Here it is already, late January, the last Saturday in the month. Over the past several weeks I’ve thought about and not written half a dozen blog posts: on the new year, on the end of 2020, on the US presidential inauguration, on poetry, on books I’m reading, on the garden, on working, on planning for unknown outcomes. I took three and a half weeks off over the holidays, and felt fortunate that if there was going to be a drought, it coincided with my time off and I could go hiking. I went back to work (virtually) mid-month, and last week, finally – finally! – it began to rain. Rain is good news, as California is way below where we ideally would be for this season’s water.
So. Given the rain, this week I’ve only done a little bit in the garden – but here are six things nonetheless!
1. Narcissus in the front yard. They smell wonderful. I planted them a couple of years ago, and they have proved resilient to drought, rainstorms, digging up the yard because there was an issue with the drain, and neglect. Narcissus are wonderful.
2. The ceanothus (California native lilac) planted just over a year ago is sprouting new baby leaves, and a few flowers are just barely beginning to purple up.
3. Late last summer I planted mustard as a cover crop in one of the vegetable beds. It’s well past time to cut it down & dig it in, but so far I haven’t. Also, the edge of the path is beginning to fail. It’s edged with incredibly splintery thin wood trim; I’m thinking stone whenever it actually becomes top of the list to fix.
4. In the realm of edibles, the broccoli have gone full-on to flowering. I’d never seen broccoli flower before I planted it this year – it’s so pretty. The stems become inedibly tough once they start to flower, but as can be seen in this photo, the bees completely love it.
5. The mandarins are ripe, and beginning to fall. Right now we have these, navel oranges, and Persian lemons all in abundance – more citrus than I can use. I’m juicing it by the bowlful, and enjoying it that way. Last year I learned that there’s no upside to leaving citrus on the tree, as there is with apples; they don’t get sweeter, they just dry out.
6. The monster rosebush is starting to set new leaves. I spent the afternoon pruning it – fourteen feet tall, I think, before I started, and this is the second go-round this season. Fourteen feet is a lot for a rosebush, definitely taller than I wanted it to be, and it was threatening to reach twenty this summer if I didn’t do something. So. Pruned it has been! I think this is the first year I’ve actually finished pruning this rose, rather than just getting tired & giving up. Victory!
And so ends (or almost) January. I’m so glad it’s finally raining! Best wishes to everyone reading this – I hope you’re finding brightness in your day.
And for more garden updates from a variety of places, visit The Propagator’s blog, where other gardeners post their updates from their gardens too.
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