Banana Slug Fest

We've now had a couple of weeks of sun after about 16" of rain here in Boulder Creek ......You could say things are sprouting....and taking over! You can practically watch things grow.

The most fun companion in the garden....in addition to Snickers, the 1 yr old cat, are the Banana Slugs! Most folks think of slugs as these gray slimy things that eat holes in their newly planted precious plants......around here, the Banana Slug rules! It's even the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) mascot!



With the audio help of KPIG, I gave my dwarf Meyer lemon and seedless lime trees a fine haircut (see before and after below).


























You can tell how quickly I lose sunshine....I'll bet those two pictures were taken not two hours apart!

Now the flowerbed below the trees can actually expect some sunshine. Guess it's time to thin out the rapidly growing Santa Barbara daisies next.

These trees have been in the ground for three years. This was the first year for the seedless lime to bear fruit.

Marguaritas anyone?

Who Sprouted First?

On February 20, the weatherman finally predicted a whole slew of rain coming our way......so even though it was very late to be planting the native California plant seeds I'd collected last year, I thought why not? So in the little potting starters they went! Just in time for 10.5 inches of rain in two days.





My bet with myself was the grass seeds would be the first to sprout. My biggest question was how long would it take....I'm learning patience, but am still not a pro, yet!

Any guesses as to who won? It only took one week for the winecups to sprout! (I promise, if you look ever so closely you can just barely make out the little round green couplets giving it their all!)




In the meantime, the plum tree (in the background just off the deck) has come into full bloom.



Loving the rain (more than 16 inches in two weeks).....loving the moments of sunshine in between.