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.
