Bad News. Good News.

Bad news first...

One of the 3 fruits on the Split Leaf Philodendron has aborted.  It's one of the weirdedst items in the garden - sans moi.  The plant still gives off an intense tropically sweet scent.  Since zone 8-9 is not the proper conditions for this fruit to develop, I'll have to settle for this process to occur around Memorial Day weekend each year.

The bad news really wasn't that bad.  This was expected and should happen for the remaining 2 fruits.

Good news now...

The Aloe Vera has been moved out of the sun and into the shade where it's once sunburned leaves are plumping up, greening up, and thriving.  Lesson:  stay out of the sun. 

Name That Flower

There are loads of blossoms in the garden...especially since we had a brush with triple digit temperatures last weekend.  Mind you, there was snow on the passes just one week earlier.  This week, has been pleasant with some nice rain.  The flowers have responded... 

Sweet Peas - The wall of vines just keeps on giving.

 Sweet Peas have been attracting bumble bees and that's okay.  Bouquets are clipped regularly.  That must stimulate the vines to continue to produce blossoms.  As the season comes to an end, the stems are shorter. There are some seed pods forming so this won't last much longer.  I keep the seeds for the fall planting.

Nasturtiums

Volunteer Nasturtiums are thriving.  They have been all winter long.  I thought they were summer plants but it seems these are fairly sturdy.  Did you know that nasturtiums are related to cabbage and that the flowers and leaves are edible if no pesticides are used?  I didn't know that. Have you tasted Nasturtiums?

Iceberg Rose

One bare root rose was planted this winter to accent the boysenberries.  It was moved a few times before I settled on  the current location.  As the temperatures have warmed this week, the buds have opened and have a light scent.  As marigold blossoms fade, I scatter those seeds under the rose and berries to help deter aphids and nematodes.  If this grows well this summer, a companion Iceberg Rose will be planted at the opposite end of the boysenberry row.  I'm also looking for a purple tree rose that grows well in zone 8-9.  Any suggestions?

Aloe Vera

 The potted garden Aloe Vera is quite large and needed to be repotted.  I thought that it was getting sunburned and pot bound so it was repotted in a shadier location and seems to be thriving with less sun and water.  The reason for the sunburned looking plant may have been due to over watering.  It was drenched when we repotted this beast.  The gel of this succulent is great to have handy in the garden to soothe scrapes, bites, and burns.  Has anyone ever seperated the pups of Aloe Vera?

Name this flower

Can you name this flower?  If you garden in the Central San Joaquin Valley, your garden may currently have quite a bit of this flower.  Mine did but they're now in the green waste.

Aunt Aloe Vera

There is an Aloe Vera plant in the garden.  It’s a gigantic Aloe Vera plant.  Did my neighbor give it to me?  Did I buy it?  Did my Aunt Vera give it to me?  I don’t remember.  I never use it.  Dumb.  I should.  It’s gigantic.  This summer it was growing out in the full sun.  The sun was getting the best of the Aloe Vera.  I put on some heavy duty gloves and rolled the pot under some shade cloth that is used for the Camellias.  It improved and is enjoying the new location.

 

Black Widow spiders enjoy living in it, on it, and all around the pot.  It has outgrown its pot.  The pot is a cheap, junky, plastic container that really doesn’t suite such a large plant.  The whole thing is top heavy.

 

This Spring it was in bloom at the end of April when the temperatures started to climb.  Should I plant it in the ground where it is thriving?  Should I leave it alone?  Should I wait until Spring?