Red giant mustard in the dark blue pot.
All winter / spring we have been cutting
kale, spinach, arugula, and this red
giant mustard for salad greens. I planted a big mix
of edible salad greens - mesclun,
tyee F1 spinach, and another
thirty varieties all from seed.
I'm allowing this mustard to
go to seed to have more to share and trade seeds.
My side yard is small.
I don't use any fertilizers, no chemicals
- only compost and water.
Yes I have slugs and snails
(I'm constantly hunting them and putting
out yeast sugar water traps)
but we didn't buy much green produce
for the past six months.
Mind you, my daughter is vegan, greens
are her mainstay.
I'm adding romanesco, some heirloom broccoli's, dragon carrots,
squash and multi-colored heritage carrots today.
The ten varieties of tomatoes are already blooming. Of course
all the yellow and purple cherry ones have fruit. Yummy!
It was foggy yesterday morning- good for photos but you
can't see the ocean very well in this picture, but its there.
Left two pots with geraniums, impatiens and purple pole beans
that will be soon climbing and take over the impatiens. This makes
a nice tent on the pergola.
To the right is a spectacular epi.
When I planted this epi it had four colors,
but the orange variety is the heartiest and blooms first.
There are pink blossoms starting on the opposite side.
My plan was that all four epis would evenly mix in
the pot. So much for plans.
Below is a pot saucer with a number of seeds drying-
nasturtiums that are almost spent in the garden, sweet
peas and painted blankets that still are going strong.
This pot has a rose I haven't patented yet. In the 1990's
I had a house in the central valley. What started as a hobby-
hybridizing roses became a passion. Many extinct varieties
I found in graveyards around the world. Yes graveyards-
because varieties that were planted in the 1800's that survived
with little care were valuable as seed stock to me.
I ended up selling a number of patents after I moved to
Orange County, California.
The weather here did not suit the type of
roses I perfected- roses that required no spraying of any kind,
liked heat, repeat bloomed and have the
ruffley peony look.
Now after living in moist Coastal Air I've been working on
roses that don't rust and are also disease resistant - totally
organic again same flower shapes... It's more difficult than
heat resistance- its taken about eight years to have four cultivars.
With my work as a mortgage banker - sometimes the roses
get neglected. Only the tough ones will make the cut.
Then of course I'm slowly editing my fourth novel.
My children are almost old enough to help, hmmm
wondering what wonderful things the next stages of
my life will unfold.
This jasmine has almost taken over the tree here.
Two years ago I almost cut the whole tree down.
This variety drops about forty leaves a day - year
round drip torture as it is planted down wind right by
the pool. Also in the photo hydrangea- I love them
white.
Close up of the epi you can see some snail damage
on the leaves.
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