The Tree of Referrals

Today I met with Monet, a woman I know who lives in a house owned by one of my clients. She called me up because she has been working as an interior designer and wanted me to help with the outside. It is a great house perched way up in the hills overlooking the Getty Center off of the 405. I am looking forward to doing this bit of work - it is mostly pots and that is really the fun stuff for me.
On the drive home, I was thinking about my friend Sue because I still dont have anything to wear to her wedding this weekend (aaaaahhhhh). Then I realized that the reason I know Monet is because of Sue, and then I thought about how many clients I have just because of Sue. I owe her big time!
Sue gave my name to her friend Ross because they were looking for someone to plant in front of their architecture studio. I did and we are all very happy with it... Anyway, I then worked at Ross's house in the hills above Hollywood. One time I was down at the bottom of his property, which meant I was on top of the neighbor's wall overlooking their back patio. That is how I met Edoardo. I started working for them, and then they had me do work over at their house they rent out - thus meeting Monet.  I also met another neighbor, Yasmin, and now I am doing work at her house (incredible views!). And through Monet, I am hopefully working for her client. That is 5 people from one referral.
Sue then gave my name to Pam who works in her office. I started working for Pam and met her neighbors (because I am so social). I started working for Maurice, his neighbor Delton, then Lydia and also Barbara who is accross from Pam. Maurice's wife gave my name to Stephanie who is all the way over by the Getty Center, down below of this new person today. I did a lot of planting at Stephanie's plus working on her veggetable garden. Pam also gave my name to her client, Sara, who is out in La Canada Flintridge. A beautiful place but watch out for bears and mountain lions! That is 7 clients from one referral!
All told Sue has given me 12 clients, all without me having to pay for advertising. And the best part is all of them are very nice, interesting people and it has allowed me to work all over the city on some beautiful homes. Which in turn is allowing me to go to the department store and purchase a dress for Sue's wedding! Thank you Sue!

Business associations

The pool guy and I have been working at this same house for over two years. I dont know his name and I doubt he knows mine. Our conversation:
"hey"
"hey, hows it going"
"allright"
20 minutes go by
"there is glass on the patio. I wonder what from"
"yeah, I noticed that"
"hmm"
"its going to be hot out today"
"yeah, lucky I am in the shade"
another 10 minutes
"see ya"
head nod.
Do I know how to converse or what!

maintenance meanderings

This morning I am going to clean up the house of a rock star. For some reason, every time I go there I have to listen to Jane's Addiction on my ipod. Seriously, they have nothing to do with each other but I always wonder if I will meet Perry Farrell when I am raking leaves around the patio. Maintenance can be kind of boring so my brain wanders in strange directions.
Last time I was there a guy showed up to meet with my client. He stopped when he saw me and asked who I was. He was so surprised at seeing a woman gardener. "A woman gardener, imagine that". I never know how to respond. I have had people tell me that I can't possibly mow a lawn even when I am standing next to my lawn mower. I just look at them. What else is there to do?

Papaya

I was walking back from the car mechanic this morning and went past this papaya tree in someone's front lawn. They also had guava, cherimoya and banana trees. I have never seen the papaya flower so took this photo. You can see on the bottom there are a couple of more mature fruits, plus a baby fruit on the right side.
Tropical plants are so interesting - oftentimes their flowers are very thick and large. I wonder what pollinates it - perhaps a vampire bat?

seriously good orange cherry tomatoes

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agave americana and aeonium arboreum

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some fun and bright containers!

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The very large Elm

We planted a Chinese Evergreen Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) in a client's yard this week. It was quite a difficult chore seeing as it is so heavy and about 18 ft tall! When the guys were trying to remove it from the truck, the tree fell over and almost out of the dolly because it is so top heavy. I think the base weighed 500 lbs (or more). There were 5 guys getting it off the truck to the front yard. I didn't know what to do as I am strong but not that strong. Sometimes it is best to stay out of the way. Of course, we decided to plant it 12 feet away from were we thought originally so 4 of us had to drag it across the ground to the new hole ( I helped on this one). The poor tree was quite abused but I think it will be fine. I watered it in and added Superthrive fertilizer for transplanting and shock. I am sure that it will help!

julia child rose. Beautiful!

A beautiful rose with a spicy scent. And a great bloomer!

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beautiful lily!

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baby mangoes

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dinosaur kale

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verbena and yarrow

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On Ducks and Nuclear Waste

This has been a very difficult week for me. Most of my posts are about plants, what a great job I have and how beautiful the world is. Underneath, simmering, is a well of frustration and fear. And on Monday, I snapped.

I was driving home from the Valley on the 101 through the Caheunga Pass. The car in front of me swerved and I saw something small and brown in the road so I swerved as well. Just as I was passing, I realized that it was a duck, frantic, with one small baby running around and several others smashed into the dividing line. The duck was in complete terror and confusion and they were in between lanes with no way of getting back to the edge. There was traffic and no way for me to stop; we were going 70 mph and to stop was impossible. I had to keep going.

My main thought was that I hate us, I hate humans. I hate us for creating such dangerous and destructive items. Roads and cars where innocent animals blunder upon them and are completely destroyed. Nuclear power plants that poison our waters and soils, oil rigs that drown animals and plants in millions of gallons of oil. Islands of trash that float in the middle of the oceans to choke and poison. The holes in the ozone from carcinogens that get pumped into the atmosphere. Strip mining.

And don't forget what we do to each other! War and torture and rape; leaders killing their citizens, countries fighting over beliefs and borders and resources. And the politics in our country, I don't ever remember them being this bad. The fighting and insults and anger. All thrown around on twitter and blogs and sound bites - 24 hours a day. I cant stand it anymore.

I am frightened, I admit it. Doesn't everyone realize that once we fuck up this planet, there is no other place to go! The destruction of our natural habitat is non-partisan, it affects everyone. There is no get out of jail card for this one.

Why that one duck, that one moment, I don't know. I think it just was that last straw that I could bear. How is it the people get up out of bed everyday? Go to work, eat ice cream? Throw trash on the street and pour used oil into the storm drain? Put garbage into the green waste bin...

All week I myself have gone to work, walked my dog, chatted with my neighbor. I have put gas in my car and bought a sandwich wrapped in plastic. But all week I have been heartsick. Wondering how to deal with this, what to do. And I have no answer

about 4 inches long!

Yes it is a big locust. I was weeding along and all of a sudden realized that this fellow was about 5" away from my face!
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california poppies

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pepper plant

This pepper plant is from last year. I trimmed it way back in January and you can see all of the new growth coming. Who knew that peppers were perennials! Certainly not me
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removing spider plants

One of my clients has hundreds of spider plants in her yard which I have been removing over the last year. They are not easy to get rid of because they will grow from a tiny portion of root left in the soil. Since I am from NH, I still think it is funny that these have taken over her yard. We always had them as houseplants!
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peace rose

One of my favorite roses - large and fragrant. A bit of a climber and continuously blooming. Just a hint of both pink and yellow. Just wonderful
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Some Images of Spring

As I have been out and about working this past week, I have managed to take a few photos of sure signs of spring. With all of the rain we have been having, everything is popping to life. I know that the onset of spring is more subtle here than in areas which have snow, but it does happen. New leaves are coming out on the deciduous trees:

Persimmon

 

 

 

 

 

Japanese Maple

The trees are flowering:

Ash

The spring flowers are coming up:

Calla Lily

Cymbidium

Wisteria

Azaleas

 

 

 The vegetables are blooming as well:

Fava Beans

And the wind and rain blows away the smog:

Downtown LA as seen from one of my client's house

What a great season

violet seedlings

Violets are a beautiful and subtle addition to the garden, but they are quite prolific! I like to keep the seedlings down to a minimum and also in certain areas. Once the violets get full grown, they are quite hard to get out. I love the plants that self-seed because each year your yard looks a bit different!
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planting tomatoes

The highest garden I have - you get a work out just going to pick your vegetables. And the fence is to keep out the deer. I was planting the tomatoes and sunflowers when it started to rain on me. That is what happens in spring!
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picking Oranges!

The Valencias are finally ready. Navels ripen earlier but the Valencias make wonderful juice.
All in a days work
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the beautiful Sunset Nursey

This is a wonderful nursery on Sunset and Fountain in Silver Lake.
http://www.sunsetblvdnursery.com/about.html
They have a great selection of vegetable starts and seeds, plus a really nice selection of natives and xeric plants.
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purple smokebush

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grrrr

I just drove north on Western Ave from Jefferson to Sunset. Big mistake! Terrible traffic.

planting begonias

planting begonias
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planting 40 flats of myoporum

planting 40 flats of myoporum parvifolium. It is a good ground cover and I am hoping that it will cover this whole side up to the front gate. I forgot to take a picture of when it was done - I will try and remember tomorrow as I need to go back and plant some sunflowers.
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Home Depot

As a gardener, I find myself at Home Depot quite a bit. There are around 10 in the Los Angeles area, and quite a few more in the Greater Los Angeles area. I have been to 7 locations. The one I most frequent is the Hollywood location:

From the roof parking lot - can you read the white sign in the hills?

This location is completely insane always! I have heard that it is the busiest store they have and I believe it. Just getting into the parking lot is a nightmare, and then trying to walk down the aisles and purchase items can be daunting. The amount of people and cars and carts and large items, you feel as though you take your life into your hands. And forget about finding someone to help you.

I have learned to check over every item that I purchase, especially if it is in a bag or a box. For me this is usually irrigation items: timers and emitters and connectors. Once I bought a timer and when I went to install it, several parts were missing (small but vital parts). Oftentimes the bags have small holes in them and half of the contents are gone. You can only make that mistake once. It is worth the extra minutes I spend at the store checking over every item that I am to purchase. I wonder how much shop lifting costs the store every year.

The craziest part of the Hollywood store are the day laborers who stand on the outskirts of the parking lot looking for work. I have been told because of the crash of the construction industry, the amount of laborers has increased and the desperation has also. For those who do not know about this, these are men who are available to work that day for cash. Many homeowners will go and get a few guys for all kinds of jobs (painting, landscaping, moving, etc) Several times I have witnessed a naive homeowner who drives up to a group of guys for this purpose. All of a sudden the vehicle is MOBBED and, if the driver was truly a novice and did not lock the car doors, then guys are shoving themselves into the car! Upon seeing this, other guys from across the parking lot will start running over to the vehicle and soon there are 50 guys all looking to get hired and the car is lost to sight. Generally a security guard will come over and disperse everyone but it is quite a sight to see! I always lock my car when I drive into the lot. I have even had guys try and grab stuff out of my arms when I am loading my car so they can do it for me and then ask for money. No way! Though, to be fair, I have had a few of them insist on loading my car for free just because I am a woman. Chivalry is not dead.

Contractors use these laborers too, not just homeowners. It is illegal. Most of the day laborers are from south of the border (and not just from Mexico. That always bothers me, I have met many who are from Peru or el Salvador, etc.) Just think, if this was Arizona, every single one of these men would be rounded up by the police and arrested. I wonder if Immigration ever comes to the Home Depot parking lot. And I wonder what Home Depot thinks about this. Do they have a policy?

Here is an image to leave you with:

I dont know what they are but for $6.99 you could buy one!

The vegetable update

Has anyone noticed how popular (aka trendy) growing your own produce has become? I have to admit that it is VERY AWESOME! I am trying to become an urban gardener aficionado but fear I have much to learn. My profession is one shared by millions of, well, amateurs. People who love gardening LOVE GARDENING. It is a huge industry, I just happen to do it for a living. However, there are many non-professionals who know oodles more about growing vegetables than I. So I learn, and try not to get my ego in the way of learning. And I think it is fun to be able to buy lots of plants and seeds without, one, having to actually fork over my money, and two, that I do not personally have to have space for all the fabulous plants as I have many yards in which to plant them!HaHaaa

I checked out my seed supply the other day:

and I made a list of what I need. I think I will try zucchini and summer squash from seeds. At the nursery I was told to wait for a bit because it is still chilly out (grrrr). At my house I will plant tomatoes from seed and see how that goes.

I went to the garden in Bel Aire and here is what it looks like after several months:

That is dinsoaur kale and celery. The kale is great, and it is perennial. At the nursery they have some plants that are four feet tall! And very tasty. Just pull the leaves off the main stalk and leave the rest. Unfortunately the celery is very bitter. I may have to remove it.

I thought this was red leaf lettuce but NO. It is the spiciest mustard greens I have ever tried. Very tasty but quite a shock. In the front is a bit of broccoli, slow growing but quite delicious, and lots of parsley. Not bad for winter. Her father actually planted blueberries which you can see by the blue/white tags. I thought they were dead but upon further inspection, they are just fine. Her yard is cold so they are a bit behind other plants I know.
But it is spring! For sure! The trees are budding out and the stone fruit trees are blooming (apricots, pears, nectarines, etc) Here is a sure harbinger of spring:

The wonderful fig. Look at those little fruits already growing. So wonderful!

'Ware Agave!

When I was a kid my family would go foxhunting. That is the traditional English fox hunt with the horses and hounds and red coats and all of that (but no fox). When you were riding along with the field (the rest of the group) the person in front would yell out "'Ware Hole!" when there was a hole in the trail. Then the next person would yell it out and so on down the line. Or 'ware wire or 'ware swamp to say Beware of the swamp that you are about to plunge into. The contraction saves time, as is its duty. Well, I have not been foxhunting in about 20 years yet I still have that phrase in my head and will oftentimes say it (quietly) to myself when chancing upon something dangerous. Like this little inconspicuous fellow:

Nestled within the Agapanthus is a baby Agave americana. Even small, the tips of the leaves are like hypodermic needles and will go right into your skin! Sooooo, 'ware AGAVE!!! OUCH since of course you only know something is there when you run into it. Unfortunately for me there was no one ahead of me to give me fair warning. I mean really, who plants Agaves and Agapanthus together?

I have no snappy title for this post

Today was a good day. Not all of my days are good, but today was. There is snow on the mountains and the air is crisp. It is also Cymbidium season! I love them:

I think that I use the L word for quite a few plants. Are there any that don't fascinate me?
Anyway, I was walking the d-o-g this morning and saw this critter growing in a most inappropriate place:

It is a Mexican Fan Palm growing in a crevice of a stone wall (in front of a dilapidated 'Senior Living Facility' that I hope none of us ever have to reside in). Needless to say that their groundskeeping is fairly nonexistent. However, if they do not remove this guy, they will be facing a MAJOR job, costing thousands (of dollars that is, nothing else) The fan palm can grow to 60' tall and the base can be 15' round. Very large. My theory is to get them when they are small and take minimal effort rather than wait until it becomes a major hassle. Not many people seem to hold that same theory though. Why wait until it is a huge nuisance? Seriously, why?!
I then went to a clients house up in the Laurel Canyon area and, besides being Cymbidium season, it is also PINE season. Check out these male cones from the Ponderosa Pine:

Thousands of male cones, and who knows how much pollen in the air. I also heard the distinctive sounds of Hawks nesting. They seem to really like these two Ponderosas on this property. Oftentimes I will see them flying back and forth, and last year I was able to see their offspring. It is a beautiful sight!
Now, at the end of the day, I must walk the d-o-g again as she is bugging me to do so. Tomorrow I get to go to the nursery! I will make sure to post some photos
Cheers!

A practical side to Roses

I love roses, I really do. I don't understand what all the fuss is about though. I find them very easy to grow. Perhaps LA is a perfect climate: we don't have big freezes or a lot of humidity so there is no die back and very few diseases. Generally in the fall the leaves get some rust, but that is about it (ok, sometimes Aphids but those are easy to deal with - just some soapy water!) I have also noticed that many roses do fine being completely abandoned. Since the housing crash, there are quite a few unoccupied houses around and I have  noticed that the roses do just fine without someone fussing over them. There is a great pink one across the street from me that does not get any extra water (for the last 4 years) and it blooms all of the time - and it wont rain for 6 months over the summer.

So beautiful and HUGE hips (rose hips that is...)

I have one client who likes to propagate roses. She will take a cutting (from a friend or along the street) and stick it into dirt and wait for it to root. She now has about 50 potted roses on her patio, most of whom we do not know the variety. For the past few weeks I have been repotting and pruning and weeding these roses so I took some photos to show what I have been doing:

This is 'before'. Very messy, lots of dirt loss and weeds and dead branches

This is 'after'. I even placed them in rows - or at least tried to as the pots are all different sizes

Here is one poor fellow who not only needs a trim but is very crooked. I like my plants in pots to be straight and centered

Messy Messy

Much Happier!