Plants! We went looking at plants today. Think of this as recon for the actual planting. I am so in over my head! And the funny thing is we only have a tiny space to fill.
Our home is in a development where the homeowners association takes care of the front yard. The back of our home borders a service alley. I’m not sure my driveway is a foot long. No planting there.
The only place for plants is the side yard– the California room. Wedged between two houses it gets partial sun in some places, no sun in others. 75% of the space will be covered by our patio pavers.
Most of what I know about growing things is out the window. I knew how to deal with Connecticut’s flukey weather. This is a whole ‘nother animal.
Do we have the right soil? Is the drainage OK? Are there enough chilly hours per year? Yes, some fruit trees need chilly, not freezing weather.
Damn you demanding fruit!
We’ve been here seven weeks and it hasn’t rained more than three minutes! Mother Nature will have to be augmented.
I bought the Western Garden Book. You’ve got to see this thing. There are nearly 800 pages to browse. We’re in Zone 23 with a growing season 50 weeks long.
I spoke to my Dennis, my friend since age three, who lives in San Francisco. Growing things is his business. He wants me to go slow, but I’m not sure I can.
We want a few fruit trees. Living in California without homegrown citrus seems to defeat the purpose of being in California.
We want color. We are surrounded by earth tones.
So little room to plant. So much angst.
Not to make things worse but…what about a herb garden? You could have fresh, organic spices right outside your door year long. Rosemary, basil, oregano, chives, tarragon,sage, nasturium, etc. Smells SO good when you weed. These are beautiful, flowering plants and so good for you too!
You certainly have your work cut out for you! I always appreciated you letting us, gardeners, know when we needed to protect tender vegetation from frost!
Forget the nurseries and books. Drive the neighborhoods and see what looks good and is doing well in other people’s yards.Take pictures then go to the garden center.
Now your in my zone! I’m the guy soon to do the same thing you just did with a Maltese also…moving to SoCal. But the reason, I am leaving my sales job in New England and taking a management for our company. The company is Monrovia Nursery! We had a nursery in Azusa, but the growing is no longer done there, just HQ now. Check out our website for all the plant information you need! Monrovia.com. Use single plants in colorful containers to add extra color to your patio. In California you will not have to worry about dragging your pots in from winter every year!