Bye Bye Oleander
Last Sunday was a big day in the backyard. We finally had our three Oleanders removed. We have hated them since the day we moved in. Though I will confess to being the bigger hater. May be it is because I am a native Angeleno but Oleanders have always seemed to me to be a cop-out landscaping option for those with little imagination or because they think they will be a low maintenance option. They are boring and they are poisonous. Plus, they were starting to take over parts of our backyard and block the sun from the other plants that we actually like. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when our gardener cut them down and took them away since this was not the right DIY project for us.
June Gloom
Yes, it is that time of year again in L.A. It's time for June gloom. Though since we have a fledgling vegetable garden, it's been great. Nothing is getting scorched from the relentless summer sun and we don't have to water as often. And, now with the new DWP water ordinance in effect, we have to be more careful and sustainable about our water usage.
and other thoughts...
The vegetable garden is still growing like crazy. I say "still" because we are amazed that we haven't killed anything as of yet. We swear that the zucchinis are going to take the house. The tomatoes are starting to appear on the plants. We do have a few issues with something eating holes in the leaves of the bell peppers, basil, jalapenos, spinach and arugula. I did find a worm one day and quickly dispatched it. And, have found aphids on a couple of the tomato plants. Not happy about the aphids. I quickly took to squishing them with my fingers. Yep, that was a bit yucky but you gotta do what you gotta do to keep those tomatoes healthy and happy.
Dan and I just finished spending several hours in the garden pruning, planting and cleaning up. Yet, you can't even tell. All that time and effort and no one but myself and Dan would probably be able to to see the difference. We love being out there but sometimes it would be nice to really see the hard work.
Last Sunday was a big day in the backyard. We finally had our three Oleanders removed. We have hated them since the day we moved in. Though I will confess to being the bigger hater. May be it is because I am a native Angeleno but Oleanders have always seemed to me to be a cop-out landscaping option for those with little imagination or because they think they will be a low maintenance option. They are boring and they are poisonous. Plus, they were starting to take over parts of our backyard and block the sun from the other plants that we actually like. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when our gardener cut them down and took them away since this was not the right DIY project for us.
June Gloom
Yes, it is that time of year again in L.A. It's time for June gloom. Though since we have a fledgling vegetable garden, it's been great. Nothing is getting scorched from the relentless summer sun and we don't have to water as often. And, now with the new DWP water ordinance in effect, we have to be more careful and sustainable about our water usage.
and other thoughts...
The vegetable garden is still growing like crazy. I say "still" because we are amazed that we haven't killed anything as of yet. We swear that the zucchinis are going to take the house. The tomatoes are starting to appear on the plants. We do have a few issues with something eating holes in the leaves of the bell peppers, basil, jalapenos, spinach and arugula. I did find a worm one day and quickly dispatched it. And, have found aphids on a couple of the tomato plants. Not happy about the aphids. I quickly took to squishing them with my fingers. Yep, that was a bit yucky but you gotta do what you gotta do to keep those tomatoes healthy and happy.
Dan and I just finished spending several hours in the garden pruning, planting and cleaning up. Yet, you can't even tell. All that time and effort and no one but myself and Dan would probably be able to to see the difference. We love being out there but sometimes it would be nice to really see the hard work.
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