"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson




Friday, January 20, 2012

Before and After in the Pellie Bed

I spent yesterday afternoon raking leaves and pruning the Pellie bed. I wish I would have taken a closer picture of the plants to show what I have but if you would like to see them click Here (the lower photographs on that post will show the flowers in this bed)
On the left side of this photo is cannas and then just ahead is about 6 pelargonium plants, about 10 feet or so.  I pruned them severely this year because the fallen leaves had pretty much covered the lower half of the plants making it difficult to get in to clean around them, and many were just too large.  They can cover that area when blooming and it makes it difficult to get past them.  I took some cutting just in case I need to replace a few.  I want to transplant some of them back closer to the wall of the house to give them more room to expand without reaching the pavers. When I put these in a few years ago they were only 4 inch pots.
 Here is the area after I raked up the leaves and pruned the plants. You can see how I cut everything down to the ground level. We are forecast for rain for the next three days.  I will fertilize and mulch after the rains.  Looking at this photo I see I also need to plant in-between the pavers with more Dichondra seed.
Another view looking North
Lavender in bloom at end of paver path
Blue Flax in the Herb Garden
Rosemary Bush in Bloom
Here are all the leaves I raked up. The compost bin was half full when I started and it stands just under 5 feet. Notice the overflow on the side. After the rains come it should lower enough for me to put the rest in.  Lots of good compost in the near future!


The leaves had a wonderful frolic.
They danced to the wind's loud song.
They whirled, and they floated, and scampered.
They circled and flew along.

The moon saw the little leaves dancing.
Each looked like a small brown bird.
The man in the moon smiled and listened.
And this is the song he heard.

The North Wind is calling, is calling,
And we must whirl round and round,
And then, when our dancing is ended,
We'll make a warm quilt for the ground.

-Anonymous

14 comments:

  1. Your garden is so beautiful. I love the path; it is very inviting. What a great poem at the end. I will have to copy it. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Wow! You have lots of leaves. I enjoyed the whimsical poem about the leaves. We have very few deciduous trees here in the desert, and the leaves are very tiny.

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  3. Hi L. Ambler, thank you for stopping by my blog. We love the desert and often head East in the early spring to see the native plants in bloom.

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  4. BBBB, Thank you! I enjoyed placing the pavers down for this pathway. It took me awhile but I enjoy it even more knowing how much effort I put into it.

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  5. Lovely! The smell of lavender is amazing. I was thinking about planting some this year. :)

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  6. Red, I think you should definitely do that! You could make your own Lavender Lemonade this summer.

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  7. I'm very glad that you visited my blog. Come at other times, I think I'll often come to you.

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  8. Thank you Juhmeli, I will do that.

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  9. Carla, your gardens so beautiful and loved by so many. I tagged you on my blog so others can get to know more about you and the blogs you read. Rules can be found on my blog. Hope your join in on the fun.
    Betty

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  10. Thank you Betty! I will stop by as soon as I can.

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  11. Hi Carla, glad you called; Love the Pelargoniums too, have always some growing and spilling over.
    The crazy paving always looks good and if a few plants spill over tit makes it even prettier. this is a healthy looking rosemary bush. Surly enough for cooking and everything else it might be needed. I love rosemary potatoes! The leaves are perfect to compost. I close my eyes when I see people burning them....and love the poem, it made my day!T♥

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  12. Titania, I love rosemary potatoes too! In fact I am making some tonight for dinner.

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  13. Carla,

    What a lovely helpful blog you've created! I'm very much looking forward to following you! I'm envious of your climate!

    Warm wishes from Kansas!

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  14. Hi Poppy, Thank you, blogging is so much fun as you know. Stop by any time you need a little CA sunshine.

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Thank you for taking time to visit my blog, I love hearing from you, stay as long as you like, Carla