Welcome to The Compulsive Gardener Blog!
Of Butterflies and Bidets
You wouldn’t think those two things had anything in common, but as it happens, both presented new and delightful arrivals in my life since my last post. Let’s start…
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The Heat Is On–in the garden and on the planet
Today is a toasty 92°F (33°C) but that is normal for this time of year for us. We’ve actually had an unusually cool summer so far and our tomatoes…
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Baby Foxes Afoot! (cuteness warning)
An adorable family of gray foxes has taken up residence under the ruins of the old barn. I suspect the call of the compost pile and worm bin full…
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Spring Awe–Buds and Bugs
Nature does not stand still and wait for us to catch up. It’s a glorious spring after all the winter rains we finally enjoyed after so many drought years.…
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The Frogs are Happy, Dormant Pruning Is Done, Bareroot Is Planted, Fungi Is Fruiting and Seedlings Are Started–Whew
I’ve lost track of how many atmospheric rivers have come through California so far this rainy season, so I just looked it up. The answer is fourteen! (KGET) Not…
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Saturated, Inundated, Swamped…
Which of these watery words of overwhelm should I use? When it rains it pours? Trying to keep my head above water? We’ve gone precipitously from an historic drought…
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Winter Garden Reflections
The winter shadows are long across the landscape, creating dramatic patterns amongst the fallen leaves. We’ve awakened to ice on the bird fountains many mornings and felt grateful for…
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Sowing A Wildflower Meadow
Sow your wildflower patch in winter to enjoy the blooms in spring. Read about when I broadcast California poppy and arroyo lupine seeds and how I tend to them…
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How to Spook Gardeners on Halloween
Tongue in cheek… just for some Halloween fun, I thought I’d see if I can spook any gardeners with some garden Goth. What might cause my gardener’s soul some…
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October Garden–fall harvests, winter crops, tucking the worms in & sharing the abundance
The October garden is a wild thing–overgrown and intertwined–with the last of summer’s exuberance. The squash tendrils have crept like fog and pulled themselves into uncharted lands and left…
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Hot Autumn Hibernation with Houseplants
It was our turn for a heatwave, or so it seems, as our outdoor temperatures seared this week to about 114°Fahrenheit (about 45°Celsius). A hot autumn is normal here…
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A Summertime Saunter Through the Garden — butterflies, pruning winter squash, hand-pollinating corn, saving seeds
Stroll thru the summer garden with me and see some butterflies, help prune the winter squash, hand-pollinate the corn, save seeds for next year, put out some free cucumbers…
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First Monarch Butterfly Sighting, Saving Seed from California Poppies, & an Unfortunate Contaminant
Monarch Butterfly Sighting Today I let slip a little scream of excitement when I spotted the first monarch butterfly here in our garden–at least the first one I can…
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The Solace of the Wildlife Garden
Lately it feels like the garden is taking more care of me than I am of it. The world of humans is so fraught with angst and urgent concerns…
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Garden Paths of Decomposed Granite — keeping the garden accessible as I age
This year we did the best thing we’ve ever done in the garden. And actually, we didn’t do it. We hired a professional landscaper to install granite paths for…
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Is It A Ladybug Picnic?
The garden seems to be a popular place for ladybugs this year. I’m seeing many more than usual, even for spring. Online, the local gardeners seem to be saying…
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The Roses In My Garden — wild, exquisite, and tough as nails
In celebration of Mothers Day Just in time for Mother’s Day, the roses in my garden are starting to bloom. These are not fragile beauties; they are survivor superstars!…
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I discovered your blog through your comment on The Nostalgic Gardener’s blog and was pleasantly surprised with the content. We don’t have a garden ourselves, but we do have a balcony where we do a bit of gardening. The content of your blog is very diverse, creative topics are also given a place. It would be great to follow your blog.
Sincerely,
Rudi
Oh… how sweet Rudi! Thank you. I like your Nature Photography site as well and just followed you too. Sel does a great blog at The Nostalgic Gardener! I love balcony gardens. Would love to see a photo if you feel like sharing. I’ll check your blog to see if you have already posted there.
For any who are reading, you can find Rudi’s site here: https://picpholio.wordpress.com/portfolio/macro-detail-photography-1/
For The Nostalgic Gardener, visit here: https://thenostalgicgardener.com/
I’m a small step better off than Rudi, in that we have a tiny garden, all potted plants, and a paved courtyard. Nonetheless, we have an orange tree, a (young) lemon tree, strawberries, two tomatoes in tubs, and as many plants as we can get to attract butterflies and bees. Alas, our milkweed got destroyed during the laying of the courtyard, so we’ll have to start from scratch again. I love your blog with its lovely photos, and excellent observations. We tried the bidet, but found it unsuccessful, but I will research the one you got. I’m also deeply concerned about climate change, and the deforestation of the planet. I first came across the topic of global warming when I studied meteorology for my degree way back in 1972. Since then I’ve kept up to date and have lectured to anyone who’ll listen of the topic. Very few unfortunately. I’m still studying it, reading anything I can lay my hands on. We have bought solar panels, and I drive an electric car. That’s my contribution. My lovely wife still hangs on to her hybrid, beut hey, she’s halfway there! Thanks so much for the effort you put into your blog. Keep it up!
Derek
Hi Derek! Nice to meet you. Your garden sounds wonderful. I’m a big fan of tiny gardens, as you called it. It sounds like it’s rich with all you are growing there. I’m curious which kind of bidet you tried. An actual bidet toilet or one of the attachments that retro-fits a standard toilet? Maybe others would benefit from your experience of what didn’t work. … That’s impressive that you have known about climate change since studying meteorology in 1972! That must be hard though too, how long we have had to act and yet so much more we could have done. Like you, we also have solar panels, although they are about 20 years old now and a few have had to be replaced. Back when Earth Day was a new thing, we found a guy who was retrofitting cars to electric and got one. After that we had one of the first GM EV1–the model the documentary was about that got recalled. My spouse just got the GM Bolt with close to 300 mile range. I still have my hybrid plug-in Prius. But, we don’t drive that much anyway. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and sharing what you did. I will look now whether you write your own blog and check it out.