Lemon, Lemon, Lemon

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But when life gives you LEMONS unlimited, you better think of what else to do!! The Meyer Lemon tree in both my houses are pumping out lemons like crazy. I use the lemons for lemonade, for marinade, for Greek Lemon rice soup Avegolemono and lemon infused desserts. There is still so many lemons left on the kitchen counter and still on the tree.

If only I was not so busy right now, I could be in my kitchen tinkering with delicious creations. But let me tell you something- just looking at the fruit laden lemon trees just puts a smile on me :)

Meyer Lemons galore! They are extremely juicy, flavorful and fragrant. As you can see lots of fruits of various sizes on the tree.

Metal Planting Boxes

We knew we wanted to build planting boxes for our vegetable garden. Our zone 24 garden we builded the boxes out of recycled lumber. This time round for our Temecula zone 18 garden, we were inspired by Sunset Garden article How to build raised beds with  scrap metal. Two pictures of inspirational garden below.

It was amazing how difficult it was to find salvage metal sheet at a reasonable price. What ended happening was we had planter made out of new steel plates at a cheaper price! The boxes had to have braces on the inside  to keep its shape. Our planter boxes were of various sizes. We kept the width of the boxes to 4 ft wide so that we that we can reach the plants from both sides.

Earthworks and ground cover

We took out all the plants that surrond the pool, with the exception of the citrus trees at the edges of pad.  Remember, we are sticking to the motto if you cannot eat it, you cannot grow it! Out went the Phoenix Roebelenni or Pygmy Date  Palms, some Bird of Paradise, a couple of Queen palms.....it was tough to stay focus and get rid of those plants :( The landscapers took away the plants that were removed to be used in other homes, if that helps....

We struggled with what ground cover to install around the pool which seems to beg for cool, green grass lawn. With water being so expensive, we knew it was not the right thing to install. We considered artificial turf but it was extremely expensive and we were not sure how it would stand up to Temecula's scorching summers. Finally we decided to go with small pebbles which we could remove and use in other parts of the property if we did not like how it turned out.

We leveled the whole pad, laid down weed block over the whole area. Experience taught us that weed block laid down at this stage, will dramatically cut down weeding down the road. It allows water to permeate while at the same time prevent the weeds from sprouting.

Creating a path.......

We finally broke into the piles of slate slabs and used them to create a walking path within the wall courtyard, at the door and along the courtyard wall. We broke the slates into large pieces which we then laid like a puzzle pieces to form the path. We filled the crevices with small stones to create a stable path.

Doors and Paths

Our aim from the very start is to work with nature and not against it. Following with that principle, we are planning to use as much natural material as possible.We are also pragmatic and not beyond using high tech material if it suits the situation. 

We purchased a couple crates of slates which we are going to use for stepping stone.It works with gravel service road that leads to walled courtyard garden.The door of the courtyard garden is made of fiber glass to better withstand the intense heat of summer and the cold of winter.It is wood grained so it looks like wood but does not splinter and does not need the maintenance of regular painting.We choses some decorative square wrought iron decoration which we learn is called clavos.Who knew that those decorative thingii had a name!! Another thing learnt!

I LOVE WINDOWS AND DOORS! During my travels, I am always on the lookout for vistas of windows and doors. They are fascinating to me. They are portals to the what is hidden. So very often they have lead me to beautiful garden, heartwarming scenes of children playing, craftsmen making beautiful handicrafts or just pure beautiful views. I love opening the doors to my gardens, no less this one in Temecula. This day the door open to beautiful sky above and beyond the garden.

Long live the ancient fruit - Pomegranate

Before everyone think that all  I am is a "murderer", my mother's favorite name for me after I failed to grant clemency to the roses, I do not kill everything on the land. Just outside the walls of the courtyard garden is proof - a large Pomegranate Tree, punica grantum. It is believed that the pomegranate was the forbidden fruit that Eve ate in the garden of Eden and not the "apple."Native to modern day Iran, it spread to Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe. Today, it is touted as a great source of antioxidants. 

Pomegranates are fruits that I want to love more..... In fact, I love drinking pomegranate juice, pomegranate seeds in salads, pomegranate syrup in Fesenjen; a delicious Persian pomegranate and walnut chicken stew, pomegranate piled high in a fruit bowl.....But, there is only so much pomegranate one can eat. I need to find more recipes for them. Apart from the huge tree in Temecula, I have 3 other pomegranate trees in my current house - 2 regular red pomegranate and 1 white pomegranate. I must have given away more than 150 fruits in December alone!!

9/5/11 The fruits are starting to turn red in color.

"Look how many fruits there" are says the woman who calls me "Murderer."

Rose of Sharon

I almost forgot that there was another casualty of the the Courtyard project - the Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus L. It belongs to the Malvaceae family. The bush was along the wall that backs the kitchen - between the two windows. It was a tall deciduous shrub between 10 to 12 feet high. As you can see from the picture below untrimmed, it was wild mess of a bush!

The bush was a favorite of the birds, particularly the hummingbirds. Look carefully at the picture below, and you will see a hummingbird resting in the cool shade of the plant.

When the petals fall off, a seed pod forms. It opens up to look like a miniature version of the flower- a five "petals" brown flower.

Currently, the plan is to use the space occupied by the Rose of Sharon for tropical plants which benefits form the warmth and protection of the wall. Maybe the curry leaf plant, some serai, kunyit and mint. The cement will prevent the mint form spreading to areas it is not wanted. The Rose of Sharon  will not have died in vain.