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| The Front Garden in September |
I forgot to take any photos of the front garden around the 20th of the month, but, here are the photos taken on the 26th, instead!
As you can see, the garden is struggling.
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| View From the Front Door |
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| Looks sad, doesn't it? |
One or two plants are thriving, however, including this California White Sage (Salvia apiana) which is a native plant that M bought for me from a nursery that specializes in native plants:
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| California White Sage (Salvia apiana) |
I think it is a sign that I should plant more native plants and not just drought tolerant ones. However, the asparagus ferns I asked M to transplant from the back garden seem to be establishing themselves:
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| The Bigger Asparagus Ferns |
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| The Three Smaller Asparagus Ferns |
The succulents border isn't looking that succulent, but, the plants will revive over the winter (I hope):
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| Succulents Border |
The succulents planted in the circle in the middle aren't looking too well, either:
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| Scorched Succulents |
The aloe, however, seem to be doing well.
I wish I could say the same about these lantana plants:
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| Dead Lantana Bushes |
As you can see, we have not done any landscaping in the parkway, either, but, to be quite honest, it has just been too hot for M to be doing anything there.
On the other hand, I did manage to stay within my Tier 1 water allotment of 16 hundred cubic feet (HCF) for the billing period, 7/20/22 to 9/20/22 (we are billed every two months for water, electricity, sewer service and solid waste collection, in one combined bill)! I used 12 HCF of water during this period, which included the hottest days of summer, and was billed at a rate of $8.0225 per HCF. My water bill came to $96.27 If I had exceeded the 16 HCF allotment, the next 14 HCF of water used would have been charged at higher Tier 2 rates, the next 28 HCF would be charged at Tier 3 rates and anything above that, at Tier 4 rates. (The combined bill for water, electricity, sewer and solid waste collection came to $295.21).
How is your garden doing?
The autumn rains have started, the grass looking green again. Well done on the water management. I am interested in the White sage. I have a regular green English sage, and use the leaves a lot in cooking. Do you use the white sage as a cooking herb?
ReplyDeleteHi, Angela; your comment ended up in the spam folder and I didn't see it until now! Glad you are getting rain and the grass is greening up. I don't have any grass left to grow in the front garden! I haven't used the white sage in my cooking, although I've read that it is an edible and medicinal herb. White sage is used as a smudge in Native American sacred rituals to cleanse and purify.
DeleteThe white California Sage might be the way to go, it's beautiful & the grey silver colouring really lifts the eye. Gardens & farm fields definitely struggled this year with all the weather challenges; too little rain, too much heat. We can only water out of door plants, gardens, lawns on certain days, certain hours & we get fined heavily if we go outside of those times - we actually have township "water policing".
ReplyDeleteYes, M was suggesting I went to the nursery where they specialize in California natives, once I feel comfortable going places, again. We, too, are under water restrictions: water twice a week (once a week in certain areas) on odd/even days depending on your house number, during certain hours, for a certain duration depending on the type of sprinkler head, etc. Since I don't use sprinklers and use a garden hose to water, I have to have a nozzle with an automatic shut off valve (which I do).
DeleteThanks for the garden tour. Our lantana has taken off now that we've had a little rain and cooler temperatures. However, it won't survive our winters. It's an annual here.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, June. I am considering pulling up the lantana - they were supposed to be drought tolerant, but, I guess this year's temperatures and reduced watering were too much for them. In any case, I want to conserve my water allotment for growing edible plants.
DeleteYou have more green than I was expecting from your comment on my blog. The lantana look very poorly indeed but the ferns seem to be happy enough! I think I'd probably agree that native plants are the way to go so will be interested to see what you decide.
ReplyDeleteThe front garden is due for a complete overhaul, I think. I am looking at pictures of xeriscapes to get ideas. :)
DeleteI love seeing your garden. Mine is rapidly being filled by that fuchsia! I'm sorry to hear about your daughter having another migraine. They can be so debilitating.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa. I could do with a fuchsia like yours to take over my garden! :D
DeleteMigraines can take a lot out of you. Fortunately, the over-the-counter medications helped.
I'd say you did good with a limited water supply. I have to start putting my gardens to bed here soon. It is supposed to frost tonight. I am NOT ready for that yet. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diana. I remember the first snowfall taking place in early October, one year, when I was in Green Bay (of course, it melted, almost immediately). Winter comes early, up there, doesn't it?
DeletePoor garden! It is so sad when plants start to fry without rain, but you can certainly see which ones are still doing remarkably well. We are in the frost watch season now, and the trees are starting to turn colour with the cold nights. I was happy we didn't get a frost the other day, but haven't checked the weather page since we set off, and since we got off the plane into balmy weather yesterday, I'm just enjoying that.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to look at the garden when it is so brown and dry, Bushlady. But, yes, one can see which plants are doing well and, I guess, I shall try to get more of the same.
DeleteI agree with you, enjoy the balmy weather while you can and then, enjoy the colorful leaves when you get back. For what it's worth, we hit 100F, today! :D
It must be hard work, and disheartening at times, trying to garden in that climate. You do so well though. The ferns give a lovely bright pop of colour and the sage looks great. Does it bloom? Hope the succulents recover when it cools down a bit. I'm sure they will rally.
ReplyDeleteElla
Thank you, Lady Ella. We try. Yes, the sage is supposed to get flowers that are loved by the bees, but, I don't think I've had any flowers on my plant, yet (I might be mistaken - there might have been a flower stalk, last year). Yes, the succulents will revive and M thinks that the lantana might come back, too, once it is cooler and we've had more rain! I hope so!
DeleteThe garden looks nice despite the heat. I suppose it must be hard to know what to plant. Do you research or do you have help?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I am reading and learning about water-wise gardening and drought-tolerant plants and M is very knowledgeable, too. Many of the plants I have in the front garden, including the lantana, are supposed to be drought-tolerant once established, except mine are showing signs of stress. I'll keep trying and see if things improve; it's all part and parcel of gardening in our climate!
DeleteWhat a shame about the Latana plants, I assume there is no chance of reviving them. I need to get out into the garden soon and tidy it up in time for winter. I have some hedges and bushes to cut back and the wildflowers all to clear. I also think I will be bringing the lemon trees indoors this week X
ReplyDeleteM says to leave the lantana in place and see if they revive during the cooler winter, so I might do that. Maybe the roots are still OK and, with a little extra water and care, they might come back! If not, I might buy new plants. I hope you'll take a photo of your lemon plants; I'd love to see how they've grown over the summer. :)
DeleteSalvia are notoriously hardy, aren't they. My FIL planted those at our first house 35+ years ago when we first moved in. The soil was very clay laden, and they seemed to do fine just the same.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are. I think I need to plant more of them!
DeleteI know it's brown and let's call it arid, but things are looking pretty good considering your drought and heat.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at the ferns! They don't seem to mind the conditions at all do they? Good idea putting them there. And the white sage looks very nice and cool.
Reading through I see that M thinks there's a chance the lantana might come back in winter. Fingers crossed that they do.
That RV - is that in the driveway of the party house?
Thank you, Debra. I thought the ferns would do well - they store water in root nodules and they enable to fern to thrive.
DeleteYes, there are not one, but, TWO RVs parked in the driveway of the party house! There are people living in them. Sometimes, they park the RVs further in and they loom over my back yard!