2011-11-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Christine Wood of Fremont California is now gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is challenging. This is my Garden Journal!

Check out: www.christysmemoirs.blogspot.com and www.theenglishhome.blogspot.com I also have a blog that speaks to my professional career, and that is www.christine-wood.blogspot.com

Spring in late January??...The end of January and it feels like spring! We got some good rainy days and now sunshine and warm weather. I just finished planting 4 large flower boxes on my sunny retaining wall with Delphiniums, Zinnias, Sweet Peas and Cosmos! The warm weather will keep up for the week and I have scheduled some tree work also. Some redwoods planted in a 'fairy circle' need thinning out and limbing up so I can see their beautiful bark and trunks. I think that, along with the trimming of pink oleander and the large lavender shrubs down the side of the driveway will make a very picturesque entry as you drive down towards the house.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012...I am excited to be going to Upstate New York to spend time with my beautiful daughter and her wonderful husband this winter! It is my 'big adventure' every year. Love that!

It is my birthday and I am challenged to start a new life now, after the passing of my husband, which has taken a huge toll on me for many years. 2012 represents 7 years on my own, taking care of my garden and home and I hope I can move on now to very happy, sunny times again!

It is interesting that we have a great winery here, Vine Hill Winery, just a couple doors down from my house, but today I discovered that another great winery www.Vino-Tabi-wine.com also in downtown Santa Cruz, will open a tasting room here on Jarvis Road also.

December, 2011 - Hurray! Fixed my fence rail myself and did a bang-up job if I do say so! Saved almost $500, which is what I was quoted for the 'fix'...so on to the next project. Clean up in the garden has been on going since we have had nice weather, I can't resist being outside whenever I can. I am a serious walker too, and even inclement weather won't keep me from that. We had a serious wind storm here, but thankfully this year none of my trees came down. Looks like it will be clear and dry for Christmas and that's great!

November, 2011 - 'Fix-it' month!! I did a lot of garden clean up, refreshed the front entry and the retaining wall with some color. I worked inside doing some plumbing enhancements and fixes which turned out great, thanks to Youtube! Tomorrow I am getting a quote for more 3 rail fencing, and a new arbor!! I plan to put my iron arbor in the back garden to replace the 'wibbly wobbly' one that was only meant to be temporary. I think the additional fencing will pull the look of the property together! So I am excited about it. Rain coming on Turkey Day, but I will be busy cooking my turkey and an apple pie!

October, 2011 - The gardening schedule is slowing and it has given me time to think about my 'Sunny Garden'. I realize that it means much more than the work I do on the property around my house. The Sunny Garden represents my life now, one of happiness, one where small successes outside give me great pleasure.

By the way, I set up my Logitech Webcam very close to the bird bath. In order to get the right amount of brightness and contrast I had to tape two 'sunglass' lenses over the camera lense. It worked perfectly.

Marigold, Nema-gone Seedlings

September, 2011, We have experienced 26 days of fog. This morning the fog is heavy with drizzle. I just purchased some bulk flower seed, spanish marigold, from Burpee. This week, I planted the seed in a large container and the seed is already sprouting. Once it gets big enough I will transplant individuals to peat pots. I want to plant it on the long retaining wall in front of the driveway. It gets a lot of sun year round. I will plant strategically in front of each sprinkler head and hope for the best. The deer do not like this marigold, which grows very big. It is so pungent that even the slightest brush with it sends the peppery fragrance onto your clothing.

August mornings in the mountains have been cool, foggy, and damp until 12pm. This either keeps me inside, or encourages me to do some heavy work outside! I brought in some more 1 gallon plants, did some planting, and nestled others among the established garden. Tomatoes, squash and beans are really coming along and have already harvested squash, beans, cilantro. I am very happy with everything so far this season as the cooler weather has been kind to plants in the garden.

Recently I did some work under the house, just a typical day around here on my own. I am a DIY gal! I call this video 'Live'in the Dream'

July 2011: July started out with a mini heat wave, now already the 11th and the fog and cooler temps have set in! Can't seem to rely on a steady climate of summer weather yet. I just started work on my sprinkler and drip systems. Who knew that all my Rainbird Sprinkler Stations needed was a new battery! Hurray,now both boxes are working again, but most of the week I have been back and forth to Scotts Valley Sprinkler picking up parts for my drip systems. It is back breaking, knee-busting work! I am almost through with the upper retaining wall sprinklers.

Major trimming this week, including the rosemary on my retaining wall. Today I did some heavy tree trimming, first rigging up a long wooden pole by screwing a tree saw with a wood handle to the pole. It worked like a charm. I lopped off two large branches over hanging my driveway, then took the time to cut them small enough to dispose of them on the property. If you do not cut debris small enough, it will take too many years to break down.

More professional tree trimming on Tuesday. This property was a former Christmas Tree Farm and many Monterey Pines are now dying off. They are not that long lived. On Monday I took my hedge trimmer and cut a pathway around my blackberry bush

so that I can harvest from all sides. To get to the very top berries I will have to use a ladder. The berries are ripening and it is a real art to pick without getting scratched or caught up in the bush! I just finished putting in some tomato plants, celantro, red chili peppers, green peppers, more beans and some basil. The summer squash and beans alread planted are doing very well. Some are planted in my Veg-wagon!

A check of my lemon tree says all is well and I finally have some lemons this year. The dwarf orange is loaded, as are my two grape vines, planted in tubs and spilling over a small arbor out back.

Tweeked up a little fountain with some begonnias and a new terra cotta fish 'spitter' from Pottery Planet! www.potteryplanet.com

Today... I am off to visit a favorite place for inspiration:

www.wisteriaantiques.net I love the charming gardens and the cottages filled with decorating accessories, furnishings and antiques.

JUNE: The month has been interesting! I left for upstate New York on the first, wondering if my garden would be dying of thirst before I got back...but it rained the entire week! I arrived home and had no extra work or garden emergencies to tend to! When I arrived in NY it was pleasant, one thunderstorm which quickly blew over, then 90 heat the day I left for home. I had a glorious time with my daughter and her garden and pool are gorgeous!

I put some color in the front flowerboxes, placed a new umbrella and bistro table near my front door fountain, and I love the look. It is a convenient place to sit and the sound of the fountain is refreshing. I finished cutting tall grasses on the south side of the property, trimmed my large oleander hedge and will get some tree trimming done professionally next week. All in all I feel that everything is under control. It gets more challenging each year for me, but I go by 'use it or lose it' philosophy, so I keep moving, I keep gardening and still enjoy the challenge of good hard labor!

The daisies here are simply exploding with color all over the garden! The Rosemary is a brilliant blue and the bees are loving it! Some of the Rock Rose, which I thought had died off is now glowing with fushia flowers since the heavy rains in March.

Remember, February 2011, Snow!!....

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.This is Bucky...

Check out my article 'Deer, Oh Deer' in the 2009
Monterey Bay Master Gardener's Winter Newsletter, Pg 5
http://www.montereybaymastergardeners.org/newsletters/GOTE133.pdf

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: The property on Jarvis Road in Santa Cruz, CA was certified as a wildlife habitat by the NWF. You can download the forms on their site. It requires some work, documentation and you must supply photos, but it is well worth it. I did this shortly after moving to this very special property in the mountains. http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/certify.cfm

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http://www.kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk/diary2010.html
by Francine Raymond is a wonderful garden diary I just stumbled upon. Her diaries and writings about the garden and her beautiful chickens are just so lovely and she has even put out some great Youtube video...Good Luck Francine, with your new life.
.My next fav site is http://www.growbetterveggies.com/ the website for Love Apple farm and they recently moved just about a mile or two down the road from me!

Gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains