January

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c506e1egerbq.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>My Garden in 2003</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Garden in 2003"><U><B>My Garden in 2003</B></U></A></div> <div> January   |   <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February"><U>February</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March"><U>March</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April"><U>April</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May"><U>May</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June"><U>June</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#339900" TEXT="#080000"> <div> January is probably the least glorious month in the garden.  With the winter rains, the weeds in the vegetable patch need attention, various hardy flowers are finally throwing off their leaves, and the fruitless mulberry and "liquid amber" trees in the neighborhood are blowing large leaves and spiny balls all over the place.</div> <bR> <div> But there are still flowers!  My pink rose out back still has one bud, while the yellow rose presented it's last at Christmas.  The paperwhite narcissus continue to pop-up and bloom, as they have since Halloween, although I think we're just about done.  Forget-me-nots, primrose and gazanias are winter hardy, and provide some color, as has the potted rosemary plant on the back terrace.</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#99CC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> January</div> <div> <IMG SRC="043fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Here's the front of the house - the lawn will need mowing this weekend, when I take down the wreaths, Santa windsock and "fairy" lights along the lattice. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="045fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="047fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Two shots, from either side, of my "white garden".  The calla lilies have sprouted, and if we don't get killer frosts, should be beautiful this year.  The primroses are visible in the shot on the right.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="049fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="04bfabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> One of my big surprises during my first Christmas in the house was that the jade plant bloomed (on the left!)  It's not really planted well, and still does wonderfully.  There was frost damage, despite being close to the house, but it came back nicely.  On the left are some of the last of the paperwhite narcissus out in the bulb garden along side the driveway.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="04de12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="04fe12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Coming through the gate into the backyard, you first encounter this 2-3-foot wide strip garden between the fence and the patio deck.  I pulled out the grass and began planting a variety of things, including some agapanthus that were being discarded at Chevron.  I've added iris and gladiolus from Scott's garden,  marigolds, gazanias, dahlias, rosemary and even some small jade plants.  It's always interesting to see what will come up each summer.  Then in back of the house is my holly tree.  She's one happy female holly, covered with red berries through most of the year.  The previous owners had topped it, but it's grown back to a conical shape, and brushes up against the house.  (The siding installed offered to trim it, but I wanted to leave it as it is.)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="051fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="053fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Back in my northeast corner is another larger garden.  The green in the right picture is blue agapanthus, which was there when I moved in.  I'll probably have to get in and clean it up in another several weeks, removing the deadheads as well as trimming back the vegetation.  The climber that tops the iron arbor is still green, although two other climbers have gone dormant.  The fuchsia dahlias that grow large in the arch are dormant, although I'm starting to see bulb activity from tulips and day lilies.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="055fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="057fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> In the northwest corner I have the raised veggie garden.  That large silver-gray growth is the artichoke, which provided me with 3-4 dozen 'chokes last season, before I got too tired and just let them go to bloom.  I've hacked back the oregano and sage plants, and planted more iris in one corner, as well as taking some of the sunflower seeds from a volunteer that I've left for the birds.  The shot on the right is of the middle back fence: there is a lemon in the container, as well as a dormant clematis visible to the right of the creep myrtle.  At the far base of the myrtle is Dutch iris, already 15" tall, and preparing to bloom; on the closer side are day lilies.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="059fabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="05bfabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The grapevine did rather well this year - I had lots of clusters of what I now suspect is "red flame".  Despite not netting, and being much more vigilant about pruning, the birds didn't get most of the grapes, so I had some before they turned into raisins which the squirrels enjoyed.  Pruning is about 10 days off, and I'll save some of the runners for firewood - they dry out quickly if I leave them on the sunny portion of the back deck.  On the right is the rosemary (with a little silver thyme) in a clay pot I brought with me from Castro Valley 8 years (almost) ago.  It had an azalea in the center, which mimic'd a similar planting my father had, but it couldn't survive the sporadic watering during the summer, particularly when I'm away.  The rosemary is in full, fragrant bloom, giving the nighttime hot tub visits an extra treat.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="063e12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="05fe12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="061e12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Finally, there's the container'd dwarf tangerine on the deck (again this year giving me delicious fruit for January & February) which came with me in my move.  Back over by the veggies is a half barrel with a Eureka lemon which will get frost, but has lemons again this year.  [No, I don't know why these last two are black&white.]  And the last pix is my first rose of 2003 - a Princess Elizabeth!</div> </td> </tr></table></body>