Octember

Well, I thought it was still October. I'm not wrapping my head around this whole November thing. That's partly because I do not feel as bombarded as usual by holiday themed advertising this year. I suppose advertisers have scaled back like the rest of us have.

What's that got to do with my garden? Bloody nothing, as I am sure you'd noticed.

All right then. What is going on?

The lawn is all green and ready for a trim. I must take pictures to send to the city to get into the lawn removal rebate program. For every sf I get rid of and replace with mulch or something else, I shall receive one dollar. Open to lawns in the City of Los Angeles.

The Gasteraloes are blooming again, some with a fury. By that I mean that some have two flower stalks. The new ones, which lack the pink decorations, are not blooming. I got those at Descanso this fall.

I guess I haven't mentioned what else I got there. I got a Saguaro for mom for Christmas, a Bismarckia (blue fan leaves; different from the Brahea), a blue med fan palm. Something glauca of course. This was bought from a retiring Mt Sac Hort prof. In my next life I will study hort in school. Home study is darned good also, but the more people to talk about plants with, the better.

One of Jero's Streilitzia nicholii (sp?) offsets has rooted. It's the larger of the two I checked. The other one had not rooted but is alive. The big Philodendron seems to have rooted. I got tired of all my indoor attempts and finally just shoved it in the barrel of calla persistence (BCP) and put a pot on it (Solandra grandiflora) to hold it down. I took the pot off and gave the Phil a good tug...nothing doing, it seems to have rooted. We shall see. I wonder if it will wait until spring to do anything. It's a climber with three-lobed leaves.

Well, to be frank I am more interested in soil content that what's above it these days. I wonder if there's any gold on my property :)

Back to the topic at hand: what lives?

Ai! I was about to start typing, and remembered just then that I had taken wads of photos today. I might have to post them in Picasa or photobucket. Oh my. Well, next time I get up I'll look for the camera and the cable I need. I would be nice if Blogspot let us keep photo libraries online. If not uploaded files, then at least owner-created indexes of the photos on our hard drives with small thumbnails.

Hmmm. Garden coming along! Haven't seen ryegrass sprouting, but remain hopeful. Watering going well. I am going to use Round-up on the weeds I think [ugh!]. Or maybe the steamer. Shouldn't that do it? I hope so. I will apply it as close to the crown as possible, and also to the soil where many weed seeds lie. Gee, if you had Bermuda grass or St. Augustine you could write seasonal messages in the lawn with steam. With Festuca you could etch permanent designs and fill them with gravel once the grass rots and can be removed. I like the idea of rivers of green glass or a narrow, winding stream if you have an incline. I might try this.

I cannot wait to see how the grass looks. Would I regret seeding Bermuda grass? Could I keep it out of the tree cages? If I must have lawn I guess it should be St. Aug. I love the stuff and it's tough as nails and fills back in after injury, but it's much more controllable than Bermuda. I think it's easier to notice its first forays out of its own zone because its stolons are chunky. Bermuda grass can have a few footholds in the soil before you realize it's there. And then, if you procrastinate...

Okay, here is a thought experiment. What ONE plant would survive the longest and spread the most in a home garden with total neglect. Bermuda grass would be high on the list, I think, if you exclude true cacti and trees. If we include trees I might wager Washingtonia filifera (sp?). When thinking of your own yard, assume everything is perfectly well established.

It's awful. Tomorrow might be Jero's last day. I cannot stand it.

solved a few problems this morning...

...namely, terrorism and healthcare.

let's just bite the bullet and put CT machines in airports. Everyone gets scanned for cancer and weapons at the same time. Excess radiation is a trivial problem for some individuals compared to the other problems it solves for the government.

More thinking

"The writer enjoys writing because it makes doing nothing feel like doing something."

Agree or disagree? I'm afraid I agree. If this is meant to be a gardener's blog, well this gardener spent more time today getting dirt out from under her nails than into them.

I did de-pot the mold. I felt I had to break the pot to get it out, so I did. It began accidentally and soon was beyond control. The mold will need a little repair but will probably be usable. I keep getting be-fuddled as I try to order ceramic supplies. I guess I will do one category at a time: slip, glazes, furniture, molds. Must research kiln-sitting devices.

The lovely Stapelia bloomed--three of the four buds are open wide. The fourth bud hadn't opened as of late afternoon today. I was lucky to get such sharp pictures with an eight year old video camera.

I am keeping an eye on the variegated Stapelia in the same pot as the one in bloom. It's doing two small outgrowths that seem to be four-headed and might be flower buds. I'll see if I can get a photo.

Thought of building a low deck around the pool using Monrovia lumber. Revert to sand for passage from seating area to shade potting bench/pool equipment. Build a low wall with cinder block and make it seem as though it is a simple step up to a new level. Perhaps find or make smaller table top for blue table--re-shape to better fit in corner?

Oh, rats, I totally forgot I was writing a blog. I have to go now. Bye.