February overview

I'd originally planned to post "overview" pictures taken around the first of each month, but didn't do it because the yard was such a mess. Mike rebuilt the streambed between the two ponds, which necessitated taking all the rocks out of it and there were piles of rock and dirt everywhere.

We are harvesting lots of citrus, broccoli, and sugar peas now, and the asparagus is beginning to appear. We're getting ready for spring planting, which we usually do around Valentine's Day as it typically marks the end of any danger of frost. I did decide to chance it and put it one tomato plant last weekend, along with parsley and oregano transplants.

This year's winter was relatively mild and there has been little frost damage. A Japanese eggplant is putting out new growth, as is one of the tomato plants, and there are blossoms on the April-fruiting peach tree.

Herbs and things

Lowe's had a sale on vegetable and herb pots, so I thought it would be a good time to clean out the Swiss chard and Chinese greens from this area and plant a herb garden in front of the roses in this bed. I planted oregano, parsley, basil, cilantro, and catnip. I thought this would be a good location for these as it is convenient to the kitchen, and will make an attractive foreground planting for the roses. There are also three tomato plants in this bed, and asparagus behind the roses.

The thevetia hedge between this bed and the pool area still hasn't started to leaf out after it took heavy frost damage this winter, so we may have to trim it back further. It's still alive, though, because when scratched with a fingernail we can see green wood.

The tomatoes in this bed look fine, but something happened to to the three I put in a different location. They turned black and wilted overnight...they look like they have been sprayed with Roundup, but we haven't used any in this area.