April First views in the Sierra foothills

Pear tree in bloom

Pear tree in bloom

First views of my garden at the first of April….  First views is the brainchild of Town Mouse, with the idea that wider views will give a better idea of what our gardens look like and a record of how they change throughout the year.  Join in by visiting her post here!

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I have been too tired to post!  And that’s tired. I took a fulltime job at the hardware store in town that has a garden shop.  They needed someone who was familiar with plants for our area, so the fit seems good.

The new view...as if we need more.

The new view...as if we need more. But the woods needed brushing and we needed firewood so strategic trees came down to give us this new view of Shuteye Peak.

Lettuce and onion garden

Lettuce and onion garden will be planted with tomatoes, but not until mid-May.

I’ll be experimenting growing leeks to be planted in the empty tub. Bean seeds in the 6-paks

Salvia garden middle level

Salvia garden, middle level. Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman' starting to bloom,...pink is creeping phlox.

Bergenia in bloom

Bergenia in bloom. Deer ate a few blossoms, then let this alone. Thyme along the edges.

Natural meadow needs weeding and non native grasses removed

Natural meadow needs weeding and non-native grasses removed.

I’m hoping I’ll still be able to weed this Spring….we’ll see.

New CA native planting area

New CA native planting area

When my sister visited last October from new Zealand, we visited the local native plant nursery, Intermountain and picked out plants especially for this area.  We planted Salvia, Dara’s Choice, Yellow monkeyflower, and two Pozo Cleaveland sages next to the existing Spice Bush. We planted Narcissus ‘Obdam’ next to the path in several spots.  Planting with my sister makes this area even more special to me.

Narcissus 'Obdam' dresses up the path

Narcissus 'Obdam' dresses up the path.

'Candystripe' Flowering Peach placed to add color

'Candystripe' Flowering Peach placed to add color

Year's first snow

Year's first snow in the third week of March stacked up on the patio table 12 inches high.

Clouds put on a show when the weather changes.

Clouds put on a show when the weather changes.

Bird, violas and narcissus cheer up the patio

Birds, violas and narcissus cheer up the patio view

View from inside gave us lots to watch, although the birds left their shells below.

View from inside gave us lots to watch in the cold weather, although the birds left their shells below.

Squirrel's eye view

Squirrel's eye view. He is Master of all he sees.

8 comments

  1. Bernieh -

    I love popping in to visit your garden in the hills. The views across the hills are fantastic and I just adored the outlook from the pation across the cloud covered hills. Loved the squirrel shot too! That was brilliant. Your flowering Peach and Pear trees are just beautiful, as is the collection of blooming plants out on the patio. The Ceanothus and Creeping Phlox certainly add great colour to your hillside garden, and I always enjoy a peek at your natural meadow spot.

    • Sue Langley -

      Thank you, Bernie! I enjoy your blog as well, although I admit, I’ve not commented a lot. I so enjoy your bird posts. My sister lives in NZ and after I visited I wrote a week’s worth of posts on my visit and the gardens and wildlife there.

  2. Bernieh -

    I must have missed those NZ posts, Sue. I have been finding it hard to keep up lately … work! .. but I’ll definitely take a look. Even though NZ is our close neighbour, I’ve never been to visit which is a real shame.

  3. Curbstone Valley Farm -

    Finally! I see you got some snow! I was beginning to wonder if winter was going to pass you by altogether 😉 Parts of your garden look ahead of mine…well, not the weeds so much, mine are growing a foot a day and I can barely keep up. I ‘uncovered’ about a dozen native sages drowning in brome grass and invasive geraniums the other day. I love the peach tree, are the blooms really two colors? Looking forward to seeing how your Pozo Blue does. I have two in the greenhouse waiting to move into our front garden in the coming few weeks as I embark on our post-sink-hole revamp! I’m hoping it will do as well as Alan Chickering for us, but we’ll have to wait and see.

    • Sue Langley -

      Thanks, Clare! We’re getting a nic rain now and I’m hoping my new native area grows up well. Yes, the peach really has two colors but I think the dark pink is a sport. I believe that’s what they’re called when a branch reverts to the original, (not hybrid) form somehow…

      Thanks Katie! You’ll have to come visit me at the nursery….

  4. Town Mouse -

    Thanks for the visit, Sue! I had a much longer comment here but WordPress decided to swallow it – I now have a WordPress account but did not want to log in.

    Love the snow! Love the narcissus and especially love the views!

  5. Kate -

    Hi Sue!
    Looks like you’ve got it all covered. A bit of Winter, a bit of Spring, cute animals, and vegetables too! Congratulations on your new job!

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