After a decent two inches of rain, our weather turned unseasonably warm, nearly eighty degrees, which totally confused my apple trees and they began to furiously bud and flower, at least a month sooner than normal.
It looks like we might receive a bit more rain in the next couple of weeks but I hope it stays warm-ish so that every blossom grows into a juicy, delicious apple.
Good news/bad news time…
It had been a while since I injured myself but that’s no longer the case. The upper garden is mostly planted with California native plants. When it rains, they go crazy because winter is their time to shine.
Flowering white sage
I noticed a white sage that needed to be pruned. As I ran down the steep set of stairs with a huge armful of freshly cut branches, I misjudged the distance because I couldn’t see where I was going, caught my shoe on the edge of a step, and before I could stop myself, I tumbled down to the ground.
This time I didn’t suffer any broken bones, just a sore shoulder (where I fell) and another injury to my knee (also where I fell). As luck would have it, this was the same knee that has already has a torn MCL, so now I’m limping AND again wearing a brace.
The good news is that the garden is nice and tidy…Happy Monday!
Confession: I’m a hoarder, not crazy enough to be featured on an episode of that TV show, but I really, really hate to throw things away and I love to acquire STUFF.
For example, I have a lovely collection of empty boxes because YOU NEVER KNOW when you’re going to need one, right?
I don’t know if this is true where you live, but here, there’s a local group that gives all kinds of things away FOR FREE, which is total crack for a hoarder. Did I mention that it’s FREE?
They give away everything from furniture to clothing to toys to appliances. In many cases, the gifted items are valuable, like the cashmere scarf I received, also a set of Russian lacquerware.
Since I joined the group, my ratio of receiving to gifting is about 90 to 10. It’s REALLY difficult for me to relinquish anything because, exactly like those boxes, what if I want or need it again some day in the future? But I do and have posted items, especially things the kids no longer need; highchairs, baby clothes, stuff like that.
It’s equally difficult for me to not bring home everything that’s offered because I like to think I’m rescuing whatever it is from being discarded. I often initiate a conversation with myself (not out loud, IN MY HEAD) about whether I reallyreallyreally NEED what’s offered, or if can I live without it. Most of the time, I’m rational haha, but not always. (The very act of talking to myself sounds kinda crazy if I think about it.)
I’ve brought home lots of plants, planter pots, and other garden items, little boxes similar to what I already collect, a giant dollhouse for the Angel Kids; also toys and even bicycles for them.
Recently, we re-gifted the dollhouse. The Angel Kids and I had a discussion about the future of it. They both said they had enjoyed playing with the house but it was time to give to a new home and other children, so I did, with their blessing.
This time, someone was giving away milkweed seedlings SHE had rescued from our local community garden. Another gardener was going to toss them out, but she saved them and transplanted into little cups.
Photo by EnchantedSeashells
This kind woman posted on the site that she had plenty to share and I responded. There were enough for multiple people which is great because we all care about helping butterflies.
Photo by EnchantedSeashells
The woman messaged me her address which was literally only about three minutes away and I headed over there.
Here’s the problem: She lives in a new housing complex with a million apartments. Her very detailed map didn’t help me as I get typically become hopelessly lost in similar situations. I drove around and around for a while and couldn’t find the location where the plants were waiting for me at the front door.
As I usually do, I became a bit disoriented when I get lost, and dejected, I drove home. My navigation skills are sorely lacking and I felt incredibly stupid. I messaged her my apologies and reason for not showing up and suggested she choose another person.
Instead of doing that, this woman that I don’t know — a complete stranger — offered to bring the milkweed to me! It was such a kind gesture that it blew my mind.
I gave her my address and she came by a couple hours later with the plants and we had a lovely chat.
With all the horrible news coming out of our nation’s capital, it’s heartwarming and affirming to realize that there are still good people in the world, those who will go out of their way to help a neighbor AND help save butterflies.
I’ve shared lots of stories about our plight with RATS here in SoCal; for whatever reason — whether it’s overbuilding or decimation of natural predators — many neighborly conversations are about the growing rodent populations.
Because rats love tomatoes, I use mesh bags to protect my beautiful heirlooms from being vandalized and I check on them daily.
Look at that photo...a rat ate through the bag to ravage a gorgeous tomato that was just beginning to turn color. I harvested the rest of them even though they’re green because I refuse to feed those disgusting, destructive, villainous vermin.
I had anticipated simply slicing the heirlooms to enjoy with homegrown basil. I am so sad; it’s a crime against humanity!
I wondered if it was safe to still eat the mangled tomato if I chopped off a large area around the bite and cleaned it really well, but I learned that it’s not worth the risk of any saliva-borne diseases that may have infected the whole tomato, so I had to toss them out. That was PAINFUL.
My plant obsession isn’t all about monsteras and fiddle leaf figs, I lovelove African Violets, too.
The African violet symbolizes devotion, faithfulness, and commitment. They’re also supposed to be great for indoor air purification because African violets absorb toxins.
They appear delicate and precious but they’re actually quite hardy and sturdy and not really high maintenance at all, at least not in my opinion. The flowers last for a long time.
Their botanical name is Saintpaulia and they belong to the Gesneriaceae genus. I started propagating my own violets a few years ago. Creating new life gives me a great deal of pleasure, plus it’s pretty easy, so there’s a high success rate.
A couple of my very own babies are flowering. I’m so proud of them!
They’re not too finicky or hard to take care of if you follow a few tips:
❀ Don’t water from the top and try not to get the leaves wet.
❀ They love bright, indirect light.
❀ Fertilize about once a month.
❀ Some websites suggest an Epsom salt drench every two weeks to assist flowering.
❀ Remove dead or faded flowers.
❀ They don’t like to be too wet or too dry, I use filtered water because our SoCal tap water is disgusting.
❀ It’s almost funny but the best performing violets are in the smallest pots, much smaller than you’d think for dinner plate sized foliage.
❀ Propagating is simple. The traditional method of propagating violet leaves is to place the stem into water until roots begin to grow. Select a healthy leaf. It doesn’t take very long for roots to form.
A phytophile is a person who loves plants, and for me, that includes dandelions! Phytophile comes from the Greek words phytòn (plant) and philìa (love or passion).
Last week I rescued a six-foot ficus and a sad little cordyline from the nursery clearance section. They were dried out and cruelly discarded. These once beautiful specimens simply needed a bit of my tender, loving care. They quickly perked up and are both now enjoyingthe good life here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
Just picked a cluster of gorgeous grapes; might pour myself a glass of some chilled and fermented ones a bit later. (Of course I’m talking about chardonnay.)
When plants cry…not at all like Prince’s When Doves Cry…
I was beyond ecstatic when my mini-Monstera began to unfurl the first new leaf since I brought her home. When I checked on her progress this morning, I noticed that she appeared to be crying.
Why so sad, baby girl?
I try to do everything to make her happy and healthy; water, fertilizer, the right amount of sun, and I adorned her with a beautiful, thrifted Satsuma pot.
This tear looks like it’s coming from her alien-eye, the classic Monstera fenestration.
They’re not tears of sadness nor joy; they’re actually due to a process called guttation.
Guttation is a mixture of xylem and phloem fluid, which contains sugars and other chemicals produced in the leaves that are exuded overnight by the plant.
Guttation is one way houseplants attempt to regulate their growing conditions. This response can occur when a plant has been overwatered or under stress, or the plant could be perfectly fine and want to balance its nutrients or minerals.
Aren’t plants SO smart?
I confess that sometimes I love my plants too much, as in too much watering, and I hope this isn’t the reason because I adore this new leaf baby and her brothers and sisters love her, too.
Don’t shed any more tears, little one! I promise to try and not love you to death!
I spent a frustrating couple of hours attempting to install new, adhesive shelf liners in the kitchen and bathroom. If you’ve ever done the same, frustrating doesn’t even describe the feeling of trying to smoothly stick the paper without bumps, lumps, or having it fold over and stick to itself. I did a HORRIBLE job, gave up, admitted defeat, and put all the items back under the bathroom and kitchen sinks to cover up the mistakes. I hate to fail at a task, but this was a fight I couldn’t win. That’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back, that’s for sure.
After a much needed break with a mug of lovely ginger tea, I reviewed some of my favorite photos snapped in the last few days:
Another photo I sent to the original Angel Boy to make him miss SoCal surfing and come down for a visit!
While I was looking at the surf, a bunny behind bars came to visit.
I was enchanted by pretty cactus flowers all in a row.
My mulberry tree is going crazy this year. In the past, I’ve harvested and made jam and frozen quarts and quarts of them for cobblers and to sweeten smoothies, but I’m not taking on that burden this year. That leaves more for the birds and the RATS. Eww.
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul.”– Luther Burbank
With no rain in sight, my plants are becoming thirsty and I have to water them so they don’t dry out. I stopped for a minute to contemplate the droplets on a perfectly perfect Shasta daisy.
Nature is amazing. Everything is related to everything. Nothing is simply what it seems.
Many flowers exhibit a petal count that corresponds to Fibonacci numbers. Shasta daisies have twenty-one. This is something I didn’t even know about until recently. If they taught it in school, it’s another one of those days when I wasn’t paying attention.
In the 13th century an Italian mathematician, Leonardo de Pisa, better known today as Fibonacci, published a book called Liber Abaci. He introduced a number sequence that became known as the Fibonacci sequence. Starting with 0 and 1, each new number in the sequence is the sum of the two before it. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377.
The golden mean or the golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts.
The golden mean and the Fibonacci spiral are connected to life, even spiritual life. They can be found in nature in the number of petals of flowers, the way the tiniest stem unfurls, in spirals in seashells, and more.
The golden proportion of 1.618 is found in key proportions of the body in humans, animals, insects, and in DNA. Our perceptions of beauty support that phi is a factor in what we find attractive.https://energeticgeometry.com/
That’s a pretty weighty concept for my brain to absorb or even understand. The possibilities seem endless, one more mystery of the universe.
I’m an uncomplicated person. All I know for sure is that I love the way Shasta daisies spread to fill in the empty spaces like they fill my heart and make me happy.
“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” – Theodore Roethke.
After being subjected to the real world for a while by the trial and guilty verdict of an ex-President — as I shake my head and wonder how ANYONE could have voted for that narcissistic orange blowhard, it’s time to recover with the simple, joyful, garden beauty of a Stargazer Lily — like a palate cleanser, but instead for my brain.
I’m super allergic to the alluring fragrance of most cut flowers in a vase, but I can enjoy them in the garden without sneezing. Stargazers return every year; this is the first bloom to fully open, but you can see all the others waiting their turn.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 