Despite the hectic weather, it felt good stepping out today and watching the wind send leaves flying everywhere in the backyard as I slowly made my way towards the front porch. It was time to bring my Boston Fern indoors. I walked around the backyard and spent a couple of minutes with my Roses. These are some of the moments I cherish the most. Growing and caring for Roses is hard work as it demands a lot of determination, time, patience and love. In the end it pays a thousandfold and I have had a wonderful year with my Roses.
French Lace Rose.Little Pete Mini-multiflora Rose.Blue Moon Rose Bud.
On my way to collect the trash can from the street earlier in the week, I couldn’t resist stopping by my Rose Garden where a couple of rose bushes where blooming. As I began taking pictures of the beautiful blooms, I spotted a large Green Valley Grasshopper (from its rather large size, I believe it’s a female). I can’t tell if the insect was just hanging out, perhaps resting from a long flight or just getting ready to feed on my plants.
Green Valley Grasshopper.Spartan Floribunda Rose.
Today my heart is particularly filled with gratitude for the gift of Life and beauty in the World.
Tending to the garden and backyard today was productive and fun. We achieved so much and will be moving forward with our design. I dug out one of my young Yucca Pendula from the backyard and moved it to the front yard. I dug out most of my Gladiola from the front garden and move them to the back, relocated my Star Jasmine and I was pleasantly surprise to find out that one of my mini Rose bush is blooming for the first time in at least 4 years! It has been growing in the front yard all this time until last month, when I moved it to the backyard. It has surprised me with beautiful white rose flowers. I guess it just needed a breath of fresh air.
I spotted a few interesting insects, one of which the Seaside Grasshopper below.
Seaside Grasshopper.
Four years ago, we harvested a couple of Mint Plants from a family friend. We brought them home and they took off as soon as we planted them. We knew little about growing this plant and we were so overwhelmed when they invaded pretty much everything around them. We thought we had removed all of it until last month when they began growing from the roots. I dug up one new shoot and planted it next to a mini rose bush. It has grown so much that I asked my husband to build a planter just for it. Growing up, my Mom used Mint in the kitchen all the time and I loved the smell. So, growing it not only remind me of the good times, but it also gives me an opportunity to introduce it to my children. Click here to learn about Mint benefits and here to find recipes.
Primitive Planter.
I found a Tan Brown Widow Spider on one of the birdhouses we built. It seemed to have appropriated the birdhouse. According to the Center for Invasive Species Research, University of California Riverside, the Brown Widow Spider, Latrodectus Geometricus, became established in Southern California in early 2000 and has become well entrenched as part of the local spider fauna in urban Los Angeles and San Diego. The brown widow spider is continuing its expansion in Southern California and could possibly move northward into Central California. Click here to read the complete article and click here to learn to identify this spider.
It’s been four days since the winds started, with a little rainfall on Sunday night.
This morning I suited up and went to the backyard to make sure nothing was broken and that nothing big landed into our property (like the huge cardboard box which I found on Saturday morning nicely tucked beneath my Texas Sage shrub). I was pleasantly surprised once I stepped out. It wasn’t as cold, the winds were light and the air was fresh (I have always loved the smell of clean dirt after the rain). As I walked all the way to the backyard and back to the front yard, I saw the beautiful Red and Yellow Freesia below. Such a beautiful scented flower.
Red & Yellow Freesia.
In the garden today, I noticed something feeding on my Gaura Lindheimeri (Wand flower).
As I took a closer look, I realized it was a large caterpillar with a green head and orange spike on its tail. Mostly green with some black and tiny yellow spots. My first reaction was to jump as I freaked out (I am not fond of caterpillars and everything that looks and acts like one, even if it’s not one). My husband and the kids came out to check it out and after noticing a few birds around it, my husband relocated it on a branch of a shrub (Photinia Fraseri). Later in life, these Caterpillars turn into Hummingbird Moths.
After all the fun with the caterpillar, I deadheaded some roses. One of these days, when I won’t be as busy, I will blend a Potpourri mixture by drying out my rose heads and adding some scented oils.
Deadhead Roses.
I hope you are all in good Spirits and finding time to get out and smell the Roses despite the unstable weather.
The day today started with some cloudy/stormy skies which have always been to me a mysterious and yet mesmerizing sight to see. You can literally sit there and watch the clouds roll in and change their shape as the wind plays havoc with them. And then, there you see an opening in the clouds as if a divine force has willed it so.
Stormy Sky.
After getting my Son ready for school, we headed out and he was witness to the dark and moving clouds. He asked me if it had rained and I assured him it had. On our last leg of the journey to school we turned onto the last road and witnessed a sight to see. There before us stood a beautiful rainbow which I pointed out to him. He was so amazed by the colors and the location as it seemed to start on top of his school. The picture below does the rainbow no justice. What a beautiful way to start the day for him.
By JM Perez
