Note: My Web pages are best viewed with style sheets enabled.
|
Note: My Web pages are best viewed with style sheets enabled. |
Unrated |
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 |
|---|---|
| 27 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 65-100
Rain —
|
In the early afternoon, the breezes died just long enough to spray grass killer on My Hill (24 Aug).
Trimmed the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') in the bed around the liquidambar tree (L. styraciflua). The heaviest trimming was to separate the ivy from the pink clover lawn. I like to leave a bare strip between them a few inches wide. I also lightly trimmed the other sides of the bed and removed a few ivy shoots that were starting to climb the tree. Finished trimming along the paths in back (16 through 26 Aug), this time along the teardrop bed facing the east bed. |
| 26 August
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 56-91
Rain —
|
Still too breezy to spray grass killer on My Hill.
Finished trimming the path adjacent to the back lawn, opposite the circular and teardrop beds. This also involved trimming the red fescue away from the accent plants — daylily (Hemerocallis hybrids), heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea), and 'Wenatchi Skies' bearded iris (I. germanica) — that are within the edge of the lawn. Even where the cuphea in the rose bed have not been significantly impacted by the pink clover (22 Aug), only one is thriving; the others are struggling. I gave each a large dose of gypsum to loosen the clay soil along with a slow-acting, mild fertilizer (commercial azalea and camellia food). It seems that trimming the Australian tea tree is becoming a constant effort. It's not merely that shoots grow quickly. It's also that proliferating foliage weighs the longer shoots down to interfere with the paths around the teardrop bed; those shoots would otherwise arch over the paths. |
| 24 August
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 60-90
Rain —
|
The central parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans?) in the greenhouse window has grown too tall. I noticed root primordia (root buds similar to what is found on the stems of pothos, Philodendron, and nephthytis) near the base of the trunk. Today, I cut it and potted it up as a cutting. If it does root, I plan to replace the stump with it, keeping the smaller shoots.
I was going to spray grass killer on My Hill again (21 Jun), but the breezes were too strong. Even though the herbicide would not damage adjacent broad-leaf plants, I don't like to spray anything when it is breezy. Finished trimming along the path between the rose bed and lawn. I then continued along the edge of the rose bed opposite the circular bed and finished where the rose bed borders the circular brick patio. |
| 22 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 63-92
Rain —
|
Trimmed the 'Goodwin Creek Grey' lavender in the circular bed where it was crowding the adjacent azaleas.
Fed the dwarf citrus with commercial citrus food plus a very small amount of zinc sulfate. I gave the gardenia the same feeding. While feeding the dwarf kumquat, I discovered it was infested with both ants and leaf miners. For the ants, I placed an "ant stake" in the pot. This contains a sweet gel that is poisonous to ant larvae. The ants take up the gel, carry it back to their nest and feed it to their larvae; eventually the whole nest is eliminated when short-lived adult ants are not replaced. Since the kumquat is in bloom right now, I cannot yet use the systemic insecticide drench that I apply to stop leaf miners. I'll have to wait a week or so. Trimmed some more along the paths in back (16 & 19 Aug), getting part way into the area between the rose bed and lawn. I also removed some pink clover that was smothering cuphea (C. hyssopifolia) and blue fescue (Festuca glauca) in the rose bed. Cut away some of the older stems of the two potted Epiphyllum. One of them seems to have some new shoots since I fed them (16 Aug), but I think this is too soon for the fertilizer to have that result. Instead, the shoots are probably a result of the season. |
| 19 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 69-97
Rain —
|
Six years after planting it, my dwarf 'Mineola' tangelo has failed to bear any fruit, while two other dwarf citrus that were planted at the same time have had abundant crops. The most authoritative advice that I received indicates that, unlike other citrus, tangelos require cross-pollination from some other variety of citrus, mandarin oranges (tangerines) being especially good for that. Not having room for another fruit tree — even a dwarf — I decided to remove the tangelo and started developing a list of possible citrus replacements. This weekend, however, I discovered three immature tangelos in the tree! They are quite green and not larger than a Ping Pong ball, but the tree has indeed set fruit. Tangelos usually ripen near the end of autumn, so I'll wait until then to see if my tree will indeed produce edible, ripe fruit. (It took more than ten years before my dwarf 'Robertson' navel orange started producing fruit annually.)
The Australian tea tree in back looks somewhat chlorotic. This is usually caused by either poorly draining soil or else alkaline soil. To address drainage, I spread a generous amount of gypsum in the teardrop bed. To address alkalinity, I gave the tree a good dose of ammonium, iron, zinc, and magnesium sulfates along with some soil sulfur. Tied another cane of my climbing 'Peace' rose to the top of the slough wall behind it. I also tied an errant shoot of star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) to its trellis. Continued trimming the edges of the path between the lawn and west bed (16 Aug). This is going much easier than the first trimming (24 May and earlier) because none of the red fescue has rooted in the decomposed granite of the path. However, it is still going slowly because the heat is too great for doing much work outdoors. |
| 16 August
Partially cloudy, mostly sunny, and hot Temp: 76-104
Rain —
|
Yesterday's cooling trend did not last (if 96°F can be considered "cooling").
Fed the roses with ammonium sulfate, which is a fast-acting, acidic, high-nitrogen (21-0-0) fertilizer that my roses seem to appreciate. I also fed the dwarf holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana') in front and the potted Epiphyllum in back with a general-purpose fertilizer (27-0-6) that is slower but longer-lasting than ammonium sulfate and not as acidic. Finished trimming the red fescue along the patio and began trimming both sides of the path between the lawn and west bed. |
| 15 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 71-96
Rain —
|
Two days ago (Monday), I bought and installed the necessary fitting to finish adjusting the sprinkler system in back (12 Aug). A well-tuned sprinkler system is necessary, not only because of the heat but also because of the high cost of water; my latest water bill was for $4.82 per 100 cubic feet.
The heat wave seems to be tapering off. Today was the first in nine days when the daytime high did not reach 100°F. The nights still are quite warm; last night was the ninth consecutive night with low temperatures above 70°F. Unfortunately, the heat wave is expected to return soon. Almost finished trimming the red fescue along the patio (8 Aug). The little portion yet to be done is adjacent to where I will have to start trimming again along the paths. |
| 12 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 79-100
Rain —
|
This is the 7th consecutive day (so far) with temperatures 100°F or higher with more 100+ days expected. For six nights so far, the low temperature has stayed above 70°F.
From my earlier notes (8 Aug), I adjusted my sprinkler system in back. One head still needs to be modified, but I did not buy enough supplies. I'll get to this one later this week. |
| 8 August
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 72-106
Rain —
|
We actually had measurable rain this past week! Only 0.01 inch fell, but it has been several years since even that little bit fell in August.
Trimmed the pink clover in front along the driveway and public sidewalk. My sprinkler system is on a clock that causes the sprinklers to run very early in the morning every third day. Because of the heat in summer, the sprinklers in back also run 3 minutes per valve at 1:00pm on the days immediately before regular sprinkling. This is to help cool the garden and does not seem necessary on the days immediately after regular sprinkling. Tomorrow is a day for the regular sprinkling. During today's 3-minute sessions, I observed the operation of all the sprinkler heads and made notes about where foliage needs trimming and where heads need to be elevated. Started trimming the red fescue (Festuca rubra) lawn in back along our large concrete patio. The grass was growing about a foot over the pavement. I did not get very far, however, when the excessive heat drove me into our air-conditioned house. |
| 3 August
Mostly cloudy, occasional sun, warm Temp: 57-88
|
A thunder storm rolled through southern California early this afternoon. I didn't see any lightening, but I heard quite a bit of thunder. There were a few brief showers, but not enough rain to measure. There certainly was not enough rain to douse any fires started by the lightening, but fortunately no such fires started.
Picked the last of the 'Perlette' grapes. Fed the dwarf citrus with ammonium, iron, and zinc sulfates. I gave the gardenia the same feeding. Trimmed the pink clover (Persicaria capitata) in front along the brick path that goes to the front door. I'll trim along the public sidewalk soon. |
| 28 July
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 61-91
|
Trimmed —
Tied new canes of the climbing 'Peace' rose to the slough wall behind the rose bed. Did not get to pick grapes last weekend as planned (20 Jul) because an upset stomach put me out of commission. This morning, I saw many birds feasting on my grapes. I climbed My Hill and filled a 5 gallon bucket with 'Perlette' and 'Flame' grapes. Oh! They are so sweet. I discovered that, in the lower part of My Hill, 'Perlette' is on the east and 'Black Monukka' is on the west; this is the reverse of how the old vines were positioned before My Hill had to be repaired. Tomorrow, I will pick many individual 'Flame' grapes from the stems and freeze them in a plastic bag; eating them frozen is a great snack. I got fewer 'Perlette' grapes and might be able to finish eating them fresh before they spoil. |
| 20 July
Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 68-92
|
Fed the roses — front and back — with a commercial rose fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide.
Started to cut back the Sprenger asparagus (A. densiflorus 'Sprengeri') growing in the east bed in back, adjacent to the camellia bed. I almost filled the green trash bin, which is collected to stock the county's composting project. This is a volunteer and has been flowering. I don't want it to set seeds and spread. Cleopatra is already unhappy because — in the summer — she likes to sleep under the dense shoots rather than returning to her house. When I am done, there won't be any significant shoots. Some bunches of 'Flame' grapes are ripe. The vine is at the top of My Hill, however; and I was too tired to climb up there to pick them. Perhaps, I'll get them on Sunday. |
| 15 July
Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 55-87
|
Cut down the artichoke (Cynara scoymus) growing in the back lawn. With the heat of summer, it is going dormant.
Having finished pruning the loquat (12 Jul), I fed it (and much of the circular bed) with a generic lawn food. |
| 12 July
Cloudy, gray, and hot Temp: 64-95
|
Returned from an 18-day river cruise across central Europe — from Budapest, up the Danube, through the Main Canal, down the Main and Rhine, to Amsterdam — to find my garden thriving. The grass killer (21 Jun) worked well. The potted plants survived by being moved onto a path where the sprinklers would reach them. The house plants were in excellent condition thanks to our son Allen, who watered them once in the middle of our absence. Of course, I needed to do much grooming to remove faded flowers.
Fed the dwarf citrus with a commercial citrus food plus a very small amount of zinc sulfate. I gave the gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii') the same feeding. Finished pruning the loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica 'MacBeth') (21 Jun). Lightly trimmed Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) in back and the Podocarpus in front where they were interfering with adjacent paths and with the garage door. |
Weather data are from the Cheeseboro (CHE) weather station, about 2 miles ENE of my house (reported in prior diary pages as 1.2 miles).
The high temperature (°F) is daytime for the indicated date; the low temperature (°F) is for the night ending on that date.
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).
Rain is in inches. Rain amounts are omitted after 60 consecutive days elapse without any measurable amount. Season is the cumulative amount of rainfall since the start of the current rainy season, which began on 5 Oct 2011 with the first measurable rain in 120 days, until noon on the indicated date. Week is the cumulative amount of 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:
 Main gardening page |
 Current month's diary page |
 David Ross home |
 |
