Too hot to do much of anything

Last week was very cool and we even got some rain.  This week, it's gotten summer-hot with temperatures soaring above 90F (32C) on Wednesday and creeping still higher yesterday.  Our humidity level also dropped dramatically as our dreaded Santa Ana winds moved in.

I got as much as possible done in the garden during the morning hours before calling it quits at 11am.  That included watering all the plants in and around my lath (shade) house.  There wasn't much worth sharing there; however, I took time to cut a few 'Golden Celebration' roses behind the lath house to bring inside.  Some were already withering and, as the heat isn't expected to abate until Saturday, the blooms are likely to last longer in a vase than outside.

We can call this "In a Vase on Friday"

The contents included Argyranthemum 'White Butterfly' (shown with foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'), Rosa 'Golden Celebration', and noID Ixia (aka African corn lilies)

I also noted how nicely one of the succulent containers I planted in January is coming along.

I planted the pot on the left in late January.  It includes Crassula capitella, Echeveria parva, Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', and G. 'Debbie'.  The photo on the right shows the same pot as it looked yesterday.

A friend recently gave me a small birdbath she no longer had a place for on her patio.  I decided to turn it into a planter.  On a trip to my local garden center on Wednesday to pick up planting mix and worm castings, I picked up a few succulents with the birdbath in mind so I planted that up yesterday morning too.

My husband drilled a hole in the basin of the birdbath and another at the bottom of its pedestal

The converted birdbath holds 3 Echeveria 'New Black', 3 Peperomia 'Ferreyrae' and 2 Peperomia graveolens

I finished up general deadheading of the growing number of flowers giving in to the heat and got the last of our green waste in our green bins for pickup.  This week, for the first time, that included more than just the usual garden clippings.  California enacted a law requiring organic waste collection in an effort to combat climate change by limiting the elements that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions historically dumped into landfills.  The law took effect  in January but communities were left to work with local waste collection agencies to develop implementation plans appropriate for their areas.  The plan for my area was implemented on April 1st.  We received two brochures on the subject, the last one providing the greatest detail.

These are just 3 pages of the 8-page brochure.  Among other things, the brochure dealt with the "yuck" factor involved in collecting some food waste like meat, dairy products and spoiled food.

 

I've been collecting vegetable, fruit and similar kitchen waste since my husband built me compost bins in 2020 but the new organics recycling requirements allow us to recycle meat, bread, pasta and other things I'd never add to my compost bins by throwing them into the city's green bins, something that wasn't previously permitted.  Some of our most common waste, the cat's uneaten wet and dry food, can now be included in the city's green bins, for example.  (I confirmed this directly with the waste management service as it wasn't specifically mentioned in the brochure.) 

I empty the small container on the kitchen counter (left) into my compost bin once or twice a day.  We now spoon our "yuck" waste into the washable plastic containers shown on the right and place these in the freezer until the contents can be dumped in our green bins on our weekly waste pickup day.

 It's really not much of a hassle at all and I'm very pleased that California has taken this step.  I hope other states will implement similar programs, if they don't already have them in place.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: It's all about the dahlias

At last, the dahlias seem to be getting in gear.  My zinnias are already giving in to mildew and I expect that the dahlias may soon follow so there's little reason not to grow for broke and cut nearly every bloom as it makes an appearance.  That philosophy led to the creation of three arrangements this week.  I was tempted to put together a fourth but that was too much even for me.

Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy' takes its time reaching bloom stage but, when it does, it doesn't seemed inclined to stop.

The dahlia's flowers start out a fuchsia-pink berry color but turn a soft gold as they mature

Back view: I planted Zinnia 'Queen Lime Orange' at the base of 'Gitt's Crazy' in a half barrel on a guess that the two would look good together so it seemed natural to use the zinnias as a filler in this arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone), Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Orange'

Like 'Gitt's Crazy', Dahlia 'Loverboy' is a holdover from last year.  The tuber I saved was small and I almost tossed it in April but I decided it wouldn't hurt to pop it into a small plastic pot to see what happened.  It sprouted and, when space opened up in one of the raised planters in my cutting garden, I moved it here, not really expecting much.  To my surprise, it produced buds and, late last week, its first bloom.

I hadn't remembered that 'Loverboy' was as dark as it is.  It leans toward the blue end of the red spectrum, which ruled out pairing it with the first blooms of Dahlia 'Waltzing Mathilda' as I'd originally planned.  The latter is more a scarlet red with an orange tinge.

Back view: As Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime' is now heavily mildewed, I cut as many flowers as I could in the interest of using them before I feel compelled to pull up the plants

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', Dahlia 'Loverboy', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime'

Dahlia 'Enchantress', also a holdover from prior years, is challenging 'Gitt's Crazy' in the bloom department, winning it inclusion in another arrangement this week.

I added one stem of Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Wine' to the mix.  Interestingly, some of these seed-sown zinnias are purplish in color like this one, which others are more definitely red.

Back view: This white gladiola is the best flower I've had yet from the mix I ordered last year.  Perhaps last week's cooler temperatures helped to keep the bloom looking good for more than a day.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Cosmos bipinnatus, noID Gladiolus, Dahlia 'Enchantress, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium), Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine'

We had a lovely stretch of cool temperatures last week, allowing me to start some of my fall garden projects.  It's expected to get warmer again this week but then that back and forth bounce between summer and fall is par for the course here.  However, work in the garden may be confined to early morning and late afternoon hours until cooler temperatures return.

For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party