I wasn’t expecting the lupines to bloom so quickly. The seed package that we used was a mixed color assortment, but so far the colors that have bloomed coordinate well with the neighboring plants. It’s nice to finally have some …
Yes, it’s only a year old so it shouldn’t need restoration, but this winter’s big wind storm took its toll so my other big weekend project was to anchor it down to the concrete so the wind wouldn’t blow the …
Well, actually it’s not a bucket, it’s an old kitty litter box, but that just didn’t have the alliteration that I was looking for. When we dug up that rocky soil in the backyard to plant the rhododendron, we also …
Lori had about as much luck growing lavender in this garden as I had growing hollyhocks and lupines in San Jose. Too wet the first few tries, which seems odd, because it’s English lavender, and England isn’t known for its …
Another plant I had tried several times in San Jose with no luck was lupines. So as I did with the hollyhocks I decided to try them from seed and raise a bunch at the same time. They just got …
Ever since I started my garden in San Jose, I’ve wanted hollyhocks. Problem is they look just like common weeds when they’re little and I usually loose track of them and end up pulling them. So this time I started …
These are the two rhodies that we originally intended to plant. Amazing how hard it is to go to a nursery and only buy the plants you intended to. We planned to buy these two, and came away with double …
Today after work Lori and I completed our digging, sifting, and amending, and then finally just as the last light was fading, the orange azelea was planted. Artie signed off on our work and wasted no time christening his new …
There are two things that are almost required for living in Ferndale. First, you should have a dog in your pickup truck. Second, you should have a least one rhododendron planted in your front yard. Since it will be awhile …
As mentioned before, the iris bloom this year was outstanding. We have several patches around the yard as I’ve divided them several times since we moved here. But we’ve never got a display like this before. Curiously, each patch has …
After several days of digging through almost solid rock I finished the trench for the power supply to the water pump. I also decided to run a water line into the greenhouse to make it more convenient to water plants …
The winters of 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 were so wet that our iris never really got going. This year we’ve seen a lot more sun and so the iris are winning the war against the inevitable invasion of slugs and snails …
Apparently, the gophers were ready for my chemical warfare and must have recently stockpiled some gas masks. Just two days after my attempt at using weapons of mass destruction, the gophers have returned my lawn (well not really a lawn, …
We do a lot of yardwork living here in Ferndale. You would never guess it looking at our yard because it usually looks pretty crappy. That’s what happens when you live next to fields of grass, a river that floods, …
A lot has been said about Global Warming lately, and of course the major problem seems to be the carbon emissions that our modern lifestyle emits. So I recently began working on ways that I can reduce my carbon emissions …
Greg Rumney had a macro lens he wasn’t using, and I had two hard drives I wasn’t using. He needed something to back up his computer, so it seemed like a good trade. Today while I was at home still …
A couple of years ago while the family was at Mom’s (I think it was when Grandma moved to San Jose), Melody and I were weeding out in the back yard, and I mentioned that I always liked the Kerria …
When the daffodils and crocus start blooming, I can’t help but smile. Not only does it mean that there is color in the yard again, but it’s a sure sign that spring is approaching. We even saw the sun today …
I would have liked to spent today’s entry telling you about the nice Christmas we had. But in what has unfortunately become a day after Christmas tradition around here, our yard once again became a dumping ground for Williams Creek. …
When we were assembling our green house this summer, one concern we had was how it would survive our winter storms. Apparently, not well. The windows are plastic sheets that are held in with little wire clips and it doesn’t …
Here’s another view of her hard work. Plants are starting to fill in, and it’s starting to look more like a garden rather than a nursery. Now it’s up to me to make sure the next flood control project is …
Lori’s done a wonderful job with her part of the yard over the summer. I wish I could say the same for the rest of it, which mostly at this point falls under my jurisdiction. After the disastrous flood of …
A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the aerial view of this project, here’s the ground view. This is going to be an ongoing project I can see, because I can’t get much done at one time before my …
It was a bit windy today, but we invited Phil and Diane over so with four people we decided to see how much we could get put together. The instructions for this kit leave a lot to be desired. Some …
Lori’s been attacking the herb garden with some gusto and it’s starting to look much better. I think I’ve finally convinced her that even though she wants to be a green gardener, slug bait is a good thing. In addition …
I was enjoying my morning coffee on the futon and since I got up early with Lori, I got to watch the sunrise. As the sun was sneeking through the trees along Williams Creek, it lit up the garden in …
I had planned to get up early to check for snow, but once again it didn’t even rain. But it sure was cold. I went outside to take pictures and after about 5 minutes my hands were frozen. Definately need …
Artie came out with me to the front yard to check out the damage left from the flood. He didn’t like walking in the mud, which made it pretty hard to get around the front yard. This weekend I’ll start …
I am really starting to hate the last two weeks of December, as it seems like the flooding just keeps getting worse every year. Our herb garden, our paths, everything that we worked so hard on this summer are now …
