Walking with Ming

Ming is the older of my 2 cats and, for some time now, he's been in ill health.  He's got a host of long-term medical issues but, within the last few months, I've had to confront the possibility that, even though he's just 12 years old, I'm likely to lose him sooner rather than later.  I'll spare you the details of his medical problems.  Suffice it to say, my current focus is on doing what I can to give him as much quality time as possible and providing him enjoyment for whatever time he has left.

He's been an indoor cat all his life but, every once in awhile, he manages to escape through a door that isn't closed quite tightly enough.  Those brief adventures are clearly something he revels.  However, letting him roam about on his own would be risky - he has absolutely no street smarts and drivers in our neighborhood aren't particularly careful.  We also have a serious coyote problem and their hunting activity is no longer only a nocturnal pursuit.   I've tried putting him on a leash/harness but this causes him to panic.  So I recently began taking him for supervised walks around our property without a leash.  Perhaps because he's now so frail, he's less inclined to run off on his own so this is working fairly well.

Our daily walks also give me a cat's eye view of my garden, allowing me to catch details I might otherwise miss.  I thought I'd share one of our recent walks with you in pictures.

Ming leaves his screened porch off the house

"Come on, what's holding you up?"

Iceland poppy blooming in the bed off the side yard patio

Moving on into the backyard

Ming isn't impressed by Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt"

But I am - of my 4 'Cousin Itt,' this one in a pot appears to be the happiest

"Are you taking pictures again?'

Nothing in the back patio interests Ming today and he heads back to the side yard

"Now what's holding you up?"

Pipig's sleeping peacefully inside the house - she lacks Ming's appetite for adventure

Ming takes a short cut into the area behind the shrub border along the street 

He ignored the Brugmansia I planted a few months ago - it has some ragged leaves but it's grown a lot

He was unconcerned by the fact that the neighbor's shrub has seeded all over

But the woodpile held endless fascination

I was surprised to find that an orchid (no ID) I generally ignore had bloomed - the mother of one of my husband's colleagues brought this home from China

Ming struts down the narrow pathway between 2 shrub borders running parallel to the street, now covered in moss 

We discover that something has gotten to the pumpkin arrangement along the driveway

Ming stops at the front door, probably wondering why it's closed

He's more interested by leaf debris than anything in the front border

He ignored the latest bloom produced by Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem'

He wasn't particularly interested in Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' either

However, I was impressed to see that it's already developing cones

He really likes the Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' growing along the garage in the vegetable garden area

But he ignored the fuchsias

He checked out the raised vegetable beds, this one planted with herbs

But, surprisingly, he ignored the flock of small birds (Lesser Goldfinch maybe?) perched in the now-bare Persimmon tree

"Why is the garden gate closed?"

Fallen leaves are the most interesting thing in the dry garden (and mom won't let him scuttle down the slope beyond like he's done before because she can't keep up without risking a fall)

Time to head back to the backyard

"Now that I'm out, I want back in"

After ousting Pipig from her basket, Ming took a brief nap to rest up until his lunch was ready.

These days, the only thing he likes better than a walk is to eat.  If only he could put back on some of the weight he's lost...

My favorite plant this week: Grevillea 'Superb'

There aren't too many plants in bloom in my garden right now.  The one with the most impressive blooms is a relatively new introduction, Grevillea 'Superb.'  I fell in love with it on a nursery tour with a friend in mid-October but I passed it by as I had no idea whatsoever where I could put it.  It likes full sun and limited water.  The best area for it would have been my dry garden but the sunniest areas there were already taken.  Unable to give it up, I ended up moving a few plants in a smallish bed tucked into a corner of the front yard to create room for it.  I picked one up at Roger's Garden on the way to an appointment in early November.  At this time of year its new bed gets somewhat less than the ideal full day's sun but the exposure should be fine during the longer days of spring and summer.  In its current placement, it's backed by 3 Nandina domestica, which unfortunately don't show it up to its maximum advantage but, for now at least, it has to do.

 




It has been in the ground about a month now and seems happy enough so far.  The shrub itself is attractive but the coral pink blooms are magnificent.

The tight bud clusters open slowly

Unfurling from the bottom

Into their full glory

I have 2 other varieties of Grevillea and, although they bloom heavily, the flowers are relatively small.  At maturity, the blooms on G. 'Superb' are about 5 inches long.

Grevillea 'Superb' grows 3-5 feet (1-2 meters) tall and wide.  It hails from eastern Australia and was even featured on a 50 cent Australian stamp in 2003.  In its October 2011 edition, Pacific Horticulture magazine included it as one of the best Grevillea for southern California.  Depending upon what source you refer to, it's described as hardy to 20 or 25F (-4C).  It's drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds and, reportedly, orioles.

This is my contribution to Loree's favorite plant meme at danger garden.  Please visit her blog to see her favorite this week and link of other gardeners' favorite selections.

Wide Shots - December 2013

A few months ago, Heather of Xericstyle launched a new meme to capture wide views of her garden and the gardens of other contributors.  Like many gardeners, I tend to focus on individual plants or isolated combinations of plants when photographing my garden so participation in Heather's monthly post gives me an opportunity to literally pull back and take the broader view into consideration.

Although I continued to tweak my back border in November, I'm not sure it looks markedly different than last month.  There's certainly less in bloom than there was in spring and summer but there are still some touches of floral color even now.  Frost is rare in our area and, although the nighttime temperatures are dipping lower, our daytime temperatures have continued in the low 70s, only occasionally dropping into the mid-60s.

View of border from backyard door

View of backyard border from new side yard pathway

Border from right side end

View from left side end

I also continued work on the "new" side yard garden in November, filling in some of the remaining holes.  Other than adding some additional thyme between stepping stones, I think I'm done futzing with it for the time being.  I'm hoping our winter rains and time will help the plants fill in.

View of side yard from front lawn area

View from side yard patio

View from back lawn area

View from narrow pathway behind the backyard border across the lawn to the side yard

There's very little color in the front border at the moment.  I cut most everything back, with the exception of the shrub roses, in late October and early November.  I've recently added a few annuals but they haven't swung into bloom yet.  The reblooming Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' put out individual blooms now and then but their fall display is no match for their spring fanfare.

View from the patch of lawn bordering the street toward the house

Left side of the front border

Right side of the front border

This month I thought I'd also add shots of my dry garden on the northeast side of the house.  I haven't made any massive changes to this area in the last few months but I've made minor tweaks here and there, removing a few plants to make room for others.  With the exception of the 2 guava trees, this area was mainly dirt and rocks when we moved in nearly 3 years ago.

The pathway through the dry garden leads to a rough stairway down the slope at the back of the lot

The dry garden photographed from a small patio area on the northeast side of the house

Dry garden photographed from the stairs leading down the slope

I'll leave you with a few shots of the view of the horizon from the backyard.

Cruise ship in port in the LA harbor Saturday afternoon

An uncharacteristically clear view of the mountains to the east with a nearby neighbor's flagpole, decorated with Christmas lights, in the foreground

A night view of the neighbor's flagpole Christmas tree in lights, 20 or more feet tall, visible from my home office

How's your garden looking in the wide view?  Visit Heather at Xericstyle for other wide views.