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Castro Valley, CA
This is part of my ongoing project to document the changes in our yard from month to month. Previous versions are: www.dailykos.com/...
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So here we go: We've had unseasonal amounts of rain and the weeds, mostly oxalis have taken over. Few things other than salvias are blooming, either. Out the back door, to the right we have a succulent, geraniums with either a few early blooms or a few really late ones, roses and bulbs up against the wall. This is looking generally south.
Left of the walk, the pineapple sage is starting to take off
The back edge, nearest the orange tree in the next view is California Fuschia, which looks almost identical in both leaf and flower. Looking generally east here, the orange to the right, the apricot left of center and a strawberry guava in a 2 foot cubed planter box against the fence in the center.
Begonias stashed under the orange still blooming, I'm not sure of their normal cycle
Heading south again, the ribes is bloomed out.
Off to the right (west) of the ribes is bloomed out milkweed, pruned grapes with a hanging garden of greens and green onions, recently planted and ready to pick if we get around to it. The hollyhocks under the grape pergola are long gone and there are bulbs (isises, iirc) buried in the weeds, also not blooming.
A quick 180 takes us to the blackberry just east of the ribes, still going nowhere with the late fruit clusters.
Looking up and to the east, more pineapple sage firing up
To its left a fuschia is starting to get buds
Turning left & looking north theres the apricot, still holding many of its leaves, the guava, and a coffeeberry behind it; the latter two all but dormant.
So, step out the back door and turn left (north) and the house wall has mostly bloomed out succulents and bloomed out lavender. Further out the pear is leafless on the left and the lemon, ever producing, but not blooming, on the right.
The one succulent still slightly blooming
To the east at the north corner there we have a camillia and an Italian Bay to its left. In the foreground there is a hydrangea and a rhody on the right, misc potted flowers in the center and stuff to the left to be dealt with later.
The potted flowers have a bloom or two, probably more geraniums
As promised, to the left of the above we have the lemon, fronted by bee balm, misc greens, some strawberries, rhubarb, squash and more greens around the corner
So, around said corner, but not showing the box of greens, we get the idle raised beds, some irises and daffs and the island mallow behind
Turning to go out front (west) the pear has dropped most of its leaves, the apple maybe 1/3. We're still picking apples and made and canned more applesauce on 11/30.
Out front we have the rosemary, the camillia and the bare redbud. Along the driveway there are irises amongst the weeds.
Under the redbud we have foxglove (didn't bloom in 2016), bulbs (probably irises), succulents, culinary sage (rear right) and salvia clevelandia (front right). The pot by the sidewalk is chives, bloomed out, but constantly reseeding.
The Mexican sage is starting to take off, under a blue spruce with salvia and pink geranium to its right
Palm and bloomed out succulents
More salvias, I think, ceanothus (R) and bottlebrush (L) behind
Buddleia pruned back after blooming out
bloomed out roses to the left of the buddleia
Barberry and bottlebushes along house, ceanothus rear right, and Mexican Sage poking in from right
So that is a pretty thorough walk-around, not much blooming but salvias of assorted types and those begonias under the orange tree. Oranges mostly green, some still ripe from last crop, some ripe lemons, but mostly green, and still getting more apples than we can use.
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Now It's Your Turn
What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.
Thank you.
