Making the trip

June 18, 2015

I am way behind on my blog posts....
In the midst of the chaos I call life, BH and I have surely but slowly been moving our stuff from the San Diego house to the Temecula house. Now that it is summer it is only natural that we turned our attention to the garden; looking at what plants we could bring with us.

Without a single doubt, we were taking our Kaffir Lime and the Calamansi Lime. It proved to be quite a feat as the trees have been in the pots for quite a few years. In addition to that, I had  been neglecting the plants for the past year or so. The landscapers had repeatedly knocked off the irrigation emitters from the pot. Often, I don't notice until weeks later during my infrequent visit to the garden. As a result, the trees were stressed  and the roots were crazily entwine within the pot, seeking out every bit of water.

Rehabilitation and new planter beds

June 14, 2015 

We did a lot this weekend. On Friday, we transplanted three pomegranate trees that the birds had so kindly planted in one of my raised garden bed. It is only fair as they had feasted on the pomegranate fruits from the tree up front. Dear husband dug up the three trees which were already flowering and fruiting from the planter beds. That in itself was quite a feat. The roots were deep. I think this is their second spring. Then DH had to dig the holes to transplant the trees to. We moved it to the south hillside next to the goji berry.

Dogs in the Mist

I spent this weekend going through my photos on my phone, uploading to computer and backing up the photos. I came across these photos of Frasier and Ellie following my husband. My husband is allergic to dogs so the dogs are outside dogs. He does not play with them, just talk to them from the door. I think it is because of just that, they lap ( no pun intended) up any interaction they have with him. They just love him. He says he does not like dogs and they dogs are just for us. Secretly, I think he loves them just as much as we do.

One morning I woke up and look outside. It was all misty. I could not see beyond our property, could not see the vineyards.

The mist started clearing up a bit and what do I see? My husband strolling around our property with his morning cup of joe, and our dogs just leisurely following him around.

Sprucing up the courtyard

May 3, 2015

We were too late in preparing our courtyard of tropical plants for winter. Renovations too longer than expected. Frost hit. Plants struggled but was still alive. We went away for vacation. A freaky snowstorm blew through the area over the New Year night. Snow actually stuck to the ground instead of just flurries, the most extreme snow the area has experienced. Kids were sledding down snow clad hills. Come on, this is Southern California!! 

What seed am I?

April 24, 2015

Do you know what seeds this is? A tiny speck at the end of a fluffy hair like puff. Hint: it comes from a beautiful edible flower. Okay, another hint: flower is purple in color. Viola? No, a much larger bloom.

I am ALIVE!

March 6, 2015

Really??? My last blog post was July 2014!!! Year after year resolutions to blog more has not happen. I was going to post a flurry of mini blog posts as 2014 drew to a close. That did not happen. Even thoughts of just posting pictures with captions did not happen. Then 2015 started and I was going to.... yes....

Renovation to the house is finally done and we will be spending more time in Temecula. I love my beautiful new kitchen, family room and the gorgeous new travertine floor throughout the main house. The kitchen is a dream to cook in, all the more inspiring me to have a bountiful kitchen garden and orchard.

Today, I will post disjointed snippets from my garden in Temecula. I wore a face mask to rip out last season plants. Past seasons spring clean up have subjected me to allergies that do not make me sneeze but instead clog up my ears. All the fluid just fill my years. Hence I look like somebody in a Helix episode combatting a deadly disease!!

A strange cold winter that subjected our Southern California garden with a freak snow storm dealt a blow to a number of my tropical fruit trees. My Jamby Air, Wax Guava Syzygium Samaranengse shows no sign of life. I am heart broken but I will leave the plant in the ground until mid spring to give it a chance. Maybe, it needs to be at a specific temperature for a prolong period to leaf out? I am hoping so.

Haircut for Lemongrass bush

March 6, 2015

Time to cut my lemongrass bushes again. They grow very quickly during the hot months in Temecula. I normally cut it 2-3 times a year. I grow more than I could use but I just love the rounded shape of the lemongrass bush. The blades of the lemongrass turns red during cold spells. As you can see, this is a monster of a bush. I have two lemongrass bushes.

I have to wear long sleeve shirt to do the trimming or I would be covered with numerous cuts from the sharp blades of the lemongrass. I use a large clipper to cut the bush. What do you think? I think I did a decent job of being a hairdresser to the lemongrass bush.