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News from the Garden

I planted Mammoth sunflower seeds in mid-May, and thanks to the squirrel-proofing domes, most of the seeds germinated.

Imagine my surprise when a second stand of sunflowers self-seeded, apparently immune to pilfering squirrels. The sunflowers I didn’t plant are over five feet tall, blooming in orange, yellow, and red. The Mammoth variety is heading skyward, but they have a way to go before reaching the promised height. Next year I’ll plant them sooner.

Another fun surprise has been the emergence of more California poppies Eschscholzia californica. The latest batch have an hombre-like coloring, with most of them growing up through dry gravel. Since they’re native to California, they adapt to a number of climates and water needs.

The assorted coleus Plectranthus scutellarioides are doing well on our deck, and one of the plants just flowered.

The leaf motif panel behind the planter box is a happy accident. I had a pair of these panels in the back garden under the neighboring pine tree. The heavy pruning of the pine tree last November damaged the support structure, separating the panels. I leaned them against the fence during the winter months; then, we moved one of them to this spot. It fits beautifully.

When my son moved in to his condo a few years ago, the homeowner left her patio plants behind. I inherited three healthy jade plants pictured behind the rocking chair. Lucky me!

The tomatoes have been ho-hum with just a few cherry tomatoes on offer. The plants were healthy, well staked, watered, mulched, with a bit of garden compost for good measure. They get full sun, a mild breeze and still not much going on. The strawberry plants were a complete bust. I’m too embarrassed to show you.

Check out our Bougainvillea! The vine grew slowly until July, but has grown exponentially in the last few weeks. This beauty nearly covers our bedroom window, providing much-appreciated shade. A variety of succulents grow below.

The California gray squirrel pictured below is feasting on seeds from the Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, just outside the window. Moments later he jumped from the tree to the roof, upsetting the wind chimes and startling everyone including the cats.

One of my fairy gardens is deep undercover beneath this beautiful hydrangea. The miniature garden stays cool and sheltered all day. The pinks and blues of the Hydrangea macrophylla are slowing fading to pale green, but they’ve lasted for weeks in this gorgeous state. A few lingering, brightly colored nasturtiums wrap around the base of the fountain.

Thank you for joining me for my informal garden tour. There’s always more to see, and how I wish I could invite you over for tea and a chat on our deck.

In the meantime, I hope you are coping with the excessive heat or heavy flooding, too much or too little rain, wildfires, and all the other challenges nature is throwing our way.

28 thoughts on “News from the Garden”

  2. I love the coleus with the screen behind. Perfect. That’s a wonderful shot of the squirrel! The hydrangea’s are beautiful. I gave mine lots of coffee and grounds to help them get bluer. Nasturtiums were one of my favorite but didn’t like the soil I had in the planter box. Your garden is always a welcoming spot.

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  5. Your garden looks lovely. We have two giant sunflowers that self seeded and the stalks are almost like tree saplings. The bees like them and they don’t look too bad amongst the sweetcorn growing around them so we leave them to do their thing,

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    • I’m so happy to hear your enjoying sunflowers as well. The bees love them now, and the squirrels will love them later, and we get to enjoy them in between. A neighbor has a sunflower as you describe. It’s nearly ten feet tall! Oh, and you are growing sweetcorn. Yum!

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  7. Your sunflowers made me smile. We have a local farmer who always plants at least one paddock with sunflowers, just for fun, and his children sell bunches of them at a roadside stall. They go like hotcakes, and the Husband, who’d dearly like to bring me a bunch home, has never managed to nab one. One of these days…

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  8. So wish I could come over for a cup of tea. That screen looks perfect in its new location. Wonderful jaunty sunflowers. Glad the squirrels didn’t get them. Sorry about the strawberries! Always some disappointments in the garden. With me it was nasturtiums. Most of the seeds rotted because of all the rain.

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  10. A cuppa and a chat would be so nice in your garden Alys! The trellis panel behind your Plectranthus really is perfect. Your flowers all look so lush and healthy! Everything is struggling with the dry wind we have almost constantly. My sunflowers are an embarrassment compared to your beauties!

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    • It would be lovely to meet one day, and I still have hope that we will. The panel is such a perfect fit at the edge of the deck that I smile whenever I see it. Cathy, I’m really sorry to hear about the dry winds. That must be hard on a garden, not to mention uncomfortable for the gardener. I hope these conditions don’t predispose you to wildfires, and I’m equally sorry about your sunflowers.

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  13. the garden looks almost gracious but also a riot of colours – here in New Zealand it’s winter and it’s been a lot of rain! Although today was nice loooking but a stiff southerly which means it was probably snowing further south (mountains)

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