Sometimes nature surprises me. I’ve had some of these cacti for years, many of which I got from my mom’s house after she died of cancer a few months after her house was destroyed by fire (in an unrelated incident). This one just took my breath away, and like so many amazing things in nature, it only lasted a day or two.
We loved this event, which was a fundraiser for the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum. To our amazement, two of the houses were on our little block – only two and three houses away from us. In fact, those were our favorites since the use of their backyards was so well-planned. It was amazing to see from their perspective the same eucalyptus forest I see from my backyard many an afternoon in my own sanctuary. I was definitely inspired and amazed at the time that was spent by so many of these gardeners. As the president of the Glen Cove Community Association, I was also particularly proud that three of the houses among the ten involved, were in Glen Cove itself (including the two on our block).
Shando with Dogs:
Joe with Dogs:
We replaced our previous three-tier fountain with a new one and re-purposed our old fountain (something I’ve done before) as a planter.
All THREE of our fountains turn on with our smart home plugs at sunrise and turn off at sunset, although we can turn them on at night if we call for it, of course. They double as bird baths (I’ll try to capture that on video) and hopefully discourage mosquitoes with the fact that the water is so active.
“Always be closing.” Interior design is never done!
This month I added life (finally) to every pocket of our living wall. The dogs knock out some of the lower plants once in a while, so I try to put the heartier ones down there.
I’ve sacrificed the potted rose bush as my luck with roses at this house has been erratic. The gardeners who constantly trimmed the front rose bushes at the Hayward house had them blooming many times a year, including the dead of “winter.” So in the potted wall at the end of our deck, the small rose bush is abandoned and that pot is eagerly and efficiently being overtaken by a succulent. I’d be happy if 90% of our garden became succulents as they are so easy to grow and so pretty to me. Indeed, I’m on a Nextdoor.com group called, “Wait a Succulent” with other lovers of the African rose and whatever else these other types are called. I’m easy to buy gifts for because succulents are a no-brainer.
We’re hoping our adolescent lemon tree will survive with intense watering, as well as the palm tree we planted in the front. All our other trees seem to be thriving, even though our plumb tree needs pruning. The garden is constantly undergoing changes with dogs running into things, but we reinforce the garden and most plants survive the inadvertent brutality. We added two bona fide compost bins which are helping with the plants which will help with the potting material and the added benefit is that it helps reverse carbon emissions.
Our bamboo is starting to leave its previously allotted area, so we’re not sure how we feel about that. We sort of wished for the extra privacy, but it might be a case of “careful what you wish for” if we cannot keep it contained.
You’ll see the damage the atmospheric river did to our neighbor’s backyard. We can now see into the neighbor up the hill’s backyard!
