our yard: Lemon balm, Lemon verbena, sage, strawberries, rhubarb, chives, leeks, lemongrass and dwarf Meyer Lemon and Kaffir Lime trees (in pots).

Since we haven't constructed our raised beds yet, I also still have many herbs and my fall crops planted in containers as well: Watermelon Radishes, kale, beets, winter greens, more leeks, and parsnips.

Later this fall, I am going to plant a Persimmon and Black Jack fig tree, more rhubarb, Baba red raspberries (in a raised bed), and container blueberries. By next spring, we should have our raised beds ready for spring planting. I'm going to attempt to start everything I plant from seeds next year. Ultimately, I hope to phase out most of the lawn and replace it with productive, beautiful edibles.

Source: gardenraisedbeds.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Exciting News!

Things have been very busy this summer and I have not had the time to blog as I would like to. Most of that is due to two things:

1) Growing our garden takes a lot of time. But recently even that has been neglected woefully because of the next reason:

2) We are moving! We will finally have a place to plant and grow a real garden, and we can hardly wait! We won't have to wait long, because we only have a month to fix up the new place, pack and move. Luckily, it's just across town.

I keep planning the landscape when I should be focusing on fixing up the house itself. My excuse: We can't do much until the flooring and paint is done, so in the meantime, why not dream up delicious homegrown produce and herbs?

There is a basic landscape in place, but most of the plants and trees have been torn out for some reason. All that remains is a yellow rose bush and a what appears to be a neglected dwarf orange tree:

I had a chance to ask the previous owner about this sad little tree, and she lamented that it had never produced fruit. So I have my work cut out for me, friends! The first thing I did was prune the tree, add compost, water it, and mulch it. It's looking better already and I am dreaming of oranges this winter (hope hope)! In my dreams, it's something like a miniature version of this:

Source: yourhouseandlife.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest