April 21, 2014 by Born To Organize

Paradigm Shift: Gardening in a Drought

Thomas Kuhn used the duck-rabbit optical illusion to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way. Source, Wikipedia

Used to illustrate a paradigm shift. Do you see the duck? The rabbit? Both?

I’m applying those principles to my garden. Instead of simply planting what I like year after year, I’m now thinking about water conservation first, then figuring out from there what to plant. This isn’t a new reality for our semi-arid climate. In an average year, our rainfall is a mere 14 to 18 inches (35 to 38 cm).

Living in a developed country, we take water for granted. We open a faucet and water flows: fresh, safe and abundant. Actually, the first two are correct, but as we face year two of a drought, further complicated by an unseasonably warm winter and spring, abundant may no longer be the case.

We’re making incremental steps to reduce our water usage. While these changes are small and, forgive the cliché, a mere drop in the bucket, I think they’re worth doing.

Last week we finished removing the lawn from the sidewalk strip. This allowed us to cap off several sprinkler heads, and divert a smaller amount of water to one raised flower bed.

Over the weekend, I reduced the number of water-thirsty pots by half, then planted what remained with succulents. Native to warm, dry climates, succulents can go days without a drink.

Instead of lavender, drought-tolerant Mexican Bush Sage lines the deck.

There are a number of things you can do to improve water efficiency, but we’re already doing them:

Watering in the early morning
Use of a drip-irrigation system, delivering measured water directly to the source to avoid run off and rapid evaporation.
Use of native plants
Mulch to preserve moisture in the soil

The next logical step is to replace the lawn. Once a status symbol of the rich, water-thirsty lawns eventually found their way into suburban gardens. I hope their popularity is on the way out.

Major changes are time-consuming and costly, so we are making our changes incrementally.

Here’s what we planted:

Senecio Vitalis

Panda Plant ‘Kalanchoe tomentosa’ from Madagascar

: Left, Echeveria agavoides * Upper right, Echeveria peacockii * Lower right, Rainbow Elephant Bush Portulacaria afra ‘Variegata’

The other part of the water equation is indoor use. I’ve ordered a free water audit through the City of San Jose. They read your water meter, check for leaks, and determine water flow from sinks, showers and toilets. They make suggestions for laundry and dishwasher efficiency, shower duration, etc. They’ll audit our garden use as well. I’ll report back when they complete our audit next week.

Have you ever made a paradigm shift? Please let me know in the comments below.

April 16, 2014 by Born To Organize

Three Garden Projects, All in a Row

Hurray for Nick Timmermann! Nick completed all three garden projects for me over the past two days.

You may remember that I managed to get most of the dead hardenbergia vine pulled, but had to stop at the roots. The same went for my attempt at removing the grass in the sidewalk strip. My back and neck can no longer handle that kind of heavy digging.

The third project on the list was to remove the depleted lavender (thanks to an early frost) and replace it with Mexican Bush Sage. I went to four nurseries and garden centers over the past two weeks looking for the plants without success. Central Wholesale Nursery said they were seeing a shortage of plants. At the start of the recession, growers reduced production. Now that people are buying again, they’re having trouble keeping up with the demand. Nick went back this week and they just got them in!

I’ve been waiting to get the front garden rehabbed before our Little Free Library dedication. Now I can move ahead.

Here’s Nick’s handy work, starting with my attempt at digging up the grass, left, and the completed garden strip, upper right:

Colorful pebbles, stepping-stones and thyme replace the 18-year-old, water-guzzling lawn

I’m trying to reduce my water use and getting rid of the lawn in the sidewalk strip was a first step. We replaced it with tiny pebbles and drought tolerant thyme, capping off several sprinkler heads in the process.

Out with the old, in with the new

Wooly thyme planted between the rocks

Colored pebbles and slate stepping-stones

I loved the lavender and was sorry to see it go. That said, here was another opportunity to reduce water usage. The Mexican Bush Sage prefers dry conditions and needs almost no water once established. These plants will fill the space within a season. Meanwhile, I’ll put in some sunflower seeds and mulch and see if I can outsmart the squirrels.

As the daffodils slowly fade, the perennials are taking over. I’m loving all that color. Here are a few closeups:

Red Buckwheat

Snapdragons and daffodils

Scabiosa (it’s prettier than it sounds)

I ♥ flowers. Don’t you?

April 7, 2014 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden posts a photo of a vase of flowers each Monday. She includes flowers from her garden, a prop of some sort, and a variety of vessels. Fun, right?

I think it’s a lovely tradition. I found her blog via another Cathy at Words and Herbs. If you love flowers and the art of arranging, these blogs are a treat.

Gathering flowers in to posies or bouquets is a time-honored tradition. Nothing brightens a home like fresh flowers. The first year I grew cosmos, I had elegant blooms for months. I enjoyed arranging them in a variety of ways, finding it creative and relaxing.

Today’s flowers in a vase includes Daffodils and Mexican Bush Sage with a few fronds of fern. Starting with four empty Tamarind jars, I arranged them in a square. I held the jars together with a piece of lace, a gift from my dear friend and fellow blogger, Boomdee. A strip of washi tape over the lace added texture.

Here is the result.

Flowers in a vase on Monday

Daffodils

Mexican Bush Sage (soft as velvet)

Tamarind jars gathered together with lace and washi tape

You’re welcome to join in, with a link back to the original blogger.

Cathy Lyon-Green writes: “I had not intended to write a blog, but was talking to a friend about how, now I had more time, I wanted amongst other things to keep a better record of the garden and nurture its spiritual aspects, as well as writing poetry more often. She suggested I do it online as a blog, and Rambling in the Garden was born.”

Cathy of Words and Herbs writes: “I’m an English trainer originally from the UK, but now living (and gardening!) in Bavaria. Two of my greatest passions are plants and books, which is what I write about here. I also love cooking delicious vegetarian food, a feature here too, and like to live in tune with the seasons.”

I hope you’ll join in one Monday, too.

September 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

Mexican Sage: Low Maintenence Wonder

Bees are good for the planet

Not everything in the garden takes work. As flowering plants go, Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) is a low-maintenance wonder. This glorious specimen lives at the curb. I bought it for five dollars a decade ago, planted it in a spot without any irrigation, and within a short period of time it tripled in size.

Year after year, it produces glorious purple flowers. The bees love it and so do the hummingbirds. It’s also a favorite of a few little girls on the block. I gave one of them permission several years ago to help herself to a few blooms on her walk. I appreciated her interest and her lovely manners. She asked first.

Salvia Leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage)

Of course you can’t please everyone. The water meter-reader left a grumpy note one year asking me to “clear the shrubbery” so he could do his work. The sage is so soft that you can push it aside, or snap off a few twigs. Perhaps he was just having a bad day. Early this year, I removed a few lower limbs, knowing it would fill out completely by early fall. That did the trick. The plant is full and lush, but the lower branches float above the water meter.

Water Meter, clear for the reading

Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees

Vibrant purple, soft to touch

Last year my sister dressed up for Halloween as the Corpse Bride from the Tim Burton movie of the same name. I picked several branches of sage and wrapped them into a headband for her costume. Once dried, they were a perfect addition to the headpiece. Her friend Kim designed her makeup and together we created her costume.

Corpse Bride

Why plant a Mexican Sage:

Drought tolerant
Low maintenance
Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees
Soft as velvet with vibrant color
Show-stopping beauty
Looks great on a costume

February 21, 2012 by Born To Organize

Hummingbirds: A Route of Evenescence

Allen or Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Our garden is a hummingbird magnet. They provide cheap entertainment at the feeders and plants year round. They are especially fond of the Salvia leucantha (Mexican bush sage), a drought-tolerant shrub we have planted curbside and the Flowering Maple (Abutilon hybridum), planted out back. My husband tends the feeders, ensuring they are always clean and full.

My first up-close experience with this delightful bird was during a game of hide and seek with my sister. I was hiding behind a shrub when one flew within inches of my face. I wanted to shout out to the world, “look!”, but I kept my cool and savored the closeness before it took off.

A few years ago a female hummer started building a nest in the crook of our wind chimes. She flew back and forth from tree to chime before we realized what she was doing. Within a short time she came to the same conclusion we did: what an impractical place to build a nest. It was a special treat watching out the window as she worked, but a relief when she moved on.

Mesmerized by the Nest

Starter Nest

The feeder outside our kitchen window gets the most traffic. Beautiful hummers like to rest in the Magnolia tree, swooping in and doing battle for a turn at the drinking fountain. Last week one of the males started his mating ritual. He circled the house, then flew straight up into the air, before turning directions and shooting down toward the house. It sounded like a sharp whistle with every decent, one he repeated many times over.

Waiting for a Turn at the Feeder

That same night we got a text from our son saying one of the hummers had crashed into the back window after dark. My son and our sitter raced out back and found it cradled in a spiderweb with the neighbor’s cat in hot pursuit. Quick thinking on their part and the lucky placement of the web saved the birds life. They held the stunned bird for a short time till it recovered and flew away.

According to The World of Hummingbirds, the Allen Hummingbird winters in California while the Ruby Throated Hummer prefers Mexico and Southern America. The birds we’re spotting don’t seem to fit that pattern, but given our mild, dry winter, perhaps they didn’t fly quite so far.

If you are interested in attracting hummingbirds to your garden, this article is packed with useful information.

This site offers a large collection of hummingbird feeders. Here is a fun do-it-yourself blog showing an easy and inexpensive way to make your own.

Paul Hood Photography produces beautiful hummingbird prints. You can find his work on Etsy or Zazzle.

A Route of Evanescence
by Emily Dickinson

A route of evanescence
With a revolving wheel;
A resonance of emerald,
A rush of cochineal;
And every blossom on the bush
Adjusts its tumbled head,–
The mail from Tunis, probably,
An easy morning’s ride.