Poinsettias Are Popular in December Flower Arrangements

Poinsettias Are Popular for Decorating Outside 

I remember when I was growing up, we had a poinsettia plant near our back door. For some reason, my mom didn't care for it. Maybe it was because of the sticky white sap that dripped when she cut the "flowers" off to bring them in for December flower arrangements. Some people believe the sap is poisonous, but at worst it can cause skin irritation. She used to tell me it was poisonous.

Here on the California Central Coast, we can put poinsettias and sunflowers together outside at the same time, as long as there is no frost. I shot this scene in December one year as I was walking my neighborhood.

Poinsettias on Bench in Neighbor's Garden in December, © B. Radisavljevic 

People in frost free zones can plant the poinsettia for winter color in their gardens, as well as holly and pyracantha, which have red berries at this time of year. My area in Paso Robles is not frost free. We do have some nights below freezing. 

Many Motels and Hotels Use Poinsettias for Decorating During the Holidays

We often used to visit family and friends in Southern California for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We usually stayed at a motel in either Thousand Oaks or Orange County, or both. We saw this poinsettia plant on a table in a public area at the Best Western Motel in Thousand Oaks. 

Poinsettias on Table at Best Western Motel in Thousand Oaks, CA,  © B. Radisavljevic 

This photo clearly shows the parts of the plant. It has evergreen leaves. Red bracts surround the small yellow true flowers. It appears most businesses don't want to mess with the sticky sap anymore than my mother did. They use potted plants to do their decorating. 

Many people give potted poinsettias as gifts. Whether you receive one or buy one to decorate, you may wonder how to care for it. Poinsettias like sunshine, so if they are indoors, make sure they sit by a sunny window. Try to keep the temperature in the room from fluctuating too much. Although  these plants like moist soil, don't let water accumulate in the bottom of the pot's saucer or the plants may get root rot. Your plants will appreciate it if you remove the decorative foil as soon as the holiday season has passed. 

After the red bracts and flowers begin to fall, it's time to prepare your plant for storage if you want to keep it. Prune stems back to two buds and decrease the amount of water you give the plant. It won't be as thirsty as it was.Give it just enough water to keep it from drying out.  Store it in a cool place until late spring when all danger of frost is past. 

When the weather is warm enough again in late spring, you can safely set the plants outside in the sun. You may want to let them adjust by only leaving them out for a few hours a day and gradually increasing the time until they have acclimated to their new setting. Those who live in frost free areas may be able to safely plant their poinsettias in the garden against a south wall to keep them warm and to protect them from strong winds. For more detailed information on keeping these plants alive after the holiday season,  please read How to Care for Poinsettias, published by Better Homes and Gardens.

San Luis Bay Inn In Avila Beach Decorates with Poinsettias 

I took these photos when we were visiting a friend who was vacationing at the San Luis Bay Inn one December. This arrangement was in the lobby. Do you notice the white poinsettias in this display? 

Poinsettias on Display at San Luis Bay Inn in Avila Beach, © B. Radisavljevic 

I thought this arrangement was particularly striking.

Poinsettia Decoration at San Luis Bay Inn in Avila Beach, © B. Radisavljevic 

The San Luis Bay Inn was lovely during the Christmas season. I can see why my friend chose to stay there. If you plan to be  in San Luis Obispo County for the holidays, you might want to consider spending your vacation at the San Luis Bay Inn Resort in Avila Beach, just a short walk from the beach. It has everything you could want: kitchenettes in the large suites, wireless internet, large public areas for relaxing, swimming pool, jacuzzi, exercise room, and more.  It's a resort in every sense of the word. You can book through the banner below. Rooms fill up fast, so it's wise to plan far ahead. 

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My Neglected Templeton Garden in June

June 19, 2017

What Happens When a Garden Takes Care of Itself

The Butterfly Bush

This is the same butterfly bush that fell in 2014. See this post for contrast photos.

Recovered Butterfly Bush Growing Upright Again, © B. Radisavljevic

Butterfly Bush in Context of Rest of Herb Garden,  © B. Radisavljevic

In the left background is an Italian CyrpeCypress tree. In the foreground is a combination of black sage and rosemary.  The orchard is in the background on the right. This is quite a contrast from my original herb garden when I planted it a couple of decades ago. This is what this section looked like in April, 2007.

Expanding Herb Garden in April, 2007, © B. Radisavljevic

Apples

I was happy to see our remaining apple tree is producing this year. 

Young Apples, June 19, 2017, © B. Radisavljevic

Walnuts on the Tree

Walnut Tree with Immature Nuts, © B. Radisavljevic

June 20, 2017

Papa Quail 

Papa Quail Watches Over Family, Which Is Hidden in Brush,  © B. Radisavljevic

Papa Quail in Context. Quail Family is Hidden in Brush, © B. Radisavljevic

It was too hot to stand still and wait for the quail family to come out of hiding so I could get a photo, but I often see the mother with her chicks running for cover in the brush as I go by. They live on the section of our land that is near the entrance. That's our oak tree in the background.

The Herbs on the Slope

I planted my first herbs in Templeton on the slope close to the front door. For years they've grown wild, and I discovered when I took these photos that a coyote brush plant had sneaked in under the  rosemary on the back edge and grown large enough to smoother whatever is under it. Probably my oregano and tricolor sage. Rosemary is still growing strong in back. But I'd like to concentrate on the flowers here. 

The lavender was among the first plants I placed on the slope. I got it from the now gone Sycamore Farms herb farm. The sage below was planted at the same time and came from the same place. The santolina (golden) was planted later. It probably also came from there. 

Bee Foraging on Lavender, © B. Radisavljevic

Santolina and Lavender Close Up, © B. Radisavljevic

Common Sage in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic, 

Thyme on the Slope, © B. Radisavljevic 

This last photo shows an overview of the slope. The taller yellow flowers are volunteer dusty miller plants that reseeded from some older transplants. The santolina and lavender are on its left. You see mostly rosemary and sage on the right, with thyme in the foreground. All these plants originally came from four-inch pots around 2006, so you can see how much they have grown. For the last three years they have had little attention. 

Overview of West Side of Slope, © B. Radisavljevic

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what can happen to a neglected garden. It's amazing so much of it survived the drought with almost no irrigation.

Do you grow herbs? What are your most memorable experiences with them? Which are your favorites to grow?

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Wordless Wednesday: When Oak Trees are Weeds

Oak Trees Can Be Weeds if They Grow in Your Garden

Oak Tree Seedling that Sprouted in Rose Garden, © B. Radisavljevic

If An Oak Grows in a Rose Garden, It's a Weed

Oak Seedling Becomes a Weed in Rose Garden, © B. Radisavljevic

It looks like a squirrel missed an acorn it buried. It will be fun trying to dig this up. Anyone want a free oak tree?  

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Garden Tasks Finished before Storm

Cutting Back the Lamb's Ears and Jasmine in the Bed by the Garage

Every day this spring I've walked by this poor Spanish Sage plant I could barely see because it was being covered by jasmine from above. That blocked its light. On April 5 I finally made some time to cut the jasmine back and expose the sage to the light again. 

Jasmine Blocking the Light the Spanish Sage Needs

Here is the same plant when I finished pruning back the jasmine. I also cut back some of the sage. Because it's been straining to get the sun, it got very leggy, and you can see its bare branches that were hidden by the jasmine. You can also see the tiny leaves on those stems. I hope they will now grow up instead of continuing towards the sidewalk. 

Next winter I will have to do this job sooner and cut the sage way back, but this winter I had the flu all during January and then had steady dentist appointments during February and most of March. After getting my root canals done I didn't feel like working in the garden or anywhere else, and I was always playing catch-up on other work. In addition to that, it rained a lot and the ground was wet. 

I pruned the jasmine that was covering the Spanish Sage and also thinned the Lamb's Ears that were trying to smother it.

Not far from the Spanish Sage was a Sweet William struggling to survive -- maybe more than one. It's hard to tell in the midst of all the jasmine and Lamb's Ears plants.  Normally the Sweet William plants that reseed return at this time of year, but this year the Lamb's Ears spread so much that they completely covered any of the seedlings trying to emerge. Although I do love Lamb's Ears, enough is enough. I will probably still have to trim more of it back. I took the photo below on March 28. I knew I had to uncover any plants under that Lamb's Ears patch, and I had to just keep pulling and pruning until I found this plant. I was hoping there would be more. Maybe there still will be.

Below is a close-up of the struggling Sweet William after I pulled a lot of the Lamb's Ears away from it. I had not realized the Lamb's Ears were propping it up. It was also very leggy and fell flat. I may have to prop it up with a small stake to keep it upright. I'm hoping it will spread as time goes on. Plants have an amazing ability to recover, just as my butterfly bush did after a storm knocked it down. 

Struggling Sweet William after I Thinned Lamb's Ears Around It.

 

The photo below puts my afternoon's work into context. The star jasmine is in the background against the wall. Left to right: jasmine, struggling sage, Lillies of the Nile between jasmine and Lamb's Ears in middle, the space where the Sweet William tries to gain ground, more Lamb's Ears, blooming calendulas with budding irises behind them. Between the calendula and the car, you see the low green of the gazanias with a tall flowering kale behind it next to the brick trim. 

What I Accomplished in the Front Flowerbed 

If you read my last post, you saw the state of the front flowerbed before I started weeding and thinning and pruning on April 6. The Lamb's Ears were out of control, the hyssop that hadn't been pruned was brown and ugly and taking over, the oregano in the pot needed pruning, and grassy weeds were trying to overwhelm anything the other plants were leaving alone. 

The two photos below were taken on February 13. We had had so much rain that weeding was almost impossible. I was also weakened by all the dental work I was having done. After even more rain in March, by the day I started the work the state of this flowerbed was even worse. 

Since it was February, the daffodils were budding. My chard on the right bottom had turned red. You can see the dead growth on the oregano in the terracotta pot. That brown clump to the left of it is the hyssop. It looked even browner when I started cutting it way back on April 6. Pruning the oregano was much easier. 

The worst job, though, was getting the grassy weeds that were taking over any bare ground they could find. Their roots are very hard to get out. They also entangle the roots of the plants I want to keep. Here they are surrounding my catmint. The catmint itself has escaped from its pot and is now also running amuck, but at least I can make tea out of that.  

Catmint in and out of Pot Surrounded by Grassy Weeds

The photos show only a portion of the work that needed to be done. I was trying to finish the most urgent tasks before the storm that was supposed to hit later at night started. Here is how the area around the catmint pot looked by the time I was through. Not perfect, but good enough to scatter some old seeds around before the storm brought rain to water them. They were very old seeds, but I thought I'd see what happened. Mother Nature often surprises me. 

Catmint Pot After Weeding

Below you see what the hyssop plant looked like when I finished with it. Better late than never. It will grow out again before it's time for it to bloom in June. A few green shoots are already peaking out. I did miss a couple of branches, but I'll get them after I finish the taxes. After the rain, the catmint in the pot perked up again. 

Hyssop after Haircut

Here's how the front flowerbed looked after I finished working and had scattered my seeds. The rain came as promised later and all the next day, so I'm hoping maybe at least a couple of seeds will sprout. On the lower right, in front of the irises, you see a green carnation plant with the leaves of an old daffodil plant in front of it. You could not see that carnation before I cut back the hyssop which was covering it.  I had forgotten the carnation was there. I fed it. 

A Good's Afternoon's Work in the Flowerbed

When I finished for the day, I took the pictures of the flower beds and then turned to get the sky toward the west. The sunset promised rain. And it came. I'm glad I pushed myself to get some of the preliminary work done before it started coming down. 

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What's Happening in my Garden in Early Spring?

There Are Lots of Garden Tasks to Be Done

We've had a lot of rain in the past two months, and the garden reflects that. The weeds are trying to take over, but I've been too busy going to and recovering from dentist appointments to do much about them. The grassy weeds are the worst.  Fortunately, my lamb's ears, which grow as fast as weeds, are helping to keep some of them at bay. Meanwhile, the bees are really enjoying the flowers that are appearing everywhere and the kale is bolting.

Grassy Weeds Trying to Take Over the Garden, Lamb's Ears Trying to Compete

Weeding and Thinning

In the photo above you can see some of the garden tasks I'm way behind on. Weeding is probably the most important. If I don't get the weeds out of the way, the reseeding plants may not get the light they need to sprout. Some of the lamb's ears, much as I love them, will also have to go. As you can see below, they are choking the emerging Sweet William seedlings from last year's seeds. I'll also have to cut back the star jasmine that surrounds and is starting to cover these plants. Looks like I will also have to reapply my non-toxic snail bait in this section. I usually use the cheapest brand, and it works.

Lamb's Ears Smothering Sweet William Seedling, while both Fight the Star Jasmine, © B. Radisavljevic 

With all this weeding to be done, it's time to check my gardening tools again. If you find yourself short, this Vremi 9-piece tool set has all one needs to tackle most weeding jobs.



Bees in the Holly

The holly is in bloom, and the bees love it. I took this photo a few days ago. I'm glad I did because the gardener trimmed some of the flowers off today. He said the bees were pretty angry with him as he worked and he had to be careful. I think there are still enough flowers to keep the bees busy. 

Bees Foraging in Holly Flowers in March, © B. Radisavljevic

The Bolting Kale

I currently have four kale plants growing in my flower beds. Three of them are volunteers that did not exactly grow where I would have placed them. All of them are bolting now. I will probably cut the flowering stems from the weakest plants, and let the others go to seed for next year's crop. I will also have to harvest and freeze a lot of the leaves that are left.

 My top photo showed my best kale plant. I understand now why it may not have had the aphid problems the other plants had. Its close neighbors are calendula and catmint, both of which help repel or trap these pests that bother my other plants. Also, that kale in my front flowerbed gets more regular water than the other plants, and better soil. It is the only kale plant with drip irrigation. 

The kale plant below gets less care than any of the others. It sprang up between my driveway and my neighbor's yard in the bed in the middle. There is a birch tree there and gazanias cover most of the ground. It is not irrigated unless I remember to pour some water on the kale plant. How it ever took root there I'll never know, but I have used many of its leaves. You can see from its flowers that it's bolting. So are the other plants, but the flowers are harder to see in their photos. 

Flowers of Bolting Kale, © B. Radisavljevic

This is actually a pair of kale plants below. I never thinned them. I sometimes use their leaves, but they are often plagued with aphids. They have poor soil and no companion plants but gazanias. They do not have regular irrigation. They grow in the corner of a bed of gazania and star jasmine beside the driveway. Like the plant above, they came from the mother plant you see at the top of this blog post. 

Twin Kale Plants by Driveway, © B. Radisavljevic

My Favorite Companion Planting Book

Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden

 I have used this book for years. It has provided inspiration on what to plant where and been just fun to read. There are lists of which plants discourage which pests, which plants attract which beneficial insects, and which plants help each other thrive. I love the garden design ideas, such as the wheel garden and the front yard salad garden. The information is organized in a user-friendly way so that it's easy to find what you want, and you will want to read more than what you came for. I highly recommend this to any gardener who wants to avoid chemicals.

Zinfandel Photos in Templeton

I live in Highway 46 West Wine Country in the Heart of the Templeton Gap. It seems conditions here are perfect for growing Zinfandel grapes. That's why so many wineries in this area make outstanding  Zinfandel wines. Many of them are my neighbors. One of those neighbors is Castoro Cellars. Below are some of their Zinfandel grapes awaiting harvest.

Photo of  Zinfandel Grapes in Vineyard at Castoro Cellars, © B. Radisavljevic

Another neighbor, Peachy Canyon Winery, is also known for its Zinfandel wines. It had at once time a small demonstration vineyard across from the tasting room that grew some Zinfandel grapes. See it below.

Photo of  Zinfandel Grapes in Small Vineyard at Peachy Canyon Winery, © B. Radisavljevic

The last photos I will feature of Zinfandel grapes are from another close neighbor, Rotta Winery. I can climb their hill and look down and see my house. Unlike the other vines I showed you from Castoro and Peachy Canyon, the Rotta vines are head-trained. They can look a bit wild when they are at their leafiest, but I like them. Here is a vine I photographed as grapes were fairly ripe.

Photo of Head-Trained Zinfandel Grapes from Rotta Vineyard, © B. Radisavljevic

Below is a close-up of the leaves and fruit.

Photos of Almost Ripe Zinfandel Grapes from Rotta Vineyard, © B. Radisavljevic

If you found this post interesting, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. All photos in the collage were taken at Peachy Canyon Winery.

This is my last post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table
Roses Are Not Just Red
Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Can be Garden Friends
Urushiol Will Make You Itch
Vetch Runs Wild
Weeds I Love to Hate
Xeriscaping is Essential in Dry Areas

Yarrow is Ideal for Xeriscaping

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Related articles

• Quiet Places Near Paso Robles
• The Giant Chair at Peachy Canyon Winery has Been Moved
• Spring Has Sprung in Wine Country
• Colorful Flowers Brighten Castoro Cellars in Autumn
• Two Unique Tasting Room Sights at Peachy Canyon

Weeds I Love to Hate

I have written several posts about weeds I appreciate. I was going to sum them up here, but there were just too many of them and time is short tonight. Instead I will show you the weeds I love to hate. Two of them are beautiful in their season but too poisonous for me to want close to the house or in the garden and orchard areas.  The third is not poisonous -- but ugly and hard to pull. These are the weeds I love to hate. We'll start with poison oak, pictured below.

I have written extensively about poison oak and how to identify it and deal with it, so I won't repeat that here. Some of those articles are in the related links below.

It's hard to get rid of poison oak once it has made its home on your property. We have too much to get it all out, so we tolerate what grows far from the house in places humans rarely go. We do have a couple of plants that like to come back every year and live under this pyracantha shrub, right near the trunk. We had gotten rid of them when this picture was taken, but they have come back again this year and will have to be sprayed. Poison oak  is the one plant I will spray if it's growing where people are likely to be.

Pyracantha Shrub Poison Oak Likes to Grow Under, © B. Radisavljevic

The second plant I would like to get off my property is poison hemlock, another plant I've written a lot about in other places. (See Poison Hemlock: Lovely and Lethal.) It is lovely, but it is also very deadly if ingested. It's what killed Socrates.

The individual plants aren't too hard to pull, but one should wear gloves. The problem is that the plants don't come alone. They come in multiples and make a forest if they grow up. They resemble some vegetables and herbs, so one has to be careful. Poison hemlock has a sickening smell, unlike wild carrots or parsley, which it resembles.  It is pictured here intermingling with the weed I hate the most -- a grassy weed.

Poison Hemlock Growing with Grassy Weeds, © B. Radisavljevic

 Why do I hate the grassy weeds? Unlike poison hemlock, which has a long tap root like a carrot, the grasses have a root system that doesn't want to budge. Once they get a few inches tall they are a real pain.

When I started to redo my front yard in Paso Robles, these grassy weeds had made a home there and intermingled with the roots of the juniper bush and calendula. You can see it in the photo below.

In  photo #1, top left, you see the grass coming from under the juniper bush.

In photo #2, top right, you see the grass close up, stubbornly staying put while I'm trying to pull it. I actually broke my weeding tool trying to get it out.

In photo #3, bottom left, after I finally dug it out, you  can see the root system. Each root clings to its own bit of ground and resists any effort to remove it.

In photo #4, bottom right, is a grassy weed I almost had cleaned out, but it is intertwined with the roots of my calendula and I could not pull the weed without pulling the flower out.

I should also mention that I tried to pull the weeds without gardening gloves that would protect my arms above the wrists. Juniper bushes are sharper than I had realized. I have since gotten better gloves for when I need to work around the juniper and the roses.  I also purchased and now use a garden kneeler so I can be more comfortable weeding on my knees. I have arthritis, and this helps. Here's my review of the garden kneeler I use. 

Pulling a Grassy Weed, © B. Radisavljevic

This is why I hate the grassy weeds the most. I usually have several species of them competing for space. I try to put them when they are small, but while I had restricted activities after all my surgeries the past two years, the weeds got a head start. The gardener here at least trims the tops of those that grow apart from the plants I want. I believe I will smother them with black  plastic next autumn, or even before that. I've pretty much given up gardening in Templeton.

Which weeds do you most love to hate? 

If you found this post useful, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. You see the poison hemlock and grassy weeds growing together in our orchard in Templeton. 

This is my twenty-third post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table
Roses Are Not Just Red
Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
Tansy and Fruity Teucrium Can be Garden Friends
Urushiol Will Make You Itch

Vetch Runs Wild

Related articles

• Be Very Careful When You See This
• Urushiol Will Make You Itch
• The Poison Hemlock at Larry Moore Park Grew Right through This Bench
• Weeds, Outdoor Living, and You
• Poison in the Park
• The California Weeds You Need to Pull Now!