So long, 2013...

I don't know whether it's the prospect of going back to work again, the bit of wistfulness that comes with the end of the year, or the sight of our dead Christmas tree but that post-party blues feeling is hovering overhead.  But that's only true because Christmas was awesome -- got to see family, eat delicious holiday food, open presents (more on that in a second), and most importantly, reflect on our spiritual blessings.  I cannot complain.  And thanks to the loving generosity of some wonderful people in my life, I have a few things to be excited about in my garden...

Making tea:

I was not aware that Williams-Sonoma had this awesome "Agrarian" department online in which they sell everything from chicken coops to bee-keeping equipment to vertical gardens to...

Tea making gardening sets!

Obviously awesome!  In the kit are included 3 plants (Orange Bergamot mentha, peppermint, and German chamomile), honey, a very cute honey dipper, and little tea bags.  

I planted the herbs today with great hopes of future delicious tea.  Fortunately, it's been so nice and warm in Southern California that I think the plants will have time to put some stable roots down before it gets cold again.

Good luck, little dudes

I also intend to continue to check out this Agrarian Williams-Sonoma business.  Some of it looks a little crazy (like a $700 vertical planter... no, thank you) but some of it looks like it may be worth a chance (another shot at tomatoes, anyone?).

Thank you, Cal and Rachel!  You know me too well!


Taking better pictures:

Because I got a new toy...

Thank you, wonderful husband!

For you photophilics, this is a Canon Powershot G16 (in a sweet vintage-y leather case that my husband picked).  It's a pretty new model, but the primary upgrade compared to the previous G15 model is the wifi capabilities, meaning that I can upload photos wirelessly directly onto my computer and smart-objects.  Gone are the days of taking a bunch of pictures which languish unseen forever on my point and shoot.  I also put this model on my Christmas list because it supposedly takes good macro (close-up) shots which, as a flower-lover, I can't help but do.

I played with it in my garden today...  

Super close-up shots of my garden:

String of pearls bloom cluster

The closer you get, the more you realize there is to see!

Ever wonder why citrus skin looks like that?

Sweet Jessamine bloom... such a nice color

Once I get the hang of it, I think the pictures will look even better, which will also hopefully mean this blog will look even better.  I'm excited!

Anyway, today instead of music, I leave you with a TED talk that I enjoyed about how to live Superbetter (because I discovered TED talks on Netflix and kind of love them).  Gardening = +10 points, for sure.  Enjoy the last few days of 2013!

Back! (With blooming succulents!)

Okay, yes, that was the hiatus of hiati...  And here's what's happened with me since we last met:

• I (way over-)studied for the Emergency Medicine Boards.  Because that's what I do best... get totally freaked out and study my butt off.  
• I passed the Boards!  Next up, oral boards which will happen in April or November (tbd).  It is quite possible that I will neglect all else again in the freaking-out period leading up to that test, which will be my last for 10 years. :)
• I've started all of my new jobs and gotten (mostly) adjusted.
• My lovely sister-in-law moved out to LA from Virginia -- woohoo!
• And most of my garden has died.

The top three bullet points are what caused me to neglect almost everything I enjoy doing for pretty much the entirety of the fall season, with the result of the last bullet point.  Perhaps I need to work on work-life balance a bit.

BUT we're back!  And slightly neglected or not, there are lovely things happening in the garden. 

Thank goodness for succulents!  Perhaps it's a Californian mark on my garden that I'm planting more and more of these easy and wonderful plants, but they're such easy care.

That birdhouse was an addition by my husband.  Very cute, is it not?

And now they're all blooming!

Gorgeous echeveria

As far as why they are blooming now...  Some general succulent informational sources will tell you that the keys to making your succulent bloom are:

• Temperature fluctuations -- specifically, cool weather followed by warm summer weather which is when blooms come.
• Sufficient water
• Sufficient food
• Increased light with, for instance, the longer days of summer

Now, it has been kind of weird weather here in LA.  While a couple weeks ago, it got quite chilly, more recently, we've had close to 80 degree weather.  It also rained earlier this week.  So maybe those factors have helped.

But there are also quite a few succulents that specifically bloom in the winter (here is quite a nice list) and I appear to have collected a few of these in my garden as well.

String of pearls

Regardless of the reason, I love it.

I had to give this plant a haircut yesterday

I am interested to find out what will happen to my Aeonium plant which is apparently "monocarpic," meaning it only blooms once and then dies.  I am assuming that only the blooming portion will die, but who knows.  

It has a hat now...  looks weird, to be honest.

I am excited to see what will come out of these buds.  I will keep you updated.

In the meantime, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!  May you stay warm and surrounded with love this holiday season!

My wonderful mother-in-law Belinda gave me this ornament!

Lastly, some holiday music!  (Oh, Charlie Brown!)

Everything's better in Yellow

I am sorry it has been so long since I last posted anything.  True confessions... I have neglected my garden somewhat as well; it's a mess.  Why?  Well, I have been a bit preoccupied by the start of a new job.  It's exciting, and of course, a little bit nerve-wracking at the same time to learn and adjust to a new system on the fly.

I started out with a post about feelings and all about my new job, but I have been advised by my personal lawyer against talking excessively about work haha.

I will say this though, the day before my new job was to start, I was at Whole Foods and saw these bright and happy sunflowers and I bought them.

That same day, Evan came home after grocery shopping (at Whole Foods, incidentally...) and he had bought me these orchids, also in yellow, bright and happy.  They also conveniently replace my other orchid which sadly, is very nearly dead, with just one leaf left.  

Interesting side-fact, Evan bought me a beautiful orchid the day before Match Day (where you find out which residency you will attend) to say that he would be happy for me and support me wherever I ended up.  Fortunately, I matched in LA and we did not have to embark on a long-distance relationship.  But that was our first Love Plant, as I called it.  I get very upset when our Love Plants die.  Fortunately, I have been practicing taking care of orchids...

What is it about yellow that makes us associate the color with happiness and optimism?  I wonder how much is cultural versus inherent?  Here is an infographic to ponder. (It does not have the answers, alas. here is the source)

Fascinating, isn't it?

The flowers made me feel better.  And the first day at the job went well.  I had a dream last night where one of my colleagues at the hospital wanted to pray for a patient that wasn't doing so well, and I thought it was really weird.  But in real life, that's exactly what I did (I prayed)...  and I was blessed with a couple slow shifts as well as some very computer savvy staff which all helped with learning the computer system.  God is good. 

I have a couple more shifts this weekend, and I have been somewhat preoccupied as a result still.  Evan seems to think that I have moved on from gardening, ever the doubter when it comes to my hobbies.  Admittedly, I have rapidly cycled through hobbies in the past.  But there's something about flowers that always seem so simple, always make me happy, always beautiful whether you're there to see it or not...  why would I ever stop gardening?

Finally, I would like to make a shout out to my dear friend Julian for reading my blog and even admitting to liking it.  Thanks Julian, you're great! 

Here's a song that seems to go with yellow sunflowers and orchids.  I hope that you all have good weekends full of bright sunshine and happiness!  

This week's Awesome

At the risk of seeming redundant, as I did just give you an update of what was going on in the garden last week, I wanted to show you some of the really cool little things that are happening right now in my little green garden.

#1:  One of my tiny succulents has an even teenier side shoot.  How neat!

#2:  My portulaca blooms changed colors from just a few weeks ago.  I wonder why that happened!

#3:  My vincas (aka periwinkles) are going nuts!  Bloom explosion!

#4:  Meyer lemons are on their way!  It will be awhile before they are ripe -- generally meyer lemons are fully ripe in the winter, just in time for some seriously delicious roast chicken.  And I can't to eat them -- last time we bought meyer lemons at the grocery store, they were very sour.  Not the same!

And lastly, this is for you.  

I start my new "craaazy" job tomorrow.  Say a prayer for me...

The Best Flower Ever

Okay so that photo above was taken approximately 1 year ago.  ONE YEAR.  And this plant is still alive, not just anywhere, but on the top row of my felt hanging planter, which if you've been following my blog, is the planter of death. 

Let me explain something:
ONE human year = SEVEN dog years = EIGHTY-SEVEN Michelle's garden years

This plant is basically 87 plant years old in the mini-cosmos reality of my patio garden.  All its contemporaries have died, and yet it still lives strong.

Furthermore, I neglected to mention, that during winter time when it was too LA-cold to go outside, I didn't water this plant at all.  For at least a month!

So what is this wonder plant?  Dipladenia.  I picked it unaware of its awesomeness because I thought it was pretty.  You might see other tropical plants that look very similar to it vining all over trellises and walls -- these are a very closely related plant called Mandevilla.  Some sources say they are the same, that Dipladenia is the old name and now these plants are called Mandevilla.  Other sources say they are the same family or perhaps Dipladenia are in the Mandevilla family (very confusing).  Nevertheless, from what I can tell, they are slightly different -- Mandevilla grow well as vines while Dipladenia are bushier and do not vine in the same way.

A few facts about Dipladenia:
-Sunlight -- varying sources recommend everything from full shade to full sun; mine are doing well in full sun.
-Originated in South America, they like warm climates
-if your climate is temperate enough, they are "evergreen" as opposed to annuals
-Moderate watering (unless you have a super-plant like mine which is totally okay with drying out a bit)
-A good container plant
-They are the Best Flower Ever

Thank you, dear Dipladenia, for making me feel good about my gardening self.

The last very cool thing about this plant is that the Italians love it too.  I do not know if they are partial to the color red or if they just choose what works, but there were lots of red Dipladenia and Geraniums in Italy.  Below is my Dipladenia's Italian cousin in Rome -- I am sure you recognize the structure in the background!

Anyway, today's really awesome track of the day suits my feelings very well today -- I love this plant and even more than that, I love you for reading my little garden blog.  Que Dios le bendiga!

Bad News Blueberry

So that's what my blueberries have been slowly turning into recently.  My blueberries have always been one of my most low maintenance plants with regular delicious bounty, so I've been in denial.  But I can no longer ignore the signs... this plant has a blight of some sort.  After looking online for some guidance and solutions, I unfortunately still am not sure why it is or how to fix it.

There are a few possibilities.  It looks most like the pictures I have seen of a virus, called "Blueberry Shock Virus", transmitted by bees.  Apparently, after infection with the virus, the plant can go into a "shock reaction" during which entire sections of the plant die and fall off.  On less-affected areas, the leaves may have little red-brown spots.  The plant may recover, but generally is not as productive as before.  And there is no cure.  

It could also be fungal infection which causes issues like twig or stem blight or stem cankers.  But with those, entire branches tend to die and fall off which is not happening so much as brown, sad-looking leaves.  This too appears to be incurable. 

There are all sorts of other diseases as well, including the phytophthora-related root rot (RIP Jasmine) and "mummy berry".  You can read all about it here.  But I think those are less likely.  Either way, I will have to wait and see.  And if my poor blueberry plant dies, then I will get a new one, since this falls under the "lifetime warranty" on shrubs at my garden center (they should have known better, muahaha).

Meanwhile, my last remaining orchid also doesn't look so hot.  The leaves are individually turning yellow and falling off for unknown reasons.  I think part of it is that I used to water it somewhat haphazardly so that water would land between the leaves.  Perhaps the stem is rotting?  I asked my cousin's cousin, the orchid grower, about all of this when I was in Holland and his advice was, "If it dies, buy a new one."  Will do!  But first I remain hopeful that the remaining leaf will not die.

The garden's not all bad shape though.  My front door shade plants could qualify for plants gone wild.  The funny thing is, I never water these plants...  We have gardeners that take care of the courtyard every Wednesday and they always water them heavily.  With that, they never really dry out.  Don't tell Evan-- I'm taking all the credit for this one.

Well, I am feeling beat.  It must be a sign that I am getting old that a weekend full of enthusiastic wedding partying makes me feel so tired, but alas, pretend as I might, I am no longer really a capable, seasoned party-er (how do you spell that?).  As my husband and I have returned to work, tired already, these moments make me ask, "How do people with kids do it??"  On that note, I dedicate the track of the day to you, and my blueberries.

Evan's favorite

I am not sure which one I would have expected to be my husband's favorite plant in my somewhat broad indoor/outdoor collection of flowers, but it is definitely not this one:

Evan's favorite plant, also known more formally as Kalenchoe blossfeldiana, is a type of succulent, of a larger family of Kalenchoe plants.  In fact, if you have a good memory, you might recall that I actually have another type of Kalenchoe plant, of the magical notoriety.

And just in case you don't believe me, here is another picture of it as a baby.  See, it's written right there on the pot.  

Anyhow, these are actually quite popular as gifts, so you have probably seen them at your local Whole Foods.  In the past, I had actually always seen them in their single petalled version, like so (sources here and here):

I did not actually become aware that they existed in this other multiple petalled type until we went to the Keukenhof where in addition to tons of tulips outside, they were also having a flower show.  One of the flowers featured was the Kalenchoe blossfeldiana.  And it was here that Evan decided he liked them.

Wow! And in Dutch orange!

In the interest of keeping things short and sweet, I will not say too much about them.  I'm feeling bullet points today...  blooming Kalenchoe care:

• They're easy to grow with long-lasting flowers--  a great starter plant
• Plant in well-drained soil (preferably cactus mix)
• Lots of sunshine (they're succulents, remember)
• Not too much water, especially if they're not flowering (they're a succulents!)
• When the blooms turn brown, cut them off so that they will re-flower
• They generally rebloom in the spring, but there are ways to "force" reblooming by altering how much light/dark they are exposed to.  (That's Kalenchoe advanced, so we'll save it for another time.)

And that's all you really need to know to keep your Kalenchoe alive!  After all of the flowers turned brown, Evan insisted that it had died and we should throw it away.  Fortunately, however, I trimmed the dead blooms, and sure enough, it rebloomed (and I didn't even have to wait until spring!).  So it's still his favorite.

Look how much it's grown!

Finally, here's the track of the day, both because it is also Evan's current favorite (he has good taste-- this woman can sing) and because my brother-in-law and very soon to be sister-in-law are getting married this weekend.  Congrats Cal and Rachel!

Great Gardens: Getty Villa!

Well, my vacation has finally come to an end.  I'm not too sad about it since I was turning into a useless lump (let's be clear... a useless happy lump) and it is, oddly enough, kind of nice to be back in the hospital seeing patients again.  That's not to say that I didn't have the greatest time with my sister while she was here with the big added bonus of finally meeting her new boyfriend who is a born and bred New Yorker.  Visitors from other great cities (NYC is great) have a tendency to be somewhat biased against LA for some reason.  Is the smog? the traffic? the gang violence? Skid Row?  Um, maybe...  So how to go about showing someone from another great city that LA is quite great too?  

The New Yorkers in question: Andrea (converted NY-er) & Will.  And their horrified new friend...

Take them to places like the Getty Villa!  (Among other things like eating lots of delicious burgers).

View of the Villa from the Outer Peristyle

For those of you new to this Getty business, J. Paul Getty was a very rich man who built two namesake museums in LA.  One of them ("The Getty Center"), off the 405 near Westwood, is a famous architectural structure with a wide range of art, mostly European and rotating special exhibits.  It also has a lovely garden in the back and because it sits way up on a hill, has a great view of Los Angeles and, on a clear day, the ocean.  This one is fairly well known, and I personally have been there lots of times.

The Getty Villa is less well known and frequented, mostly I think because they require tickets.  These tickets are free and easy to obtain online (click and print, basically), but they require advanced planning since there are a set number and Angelenos are non-commital and all.  The Getty Villa is in Malibu (actually, technically the Palisades), off PCH just north of Sunset, that wonderful little beginners' surf spot.  It is built to resemble an ancient Roman villa, and in keeping with the theme, the art is all ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan.  Even after being in LA for 12 years now, this past week was my first time visiting -- I never had tickets!

Naked baby vintners on a sarcophagus

Let me tell you, it was amazing!  I loved it!  Awesome ancient Greek/Roman art aside -- which let's be honest is pretty fascinating even to the fairly history-indifferent folks -- the gardens themselves are such a calming place to be.  The exact type of place that makes you forget all the smog, highways, and other LA downers, whether you live here or not.

So without further ado...  more pictures!

Happy New Yorkers in the herb garden

Well-manicured edges

That is a terribly cute deer

Inner Peristyle... look at that great use of foliage!

Nice shoes, Hermes!

My favorite touchable plant: Lambs Ear

Is this not relaxing???!

My recommendation is that you spend at least a solid half day there, especially if you like art.  Despite the apparent small size of the museum, there is a lot of art packed in there and after visiting the gardens, we did not even make it through the whole museum.  

As mentioned before, tickets are free.  Parking is $15 and they have a nice little cafe with decent reasonably priced food.  I think you will like it!

While I'm still dreaming of my vacation, here's the track of the day, by the lovely Rodrigo y Gabriela.  I have mini-crushes on them both and their mad guitar skills.  I saw them last year at the Bowl and again this year with my sister...  we love them!