Pink Day

Today was another grass cutting day. After we went for a walk in the morning Peter cut the lawn. The grass has started to grow very nice now over the bare soil that was thrown on top of the previous grass, so it looks beautiful again.

Last week I started some herb cuttings in my little dilapidated greenhouse. I made it years ago from old windows. Most of the cuttings look great. It's been very windy in the afternoons so it really makes a difference. I have two different thymes, rosemary, two mints, and basil.

I've found a new photo website, it's called Flickr. The nice thing about it is that you can download the pictures straight to your own computer. You can choose if you want to make the pictures public or keep them private.

Today I made a series of pictures of pink things around the house and garden, just for fun. I'm adding the link here: http://flickr.com/photos/merel1/sets/72157601353228139/

Hooray, the cast is off!

Today they took the cast off my wrist. It has finally healed. I'm so happy. Of course I still have to wear an immobilizer, but not all the time. My wrist is very stiff and still a little painfull and it's going to take a lot of exercise and physical therapy to get it flexible again, but even so......
Just to be able to get my whole hand wet again feels great. My skin is extremely sensitive there and water on it is like a totally new experience.

I can't wait to go swimming in the ocean, or even take a shower without a plastic bag around my arm. :)
I made a little herb garden for my niece who is getting married soon, to put on the walkway balcony of their appartment.

More tomatoes

More tomatoes. A whole basket full this morning. I've put them on the counter and we've been snacking from it. They are delicious. Sweet and a little bit tart. The yellow ones were a total surprise. They were all supposed to be red, and I didn't realize until a few days ago the ones on this particular plant weren't going to get any redder than deep yellow. They are even sweeter than the red ones. I'm trying to leave all tomatoes on the plant until they are fully ripe, because they taste best that way, but it's not easy!
I bought some new herb plants at the Farmer's Market yesterday. The ones you see here are summer and winter savory. One is an annual, the other a perennial.
Also note my wooden shoe collection behind the plants. I've picked those up at flea markets in Holland over the years.
Yesterday Peter and I had breakfast in the garden in the corner by the fountain. He recently put in a brick path there. We were joined by Ashau, who likes to sit on Peter's lap, especially when he is eating. First she pretends she is only interested in looking around, but pretty soon she starts to paw at the cup. She knows he is a softie, so he shared the last of his oatmeal with her.

Welcome to my garden.

For years I've been wanting to keep a garden journal, but it just never happened. Writing by hand is just too slow. I'm hoping to do better with the computer. I'm planning to include many photographs to make it visually appealing. I am located in Southern California.

I've just started gardening again after the back wall from our garden was replaced and other work was done on the outside of the house.
I also broke my wrist 6 weeks ago and my gardening has been mostly one-handed. It's surprising what you can do with your left hand, if you try!Luckily Peter has been helping me out with the heavy work. He also did most of the work on the brick paths in the herb garden, my 'formal' garden, in the above picture. When I first started to garden, many years ago, it had full sun. Over the years a bush next door turned into a mighty tree and it became a shade garden. The neighbors cut the tree down this year and it's back to full sun.
I've started planting herbs again and have also put in some tomato plants, the cherry tomato type. They're doing very well. Last week I picked about 30, and there are many more to come.
I usually get the best results with cherry tomatoes. Large tomatoes often have something happen to them before they are ready to eat.



This morning I saw this very interesting insect hang out on my lemon grass. I have no idea what it is. It's about the size of a bee.