Wow, what a heat wave!

After all this rain I can tell it's summer finally... the sun is beginning to exert its dangerous forces on my parched little garden.  Two of my maples were burned, and one of them only had 3 leaves left.  I moved them to under the edge of the wisteria-covered porch where it's shadier and less windy, and have been a bit more attentive to watering.  I was pretty worried, but they're bouncing back.

The littlest maple made lots of buds right away!  It probably helped that I added some fish fertilizer.

The peas had browned quite a bit while I was away on vacation, and I was waiting to see if the hints of green meant life was still there... but they were fully dead within a week.  It's just too hot, and peas are a cold-weather plant.  Somehow this year I ended up with hardly any peas, maybe 30 out of 10 plants, but the vines were incredibly vigorous and had actually reached the top of the trellis, leaned over, and started to twine around the apple tree.  Last year with the same amount of plants in the same size pot, I was getting 5-8 peas a day for weeks, and the plants only got 2/3rds of the way up the same trellis.  The changed location is definitely making me change the way I've container-gardened in the past.

Though the peas are gone, the green beans are just getting started!

After living in the bay area for so many years, I'm not used to temperatures up in the 90's.  But it does feel good having more blatant extremes of weather, it makes me more aware of the seasons and time's progress.  And the heat of the season is made all the more enjoyable because we have air conditioning now!

Storm!

Oh my, it's been so windy that the largest Japanese maple fell over... 3 times.  That's it, the pot cannot sit on the gravel in the center of the stone path circle, it is doomed to the pebbled concrete of the porch.  Poor thing.

This tiny branch was the only maple casualty.

The fall of the tree also crushed a bunch of onion tops, but they're pretty hardy and they'll definitely be back.

The earthworms were out during the rain, searching for mates.  This one was stretched to 9 inches long!

I had released a bunch of giant earthworms in the backyard that I had received from a friend (long story), and it was fun to see them again.

The Trees Wake

Everything was bare, and then suddenly, POOF!... there really is life in these trees.

One tree blinks sleepily in the bright light.

The previous owners of the property took great care of this tree, and I hear rumors that the fruit is delicious... but I do not know what kind of apples it makes!  This very first pouf of leaves is pretty adorable and makes me excited for things to come.

One tree yawns and stretches to energize its limbs.

From all the suspicious nut shells on the ground under this tree, I'm guessing this must be an almond.

One tree pulls on a bright outfit to start the season right.

My husband's Japanese maple has spread its hilariously multicolored wings.  This was a pretty sudden transformation!

Since everything is waking up, it is definitely time to get those raised beds put in to let the compost settle until the temperature's right for planting.  Maybe that'll be my weekend project.  Hooray!

Hello to You, and Happy Birthday to Spring

What could be a better time to start a garden journal than the spring equinox? Day and night are about equal today, but from now on the light becomes increasingly dominant as it wakes the plants. It's become obvious that spring is here, as the trees begin to bud and the air starts to warm.

Buds on the green Japanese maple... and firewood that's going to make the air warm!

I seem to be having a similar experience too as I make the transition between towns, relaxing into the cozy realization that this is my home. The difference is that there is now actual land, an oven, bathtub, garage, fireplace, space for crafts, no one walking back and forth on a squeaky ceiling all night, no traffic noise, and my only housemates are a happy husband, a pampered gecko, and a bossy fish... it's all the little things that make me blissful! There's a bubbly sensation inside, and all those suppressed gardening/crafting/cooking project ideas are threatening to burst forth at about the same time as the trees explode in leaves.

With that in mind, hello and welcome to Leaves In My Hair! My name is Kendra, and plants are one of my life's greatest joys. If you happen upon this blog, I'd be thrilled if you'd introduce yourself, and even stick around a while to share your own gardening experiences and advice as this journal grows. If you have a blog of your own, what is it about?