Category: Gardening (Page 1 of 170)

I have worked in my garden a lot in the last couple of days. I’ve been trying to make it easier to water things. Soaker hoses are an easy fix for bigger areas…

…but getting pots watered is a little trickier.

I decided to try something I haven’t done before… a drip irrigation system. I got a little kit from Home Depot. It was pretty easy to set up.

But a couple of the pots just weren’t getting enough water. Fortunately, they included little sprinkler thingies. Perfect!

While I’m talking about the garden, I want to mention something new I learned – you can get replacement flower thingies for your hummingbird feeder. My old ones had mold on them, and even when I scrubbed them, it didn’t seem to come off. I ordered a packet of the replacements, and voila! I have a like-new feeder!

I fly to Nebraska today. Yay!

UA1912
Depart LAX 9:00am 
Arrive DEN 12:27pm 

UA5827
Depart DEN 2:25pm
Arrive LNK 4:58am

There’s a weird side yard at my house that I don’t know what to do with. It is a small rectangular area that is only accessible from the back corner of the yard. I’ve thought about planting stuff there, but it’s not exactly full sun. I’m not really sure what the light exposure is. And it doesn’t rain here much, so there isn’t much water naturally.

For now, I’ve just been ignoring it. I look back there every once in a while. I’ve taken some pictures. Here’s one from two months ago:

And here’s one from now:

Maybe a groundcover of some kind? Maybe wildflower seeds? Maybe I’ll just use a string trimmer and chop everything to the ground. I don’t know. It’s so weird.

Yesterday was the last day of kids at being at school. (I’m saying it that way because today is a day at Knotts Berry Farm for some music groups, including my handbell group).

The day started with chapel, which was fun but also sad, because it was Pastor Kyle’s last chapel.

Then we had some hangout time in the classroom. It was nice to spend time with the kids. We had food and games and a generally good time. I got some wonderful notes that made me teary, then tried to say goodbye, which also made me teary.

I got some thoughtful gifts as well. The most surprising one was an orchid cactus. I had seen one blooming when I went to a student’s house for her confirmation party. She gave me a rooted cutting of it! Yay!

I have been thinking a lot about what to plant in a small strip of dirt against the back wall of my back yard. It’s in full sun, and doesn’t get much water, unless I give it. Lots of plant ideas have come and gone, but one stuck – kangaroo paw plants. They are drought tolerant, and their flowers last a long time. They seem perfect for the spot.

I’ve been looking each time I go to garden centers, and finally decided to get some trial plants.

I got three varieties. “Bush Zest”:

“Bush Pearl”:

And “Celebrations Fireworks”

I planted them probably too close together against the wall.

Next summer, I will have seen how long these flower, and how well they do with whatever water I give them. Good luck, plants!

The jacaranda trees are blooming! They look so pretty. Many of them are so thick with flowers that they look like something from a Dr. Seuss book. Unfortunately, none of those are on my route home. Here are some less flowery ones though:

The purple flowers are bright and almost artificial looking. But as I think I’ve said before, I wouldn’t plant one in my lawn. As the flowers fall, they’re awfully messy.