Everyday sights in Bernal Heights

Alternate title: Echium delights in Bernal Heights.



We had a wonderfully slow spring, with cool temperatures and regular rains--for months! Spring flowers that would often tap out in March are going strong in mid-April.



Great day to get an afternoon latte, and jaunt around the hill.

Return to My Back 40 (Feet)

Hi, I know it's been a minute, and I feel like some kind of explanation is warranted, but I am not sure what it would be. And I will say it feels surprisingly awkward to attempt blogging after 4.5 years of not blogging. So I am just going to hurdle all that, and jump right in. 

We have a new garden! 

 

Same yard, new garden. 





We had to replace the fence last year, which according to a neighbor, was built in the 1970s. We took the opportunity to give the garden a makeover too...



Out with the chunky, clunky cobblestone beds I built and rebuilt over 12 years...



Out the with the lumpy cobblestone path that had settled unevenly into the earth creating tripping hazards and stubbed toes...



In with decomposed granite and steel construction! 



Major construction work finished about a month ago (still waiting for installation of steel compost bin) and planting started right afterward. The steel will eventually weather into the usual brown-orange rust color familiar in Corten design. For now, I am digging the plummy phase, and impatiently waiting for new acquisitions to grooow. 

We kept a few plants in place--the tree fern, the Meyer lemon, two aged grape vines, and anything growing under the stairs (Bartlettina sordida, misc. plectranthus, Clivia miniata, some calla lilies) . I dug up everything I wanted to keep, and the rest got heaved.

The project started late and dragged on, and encountered rain delays. I was worried we missed all the winter rain, but the spring has been generous this year, showering into April. We might be done, and I guess that would be okay. Some sun and warmth would be nice. 



As gardeners go, I have always been more of a 'collector-type' than a 'designer-type'. I also have a sad, glorious history of indulging flights of fancy and embracing garden folly over formulating practical, reasonable, well-thought out plans. I feel like perhaps I have burned through that phase, and am ready for something more age appropriate. We shall see!



I am definitely going for more repetition in this garden. I'll try to say more about that later, as things start to grow, and I get more used to the camera I bought for this phase of my garden life. I thought all these pictures came out a little bland and washed out, and then I remembered, I have to set the camera to "foliage" mode, and I figured out how to do that--too late for this post, but there is always the next post.