Viewable With ANY Browser

Note: My Web pages are best viewed with style sheets enabled.

Unrated

My Garden Diary

November and December 2008

Copyright © 2008 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. 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
March-April 2006
May-June 2006
July-August 2006
September-October 2006
November-December 2006
January-February 2007
March-April 2007
May-June 2007
July-August 2007
September-October 2007
November-December 2007
January-February 2008
March-April 2008
May-June 2008
July-August 2008
September-October 2008

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.

Dates refer to other entries in the same year (but perhaps a different page) as the entry in which they appear unless a different year is given.

Date and Weather Observations and Activities
28 Dec

Clear, sunny, and cool

Temp: 43-63
Humidity: 21%
Wind: 0-10

Rain —
Season: 3.58
Week: 0.32

It was a white Christmas here, not with snow but with frost. One recent morning, the roofs across the stree were still white well after 9:00am. Damage to my garden was minimal. I lost one of the rooted cuttings of wax-leaf begonias that I had potted for later use (12 Dec). The marigolds in front and the basil in back look like they will be history very soon.

This past week, I raked more leaves in front to use as a mulch in back in the east bed. That bed is almost entirely mulched now, except where very low-growing plants eliminate the need for mulch. Today, I added mulch to the camellia bed, in the form of output from my office shredder.

Weeded part of the parkway in front. Then I mulched that portion with dead needles from my neighbor's Italian cypress.

Pruned four of the seven roses in front.

Stirred the compost pile. The recent rains made it nice and damp.

Trimmed the Cuphea hyssopifolia growing along the edges of the teardrop bed. I don't mind when this grows out over the walkway. When I walk in that area, however, I want to step under the Cuphea, not on it.

12 Dec

Clear, sunny, and cool

Temp: 52-67
Humidity: 20%
Wind: 0-8

Rain —
Season: 1.60
Days since last: 16

I'm in the second week of a bad cold, so I haven't done much gardening lately. Today, I was feeling well; and the weather was nice enough to inspire some puttering. (14 Dec: I'm so sorry I did any gardening on Friday. Now, I'm coughing my head off. I didn't even feel well enough to write this diary entry for two days.)

Planted some rooted cuttings of wax-leaf begonias around the tangelo in back. I potted the rest of the cuttings for later use along the brick walkway in front. I still need a white with red leaves by the tangelo, and I need to replace a pink with green leaves in front. So I took some more cuttings.

Raked more leaves in front for mulching the east bed in back.

I don't think the Christmas heather (Erica canaliculata 'Boscaweniana') will bloom this winter. I see no flower buds. However, the loquat (Eriobotrya japonica 'MacBeth') in back should be in bloom very soon.

19 Nov

Clear, sunny, and warm

Temp: 69-87
Humidity: 10%
Wind: 2-10

Rain —
Season: 0.40
Days since last: 15

While the difference between "warm" and "hot" is somewhat subjective, it really did feel hotter last Sunday than it did today although today's high was 2° higher than Sunday's high. Perhaps the air was more clear on Sunday (despite the fires), making the sun more intense.

Repotted the parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans?) that sits in the greenhouse window. I used a slightly larger pot this time.

Other than a little puttering around — grooming spent flowers, pulling a weed — this is a very quiet time of the year for garden tasks.

16 Nov

Smoke, hazy sun, and hot

Temp: 73-85
Humidity: 8%
Wind: 2-15

Rain —
Season: 0.40
Days since last: 12

Although the nearest wild fire is some 30-35 miles away (in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sylmar), the air stinks of smoke. Soot and fine ashes constantly drizzle down. For almost 48 hours, the relative humidity has not gone above 10%. At 3:00pm, sunlight is a sickly yellow. At least the wind has moderated; yesterday and Friday, we had gusts greater than 40 mph with peaks of 47 mph.

Something has been digging in three of my larger flower pots. While it might be ravens, I strongly suspect squirrels. I placed poultry mesh (chicken wire) under about a 1/4 inch of soil in each of the affected pots.

Increased the leaf mulch in the east bed and the shredded paper mulch in the camellia bed.

9 Nov

Partially cloudy, mostly sunny, and cold

Temp: 50-58
Humidity: 52%
Wind: 9-30 (gusts to 43)

Rain —
Season: 0.40
Week: 0.14

Another houseplant in my greenhouse window died — the Kalanchoe that I had repeatedly renewed through cuttings for many years. This time, a recently rooted cutting that seemed to thrive (so I discarded its parent) suddenly died.

Took cuttings of the 'Goodwin Creek Gray' lavender (Lavandula lanata × dentata) from a plant in front. If they successfully take root, I plan to use them to replace the sea pinks (thrift, Armeria meritima) in the circular bed in back. Cleopatra, our tortoise, discovered that the sea pinks are very yummy and chewed two or three of them to death.

2 Nov

Partially cloudy, partially sunny, and cool

Temp: 54-64
Humidity: 65%
Wind: 1-13

Rain —
Season: 0.26
Week: 0.26

We actually had measurable rain! We had almost 160 consecutive days without any rain. However, 0.26 inches does not end the drought that has plagued the entire state of California for two years.

Since the approach of winter has shifted the angle of the morning sun, I removed the shade cloth from my greenhouse window (13 Apr) last week.

Other than tending my house plants, I did no gardening today. Indeed, I just sat around in my pyjamas and robe. Loafing is great!

Weather data are from the Cheesebro (CHE) weather station, a little less than 1.2 miles ENE of my house.

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 then 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 1 Nov 2008 with the first measurable rain, 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)
September-October 2008
July-August 2008
May-June 2008
March-April 2008
January-February 2008
November-December 2007
September-October 2007
July-August 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

Valid HTML 4.01