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Many years ago, when I first started my Web site, I created an online diary of my gardening activities and observations. However, with work and the commute from Hell, I was often so tired I had to choose between maintaining my garden and maintaining my diary. Sometimes, I did neither. In 1998, I stopped my diary and removed the pages from my Web site.
Now I am retired. I am well-rested and have plenty of time to both garden and maintain a diary. This diary is primarily for my own benefit, so that I can look back upon what I did and when. But I thought others might also be interested, so here it is.
Also see What's Blooming in My Garden Now?
Entries are in reverse order (latest at the top). Daily, I might stoop to pull a weed or use a hose to water some potted plants; however, I don't consider those significant gardening activities. Thus, you will not see daily entries. Also, I might accumulate a few entries before updating this page on the Web.
When plants have well-known common names, their scientific names are given only the first time they appear on this page (entry closest to the bottom). There, the common name is in bold or appears as a link to another Web page.
Dates refer to other entries in the same year as the entry in which they appear unless a different year is given. However, they may refer to entries on prior pages.
| Date and Weather | Observations and Activities |
|---|---|
| 26 June
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 62-92
Rain —
|
Trimmed the potted peppermint (Mentha piperita) and oregano (Origanum vulgare). Shoots from the peppermint had already dipped down, reached the decomposed granite path, and started to take root. It can be a very invasive pest if allowed to escape its flower pot. The oregano was in bud and almost in bloom. Its seeds can easily sprout. As a close relative of the mints, it too can be an invasive pest.
Finished trimming the edges of the main path between the back lawn and the adjacent beds. I still have to trim the edge of the teardrop bed opposite the east bed and trim the lawn along the large concrete patio. Picked a peach from my relatively new 'Santa Barbara' peach tree (17 Jan 2011) and ate it with lunch. It was sweet, flavorful, and very juicy. Gave the mailbox in front a "haircut", trimming the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's'), which had become quite shaggy. Started trimming the rosemary bush (Rosmarinus officinalis) in front. It has four main limbs, each 2-3 inches in diameter. Two of the limbs had growth out over the driveway, and I kept hitting it as I backed my car out of the garage. Those two are now trimmed. A third branch has growth interfering with the public sidewalk; this will be the next target for my pruning shears. The fourth limb also needs a trim. Overall, I am trying to sculpt the rosemary for appearance, to show its gnarled branches and eliminate excessive growth. Of course I will leave enough growth that I can still get some rosemary for cooking. |
| 20 June
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 63-87
Rain —
|
The automatic sprinklers ran early this morning before I woke. Knowing everything would be wet, I planned not to work in my garden today.
Man plans. This is the first year my new peach tree (17 Jan 2011) has fruit. As I looked out into my garden, I saw a squirrel running away with a peach in its mouth. I cleaned leaves out of my cage trap, baited it, and set it near where the squirrel ran into a neighbor's yard. Success! Dead snails are now visible in several potted plants. I made another miniature fence for the remaining hollyhock (19 Jun), set it up, and placed some poison snail bait inside it. |
| 19 June
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 58-83
|
Fed the dwarf citrus, gardenia, and Australian tea tree with ammonium, iron, zinc, and magnesium sulfates (with only tiny pinches of the latter two).
After feeding the Australian tea tree, I lightly pruned it. I removed a number of crossing and weeping branches and also some branches that were too low over the adjacent paths. Snails have been destroying plants in back, including potted plants that have copper wire wound three times around the pots to discourage them. As the copper oxidizes, it apparently loses its ability to repel snails. I finally bought some poisoned snail bait and placed it in the affected pots. I also created two miniature fences around the remaining stubs of hollyhocks and placed some of the bait there; the fences are to keep Cleopatra from eating the poisoned dead snails. Trimmed the edge of the back lawn along the path that separates it from the circular bed. Severely trimmed the red Penstemon in the east bed in back, near where the bed meets the rose bed. The Penstemon was growing out over the path separating the east and circular beds and over the small brick patio. It was also crowding an adjacent statice and had completely hidden a Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'. The Penstemon will grow back except where I completely removed some near the C. sasanqua. |
| 12 June
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 57-86
Rain —
|
It took two stitches to close the cut from my pruning shears (9 Jun). Since I have to keep the area clean and dry my gardening is severely limited.
Nevertheless, I was able to finish pruning the loquat tree today. Tied a new cane of the climbing 'Peace' rose to the slough wall behind it. I tried to tie another cone, but it broke at its base and had to be removed. |
| 9 June
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 55-83
Rain —
|
Today dawned dark, overcast, and cool. June gloom is upon us. Fortunately, the weather cleared by late morning.
Finished trimming the edges of the path between the rose bed and lawn (6 Jun). I then continued along the path between the rose and circular beds. Continued to prune the loquat tree (5 Jun). I would have finished, but I cut a finger severely when it got too close to my pruning shears. The cut required two stitches to close. What a bother!! |
| 6 June
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 53-81
|
Trimmed some more along the edges of the path in back between the lawn and rose bed (29 May and earlier).
Rain —
|
| 5 June
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 53-80
|
Pruned the loquat tree some more. It's starting to look good, but there are still several drooping branches weighted down with fruit. I ate several loquats for lunch today and even fed two to Cleopatra.
Rain —
|
| 2 June
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 58-84
Rain —
|
Finally bought carnivorous snails that were mostly alive. I placed a number of five-snail groups throughout the back yard. For each group, I had to supply a mashed brown snail as the first meal for the carnivorous snails as they came out of hibernation. While the damage from the brown snails is quite obvious, finding them proved difficult since they are very adept at hiding. I had some live carnivorous snails left over, which I scattered in the front yard without any "snacks".
Fed the roses in front and back with a commercial fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide. Started pruning the loquat tree in the circular bed in back. The tree is growing lopsided, possibly because of shade on one side from The Tree. Pruning will be slow since there are still many ripe or ripening loquats in the tree. |
| 31 May
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 58-82
Rain —
|
Yesterday, I returned the dead carnivorous snails (Rumina decollata) and received a full refund. At another nursery, I found only one carton of them; I was told the carton had already been there six weeks. I declined to take a chance. A third nursery was out of this excellent control against the brown snails (Helix aspersa); they said they would call me as soon as a new supply arrived.
Climbed My Hill to spray herbicide on various broad-leaf weeds. I used the excess herbicide on the paths in back and on the brick in front. While I was on My Hill, I also tied new shoots on the grape vines to their support wires. Two vines seem to have bumper crops — all very tiny and immature — but one vine has no grapes at all. Trimmed the red fescue away from the sprinkler heads in the back lawn. |
| 29 May
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 64-89
Rain —
|
As indicated 26 May, I bought some carnivorous snails to place in the back yard. When I went to activate them, however, none of them responded. I will return them to the nursery where I bought them for a refund.
A wax-leaf begonia (red flowers and red leaves) around the dwarf tangelo and a Cuphea hyssopifolia (white flowers) in the rose bed failed to survive the winter. I bought new plants earlier this week and planted them today. Fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia with commercial citrus food plus a small amount of zinc sulfate. Continued to trim the edges of the main path through the back yard (26 May and earlier), this time between the rose bed and lawn. Removed an 'Autumn Red' daylily from the rose bed. It was growing too close to a Camellia sasanqua. With its dark red (almost maroon) flowers, this daylily also did not match the other daylilies in that bed, which are yellow 'Stella de Oro'. |
| 26 May
Partially cloudy, mostly sunny (sometimes hazy), mild Temp: 51-78
Rain —
|
For a long time, I struggled to keep a variegated Scheflera alive in my greenhouse window. It was repeatedly infested with scale and spider mites, which would then attack adjacent plants. I finally succeeded in eliminating the pests. Now, the Scheflera is becoming overgrown. Soon, I will have to root some cuttings.
Two neighbors gave us a 5 gallon statice (Limonium perezii) as a condolence when our son died last month. Today, I planted it in the east bed in back, near the other statice. Snails have been destroying my potted basil (Ocimum basilicum, 28 Apr) and seedling hollyhocks (Alcea rosea, 26 Oct 12). I might buy some carnivorous snails tomorrow to fight the brown snails. Rescued a blue fescue (Festuca glauca) in the rose bed by trimming away the pink clover and cinquefoil (Potentilla neumanniana) that were covering it. Trimmed the rest of the path between the west bed and lawn, restoring the path there to its true 3-foot width. Encroaching pink clover from the rose bed and red fescue (Festuca rubra) from the lawn have reduced the width of the path in that area to only 2 feet. That will be the next area to trim. |
| 23 May
Cloudy, occasional hazy sun, cool Temp: 51-64
|
Planted the rooted artemisia cuttings (8 May) in back, replacing the two plants that died.
Started trimming the edges of the paths in back, beginning at the large patio where a path is between the lawn and the west bed. Rain —
|
| 15 May
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 54-80
Rain —
|
Finished trimming the third lavender in the circular bed in back (13 May).
Fed the dwarf myrtle and the 'Powis Castle' artemisia with a 21-0-6 lawn food. Yes, I normally feed these only once a year (3 Mar); but I feed most shrubs again if I severely prune them. I did not feed the lavender, however, because they actually prefer a "lean" soil. Trimmed the pink clover in front adjacent to the dwarf Rhaphiolepis indica and the 'Burford' holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana'). I also trimmed the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') growing under the liquidambar tree (L. styraciflua). Although this variety of ivy grows slowly and is considered by many not to be invasive, it was growing into the pink clover, climbing the liquidambar, and invading my neighbor's front yard. I like to keep a "dead strip" about 3 inches wide between the ivy and the pink clover. |
| 13 May
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 79-97
Rain —
|
What a difference five days makes in the weather! Last night's low temperature was 12°F higher than the daytime high temperature shown in the previous entry of this diary. Actually, yesterday was even hotter, with 101°F at 10:00am.
The fruit on the loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica 'MacBeth') is ripening. I used kite twine to hang unwanted compact discs (CDs) from the tree and the nearby Australian tea tree. As the CDs spin in the breeze, they flash to scare away birds that might want to grab the fruit. Started trimming the third (last) 'Goodwin Creek Grey' lavender in the circular bed. This is so over-grown — along with the Penstemon in the adjacent east bed — that the path separating the two beds is completely blocked. I just could not complete the task because of the heat. Fed the camellias and azaleas with commercial camellia and azalea food. I also gave them a good dose of gypsum to improve the drainage. |
| 8 May
Partially cloudy, mostly sunny, and cool Temp: 50-67
Rain —
|
It actually rained in May!! This is still proving to be the second driest year out of the past ten years. Only 2006-2007 was drier, with 4.4 inches.
With cooler, more humid weather than a week ago (1 May), I again uncovered the artemisia cuttings. This time, they did not wilt. Although I swept the driveway in front less than a week ago, I had to do it again today. The storm two days ago left much debris, primarily twigs, leaves, and catkins from my valley white oak (Quercus lobata). I also found branches from The Tree, which had blown over my house. Trimmed the pink clover (Persicaria capitata) in front along the driveway, sidewalk, and brick path to the front door. I also trimmed the dwarf coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) in the front rose bed along the sidewalk. Fed the dwarf citrus with ammonium, iron, and zinc sulfates. I also gave the same nutrients to the gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii') and the Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum), adding a small amount of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the latter. Finally finished pruning the dwarf myrtle (Myrtus communis 'Compacta') (10, 17, & 29 Mar; 5 & 28 Apr). |
| 5 May
Cloudy, gray, and cool Temp: 51-59
Rain —
|
Today, there has been a major change in the weather. This past week was clear, sunny, and hot. Temperatures exceeded 80°F every day except Tuesday; on four days, it exceeded 85°F, reaching 95°F on Friday. We had 44 consecutive hours during the week when the relative humidity stayed at or below 10%. All this is characteristic of a Santa Ana wind. Indeed, on Thursday, we had wind gusts to 53 miles per hour. No, we were not threatened by the Camarillo Springs fire or any of the other fires pushed by the winds and enhanced by the low humidity.
Fed the roses in back with ammonium sulfate. Finished trimming the artemisia. The first two that were trimmed (17 Mar) already look quite good, forming light gray mounds of feathery foliage with no branches showing. |
| 1 May
Clear, sunny, and mild Temp: 52-83
Rain —
|
Fed the roses in front with ammonium sulfate.
Trimmed another 'Goodwin Creek Grey' lavender (Lavandula lanata × dentata) in the circular bed in back (21 Apr). This was crowding not only the adjacent azaleas but also the potted herbs on the path next to the bed. The artemisia 'Powis Castle' (A. arborescens × absinthium) cuttings (17 Mar) have developed roots. I uncovered them, but they then wilted. So I covered them again. It might be a week or more before I can plant them. |
Weather data are from the Cheeseboro (CHE) weather station, about 2 miles ENE of my house.
The high temperature (°F) is daytime for the indicated date; the low temperature (°F) is for the previous night.
The relative humidity is at noon. (In my garden, it is likely higher than reported, a result of regular irrigation.)
Wind speeds (mph) are average (not peak) low and high, midnight to midnight (subject to later correction for diary entries posted before the end of the day). I also indicate peak wind gusts parenthetically when they are significantly high.
Rain is in inches. Rain amounts are omitted after 60 consecutive days elapse without any measurable amount. Season is the cumulative amount of rainfall from 1 October until 30 September of the following year. Week is the cumulative amount of measurable rainfall from noon seven days ago until noon of the indicated date. If no rain fell in that period, Days since last is reported.
Characterization of the weather (e.g., Clear, sunny, and warm) is purely subjective; for example, "warm" might occur with higher temperatures than "hot" if the former occurs with lower humidity and more breezes than the latter. Also, a day that would normally be characterized as "mild" might instead be "warm" if the immediately previous days were quite cold.
The signature line I use when writing messages about my garden includes the following:
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