Highlights that I forgot to mention

How could I have forgotten to post my blooming Cattlaya?! I've had it for years, gave cuttings of it to many people including my sister. Then the parent plant died -- I think I drowned it. My sister sent me cuttings from the plant I sent her! This year, my plant put out not just one, not just two, but FOUR huge corsage-quality blooms.  When I was tying it up to photograph it, I noticed for the first time that it's fragrant! All these years, I never knew it had a scent. I didn't think cattlayas had scent, but you see, I am a self-taught gardener. Sad news: I drowned the variegated phalanopsis by repotting it in the wrong medium. It was blooming too, 3 spikes. I wanted to replace it with a Brassia Rex but boy are they hard to find, and expensive! I also tried to buy Vanda Cerulea but as you know, Thailand is having problems (and do you believe this, they have an annual week-long holiday when the post office is closed. What a gift to courier services.) Anyway, I got from a group in Florida 2 tiny Vanda Panchera Delight that are 2 years from blooming size. Vanda should be easy to care for. "They" say just wire it to an orchid basket, no medium, and water and fertilize it. We'll see.

Another highlight that I forgot to mention is I received two cans of Orchard Mason bees for Christmas. It had never occurred to me  to keep bees and I know nothing about them other than they sting and pollinate. Well, Orchard Mason bees are also known as blue bees. They don't sting, they don't make hives, they don't form communities. All they do is pollinate, and pro-create. My bees came in a can full of tiny tubes. I am told that each tube contained bee lavae and food for them during hibernation. Yeah, I was surprised that there are hibernating bees. I had to keep the can in the 'fridge because they like 38 degrees to hibernate in. When it got to be consistently over 50 outside, I put opened the cans and put them out. Here's their own little house: After a few days, I looked in the tubes and they're GONE! Out working! I hope they were able to fly the quarter mile or so the the apricot orchard although it's finished flowering.

When I pruned the citrus, it was blooming and there were lots and lots of bumble bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, humming birds, ... but I did not notice any blue bees.  Maybe they're the smaller carpenter-like bees that hover?

My Citrus Grove and New Additions

This winter, it rained and rained. For the first time in all the years I've lived here, we have more than 100% of the annual average precipitation, and the snow pack hasn't melted yet! Thank goodness because one circuit of my sprinkler system, the one that waters my "Citrus Grove" and my beloved climbing rose is Kaput (again). If they can sell a whole TV reality series on the trials of airline gate agents, you'd think there's a program theme for diagnosing and repairing your sprinkler system.

After hibernating indoors for months, I ventured out to see what's sprouting. My friend in Menlo Park actually gave a Wisteria Viewing party last month and indeed, her arbor was loaded with long, looooong, frrrrragrant blossoms. My wisteria looked dead. Even now, it only has only a few tender leaves. I guess the trees on either side have grown tall and shade it too much, but my wisteria fights on valiantly. It'll bloom f'sure.

In my last post, I said the miniature pomegranate probably didn't make it. Well, it's fine, all green with new leaves, branches, everything. What didn't make it was my 10 year old Bearss Lime!!!!! I now fall victim to the vicissitudes of the supermarket's stock of limes for my gin and tonics. Feeling insecure in that co-dependency, I planted a foot-tall  Bearss Lime in my Citrus Grove.

The Citrus Grove

I finally had the garden shed moved from a sunny spot to a shady spot in a neglected corner of my yard. The previous tenant of that shady spot, a fruiting pear tree, never did well and what meager fruits it produced were immediately gnawed by the vermin.  So now I have sunny real estate on which I planted the new Bearss Lime next to the seven foot tall grafted grapefruit/lemon tree. I also planted the kumquat there and it's doing well. I already ate all its fruit. I hope it makes more.

Newest Additions
The other new additions this spring is a Casa Blanca oriental lily. It's growing aggressively. I hope to get at least one huge, white, fragrant flower from it. I finally put the French lavender in the ground next to the beloved classic rose. I am starting heirloom tomatoes from seed for the first time. I have about 40 seedlings and room for, oh I guess I have enough room if I put them where the lawn was. A better use of that space than the crab grass-infested lawn. Lawns are no long PC in this native-plant, water conservation culture. I plant to give those tomatoes a really hard time namely with minimal water, poor soil... what vineyards do to concentrate flavor.

Here's some eye-candy, the azeleas in full bloom! Until next post!