My Garden Diary

Trimmed away some vertical branches from the fern pines (Podocarpus). I dropped the branches on top of the leaf mulch around the oak to hold it in place.

Trimmed the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') on the mailbox and around the Liquidambar tree.

Before cutting the lawn, I had the service move the tub with the dwarf lemon onto the adjacent walkway. Soon, I will replant the lemon into a large flower pot where the tub used to be.

Besides orchids, they also have many house plants. I saw several all-green (not variegated) pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum). Variegated pothos is very common, but not the all-green variety. I had an all-green pothos in my breakfast room greenhouse window for many years, but it died earlier this year. All of the plants at the orchid nursery were far too large. The manager (owner?) simply cut a long branch from one and gave it to me!! When I got home, I potted three cuttings from that branch.

Since the oranges will soon be ripening, I baited the cage trap to control squirrels. I have to get a larger trap to control the raccoons.

Put the potted sage (4 Sep) with the other herbs on the walkway intersection between the circular and teardrop beds.

Something has been digging in the flower pot for the palm in front and in the tub for the dwarf kumquat in back. I suspect a raccoon, for which I will have to get a larger trap. In the meantime, I put moth balls in the larger pots and containers.

One of the potted amaryllis is badly infested with mealy bugs. I also found mealy bugs in one of the orchids in the greenhouse window in my breakfast room. The dwarf lemon and miniature roses look stressed. Outside, (during a lull in the wind) I sprayed malathion on all the dwarf citrus, the miniature roses, and all the other potted plants; I also sprayed the artichoke since it always attracts spider mites. I didn't want to haul the house plants outside for spraying, so I fed them with a commercial fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide — except for the orchids, which can neither be sprayed nor fed with a dry fertilizer. For the orchids, I soaked two cotton balls with the malathion mix and then squeezed them so they were only moist. I placed a cotton ball in the center of each orchid.

Raked the walkways in back and swept the patio, filling my 5 gallon pail several times over with debris. Most of the debris was seeds from The Tree along with many of the little stems from which the seeds hung until they were ripe.

The trees in front are beginning to drop leaves, so I had to rake the driveway, sidewalk, and brick walkway. I dumped the leaves on portions of the front lawn where the leaf mulch was sparse. Then, I swept the pavements for a final cleanup. The sweepings were full of seeds from The Tree, so I dumped them in the green trash bin (green for the Ventura County composting project) rather than put them on the lawn where they would sprout.

Each time I dumped the pail, a small cloud of ashes erupted, fall-out from last week's Topanga brush fire. Although we had to evacuate our home very early last Thursday morning because of the fire, this fire did not get as close as either of the other two fires that threatened Oak Park in the 32 years we have lived here.

One of the sea pinks (thrift, Armeria meritima) in the circular bed in back died. Today, I removed it and planted a new one that I bought yesterday. The other five sea pinks are doing quite well.

The miniature roses in a large pot on the patio — 'Shy Girl' and 'Red Minimo' — seem a bit yellow. Because the potting mix drains so well, it's possible that nutrients have leached away. I fed them with a small handful of ammonium sulfate. Later in the week, I'll add a tiny amount of iron, zinc, and magnesium sulfate. I won't add phosphorus because that does not leach away.

Some critter tried to dig up the pink clover that I planted in front earlier this month (16 Sep). I suspect a raccoon. However, I saw a rabbit in front this morning. When I discovered the damage, I immediately reset the plants into the soil. Then, I placed moth balls in the soil to discourage any animals from digging.

I still have not been able to interest a civil engineer or grading contractor in repairing My Hill (11 Jan). While I have a geotechnical engineer and a geologist, the County now wants plans drawn by a civil engineer before issuing a grading permit. It's not just the County; grading contractors tell me to call back after I have a civil engineer. It now looks like there will be another rainy season before this is fixed.

Flushed the underground drains that go from the back yard to empty into the street gutter in front. These drain both the yard and the rain gutters on the roof. With the rainy season perhaps less than two months away, it's important that the drains are not clogged with silt or leaves. (Last year, the rain started in mid-October.)

Sifted compost. The pile has been "working" for almost two years now. From a huge pile of leaves, there is almost nothing left.

Must talk to the neighbors to the west, whose front yard is adjacent to my roses. Their lawn sprinklers keep hitting the roses. Not only does this promote mildew and rust; but it also encourages surface rooting, which makes digging around the roses difficult. It also encourages weeds.

Trimmed the ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') on the mailbox. It has almost completely recovered from the renovation I did earlier this year (8 Mar).

Fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii') with a handful of ammonium sulfate and a large pinch of zinc sulfate for each. Also fed the miniature roses a small handful of ammonium sulfate.

Sprayed Roundup on the decomposed granite walkways in back and along the stepping stones that separate the camellia and east beds. I had some left over, so I sprayed the seedling ash and liquidambar trees that are sprouting in the lawn, keeping away from the spreading clumps of pink clover (Persicaria capitata).

While cleaning the sprayer, dumped the rinse water on the compost pile, which was quite dry. But first, I checked the consistency of the compost. I think I might be able to sift it now.