[gardeners] April in our Garden
Ron Hay (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 16 Apr 2003 08:27:41 -0700 (PDT)
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Good morning, friends,
With our penultimate rainstorm of the season behind us, everything is washed and shiny green. Our butterfly bushes are out, and the wisteria's seed pods are fattening noticably from the moisture. Too bad we really didn't have much of a chance to enjoy the blossoms this year, as they were shredded by the Santa Ana winds to a fare-thee-well.
Our carpet roses are coming out about 2 weeks after the rest of the floribundas and hybrid teas, which had been just plain glorious this year.
The macadamia is laden with nuts and growing like a weed.
In the back, our navel oranges and Bearss limes have already set fruit, but the mandarins and blood oranges have not yet set fruit.
Our apricot is not sure what season it is. On most branches we have fruit the size of olives; while on other branches, the flowers are just beginning to open and bloom. I have never yet seen the likes of that!
The nectarine has tiny fruit, which need to be thinned, so as to avoid broken branches, the likes of which we experienced last year.
The Fuyu persimmon has just leafed out, so its almost invisible blossoms will probably be out in a couple of weeks.
The blueberries have nice sized fruit on them. I just hope we have time to net them before we leave for our vacation to Bavaria next week!
The passion fruit vine is growing like the rain forest weed that it is. This year, we will root a couple of sections of the vine, as it is supposed only to live for about 7 years. This vine is about 80 feet long and has a trunk a good 6 inches around, with main vines much thicker around than my thumb. It has given us a couple of thousand passion fruit since it has been in the ground (since '98).
Then there are the artichokes! This weekend, before we leave, we will enjoy a couple and bring the remainder to our friends' home, stuffed, for Easter. Should be fun. The rain will be over by then, we hope, with temps about 75 or so. Nice weather to enjoy Easter dinner on the patio.
The garden looks really beautiful this time of year, and with the rains, we have only had to water sporadically...a good thing, since water is so precious in these parts.
Well, I had better get off to work, and then start packing. Tuesday is when we leave for a couple of weeks, visting my old haunts in Munich and environs, where I was a student almost 40 years ago. I suspect one or two things may have changed in the interim
Have a great day and think thought of spring.
Ron
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<P>Good morning, friends,</P>
<P>With our penultimate rainstorm of the season behind us, everything is washed and shiny green. Our butterfly bushes are out, and the wisteria's seed pods are fattening noticably from the moisture. Too bad we really didn't have much of a chance to enjoy the blossoms this year, as they were shredded by the Santa Ana winds to a fare-thee-well.</P>
<P>Our carpet roses are coming out about 2 weeks after the rest of the floribundas and hybrid teas, which had been just plain glorious this year. </P>
<P>The macadamia is laden with nuts and growing like a weed.</P>
<P>In the back, our navel oranges and Bearss limes have already set fruit, but the mandarins and blood oranges have not yet set fruit.</P>
<P>Our apricot is not sure what season it is. On most branches we have fruit the size of olives; while on other branches, the flowers are just beginning to open and bloom. I have never yet seen the likes of that!</P>
<P>The nectarine has tiny fruit, which need to be thinned, so as to avoid broken branches, the likes of which we experienced last year.</P>
<P>The Fuyu persimmon has just leafed out, so its almost invisible blossoms will probably be out in a couple of weeks.</P>
<P>The blueberries have nice sized fruit on them. I just hope we have time to net them before we leave for our vacation to Bavaria next week!</P>
<P>The passion fruit vine is growing like the rain forest weed that it is. This year, we will root a couple of sections of the vine, as it is supposed only to live for about 7 years. This vine is about 80 feet long and has a trunk a good 6 inches around, with main vines much thicker around than my thumb. It has given us a couple of thousand passion fruit since it has been in the ground (since '98).</P>
<P>Then there are the artichokes! This weekend, before we leave, we will enjoy a couple and bring the remainder to our friends' home, stuffed, for Easter. Should be fun. The rain will be over by then, we hope, with temps about 75 or so. Nice weather to enjoy Easter dinner on the patio.</P>
<P>The garden looks really beautiful this time of year, and with the rains, we have only had to water sporadically...a good thing, since water is so precious in these parts.</P>
<P>Well, I had better get off to work, and then start packing. Tuesday is when we leave for a couple of weeks, visting my old haunts in Munich and environs, where I was a student almost 40 years ago. I suspect one or two things may have changed in the interim<IMG src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys/1.gif"></P>
<P>Have a great day and think thought of spring.</P>
<P>Ron</P>
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