ah, Spring - a gardener's lament

from a couple of years ago, before I gave up on the hummingbird feeder

Warning - what follows is mostly gripe. If you do not enjoy gripe, please move on... this might not be pretty!

Spring is such a gorgeous time of year. Everything wants to grow. Brown hills turn green. Flowers burst forth. New life abounds. All of creation sings out with joy. Right?

Well, sure. But there is also this:

I'm told that Spring began on March 20. Can't prove it by me. We had about a week of delightful weather: temps in the low 70's, blue skies, birdsong - it was wonderful. That was back in March. Maybe even before the 20th, I'm not sure. Since then, it's been cold. Or wet. Or windy. Or cold and windy. Or wet and cold.

For the last 2 weeks, the wind has been ever-present and unrelenting. This is no gentle breeze. No, no. This is shake the house, break off branches, kill the new leaves, 30 mph wind gusting up to 45 mph. And the sound! Rattling the vents, howling through the trees, it is not a pleasant sound like rain or thunder. O how I despise wind. (To be fair, I hasten to add that it is much easier to deal with since the landlord replaced the 40+ year-old windows two summers ago. The wind actually cracked two of those old windows. But I still hate the wind, more than anything else in my life.)

between gusts, all is well

however, that does not last long, and this poor
little tree gets whipped around quite a lot.

Which is why I have to tie the tree (as well as
the hanging basket, not pictured) to the balcony.
Otherwise it would be rolling around or
crashing into the window.

It's also been incredibly cold here. Now, of course "cold" is relative - I am fully aware that I live in what is known as a temperate climate. (Just F.Y.I. to those who have not lived here, that means that it can be in the 50ºs or the 80ºs in April, August, November or January. Just sayin'.) So yes, in the low 50ºs all season long. Outside and in. I refuse to turn on the heat after April 1, so it's been about 58º in here most of the time. Layers of sweatshirts, heavy socks, and blankets abound.

The one good thing I can say about this unseasonably cold season is this: It's kept the ladybugs around.

my hero. or heroine.

See, Spring also brings aphids. They spring to life like everything else. The unfair advantage that Nature gave to aphids is that they can reproduce asexually. Which means that where one aphid is, three days later you can have a hundred sucking the life out of your plants. I have seen clusters of aphids where this is abundantly apparent - one large aphid surrounded by 99 little ones. It's kind of amazing, but it is really not a pleasant thing to see a favorite plant encrusted with the vile things.

Sadly, this is an indoor infestation. The plant had to be
destroyed, lest the infestation spread to more plants.

There are things one can try to eradicate the pestilence. I'm told that a good, hard spray of water will knock them off the plants and all will be well. That would be great, except that I (a) grow everything in pots, and the spray would empty the pots of soil and (b) have no hose. There is insecticidal soap, a "green", safe way of killing many garden pests. Unfortunately, you have to hit every bug that needs to be killed, and when they are everywhere, some are bound to be missed (see reproduction habits, above.) Also, the spray wilts the flowers - not a happy side effect. Enter the ladybug.

This critter is amazing. It can eat 100 aphids a day. Multiply that by the 1500 bugs you get in a container at the garden center for under $10, and you've got one environmentally-friendly pest solution. Trouble is, my gardening space is only about 3' wide and 9' long, and those ladybugs have wings. They are fickle things, not giving one thought to the fact that I've given them their freedom, and will fly away into a calm, blue sky and warm sun.

Ah HA! The silver lining. The little darlings are staying right here in my garden, hoovering up the aphids at a rapid pace. How wonderful. Maybe when the weather rights itself (one can always hope) and we get the Spring that is due to us, the flowers will still be around to enjoy.

maybe they'll even multiply!

That would almost make all this misery worth it. Almost.

roller coasters and morning glories

Yesterday my facebook status read, "stop this rollercoaster, I want to get off". I recieved a couple of responses - from one, who thought I was upset by the economy, perhaps: "Life, like any roller coaster, has its ups and downs. I agree we're all in a 'down' period, but don't get off the ride just yet. We'll be heading up soon." Well... that's nice, but not really applicable to what I meant in my post. Another, more encouraging (and to the point) comment: "There's an end to every ride, this one, too. Hang in there."

By the time I heard from that second friend, things had already (and again) begun to change. I am on a medication rollercoaster - since last week and ending next week, perhaps on a too-high dose at the start, and the taper is finally taking effect. I am feeling more like myself, thank God.

In fact, maybe a little better than myself just now ~ which I find lovely and refreshing. I've had a bunch of ideas about things to post here, and if I can stop long enough to compose them while they still make sense you'll see them here soon.

Meanwhile, out in the garden ~

I have morning glories!
Tangled amidst the nasturtiums!

I cannot tell you how amazing this seems to me. Extraordinary. Sure, they are magenta, not the blue ones, but I don't really mind about that.

Yay me!

glimpse of a summer garden

geez, that title sounds way more romantic than the reality. Ah, well. My garden is a humble space, but it is also a source of some delight. Come, see:
This is the view out the back door, from my kitchen and over the desk... the leafy greenness of everything beckons on these beautiful days.
a gorgeous pelargonium (geranium), which grows right outside the sliding door. It has become HUGE, and is blooming like crazy. Alas, it also is full of whiteflies... which I won't spray because I am not interested in killing my ladybugs. A green gardening trade off.

White cosmos - growing about 3' high, and quite happy, despite the small container they are living in. They're so cheery, and make me think of Jenny (cosmos are her favorite flower).
I've planted deep red sweet william in a couple of places... here, it's a nice contrast to the yellow primrose that has stuck around since late winter!
Here, they accompany the orange zinnia "profusion"
More orange! These are "million bells", a.k.a. calibrachoa. These are kind of like petunias, but really small: each flower is about the diameter of a quarter. I've got three colors growing on one shelf. The shelves are rusty and old, so I don't want to show you that...
...but here's a nice close up of the red and purple ones. Teeny-tiny spider costs extra!
A bit of my newly-replanted hanging basket: this is the dahlberg "golden fleece" daisy, some dark blue lobelia and white sweet alyssum...
... and rising above all those billowing, spilling-over flowers, a handful of (orange! again!) pansies. In the very center - a delphinium which ... did not do well. We shall speak of this no more.
Finally, one of my favorite flowers in the world, in one of its most beautiful varieties: a white california poppy! These grew from seed - I sowed a LOT of seeds, but have just the one plant, hiding in the far corner and leaning way over the balcony. I was very happy to get a shot of the shy bloom one sunny day not too long ago!

That's it - thanks for visiting my garden! As it continues to change and grow - so long as no disasterous wind, drought or pestilence comes - I'll post again!

hopes for the day

a.k.a. "the day-off to do list"

1. settle my stomach
2. go to the farmer's market/get flowers for sunday
3. head down the coast to the half moon bay nursery (to replace the nursery packs I bought about 6 weeks ago, never got planted, and now are mostly... dead - sigh)
   
4. replant my hanging basket - really this time!
5. vacuum and mop
6. get the bills paid
7. choir @ 7:30

what are the odds that even half of those things will be accomplished? I don't know. but here is opportunity, all things are possible. time to step over the threshold and get going!