Plants I'm Growing: Aloe polyphylla

Aloe polyphylla is a fairly hard-to-find aloe variety prized for its large spirals of small leaves (its Latin name means 'many-leaved'). I have two, one doing poorly, the other very happy. Watering the garden this morning, I was thrilled to see that the larger of the two appears to be very happy, indeed; it's preparing to flower. It has developed a large cluster of buds.  I've never seen this variety in flower before. Looking forward to it... 

Miscellaneous: Goobye Milo (April 14, 2019)

Luck seemed to be with us yesterday when a swarm of bees obligingly moved into one of our empty bee hives. Today, luck abandoned us. I was awakened by a phone call from animal control--our cat Milo, hit by a car. Apparently paralyzed from the waist down and with severe internal injuries, he didn't make it. Very hard to put an animal down. Doesn't seem right to have a life or death decision over another creature, but the vet said he wouldn't make it through the day.

He was half-feral, would never stay at home, often seemed ungrateful, and he was sometimes cantakerous, but I will miss him. He was a handsome dark tabby with a broken tail, a rescue cat from the pound who, when he did come home and hang out with us, had a funny way of rolling around on the sun-warmed concrete of the driveway, showing his belly as if he wanted it stroked. Attempt to pet him there, and he'd usually try to bite. But I'll miss him.

We dug him a grand, flower-filled grave in a quiet place in the garden. I'll miss him.

Milo, in happier days, sleeping on the warm hood of one of our cars

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms—Species Tulips, Michelia Yunanensis, and Two-toned Daffodils

A little warmth in the air today and a lull in the rain has coaxed out some new flowers in the garden. Today, March 9, the first species tulips bloomed (in this case Tulipa bakeri). First blooms today also on Michelia yunnanensis, a small tree related to the magnolias. Belatedly, I report also the first blooms on the two-toned daffodils in the garden, which opened on February 24.

Plants I'm Growing: The Garden in April (April 29, 2013)

The garden is full of flowers at the moment. For about four years I kept a detailed record of the first date of bloom of each flower species in the garden (2009 to 2012). Somehow I didn't have the energy to keep up this year. So, here I note simply that much is in bloom now.

The Wisteria has just finished. The climbing roses are all in full bloom, with "Flutterby" having started first, the old-fashioned pink climber on the back fence--the laggard among them--just coming into bloom now. "Altissimo" and "Sally Holmes" are at peak. The bush roses "Cocktail" and "Easy Livin'" are in full bloom. Most of the Ceanothus varieties are finishing. The neglected German iris (they need to be lifted, replanted, and fertilized--I can never remember what time of year to do that, and so they languish) are blooming sporadically but could do much better.

Candytuft is fading, but the Rhododenron called "Noyo Dream" is coming into bloom and the large white Rhododendron with a name like "King George" has bloomed convincingly this year for the first time. Rhododendrons are also blooming at the front of the house, under the bamboo. Echium gentianoides is in full flower (pictured). Salvia Chamaedryoides, a similar shade of blue, is just beginning to open, and a patch of garden sage I'd forgotten about behind the house is blooming as well. Most of the rock roses are in flower. Phlomis fruiticosa (Jerusalem Sage) is blooming, and the other Phlomis species are either just coming into bloom or will be covered with flowers soon. The Rosa chinensis mutabilis on the side of the house (a large, blousy, multi-colored, single-petaled rose) is beautiful this year. I wish I could remember the name of this little mallow-like flower (below) that has spread itself all around the shady parts of the garden.

Before long, the dry summer will rob us of much of the color, but it's all very pretty right now.