No Water Required

I've been slowly turning some of my mosaic pots with plants (which require regular care - watering, trimming, boo-booing - you know the drill) into pots which need very little care. I think it's a good change. 

The Long and the Short of It

They may be short, but they are mighty.

And very unlike their companions in the backyard.

But I love them all.

Jill and the Giant Sunflower Stalk

It's a volunteer from dropped seeds from last year. Its parents were not like this, but that's that's genetics for you... nine feet and counting.

 

The Return of My Salad Days

 Over the years I have grown many varieties of lettuces, with greater and lesser success, depending on the weather, the watering plan, the seeds, the voracious caterpillars and just dumb luck. In the past while though, I really haven't saved room for lettuces  - the outcomes were so questionable that it didn't seem worth the effort. And, after 40+ years of daily salads, my tastebuds were simply bored.

Nonetheless, this winter I gave it one more try with Gustav's Salad from Baker Creek Seeds. The little seedlings which were started inside in late January survived dramatic downpours, a month of no rain, two separate heatwaves and stupid digging squirrels. I can't say that lettuce will always be in the garden, but if there is lettuce out back, it will be Gustav's.

My Lovely Neighbors

Two houses up from us live these wonderful people who help raise and protect monarch butterflies. This means that on our block and in the surrounding neighborhood, there are monarchs. Nearly year-round. Like I just said, wonderful people.

Monarch on Heliotrope, April 10th, 2026

I am not so wonderful. (True confessions here: I don't really like to grow milkweed plants in my garden. Those non-native orange aphids just creep me out.) 

I prefer to grow plants that feed the adult butterflies, who then go on to make new baby butterflies. A different "circle of life". After a few years of observation, I have found that there are two plants that 1) I love; 2) the butterflies and other insect-types love; 3) are easy to grow and bloom year-round (especially the heliotrope); and 4) don't need gallons of water to thrive.

They are Heliotrope, especially the white version (Heliotropium arborescens 'Alba') and Verbena Bonariensis. Now one entirely valid criticism of both these plants is that they are non-natives. True. So am I a non-native. But they do the job, probably better than I could ever do. 

Early Spring

I planted these crocuses in 1988. Or by now, maybe it was their ancestors that I planted way back then. It doesn't matter. They still are wonderful.

Homework

First it was the new heat pump. Now it's the hardwood floors. What to do when there are strange people working in your home, making a racket and causing the furniture to be rearranged?

You hide. No more, no less, you hide and hope it all ends soon.

Thank you, Rancho Gordo

I occasionally buy beans from Rancho Gordo, even though I grow plenty of beans here. I buy them because I want to first try them, to see how we like them. Then, if we do like them, I plant some to grow here. So buy a pound, save out a few ounces, just in case, and enjoy the rest!

So far, the two that have made it into the garden are heirloom runner beans from Oaxaca - Ayocote blanco and Ayocote morado (the Ayocote negro was just too "beany" for me). Both varieties are pole type beans, producing masses of flowers, and requiring (and attracting) pollinators to produce beans. 

Ayocote blanco beans have white flowers and white beans (like, duh!); morados have scarlet flowers and reddish-purple beans. I prefer the flavor of the blancos, although they are very sloo-ow to produce. Even here in mild Oakland you almost run out of season before they are ready to harvest.  

The morados get on with life in a more timely fashion. And they are so, so pretty. They also need to cook, and then cook some more, before settling into soft goodness. 

Ayocote Morado Beans

Autumn Colors

We went to the San Francisco Botanical Garden on Tuesday, expecting to see some fall colors. And there was one predominant color - green. Nonetheless, it was an engaging afternoon.

However, the Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland had a few spectacular examples of trees changing color. No, no, not the redwoods, but the Chinese pistachio trees were in their full glory.

No Kings

Laura Andrillon/AFP via Getty Images

We, along with our friend Elizabeth, helped complete the "S" of "YES". We picked that spot because of the ocean views. Obviously, we weren't alone; an estimated 5,500 other friendly people were there, too.

I doubt that it will make much of a so-called real difference - yet - but it was a very fun morning. Highly recommended!

Really? That Can't Be True...

Yup, the Big Guy is turning one of those red-letter birthdays, and boy oh boy, is it a big one. Funny how the party napkins match the cat's Bird-Be-Safe collar. May we all be safe and happy these days!

One Plus One Equals Peperonata

 Finally, finally, finally. The San Marzanos are finally ripening, right along side of the peppers. 

San Marzano Tomatoes

Mountaineer Peppers

So it's peperonata (I don't exactly use the recipe from Joyce Goldstein's Enoteca, but I do look at it) almost every night. And I haven't heard any complaining. 

Buon Appetito!

Short, Wide, Proud

And keeping the bees quite happy (note honeybee at twelve o'clock on the flower). Standing at the lofty height of 34 inches, the seed head measures a grand 13 inches in diameter. We (me and the wee birdies, that is) have high hopes for collecting lots of seeds for the winter. Just need to come up with a plan for those pesky squirrels!

Oh look - there's two!

Trusty, Reliable and Functional

But completely out of date.

Waay, waay, waay back when, when scientific calculators were a necessary tool for graduate school (nope, I never really used much of that year-long study of statistics), I purchased the Sharp EL-509A. If I remember correctly, it wasn't cheap. Or maybe I was just really poor. 

Over the years I continued to use it when I needed to balance the checkbook (as if!) or do the taxes. It always worked. Until the other day, when it just wouldn't turn on. Not being one to give up too very easily, I raided the kitchen drawer (yes, that kitchen drawer. You know the one. Here we're only allowed to have one of those in the kitchen. But in the rest of the house - whew!) and came out with two different batteries for long-dead wristwatches - also on the verge of extinction, according to some. 

At any rate, the real hard work was discovering exactly how to remove the back cover to insert those batteries. Once that was accomplished, it, and I were back in business. That little bugger may be well superseded in this real world - "vintage" according to EBay - but with any luck, it'll just keep computing pi and add up utility bills and receipts for another I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-just-how-many years. 

The Golden Boy

He's big. He's bold. But he doesn't have a stinger. 

He's the Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) and he came to visit the front garden last week.  He was especially partial to the purple veronica plants in bloom. He's quite a lot of insect to manage at first glance, but he does dress to impress.

Oh yeah, and he has green(ish) eyes. What a guy!

Birds, Birds and More Birds

A few weeks ago, I led a ceramics workshop: how to sculpt birds in clay. Birds that don't have to be "real" birds, but ones that still look like they could be real.

As you can see,  the students exceeded at the task: 

Can't wait to see them finished and glazed!

Fava Season

What more is there to say?

Beads, Beads, and More Beads

Not the brightest thing I've ever done, but I still like the result. So, if you have a ball of leftover clay, and a few spare minutes, why not make a ceramic bead? Or six? Or one hundred and six? Or even more?

However, once you have all these beads knocking around, then what? They can, and trust me, they have, just sit around on a shelf in the garage. But eventually, you really have to do something with them.  Like throw them out, try and give them away, or something.

I went the something route and "decorated" the house with bead garlands. As my friend Eve pointed out, "Just in time for Mardi Gras!" (She's more of a party animal than I am.)

Also, inspired by The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan, I just couldn't resist including one red sock. So yes, I will be careful if I encounter any oversized rabbits. 

Yes, No, Well... She's a Cat

Is it wet outside? Cold? More than a bit windy? 

Is it dry inside? With warm, snuggy blankies on the bed? Calm and (mostly) quiet?

Of course the answer to all of the above questions is "yes". But does Luna want to come inside?

Of course not.

Sooo, They're Not Really Squash

Remember waay back when - December, 2023, to be precise - I wrote about a new set of gourds I grew in the front yard, destined (fingers crossed) to become birdhouses? Most likely, you don't. But that's okay, because I can tell you about it (again?) and you probably won't mind because you don't remember, right?

So, the gourds grew all summer along in 2023, then sat outside on the front porch drying and curing until nearly the summer of 2024. It took a while, but it was a huge success: nine potential birdhouses for many, many generations of wrens, chickadees and/or titmice. 

After a bit of drilling and filing, they came into their true purpose:

One gourd/birdhouse is now suspended from the back trellis, very close to where the old one was hanging. I haven't seen any feathery bodies checking out the premises yet, but I have high hopes. In all honesty, it sometimes can take the little ones a year or more to find the site and be convinced that it's safe. 

A few more are with other friends and family members, I believe even as far away as the San Diego area. As for the rest? Shhh, my lovely niece and I are installing them in an undisclosed open space area for the very wild birds. Her son was a great little helper on our first installation event.