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My Garden Diary

May and June 2011

Copyright © 2011 by David E. Ross

Many years ago, when I first started my Web site, I created an online diary of my gardening activities and observations. However, with work and the commute from Hell, I was often so tired I had to choose between maintaining my garden and maintaining my diary. Sometimes, I did neither. In 1998, I stopped my diary and removed the pages from my Web site.

Now I am retired. I am well-rested and have plenty of time to both garden and maintain a diary. This diary is primarily for my own benefit, so that I can look back upon what I did and when. But I thought others might also be interested, so here it is.

Also see What's Blooming in My Garden Now?


April-May 2004
June-July 2004
August-October 2004
November-December 2004
January-February 2005
March-April 2005
May-June 2005
July-August 2005
September-October 2005
November-December 2005
January-February 2006
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May-June 2006
July-August 2006
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September-October 2009
November-December 2009
January-February 2010
March-April 2010
May-June 2010
July-August 2010
September-October 2010
November-December 2010
January-February 2011
March-April 2011

Entries are in reverse order (latest at the top). Daily, I might stoop to pull a weed or use a hose to water some potted plants; however, I don't consider those significant gardening activities. Thus, you will not see daily entries. Also, I might accumulate a few entries before updating this page on the Web.

When plants have well-known common names, their scientific names are given only the first time they appear on this page (entry closest to the bottom). There, the common name is in bold or appears as a link to another Web page.

Dates refer to other entries in the same year as the entry in which they appear unless a different year is given. However, they may refer to entries on prior pages.

Date and Weather Observations and Activities
26 June

Clear, sunny, and warm

Temp: 59-91
Humidity: 28%
Wind: 0-10

Rain —
Season: 15.39
Days since last: 20

Having picked and eaten the last loquat, I lightly pruned the loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica 'MacBeth'). Instead of promoting next yezr's fruit, my intent was to prevent lower branches from interfering with the circular patio and adjacent paths.

I'm concerned about the lack of vigor shown by the Alstroemeria. Another concern is that the divided daylilies (19 Jun) might not survive. I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Gardening definitely teaches patience.

23 June

Clear, sunny, and warm

Temp: 57-91
Humidity: 39%
Wind: 0-8

Rain —
Season: 15.39
Days since last: 17

Caught a squirrel yesterday in my cage trap, and caught another this morning. I disposed of them in the usual manner (30 Mar).

My computer calendar popped up two reminders at the same time, one to feed the dwarf citrus and one to feed the roses. The citrus got commercial citrus food plus a trace of zinc sulfate; the gardenia got the same. I also gave the peach tree a small amount of the citrus food, which is actually quite mild. The roses got a commercial flower food that contains a systemic insecticide.

19 June

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 51-76
Humidity: 69%
Wind: 1-10

Rain —
Season: 15.39
Days since last: 13

Fed the potted Alstroemeria and star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) with generic lawn food. Grooming the Alstroemeria involves completely removing any shoot that has finished blooming. Combining that with the fast-draining potting mix in which it is planted, nutrients are quickly exhausted. The star jasmine is finally growing vigorously, and I want to encourage it to finish climbing its trellis.

Divided a clump of daylilies (Hemerocalis) growing in the circular bed. I planted half the clump in the rose bed where I had marked a spot a few years ago. I planted the other half back where the original clump was, in the circular bed. This is an evergreen variety with golden yellow flowers that repeats blooming frequently from mid-spring almost until winter, sometimes blooming continuously.

Removed two daylilies from the rose bed that were growing too close to a Camillia sasanqua. These have very large maroon and yellow flowers, but they repeat infrequently.

Also removed an Aristea ecklonii that somehow had survived my prior attempt to eliminate this plant from my garden. This iris relative has nice blue flowers but only for a relatively short period during the summer. In the meantime, it spreads aggressively and can become quite invasive.

13 June

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 51-78
Humidity: 50%
Wind: 0-11

Rain —
Season: 15.39
Week: 0.05

We actually had rain last week! This was only the second time in the past eight years that measurable rain fell in June.

Trimmed the 'Goodwin Creek Grey' lavender (Lavandula lanata × dentata) in the circular bed in back. It was growing too far out over the adjacent paths.

Finished pruning the dwarf rhaphiolepis in front. Afterwards, I fed them with generic lawn food.

4 June

A few scattered clouds, mostly sunny (sometimes hazy), and mild

Temp: 48-71
Humidity: 51%
Wind: 0-14

Rain —
Season: 15.34
Days since last: 17

Had a gardening service clear weeds from My Hill today. I had the concentrate on the non-grassy weeds since I will soon use a grass-specific herbicide. However, seedling trees and thistles had become just too much for me to remove.

Unfortunately, the service filled my garden waste bin, limiting what gardening I do until this coming Friday when the bin is collected.

31 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 54-81
Humidity: 17%
Wind: 1-11

Rain —
Season: 15.34
Days since last: 13

During my usual Tuesday morning shift as a docent at Gardens of the World, I saw a vigorous new shoot of 'Golden' bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) sprouting where bamboo is really not wanted. I broke it off and put it in my car. When I got home, I potted it for rooting. If it indeed takes root and grows, it will have to be in a large pot. Almost all species of Phyllostachys are running bamboos, very invasive and difficult to control.

Fed the dwarf citrus, gardenia, and tea tree with ammonium, iron, and zinc sulfate.

30 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 48-80
Humidity: 18%
Wind: 0-15

Rain —
Season: 15.34
Days since last: 12

Repotted my Cymbidium orchid. It had been pushed up in its pot by a mass of roots. I easily removed it from the pot. Using a pruning saw, I cut about 2-3 inches off the bottom of the root ball. Then I cut the whole thing in half vertically, discarding half. I made a potting mix of 25% peat moss, 25% bark chips, and 50% compost (mostly leaf mold) with a handful of bone meal, a smaller amount of blood meal, and pinches of iron, zinc, and magnesium sulfate. I put about 1½ inches of the mix in the bottom of the pot. After removing damaged pseudobulbs, I put the saved half of the plant into the pot and tightly packed more mix around it.

Watered my compost pile. Next time, I must stir it before watering.

Pruned the camellias, both C. japonica and C. sasanqua. This was mostly corrective pruning to remove dead and puny growth. However, I did some heading to promote bushiness, carefully cutting into old wood below new wood.

Again trimmed the tea tree (30 Apr). I don't mind if it arches over the adjacent paths. I just don't want anyone to get poked in the eye by a low branch.

Trimmed the pink clover and cuphea (C. hyssopifolia) along the east side of the teardrop bed, finishing a task begun weeks ago (17 Apr). Again, I don't mind if the cuphea grows out over the path; but I don't want it on the path so low that someone trips or steps on it. I also gave a quick trim to the red fescue (Festuca rubra) lawn across the path from the west side of that bed. It recovered too well from the last trimming there.

27 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 57-79
Humidity: 39%
Wind: 0-11

Rain —
Season: 15.34
Days since last: 9

Planted three more wax-leaf begonias to replace those that did not survive the winter (5&12 May): one in the raised bed around the dwarf tangelo in back and two along the brick path in front. I only need one more, but the color combination — pink flowers with red leaves — was not available at the nursery. I put up cuttings of one that has that combination. Unlike other plants from which I have rooted cuttings, however, I had no success in the past with wax-leaf begonias.

Started pruning the dwarf rhaphiolepis in front. It's been far too long — seven years — since they were last renovated.

25 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 52-77
Humidity: 40%
Wind: 0-14

Rain —
Season: 15.34
Days since last: 7

Fed the roses with ammonium sulfate. I also gave a pinch of the ammonium sulfate to my potted basil (Ocimum basilicum) and potted Alstroemeria. The basil has been attacked by snails and might outgrow the damage with a fertilizer boost. The Alstroemeria has a fast-draining potting mix from which nutrients can readily leach away; the current profusion of flowers can also deplete nutrients.

Trimmed some of the Podocarpus in front. One of them had a few branches that interfered with the overhead garage door. Another just needed some shaping.

16 May

Cloudy, occasional hazy sun, cold

Temp: 42-65
Humidity: 46%
Wind: 0-17

Rain —
Season: 15.01
Week: 0.05

We had more rain during the night!

Trimmed the back lawn along the main patio. In places, it had grown about a foot out over the concrete.

Tied new canes of the climbing 'Dublin Bay' and 'Peace' roses to the slough wall at the bottom of My Hill. I also climbed onto the bottom of My Hill to tie lengthening shoots of the 'Perlette' and 'Black Monukka' grape vines to their supporting wire. The 'Black Monukka' had finally reached the wire, and I thought about pinching out the tip of the main shoot to force side branches. I rejected that idea, but fate triumphed when the tip broke off while I was handling the shoot.

The potted spoon-flowered chrysanthemum (C. morifolium) is history. I think a snail got into the pot and ate all the leaves. Lately, I have been seeing much snail damage all around my garden. I suspect the carnivorous decollate snails (Rumina decollata) that I set out last year (28 Feb 10) have not yet been effective. I also suspect that many of the decollates in the package I bought were not alive. I plan to buy more but from a different source.

12 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 52-81
Humidity: 36%
Wind: 0-11

Rain —
Season: 14.96
Week: 0.01

Fed the dwarf citrus, gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii'), and Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) with commercial citrus food and a very small amount of zinc sulfate.

Weeded the camellia bed. Almost all of the weeds were either seedlings from The Tree or pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis). I didn't remove all of the former, only the larger seedlings. Many of the smaller will fail to survive; thus, I don't need to expend the effort to pull them. I tried to find and remove all of the pimpernel, which can crowd out the candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), especially candytuft seedlings. (I allow the candytuft to go to seed in order to get a more dense growth of this plant. I had to be careful not to pull the seedlings while weeding.)

Yesterday, I bought another wax-leaf begonia (5 May). Today I planted it along the brick path in front.

Pruned the rosemary bush (Rosmarinus officinalis) in front. I saved a small sprig, which I used in a lemon juice and olive oil marinade for a piece of halibut that I will barbecue for dinner tonight.

10 May

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 46-72
Humidity: 39%
Wind: 0-16

Rain —
Season: 14.96
Week: 0.01

We actually had measurable rain last night — 0.01 inch. Even that much is unusual in May, and we might even have some more this coming weekend.

The nephthytis (Syngonium podophyllum) cuttings (31 Mar) are well rooted. I discarded the parent plant and used its pot for the cuttings.

Continuing my plan to renovate most of the house plants in the breakfast room greenhouse window, I put up cuttings of the Cordyline (possibly C. fruticosa).

5 May

Clear, sunny, and hot

Temp: 64-94
Humidity: 16%
Wind: 1-11

Rain —
Season: 14.95
Days since last: 11

Bought and planted six wax-leaf begonias along the west edge of the brick path in front, replacing plants that failed to survive the winter. I need about three for the east edge and one for the raised bed in back.
4 May

Clear, sunny, and hot

Temp: 66-93
Humidity: 13%
Wind: 1-12

Rain —
Season: 14.95
Days since last: 10

Trimmed the pink clover (Persicaria capitata) from the wax-leaf begonias along the brick path in front and from around the stepping stones that connect the path with the driveway. I started a list of begonias that failed to survive the winter.

Along the paths in back, finished trimming the edges of the lawn and of the beds opposite the lawn. I still have to trim the edge of the lawn along the large patio and the east edge of the teardrop bed.

Weather data are from the Cheeseboro (CHE) weather station, about 2 miles ENE of my house (reported in prior diary pages as 1.2 miles).

The high temperature (°F) is daytime for the indicated date; the low temperature (°F) is for the night ending on that date.

The relative humidity is at noon. (In my garden, it is likely higher than reported, a result of regular irrigation.)

Wind speeds (mph) are average (not peak) low and high, midnight to midnight (subject to later correction for diary entries posted before the end of the day).

Rain is in inches. Rain amounts are omitted after 60 consecutive days elapse without any measurable amount.
Season is the cumulative amount of rainfall since the start of the current rainy season, which began on 2 Oct 2010 with the first measurable rain in 137 days, until noon on the indicated date.
Week is the cumulative amount of rainfall from noon seven days ago until noon of the indicated date. If no rain fell in that period, Days since last is reported.

Characterization of the weather (e.g., Clear, sunny, and warm) is purely subjective; for example, "warm" might occur with higher temperatures than "hot" if the former occurs with lower humidity and more breezes than the latter. Also, a day that would normally be characterized as "mild" might instead be "warm" if the immediately previous days were quite cold.

The signature line I use when writing messages about my garden includes the following:

Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
See also The Climate.
March-April 2011
January-February 2011
November-December 2010
September-October 2010
July-August 2010
May-June 2010
March-April 2010
January-February 2010
November-December 2009
September-October 2009
July-August 2009
May-June 2009
March-April 2009
January-February 2009
November-December 2008
September-October 2008
July-August 2008
May-June 2008
March-April 2008
January-February 2008
November-December 2007
September-October 2007
May-June 2007
March-April 2007
January-February 2007
November-December 2006
September-October 2006
July-August 2006
May-June 2006
March-April 2006
January-February 2006
November-December 2005
September-October 2005
July-August 2005
May-June 2005
March-April 2005
January-February 2005
November-December 2004
August-October 2004
June-July 2004
April-May 2004

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