Early Autumn Gardening

 It really does not feel like fall considering it has been over 90 degrees every day, since the middle of July...but this morning it really cooled off and it finally felt like Autumn

 I have started some cool season veggies
like carrots, broccoli, cabbage, beets and tons of new mesclun and lettuce

 I thought I might try a late season tomato and see what happens ...I planted two, about a month ago 

but as luck would have it.... last night the raccoons were out 

and made short work of the squash plants

what you think your garden should look like 

 and what it actually is
at the end of the summer

can be very different things

I did not get even a single zucchini this year....all munched

 there really is no way to stop the critters
especially when you have good looking zucchini!

the weird thing is that they ate the stalks too...they even ate some of the hot peppers and eggplant!

and the squirrels have been even worse...but it's all part of gardening...you take the good with the bad

 ouch!
those raccoons are so destructive...
we don't have deer in the Arbolada, because there is no water source this time of year, but I have heard that they are a huge problem for those that live near the creeks.

 I planted chives between my tomato plants and have really enjoyed them all summer...

I was about to pull them
  up, but then saw these blossoms forming

 nice to have some chive blossom's in a salad !

 I have planted chives in a variety of ways either self sowing in a large area
or dividing up little six packs form the nursery...both methods work pretty well

 Lately I have tried a new method for sowing seeds directly in long rows
as opposed to larger 24 x 24 inch plots in the raise beds

The new seedlings need to be really well irrigated or they die and some seeds need direct sunlight to germinate so be sure to read the back of the seed packet 

 The grapes were a success...but these are three years old now, so we knew most of them would produce this year

again, the critters had a hey day...but we enjoyed some grapes too

 I really love how the vines trellis along the fence
enclosing the four apple trees

 this variety is a champagne style grape
which is really small and purple when it ripens...and really delicious

Our family citrus orchard is finally in great shape...
after hours and hours of TLC, spraying, mulching, pruning and watering

I think these trees are probably about 30 plus years old,
so it takes time to have large beautiful citrus trees,
but boy do they produce the fruit

the goal is to get the  branches to fall almost to the ground
with an enclosed sheltered canopy

 this is a better picture and you can see how the branches are just above the soil
 and loaded with green oranges that will begin to ripen this winter

this is such a beautiful time of year for gardening...and next month, October,

 is the busiest gardening month of the entire year...so rest up!

bye for now

kelley

Kumquats

these are just about the cutest little gems ever!

Kumquats

 whether you have an acre 

or just a great little patio...

as long as you have sunlight 

you can grow Kumquats

we have many varieties of citrus in our orchard 

but sadly not a single Kumquat

 right now the blossoms are peaking and 

the new fruit is forming

 the bees are doing their thing too...

thankfully

 and since orange is in

 both in the garden

  in the home,

 in nature

and on the runway

lets get some Kumquats

tangerine happens to be the Pantone 

color of the year 

for 2012

 orange is a very Tuscan inspired color 

 but surprisingly 

works well with many other colors

 one of the nice things about Kumquats 

is they grow in almost all zones

and do very well as a potted plant

 I have been thinking about what to put

 in big galvanized pots on our newly built deck

and have decided on Kumquats

 in addition to being a really great looking ornamental plant 

the fruit is really tasty 

and can be used for jams and relishes...

so off to the Nursery 

what will the color of the year be in 2013

Avocado maybe?

you just never know

Flowers

I brought all of this home with me on Sunday afternoon from Ojai. 

It was starting to rain and I knew if I didn't pick the tulips and a few of the other gentle flowers they wouldn't last through the storm.

I have so many lemons and oranges right now, I wish my dog Millie could eat them!

I am not very good at arranging flowers but I enjoy doing it.  

Maybe I should take a class or something....?  

My preference is always to use the same flower type and color in a single vase because  I like the simplicity of the single color.  

But the garden gave me so many beautiful things today.

I planted quite a few sweet peas and mixed in some edible peas too. 

 The edible peas look fun hanging over the side of the little vase.  

I threw a few in a salad this weekend and they were sugary sweet.

The blue stalks are a perennial called Pride of Madeira,  

very drought tolerant and great in an arrangement.

  

The bees love these guys.

The little pink guy below is called Cistus or Rock rose, again very little water required.

This bright flower is from another wonderful succulent

I planted quite a few ranunculus in orange, which in addition to purple is my favorite color in this garden.

Iceland poppies were my first really pretty annual grown in my garden when I was newly married. 

I remember being so proud of these when they ended up in a bouquet.  

How time flies!

My favorite bulb, by far, this spring in the Ojai garden is  Tulip Perestroika.  It's a reddish orange and came up early and just gorgeous.  

The yellow tulip is called Mrs Sheepers

 

This is how the Perestroika Tulip shines in the garden...amazing!

 

Hope you had a restful weekend

&

Thank you to every one who left comments on the last post.  

I had a crazy week and wasn't able to respond to everyone but I laughed at the fact that we all love to stalk furniture...too funny!

~*~

Kelley