Gardens Home & Garden

Dandelions and rushes are the biggest invaders of my pots. Other weeds are easily pulled out but these need teasing from the roots and the plant re-potting. I'm sure the rushes are contaminants in the potting compost.
We have had high temperatures and no rain for nearly a fortnight but have been forecast rain this weekend. I do hope it arrives as watering takes up so much time, and I feel guilty using tap water when I know the reservoirs are low.

I sympathize with your water concerns. Droughts suck.

I have mostly chosen drought tolerant and low water needs plants because droughts are so common here. For my in-ground plants, I have them all on soaker hoses with smart timers. So it's really easy to adjust watering as needed. Most everything is on a 20 minute once a week soak as of now. Last year that worked great for them all summer. I do still have my berry bushes on 20 minutes every 3 days - but I'll back that to once a week after this year's harvest, I just want to see them fruit once.

My potted plants are more needy. I'm watering them every other day at the moment as they are all under a year old. Some should be able to handle less water after this year if we have a drought. And once the winds die down, I can open the patio umbrellas and offer more afternoon shade.

The abutilons, pomegranates and cane's hybrid bottlebrush will need daily watering as the weather heats up every year. I have them strategically placed by my doors so I won't forget them. They will hurt the most in a drought - but being only 6 plants I figure I can justify watering them by other water reductions in the house.

I will say that I LOVE the smart timers! I used to use sprinklers on dumb timers but it was a pain because I had to shut off the water tap if it was going to rain that week and then I had to remember to turn it back on when it stopped raining. Our spring rains are not regular. We can get a nice shower once a week or no rain at all or one major downpour and nothing else or little spritzes that provide no real moisture. So, it's a pain to manually turn the taps on and off.

With the smart timers, I can access via the phone app, so if I suddenly wake up to rain in the night, I can quickly cancel that week's watering without affecting future waterings. I only turn off the taps in the winter once the rains start. And if it's extra hot one week, I can easily use the phone to do an extra watering. And with the soaker hoses, all the water goes into the dirt for the plants. No run off or overspray into the street, etc.

Goodness, you are well organised! My neighbours have a drip feed system, but they have an artificial lawn with plants bedded in around the perimeter. I bought a pack of drip feeders that were on spikes and were fed by plastic cola bottles. These were a complete waste of time, difficult to regulate and too easily affected by the external temperature. I have a spray hose for the front - which is all pots - and it's the good old watering can for the rear. I collect rainwater when we have it, which is usually enough, but the butts are just about dry now. The grass is starting to look brown - it's very raggy as I was doing 'no mow May' to help the early bees. Always something to complain about, soon it will be about there being too much rain!

Yippee! We have had a little rain today!

Yay for the rain!!!!!!!!

I've looked at those soda bottle drip systems, but around here I'd have to refill the bottles daily or more so it wouldn't be any more efficient, so I might as well hand water.

I've thought about doing the rain barrels, but with our hot dry summers I'd run out of stored water by the end of spring. And in the off seasons, there's enough rain or moisture in the air to keep the plants happy most of the time without my intervention.

I got two expandable hoses - one for each yard. They do make watering the pots easier.

Yes, I do try to be organized. I have a 4 spigot attachment on each of the two yard taps.


The timers are attached to these as are the expandable and regular hoses. It's nice just being able to flip the tap open with my foot. In the back, I have an automated dog bowl attached so there is always fresh water. And of course, I added a hot water tap in the back so I have the expandable and regular hoses connected to both taps so I have hot and cold water at the ready.

My cousin had artifical grass in his yard - no maintenance was nice. I tried a long strip of it on my front porch and found that it gets just as hot as concrete in the sun which defeats the purpose of having lawn to my mind.

A couple years after moving here and hearing everyone (including me) complain about the cold/rain in the winter and the heat/dry in the summer, I decided I needed to pick one. So ever since, I only complain about the hot dry summers. I dislike them more than I dislike winter. And I don't feel like I'm being hypocritical.

I'm sure that if the dogs could choose they would pick natural grass. The artificial stuff does look more realistic these days but it is hot and unyielding, and needs brushing, and deodorising. It isn't kind for birds and bees, and doesn't feel natural underfoot. Also, Tally couldn't eat it.
My friend had an automatic dog drinker - a bit like the cattle type but without the push bar. Neither of my dogs would use it. For my one little one it wouldn't be worth the outlay, but I wouldn't mind a hot and cold mixer tap at the back for rinsing the mud off in winter.

This is the bowl I got. No push bar - the water is released when the float drops so for the dogs it is no different than a regular bowl. Under $35 here.



I use this to mix the hot & cold taps.

Yes that's the one, only hers was blue enamel finish. I meant that the bovine ones had a pressure bar.
Eddie won a hand pumped dog wash on Facebook Best Trick contest. The idea is good but there isn't enough pressure, (though they have now brought out a powered brush model). You have to fill with slightly too warm water but It is handy for rinsing off before loading into the car.

I would have liked to have loaded Eddie's 2020 best Trick video to Breedia but the format didn't suit this site. I would sneeze, and Eddie would run to me, pull a hanky from my pocket and present it to me. I called him, A Covid Emergency Dog. One of my friends commented that a facemask would have been more suitable - but harder for Ed to pull out of my pocket!

Cute!! If I sneeze, Tornado-dog has to run over and hug me. I don't know why. He doesn't do it if I cough or fake sneeze. But any time I do a real sneeze, he is right in my face.

Some breeds will do a mini sneeze as part of their invitation to play routine. Maybe he thinks you are inviting him to play.

Maybe. Who knows what goes on in that warped little mind.

Lately, he has been barking at me to hurry up when we get up. I'd hurry if he was barking because he had to potty, but it's just that he wants to go chase rat scents. So I tell him to stop barking and he starts doing this vocalization that is definitely a "I really want to bark at you, but you told me not too, but I can't be quiet I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go after the rats!!!". It's that long of a vocalization too.

Tally has only found her voice this year - after nearly three years. Two types of conversation - the moany, 'are we there yet', in the car, the, 'hurry up and let me out', when we arrive. Frantic barking when her dog walker brings her home - so only at lunchtime. I have to have her dish ready to put down immediately!
I know this means that she has enough confidence to think that she is training me, and that I should re-train these behaviours before they become ingrained, but how else can a dog develop individuality?
Tally willingly learns all I ask her, how to show, pass obedience tests, to scent trail, and recently to weave, jump, go through a tunnel and long jump. Should I let her get away with showing a bit of character?

I wouldn't worry about it. She feels confident and safe enough to tell you what she wants - isn't that what we want for our dogs?

Unless the bark bark bark starts to become obsessive, then she's just communicating.

With his JRT genes, Tornado-dog does tend to obsessiveness. If one bark works, then 15 thousand barks will work better. So, if he barks once or twice, it's "OK I hear you". If it's a bunch of yap yap yap, then it's "I'm not going to listen to you". Don't nag me.

And I think a dog with a quirk is far more fun than a perfectly trained perfectly behaved robot dog.

My lion's tails are all in full bloom. Last week my yard guy and Iwerepulling weeds in the backyard. I could see one of the lion's tails and it's bloom ball had just the beginning of the red flowers poking out. After about 20 minutes, I looked up and it was fully bloomed. I thought I misremembered but my yard guy said it definitely hadn't been fully bloomed 20 minutes prior.

My abutilons are blooming still. My resident Anna comes and drinks from the yellow one. I think the red and tangerine ones are too close to the door - if she drinks from them, it's when the door is closed. My false yuccas are still blooming.

So far everything is still alive. We've had a couple minor heat waves (a couple days at around 100) but nothing major yet. My containers are on anevery other day watering schedule and that seems to keep them happy.

My cane's hybrid is still doing good. The first one I had died during last summer - it was in the ground. I got a replacement last fall and planted it and it started to fail so I pulled it and put it in a pot on my walkway. It started looking sad so I moved it to my back steps right next to the door. It seems to really like it there. I need to order it a bigger pot - I have a tall 13 gallon pot in mind. I'm not sure if it will get too big for that spot, but I'm hoping the tall planter (rather than the wider one I was going to use) will make it doable. It's supposed to grow to 10-15 feet tall. Hopefully when it gets too big for that spot, it will be established enough to handle a less perfect location.

I've discovered that varieties make all the difference in success. My slim bottlebrush is near where I had the cane's hybrid (also a bottlebrush) and it is happy as a clam. The California fuchsias in the front yard are doing great - Marin pink, Calistoga, Sierra salmon, and the "original"). I got some summer snow ones and potted them and they never took off. This spring I tried them again in another pot and location and they shriveled and died. I had two Sierra salmons and one died. I replaced the summer snow and dead Sierra with the UC hybrid and Uvas Canyon and they are thriving. With salvias, the Mexican salvias (salvia leucantha) are thriving in my harshest locations where other salvias (and other plants) died. My Christmas cheer poker plants are thriving everywhere I put them in the ground. The hot & cold poker plants seemed unhappy in the ground but are doing great in pots. The backdraft are happy in the ground. The popsicle varieties (mango, orange vanilla, and papaya) are really happy in pots.

I think I did lose my red velvet kangaroo paw. The flower stalk got eaten by a critter about halfway and then the rest got eaten. I'm watering the pot hoping it will come back but if not, I'll replace it with something else next fall (and get another red velvet for a different spot as no one has bothered my yellow gem).

If my potted plants survive the summer, I'll be adding more next year. There is a yellow-green poker plant I'd like to get. I have four plants left on my backyard stand and they will all get too big to stay on there, so I'll need to get some smaller plants that can stay in 10 inch pots to fill up the stand. Not sure what yet - I'll need to see how I like the smaller ones I got this spring.

Oh and two of my coneflowers are blooming, one is just starting and two are doing well but no bloom starts so far. The bloomers are the sweet sandia and tequila sunrise. The just starting is the mellow yellows. I'm not sure on the others. I had three others (berry, summer solstice and pink lemonade) and one got eaten. I'm not sure which because the critters pulled the tags out of the pots... So it's a wait and see which two I still have.

Sounds delightful. We have had some rain.after the dry spell and my pots are looking good too - though nothing like as varied as yours.

I just hope I can keep my potted plants alive over the summer.

I need to have my yard guy come and blow off my back patio. It's covered in oak catkins. Then I need to start moving some of my potted plants out there. I have multiple patio umbrellas that I'll open up once I know the big winds are done. Then I need to start up-potting the bigger plants. I have several that will go in 12.25 and 13 gallon pots and sit around the patio - I have wheelie trays for those planters so I can move them around. The smaller plants will go on a couple stands with wheels. And I just added an extension length to my expandable hose so I can reach all the patio not just the one corner.

All my in ground plants are doing great. My false yuccas have their seed pods now. Hopefully that will bring in some new birds.

I was feeling a bit jealous early last month. Every plant in my neighbor's yard was in full bloom and it was a riot of color. While in my yard I just had the catmint and hummingbird sage blooming. But after a few weeks all but one of her plants stopped blooming. Meanwhile my false yuccas started to bloom. And now my lion's tails and backdraft poker plants are blooming. And by mid summer my fuchsias should start blooming. And before they stop, my Christmas Cheers will be blooming again. I may not get the sudden explosion of color all at once, but I always have something in bloom.

I do envy your knowledge and dedication.
Do you have a lot of space at the back of your house? My patch is really a dog loo and play area - with a few pots to liven it up. My garden job today was washing and staining the jumps! They look a bit smarter now.

Thanks. I tend to be a bit obsessive about things. When I get a new interest, I try to learn as much as possible and go all in. As I've gotten older, I've learned my limitations - I have little patience for perfection. So I avoid things that require that. Which with gardening means no sensitive plants, no growing from seeds, no plants that need special fertilizers or careful pruning, etc.

It's an average sized lot for the area. The full lot is 50 ft wide x 100 ft deep.

The front yard is about 31.5 ft wide x 23.5 ft deep.

The backyard overall is about 50 ft wide x 52 ft deep which is a good size. But it is chopped up with the garage on the north west corner, and the large concrete patio and the section with the brick debris taking up most of the back half. Then I have the 9*18 ft above ground pool and the narrow covered porch (where I store my firewood). So for gardening, space is limited - hence wanting to do potted plants that can go on the patio.

Property management does take great amount of time doesn't it? Especially when you are a single female, (I really should say occupant these days but Chas did do the maintenance). I'm at an age where I'm trying to balance putting on a smart enough facade, with the place being, 'good enough to see me out'.
There is a great deal that I would change if I had a better imagination, and was more prepared to tolerate the upheaval involved. The next job will be updating the double glazing, that's when I can improve the builder's recall. If I had the willpower I would also get rid of all the redbrick paving that surrounds the house. It is tired and uneven, keeping it weed free is like painting the Golden Gate bridge, (we would say the Forth Bridge but I thought you might not relate to that one).
I've just measured the frontage. It's 30' x 19'8" deep. The space behind the house is only 38 feet deep, but that contains a garage, a shed and the pebble pit. It is too small to be productive, but enough for me to keep tidy. The house, a dormer bungalow, and the driveway to the garage sit in between.

Ah yes, painting the golden gate bridge - never ending! I seem to recall reading a pun about the Forth Bridge in the Nancy Drew book set in Scotland as a kid but can't exactly remember how it went.

It can be exhausting work. I just had my peaked roof done after our big storms. And my flat roof was redone after the burglary along with the wood siding upstairs. I do need to do some brick repair where the mortar has deteriorated over the years. Hopefully I get that done this year.

With my backyard, no matter what we do, the weeds take over every winter. So come spring we have to spend several days removing them all. When the hot weather starts the weeds stop growing and everything starts to look good. But the following winter they come back in full force.

I sometimes think a bigger yard would be nice, but then I start doing maintenance and realize it's as big as I can reasonably handle. As it is, I often have to make a choice between "do I deal with inside the house or outside this week?" because I just don't have the inclination to do it all.