Under the Solano Sun

We are now about halfway through winter, yet here in California, signs of spring are well underway. Trees are blossoming, daffodils have bloomed, the days are getting longer (I was working in my yard tonight until 6 pm).

Who doesn't enjoy a pretty bouquet of freshly cut flowers from the garden? But have you ever tried picking a bouquet of hydrangeas? I discovered the flowers are rather finicky. Once cut, and almost before the stems touch water, they wilt.

Yikes, what is this, what happened to it? It's supposed to be a lemon. According to the UC IPM page on Pests in Gardens and Landscapes, the deformity is probably caused by a Citrus Bud Mite called Eriophyes sheldoni.

Crazy times, eh? The COVID-19 pandemic is similar to past national crises in that people, fearing the shortage of life's essentials, are denuding grocery shelves of staples.

About 6 years ago I realized I had two problems in my front yard. One was the almost 5-month long pod drop from a big, beautiful 40 plus-year-old Magnolia grandiflora. Like an evergreen tree, it drops tough leather-like leaves from late May through August. Then begins the 5-month long seed pod drop.