After a very hot end-of-July I’m writing this while enjoying a cloudy, 68-degree afternoon where it doesn’t feel like being in a convection oven outside. Yay! My constitution isn’t designed for heat — I get grouchy and easily overwhelmed — and am happiest when we don’t get over 85. When it’s too hot we close up the house and turn the A/C on, and I…
I know we’ve had some super hot days here and there, but I’ve really been enjoying the weather this summer. My memory may be faulty, but the stretches of days in the mid-to-low 80’s during the day, with under 60 at night, this summer have been unusually (at least in recent years) plenty — and that’s my kind of summer weather. Warm enough (but not…
Hard to believe we’re already approaching the summer solstice! I was away for about 10 days in May, which was a rough time to be leaving the garden. Happily, not too much happened in my absence. And it’s been blissfully cool since my return. I feel like that’s about to change next week, so I’m soaking it up now since it won’t be back until…
I’ll be away from my garden for a little while soon. And it’s the time of year when new things are happening in the garden daily. The Ceanothus blooms are just beginning to pop, our Trachelospermum is going to burst into bloom any day, and the first of the rose buds has colored up. I’m going to be visiting some beautiful gardens while I’m away…
We’ve reached the point in the year where the windows are open more often than not, sunscreen has taken up permanent residence on top of the dresser, and it’s been possible to go without sleeves. The patio umbrella is out, and eating meals outside can be a regular occurrence. Basically, it’s all the stuff I dream about longingly in January! And the garden has responded…
Last year I planted 3 Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ from Annie’s Annuals, and they’re putting on quite a show (seen above) in our back garden. There’s word that these might bloom longer than most Geums, and I’m looking forward to finding out. With the little mini heatwave we just had, the tulips are speeding right on through their glory. With things cooling off today, I went…
I say this annually, but this is the most wonderful time of the year. After the clocks change and we get more daylight at the end of the day, and the weather swings wildly between chilly drizzle and (excitingly) warmer sunshine, it gives you a peek at the glorious season of growth ahead. It’s well under way, actually, and each day it’s exciting to visit…
We’ve had drainage issues on this property. You can read about how we’re managing some of them using bioswales: Let Me Tell You About My Bioswales. The bioswale on the south side of our property is in the middle of a path. We did this because it will allow us to have plantings on either side in a relatively narrow space. It hasn’t been too…
So far winter has been relatively kind to us (*knocking on wood*) — especially after last year’s ice storm after ice storm extravaganza. And as a result, it’s been easier to be outside noticing the slow progress towards spring. A dip into colder weather can place some things on pause, but others are responding to the increasing light. I know I am. We’ve now had…
Despite our lack of a hard frost this autumn, the garden is slowly revealing itself. It’s shedding away the foliage of the growing season with leaves strewn around to insulate the garden beds & provide habitat for overwintering creatures. And with the fluffy outer layers gone from many plants, it’s easier to focus on their structure & form. One of my favorite details to include…
We’re closing in on the end of our house foundation project. This is a project that’s been going on for more than a year now, and you can read more about it here & here. This project has taken over our entire lives — all our finances and all our free time. We’ve got our final inspection in just a few days, and that means we…
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that we’ve been planning a foundation replacement project on our house for some time. As a gardener, I started last year thinking about what plants I wanted to keep that were in the line of fire, and how I wanted to manage them. I gave away lots of plants, and the ones I wanted to keep went into…
© 2023 Cultiverity. All Rights Reserved.
