1/31/12

The Garden in January

We're not having winter this year. I'm told it's a national phenomenon. Today was almost wintry, with gray skies and cold air. I took the opportunity to water.

IMG_5442

Typically, it only rains in California when it's cold. I wouldn't have mentioned that, but I lived in Atlanta for a spell and I found it so remarkable that summer was the rainy season there. A life lesson: Things are different in different places. That what makes them different.

IMG_5437

So it goes. The gray-skinned buckeye in the top picture will leaf out soon. I saw leaf tips emerging from buds this morning. I hope it flowers too. It would be the first time. Buckeye flowers would make my whole spring. Usually I cut the grasses back in winter, but this year I only cut back one that I thought really needed it.

This is my favorite picture from today and, hey, it's all foliage. That should make some people happy.

IMG_5439

I like the Phormium 'Black Adder' so much I bought a second one last fall. It seems to grow kind of slow for a phormium, at least in my garden. That's one of the reasons I like it. They get congested and unappealing so quickly. Take it slow.

IMG_5449

The moss on the birdbath comes back thicker and more lush every year. In the summer it dries out completely. I once said "it disappeared in summer" and someone, a designer, on Twitter, said to me, "I don't think it disappears, I just think it gets really small." What an idiot, I thought to myself. Did this woman really think I thought the moss just seasonally DISAPPEARED? Like it de-materialized from this earthly plane? People who do not understand what figurative speech is drive me nuts. I un-followed her immediately.

IMG_5450

Here are the glass balls I regret not buying more of when I was in Rome last summer. Well, I was already pressed for room in my luggage.

IMG_5452

Besides, we have glass balls in California too.