An update from Berkeley

5 Apr '07 2:36 pm

Well I just managed to post pictures to the "Garden Tours" forum which I took 2 years ago of a Garden near Philadelphia. So, before I forget everything let me show you some photos taken Monday morning in my garden.

Oops, I forgot to tell you that the photo called "the Y" is taken from the back path facing north toward the corner deck. The glider bench on the right under the persimmon tree is across from the center arch through which you can see the backdoor while sitting on the glider.

I'm on Spring break and have been planting out new things to try as well as completing a few projects around the garden. We've been unusually dry for this time of year so I have to remember to water the newbies.

Happy gardening to all the folks at Moosey's global village,

-Mark

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7 Apr '07 1:22 am

Gorgeous pictures of your beautiful garden, Mark! Your sun-kissed gunnera pic is absolutely a stunner! Well-done! Thanks for sharing!
Happy gardening to you too, Mark! Smile

7 Apr '07 4:46 am

Thanks Jacqueline, please do stop by again. I always enjoy our visits.

I was delighted to see the picture of that beautiful butterfly which visited your garden. It was very exotic to my eye.

I forgot to tell you that I had an unusual insect visitor myself earlier this week. I was replacing a section of rotten fence and hauling away armfuls of ivy when I spotted a reddish 'walking stick' in one of the loads. It was about 10 centimeters long. I'm afraid I didn't have the presence of mind to go grab my camera. I did carry the creature to an area of the garden not under construction where I'd seen one of these a few years back. Hopefully it will go forth and multiply. More likely it will wind up feeding the local bird life, but that is out of my hands now.

9 Apr '07 8:28 am

One area I've been working on this spring is the be you pass on your way up to the corner deck. I've planted out a few of a fancy Linaria from Annies annuals and a few 'Moonshine' Yarrow which I hope will be better able to hold their own heads up than the old 'Gold Plate's were. I moved a few silvery folliaged, very large perenials with lavender artechoke-like flowers back toward the fence so that they won't swamp everything else. There are several succulents which I pinched off from elsewhere in the foreground. There are already established a few light yellow knifophias which I grew from seed gathered from an arboretum plant. I also placed a few more plugs of alstromeria to go with the ones already there, keeping them toward the back as well as they can outcompete the rest. There are a couple of babiana bulbs from last year in bloom and one verbena spikata I added this year. I also added a several low-growing verbenas, 4 of a darker green with bright purple flowers and a half dozen starts of a fine, yellow leafed mat forming verbena. The cactus in the middle has been there a while as has the seemingly dead branches of Iochroma c. (but no worries because there are strong shoots coming up from the base).

9 Apr '07 8:39 am

A sun-kissed, gorgeous garden and plants !! I can feel now , how the Greek climate of Athens is the closest one to where you live, Mark!! Your Spring is quite ahead of my....Belgian one , Mark, but the ...Californian one is exactly the same with the Athenian one, right now, right here!! Today I took a photo of a brilliant red geranium, up onto a very tall hedge, that reminded me of yours!! Close by some Wisterias were expressing their scented beauty! And I also found the first adorable red wild Poppy! All photos are going to be exposed from late next week on...

9 Apr '07 8:51 am

Drat, I've saved them too large again. This will have to wait a bit but I know how to fix it now.

10 Apr '07 2:31 pm

I've enjoyed looking at your latest photos. All beautiful.
As to 'walking sticks', they're one of the things I miss from my old place. I haven't seen any here of late, so i may just have to import some in myself. Smile

10 Apr '07 3:19 pm

Are walking sticks for sale there? How very cool. We have lady bug beetles for sale at the nurseries but I've never seen those for sale. I wish I could get some just so there'd be more of them.

17 Apr '07 11:16 am

Belatedly replying: Unfortunately I doubt they're for sale, I was just thinking of grabbing some from friends and relatives in the hopes they'd establish themselves here.
We have ladybugs, only we call them ladybirds. Being part of the british commonwealth and all that, we still embrace the 'English' spelling and lots of the names.

Do you have a variety of colours for your ladybugs?
As well as the 'common garden' red with black spots, I've had the black ones, yellow ones and beautiful irridesant (sp??? brain won't work...) blue-y shiny ones, that when the sun hits them they turn all colours of the rainbow.

They're one of my favourite insects, after walking sticks of course Very Happy

and I tend to go out of my way to save them from any peril I find them in and rehome them on my roses.
I have noticed I don't have much in the way of aphids so they must be doing their job. Smile

17 Apr '07 3:27 pm

I must have somehow turned off the switch to notify me when I had visitors here at Mooseys.

Anna, I like your "ladybirds" better than our uggy sounding "ladybugs". Maybe it just sounds fresher to my ear but, really, "bug" scarcely sounds ladylike. Occaisionally I've seen yellow ones or ones in more orange tone, but I'm afraid I've been deprived of green ones. I surely do appreciate them and their appetites. I rarely seem to see what I'd consider enough of them around. Right now I don't - knock on wood - have any major aphid infestations, but I know I will have soon enough.

Liza, I see you're wearing your beautiful blue avatar. (Still my favorite.) I must've been posting at just about the same time as your last visit! I missed it. Are you back from Greece?

And Jacqueline, I think I owe you or Liza a debt of thanks for helping my 'too large' photos make it on to Mooseys. (The internet works in strange and wonderful ways.) I've been so busy at school that I've hardly had time for the garden let alone to talk about it. Sunday I planted out dozens of starts and new plants so I'll have some new things to look forward to.

Lia and I are having a Studio/Garden party on May the 19th (you're all invited if you happen to be in town) and I'm having a lot of family from around the country over the weekend before. Boy do I have a lot to do to get ready. I should have some 'look-how-neat-my-garden-is' photos to share soon. Right now you would see heeps of prunings and weeds. But the roses are coming in and I can feel the pulse of the garden quickening. Stay tuned!

An update from Berkeley

An update from Berkeley

A make-over for the bed beside the corner deck.

A lovely garden!

Oops, I forgot to post the pictures!

I didn't know you could do that.

Yikes!