Moving the blog

to

http://www.sunsetcat.com/

New yard pics!

Here's a taste!



Shade garden aka the secret garden. We really didn't think anything would come of this spot and I have to say I'm so pleased with how it's coming along!



Yarrow and poppies.



Desert verbena.



Monkey flower.
See the rest at flickr!

Current Plant List

Apple Tree Bed

Festuca idahoensis “Stony Creek”
Malacothamnus fasciculatus chaparral mallow
Penstemon heterophyllus Margarita BOP
Erigonum parvifolium
Verbena gooddingii Mojave verbena
Achillea millifolium (dark pink flowers)

Plum/nectarine Bed

Achillea millifolium
Verbena lilacina
Diplacus aurantiacus australis Ramona
Fragaria chiloensis
Artemisia californica Calif Sagebrush
Erigonum giganteum St Cath Lace
Zauschneria californica Catalina
Sisyrinchium “Rocky Point” Blue Eyed Grass
Rosa minutifolia Baja mini Rose

Shade Garden

Asarum caudatum Wild Ginger
Rhamnus calif. “Bonita Linda” coffee berry
Heuchara
Pink wave
Rosada
Dainty bells
Maxima
Iris “Susie Knapp”
Other Iris
Carpenteria californica
Ribes malvaceum “Dancing Tassels”
Fragaria (?) chiloensis (woodland)

Parking Space

Baccharis pilularis
Festuca idahoensis “Warren Peak”
Ceanothus “frosty blue”
Arctostaphylos hookeri x pajaroensis “Sunset”
Festuca idahoensis “Stony Creek”
Diplacus longiflorus Topanga monkey flower
Diplacus puniceus Otay monkey flower
Bouteloua gracililus
Poss re-seeded Deschampsia?


Treeless Bed

Zauschneria californica Catalina (or) Zauschneria californica Ghostly Red
Rosa californica

Peach/Apricot Bed

Artemesia nesiotica Channel Island Sage
Sphaeralcea ambigua Apricot Mallow
Ceanothus “Joyce Coulter”
Rosa californica
Zauschneria californica Catalina
Zauschneria californica Ghostly Red
Achillea millefolium
Artemesia “David’s Choice”

Dry Wash

Fremontodendron “Ken Taylor”
Ceanothus “Julia Phelps”
Trichostema lanatum Wooly Blue Curls
Calliandra californica Baja/Red Fairyduster
Abutilon palmeri Indian Mallow
Leptodactylon calif.
Manzanita (unk?)

Sunny Slope

Galvezia “Firecracker”
Salvia apiana White Sage
Arctostaphylos silvicola Ghostly Manzanita
Penstemon spectabilis
Salvia clevelandii Alpine Cleveland sage
Salvia brandegee

Flat by Window

Arctostaphylos la panza
Heuchera Old La Rochette
Wendy
Salvia Pt. Sal

Shadier (Less Sunny?) Slope

Salvia mellifera Black Sage
Penstemon heterophyllus heterophyllus
Penstemon heterophyllus Margarita BOP
Penstemon spectabilis
Salvia Celestial Blue
Lupinus excubitus
Salvia Gracias

Flat by Porch

Arctostaphylos manzanita_x_densiflora Austin Griffiths Manzanita
Calystegia macrostegia
Heuchara
Pink wave
Blushing bells
Maxima


Achillea millefolium rosea Island Pink
Achillea millefolium arenicola
Achillea millefolium californica

shade garden

shade garden
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

You can see the free fountain in the background.

verbena

verbena
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

I really like this verbena -- it's doing really well next to the rock. The flowers are a very pretty, subtle lavender (the other verbena is much brighter).

yarrow

yarrow
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

All the yarrow is doing well -- flowering as well as spreading (I can see new fronds coming up around the main plantings). Most of the plants have white flowers but one has pale pink and the other medium to dark pink.

Artemesia "David's Choice"

Artemesia "David's Choice"
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

This "David's Choice" is doing fabulously; the other died. They were only about 4-5 feet apart. I have no idea why the other died.

Katy Apricot

Katy Apricot
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

Front yard

Nice view from the south side of the house of the 'dry wash' area and the nectarine/plum bed.

Heuchera

Heuchera
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

"Apple Tree" bed

"Apple Tree" bed
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

I've named all the areas of the yard for my own easy reference. Beds that include fruit trees are thus known by the fruit trees in them. (Beds or areas without fruit trees have other names that make sense to me.)

Front yard

Front yard
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

This view includes, from the left side moving clockwise, the southernmost tip of the apple tree bed, the nectarine/plum bed, the peach/apricot bed, and the middle to northern edge of the slope.

Morning glory

Morning glory
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

Such a tease....

....new pics of the front yard to be posted soon.

Dave and our friend Mike have made considerable progress on rebuilding the trellises, fixing the wood and stucco around the windows that was damaged by water due to the construction of the previous trellises, and painting the new construction. Hoping to be done this weekend.....

I bought a ton of heirloom tomato seeds and am going to pot them this weekend. Any extra seedlings I'm going to try to sell on Craigslist.

Our current veggies (leeks, snow peas, cauliflower and brussel sprouts) are happily growing in the side yard. The Katy tree and one of the apple trees already have fruit.

The rose bushes are doing fine as well (the ones I've decided to let stay as long as I don't have to do any huge maintenance with them). Actually at the location of the rose bushes I dug up new rose bushes are coming up (which means I must've left some bit of root?)....if they survive and look good, they can stay, even though they don't fit with the native plants. Dave loves roses.

Our native roses are doing fine -- the Baja miniature rose has at least one teeny little rose on it.

The yard is finally looking like it's on purpose, not a mishmash of mulch and decomposed granite and gravel and plants that, to most eyes, probably look suspiciously like weeds.

We found a nice fountain for free via freecycle for the bird bath/water feature.

Pics to follow....

Small progress...

Dave painted the other living room window last week -- it looks great! Now I just have to decide what I want for curtains....

I'm starting to hunt again for rocks & boulders for the front yard. Eventually I'd like to have salvaged enough rocks for some sort of low fence.

Leptodactylon -- Prickly Phlox

Leptodactylon -- Prickly Phlox
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

Ceanothus

Ceanothus
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

Yarrow

Yarrow
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

Verbena

Verbena
Originally uploaded by stephannie_t.

2008 Resolutions

Ooh boy.

1. Windows. This includes finishing painting the new windows (no, not done yet); screens (scheduled for March); removing & repairing & replacing the trellises outside the bedroom & cat room windows (needs to be started before the screens); removing the blinds mounts from the insides of the dining alcove windows & repairing the plaster, touching up the paint etc; curtains as needed (includes installing hardware & finding/making/ordering curtains).

2. Paint the deck.

3. Continue yard stuff. Bird bath/water feature?

4. Paint the kitchen cabinets

5. Paint the breakfast nook. Contain the computer cords.

6. Paint the dining alcove (can get fancy with stencils on the wooden beams)

7. Tile the dog run (as practice for tiling the porch)

8. Tile the porch

9. Bathroom -- replace the vanity w/ the pedestal sink (which has been sitting in our garage for oh, almost a year)

I know there's more, but these are the major things.

Tree of Life Nursery

Yesterday we stopped at Tree of Life nursery, near San Juan Capistrano, and of course bought more plants: a Baja miniature rose (okay, one of the few plants I've bought just because it is SO DAMNED CUTE -- one had a rose bud and I'm not kidding, it was at most .5cm long) to put near the 'dry wash' area; another iris & a woodland strawberry for the shade garden; a blue fescue for Dave; and a bluff strawberry for the sunny/near fruit trees area.

The nursery had a nice selection, including some plants from Baja California, and good prices. The staff was very welcoming (on a rainy muddy day to boot) -- both employees, on separate occasions, pointed out they had fresh hot coffee, tea, and cookies inside their book/gift store "Casa La Paz". The latter is a strawbale house, really lovely, with a wonderful fireplace (did I say it was cold and rainy?), stocked with a very good selection of books on native plants, California natural history, green architecture, and more.