December Northern California - Bay Area - Things To Do #8 - Flowers

We need to feed the shrubs and trees that bloom wight after the New Year's Day. Wow!!! I am no sure what is in my garden that this rule should apply. I will keep my eyes open this year, and do it next year.

Some articles also say that you can prune your roses now, or wait until January. Holiday is a busy time of the year. I will wait until January.

Some articles also recommend to prune fruit trees and vines. I think I will do that in January. For sure I will prune my Clematis vines. Clematis is one of these flowers that just fascinate me. They are so beautiful. It is almost not possible to believe that such flower exist.

Here are some of the Clematis that I have in my yard.

This clematis is a mix of purple and shades of dark pink. This flower is big, and gorgeous.

This is the way this clematis look now.

This clematis is dark pink. The flowers are also big, and also gorgeous.

This is the way this clematis looks now.

This clematis is dark purple. The flowers are much smaller than the previous ones. However, the number of flowers is far more than the others.

This is the way this clematis looks now.

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

December Northern California - Bay Area - Things To Do #7 - Flowers

This is time to plant some of the flowers that grow well during the winter months here in the Bay Area. You can see in the stores calendulas, cyclamens, pansies, and primroses.

I have to find some space to put some cyclamens in my yard :-) I have johnny jump ups growing as volunteers in my yard.

I planted the primroses several years ago. They keep coming back. Slugs and Snails love them as much as I do. In other words, I will only have the pleasure of seeing the flower - which in my opinion have  fantastic colors -, if, and only if, I put the bait.

December Northern California - Bay Area - Things To Do #6 - Tropical Plants

According to a 2007 article on the San Jose Mercury News, December is the month with the most unpredictable weather. The  article recommends to protect the tropical plants from frost by draping a cotton sheet around top and side of plants.

Oops... I suppose I should do that to my tropical ferns that are outside. Last winter, the leaves did die because of a very cold night... But the plants did recover. Here are some of the pictures.

This fern is called "Samambaia do Amazonas". I do not know the name in USA. It has thick, hairy roots. I love it.

This one is called "Chifre de Veado". It is beautiful when people grow in huge walls of with coconut fibers, or something similar. When I bough it was tiny, tiny - may be 2 inches tall.

How about you: what do you do with your tropical plants in the area that you live?

Luiza

December Northern California - Things To Do #5 - It is never too late...

We just talked about the fall vegetable garden. There is also flowers that can be planted during the fall in this area for next spring. I am trying for several years  to grow Sweet peas. I love the flowers and their fragrance.

I forgot to plant earlier... So, I hope it is not too late to do it. I also decided to plant them in a container and transplant them. I know... I know... I read it too: Sweet peas do not like to be transplanted. I decided to try that because my rate of success with growing on site was not good. Actually, for the last three years, it was zero :-) So, what do I have to loose?

I planted the way I usually do. I take a little "bite" from the seed. The books recommend to file with paper file. I tried to file with a nail filer before, but I thought I was spending too much time doing it. So, I decided to try to take a little nip with a cuticle scissor, being careful not to damage the "green" part of the seed. After doing that, I soak the seed overnight in warm water.

I planted in one of the grape containers that I get from Costco. Here is a picture:

And here is a picture of one already showing some sign of life:

I just love to see my seedlings coming out...

Thanks for looking,
Luiza

a compass was there to get you thinking

December Northern California - Things To Do #4 - Fall Vegetables

If you decided to continue your garden adventures during the fall/winter, and planted a vegetable garden, you are probably collecting some of the fruits from your labor. Cabbage, brocoli, Brussel sprout, root crops, etc... should be showing up.

According to an article on the San Jose Mercury News, this is the time to plant artichokes, asparagus, and rhubarb. I don't plant any of these because my family will not eat them.

I started lettuce from seeds. It was growing quite well, protected in my mini-greenhouse. However, I decided not to plant them in the yard, as it would be more of fight with the snails and slugs than enjoyment.  I do have a plan for next year to "attack" the slugs in certain areas of the yard: copper tape. May be I should use pennies? It is in the back of my mind....

Here is a picture of my lettuce when was growing in the mini-greenhouse.

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

December Northern California - Things To Do #3 - Herbs

According to a book that I am reading, herbs are hardy in this region and do not need much care, except Basil that needs to be moved to a sunny location.

Well, let me tell you: my Basils are in a sunny location, and they are dead! Why? Because of the frost, and the low temperature  at night. Here is a picture of my Basil currently:

Another one that is pretty much gone is my Tarragon. The yellow burned leaves are from my Tarragon.

My Oregano still looks good. Last year it died from the frost too. Will see what happen this year.

For sure, some of my herbs are fine. For instance, this is the way my Rosemary look like.

Gorgeous as usual!!!

How about in your area? What happens to your herbs? Do you move them inside?

Luiza

December Northern California - Things To Do #2 - leaves

Lots of people wonder why we need to rake the leaves  from the yard. I wonder too. I have a feeling that if I leave the leaves on my grass, the grass underneath will kind of die. So, I remove the leaves from the grass. I really do not rake them, but I get them with the lawn mower. Bonus: I get a good mixture to go in my compost bin.

From the rest of the yard, I only rake right now if it is bothering me, or if something is growing under it. I do collect the leaves eventually so I can mix with the grass later. However, before mixing with "greens" (grass, for instance), I do shred them, mostly with the lawn mower.

Furthermore, not all my trees lost their leaves. Here is a picture from one of my backyard trees: just wonderful shade of red!!! I love this tree in fall and in spring.

In summary, I did clean some of the leaves from my yard.  But I am not too worried about raking all the leaves, for now.

Luiza

December Northern California - Things To Do #1 - Tool care

I will go through what we, Northern Californians, need to do in the month of December as gardeners. This is based on books and articles. I will tell you if I did or not, and why...

Thing to do #1 is store your tools. Store tools include not only put them away but also lubricate them. Tools include lawn mowers.

Well, my tools are always stored. However, I only oil and sharpen them in the beginning of spring... According to some articles, we should put the lawn mower away. I will not, as I still use once a month. That is, my grass is growing very slowly, but is still growing. But I will sure clean my lawn mower either January or February.

As usual, I like to add a picture related to the subject... Well, I do not like to take pictures of tools :-), so here it is a picture of my artificial poinsettia: very holiday-ish, don't you think?

Luiza