If You Can't Work in the Garden...

 

The last two weeks have been... interesting. I have been trying to find a healthy balance between rest and activity, hoping to get a grip on the ITBS. It's been a roller coaster, with alternating good and not-so-good days. I can't walk too much (too painful), so walks at the lake are not possible right now - and I miss it very much. My doc send a referral to PT and I'm waiting for their return call to finally schedule appintments. However, not all is bad - the icing at the beginning helped and I'm doing my stretches. I also can do some yoga and thankfully am still able to do some strength exercises with my handheld weights. Things are not too gloomy - the only thing that bothers me is that the weeds are growing.

But since I can't work in the garden, I'm simply enjoying it - and there is much to enjoy (despite the weeds). Some mornings I'm sitting in my Adirondack chair in the early morning sun, drinking my first cup of coffee and listening to the birds. There are so many birds in my garden! It is such a joy to watch them and hear their cheerful voices.

The peonies are already done blooming. I enoyed them while they lasted. Years ago I planted them in memory of my mom who loved peonies. There was always a vase full with peonies on the living room table as long as they were in season. My parents used to buy them at the farmers market (my mom was a very dedicated farmers market shopper and so am I; my daughter is becoming one,too).

The Pacific Bleeding Heart, on the other hand, is still going strong. I grows in a shady part of the garden and has spread quite a bit since I planted the first ones. A California native, it goes dormant in the summer when it gets hot and dry, and reappears in winter. Maintenance of this sweet little plant is zero.

The ground Morning Glory is a prolific bloomer. It doesn't do as well in the ground as it does in pots and raised beds where it is taking off. I cut it back sometime after the first big bloom and it will bloom again. Repeat. Here it shares a raised bed with a salvia that my neighbor gave me (and I don't know the name of) and English thyme. There's also a climbing rose in the same raised bed ("Westerland"), some white alyssum and two kinds of lavender.

Speaking of roses - "Sheila's Delight" is almost through its first bloom; the second bloom is usually less spectacular. Behind it you can see Salvia sclarea (a volunteer) and Watsonia, that I got from a different neighbor. On the ground behind the rose you might see still very low California Goldenrod. Later in the summer it will bathe the garden in a golden glow. It has spread considerably since the first planting. In late fall I simply cut it back to the ground and by the following year it will have multiplied.

Another "multiplier" is Matilija Poppy, also a California native. Its flowers are huge, but don't keep very long. It is a spectacular plant, but difficult to establish. However, once it feels at home in a garden, it spreads. Not as "bad", though, as California Aster (photos of that will come in late summer, I assume). Neither are plants for a small garden.

Yarrow doesn't spread very much and sometimes simply dies over the winter. This kind, "Moonshine" is pretty resilient, but it doesn't like some spots in my garden. I have noticed that with some plants. It's continuous learning - do you feel the same way?

Monkeyflower "Jelly Bean" - another California native - loves morning sun and afternoon shade. This one is not such a "spreader" as its companions and I love its cheerful flowers. A big plus is that the deer leave it alone. In a shadier part of the garden I also have Sticky Monkeyflower which can be found in many places here in Sonoma County.

Speaking of cheerful - of course there are California Poppies. They turn up throughout my garden in the back as well as in the front. You can't really have a California native garden without California Poppies!

Another great drought tolerant plant is the Desert Mallow - and it can also spread. I first saw these flowers in Arizona where it mingled with Saguaros and California Poppies. I knew then that I wanted it in my garden.

Last fall I planted purple sage, also a California native. During those few months it has already more than doubled in size - it is supposed to be fast growing. The bees love it and so do I.

And of course at this time of year there are poppies. Lots of poppies. These poppies are the result of seeds I put on the ground in 2012, and they have re-seeded ever since. When they're done, I take a good amount out of the ground, but let "islands" stand and go to seed. So far it has always worked.

They ceate a wonderful display with Verbena bonariensis. Purple and red is a favorite color combination of mine, especially in the garden.

Sometimes the deer come and nibble on the poppies. Happy deer...

The snails are more interested in the Woolly Sunflower (another California native).

And this little guy? Well, Kibeau is only interested in finding a cozy spot to "supervise".

All these animal and plant faces are for Nicole's Friday Face Off. 

Mother's Day Outing

 

Before we go back to the fascinating standing stones of Carnac, I want to share our little trip on Mother's Day. The Geek and I don't give presents to each other for birthdays etc., but instead opt for outings that we both enjoy. We used to go to Mendocino on Mother's Day, but this year I chose Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park instead. 

This is an extremely photo-heavy post.

This place is not unknown to you - I have written about it before (here and here) and I hope that you won't get bored reading about it again. It is certainly a place I don't get tired of. This was the first time that we experienced it in spring with all the coastal flowers in bloom.

When we had already reached the coast I decided that it would be better to get my big camera, so I trotted back to the parking lot to fetch my camera from the trunk of our car where I had stored it out of sight. On my way back to the coast I came upon this little guy - a Western fence lizard.

Fun fact about this lizard: if a tick infected with the Lyme disease bacteria bites a Western fence lizard, it is not able to further spread the disease to anybody else. I learned this from a local park ranger and it really surprised me (I had no idea about this). Here is what I found on the Internet (thanks to AI): "Western fence lizards play a significant role in reducing Lyme disease risk by acting as a host for ticks and possessing a protein in their blood that kills the Lyme disease bacteria within those ticks. This proteibn, discovered in 1998, effectively clears the infection from ticks that feed on them, preventing them from transmitting Lyme disease to humans and other animals." Pretty cool, huh?

I also noticed White-crowned Sparrows.

My husband, meanwhile, had made himself comfortable on the rocks and was taking a video upon my return. 

What was he filming?

After having watched the harbor seals for a while we walked along the trail which was lined with the beautiful yellow flowering Coastal Bush Lupine.

I was really taken with all the beautiful flowers. Such an abundance!

Clockwise from top left: Hare's Tail Grass, Creamcups, Coastal Bush Lupine, California Goldfields

Clockwise from top left: Varied Lupine, Douglas Iris, Dwarf Brodiaea, Johnnytuck

Clockwise from top left: Checkerbloom, Narrow-leaf Mule's Ear, Sea Thrift, Blue-eyed Grass

Of course there were California Poppies!

The slopes were golden with California Goldfields (such a fitting name) and California Poppies.

California Goldfields with Nuttall's Milk Vetch:

It was quite amazing how little some of these plants need, they were growing right out of the rocks.

Clockwise from left: Scarlet Pimpernel, Sea Thrift, Sea Plantain, Sea Thrift

And of course there was the incredible tafoni (the honey-comb like sandstone) which this location is known for.  These rocks always succeed to amaze and fascinate me.

There are so many of them! This is just a fraction of what we saw.

They are particularly picturesque with some Sea Thrift in front of them. You might have noticed that I'm posting quite a bit of Sea Thrift pictures here - I like them so much (and this is my favorite picture of that day).

The phone camera is excellent for getting into tight spaces and taking some fun photos.

The Geek and I definitely enjoyed this beautiful spot.

Of course there were birds! We saw a few gulls -

Seeing gulls always reminds me of my mom who used to say "Die Möwen sehen alle aus als ob sie Emma hießen" (The seagulls by their looks suggest that Emma is their name) which is actually directly quoted from a poem by German writer and poet Christian Morgenstern (1871-1914). But what excited me even more was the large number of Brown Pelicans that flew along the coast. They are so elegant and graceful.

 

White-crowned Sparrows were our constant companions. We could hear their cheerful song and see them on the rocks and in the bushes throughout the entire time we stayed there. What a delight!

We also saw Song Sparrows (at least I think that's what this little guy is - I hope that David will correct me if I'm wrong).

I puzzled about this shorebird. First I thought it might be an Oystercatcher, but "our" Oystercatchers are black. I consulted Seek and Merlin and both said Wandering Tattler. I admit I have never heard of this bird and again am waiting for David's judgement.

Back to the rocks - some of them were covered in lichen, and I'm not attempting to identify which lichen it is. These are only "might be"s.

Shrubby Sunburst Lichen (Polycauliona candelaria)

Protoparmeliopsis pinguis

Armored Sea-Fog Lichen (Niebla homalea)

I had run the lichens through the Seek app which was recommended to me by a park ranger. The app itself says that there is always the possibility that the results are not correct, so please take this with a grain of salt.

Something else was fascinating - sea salt left behind in the holes of the rocks. 

And did I mention that I love Sea Thrift?

Congratulations, you made it to the end! With all the faces in this post - human, animal, plant - I link to Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Enjoy your weekend!