April 2013
A Spring Garden Tour
A Spring Garden Tour
The garden is not just a garden.
The work is all done by our four hands.
If you pass by our home,
and I happen to work on a corner in our front yard,
you will always find me sitting among the plants,
using my bare hands to rake, to clean, to dig.
It is hard to keep the garden clean and elegant at all times.
Every season has its difficulties but...
our garden is mainly for working.
The pleasure of working,
of doing it ourselves,
is the main idea.
The side effect and the satisfaction is its beauty.
The garden reaches the peak of its beauty in the spring.
When spring arrives the roses are bright, dazzling and
stunning.
Amos pruned them in January.
I fertilized them and
covered the soil with compost early in March.
I talk to them and spend time
with them every day.
I weed and I plant here and there sweet alyssum.
And here
they are in their bright, vivid colors.
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| Climbing roses around the garage door. |
The small purple flowers of the special wisteria.
In front of our garden,
on the other side of the yard,
a Sequoia tree slowly rises.
on the other side of the yard,
a Sequoia tree slowly rises.
We started the tree from a 2 inch plant in a glass test tube
that we bought in Muir Woods.
The tree is seven years old.
It is already as tall as our two storied home.
that we bought in Muir Woods.
The tree is seven years old.
It is already as tall as our two storied home.
Its shape is classic, and its branches are full and green.
Sometimes I see small, brown twigs here and there,
and I worry almost like a mother about her child:
and I worry almost like a mother about her child:
Maybe those
who said that Palo Alto is not a good place for a Sequoia
were right after all.
were right after all.
As it grows, it changes the character of the
small piece of land around it,
less sun, more roots, but as I always said:
Gardening is a process. It changes with the years flying by.
Gardening is a process. It changes with the years flying by.
Currently, impressive rose trees,
peonies, irises, forget-me-nots and more
decorate it in a wild random fashion.
Enter the backyard.
A tall, wide
Cedar tree rises in our neighbors' backyard.
The tree is huge.
Every afternoon, at
about 3 p.m, the wind from the bay starts whooshing.
I love the crescendo of the wind moving through the wide branches of the tree.
If I had
recorded it, I could play it here while you are reading.
I am sure it would have
been a pleasing sound to your ears,
like a low key Cello music.
like a low key Cello music.
Sometimes I stand in the kitchen, and the continuous low whistle enters the door and calls me: "Come out, listen."
Our garden is mostly flowers and fruit trees.
We don’t
have a vegetable garden, but here and there we grow strawberries,
and we grow
potatoes in a special bag.
It is our first time.
The potato plants are green and bushy.
Eden, my granddaughter,
will harvest the potatoes through pockets on the side of the bag,
starting from the bottom.
will harvest the potatoes through pockets on the side of the bag,
starting from the bottom.
Our apple trees are lined in an orderly fashion
along a wall.
They are pruned in a special way, like a vine.
They are pruned in a special way, like a vine.
They rise from a narrow bed decorated with pansies in the summer
and hyacinth bulbs in the winter.
Walking by the apples
I saw a bird enjoying the water.
It is unusual.
Unfortunately that bird bath,
stolen from my son's yard,
does not always attract the birds.
I saw a bird enjoying the water.
It is unusual.
Unfortunately that bird bath,
stolen from my son's yard,
does not always attract the birds.
My favorite flowers are the clematis on vines.
In our garden,
they are everywhere,
leaning on a house wall,
climbing the fence or curling along a trellis.
I’ve just planted a new clematis last week.
In our garden,
they are everywhere,
leaning on a house wall,
climbing the fence or curling along a trellis.
I’ve just planted a new clematis last week.
If I had more land, I would fill it up with
clematis vines.
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| Clematis Arabela |
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| Clematis Vino |
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| Clematis Multi Blue |
Nostalgia
Below the cedar grows a bush with clusters of tiny white flowers.
Below the cedar grows a bush with clusters of tiny white flowers.
My family had the same bush in Givataim, Israel,
where I spent my childhood.
where I spent my childhood.
A bud of flowers have just
started to open along the fine branches.
The black irises are about to come into bloom.
The last week of April, it was a pleasure to work in the garden.
The Jordan Middle School Marching Band was rehearsing for the May Parade.
Twice a day, the students marched and played along the street.
I stood up, waved my hands, and enjoyed them.
One day I decided to decorate the English Boxwood roots
with tiny, tiny purple flowers.
The plant is maybe 2" high.
I felt like a painter adding one more tiny ornament to his painting
with a delicate stroke of a brush.
The plant is maybe 2" high.
I felt like a painter adding one more tiny ornament to his painting
with a delicate stroke of a brush.
Coming to the USA from Israel, we hoped to raise
caterpillars of the Swallowtail butterfly on the "Shadab" bush.
We were excited to find the plant here in California.
The name of the bush is Ruta Chalepensis.
It is used as a herbal remedy, but
the Swallowtail butterflies ignore it.
They are attracted to another bush.
In one of the next blogs I'll tell you all about it.
Enter the house.
The house is an extension of the garden.
You can hardly squeeze yourself through to get to the front door.
You have to be careful not
to stumble into a succulent plant if you try to get in through the back door.
The view from the window
of the white clematis flowers,
of the white clematis flowers,
invites you to turn back and go out to the garden.
Back in the garden
you can smell
the delicate fragrance of the lilac,
listen to the hums and buzzes of many insects,
humming birds,
house finches and other birds and butterflies flying around the yard.
The plants shown here are only a sample
of our over-crowded garden.
The end of the April, 2013 garden tour.