Friday, May 28, 2010

Rooms with a view

Views of the garden from inside are critical for me. Winter views are important, of course, since we spend so much more time inside then. But who would have thought we'd be appreciating our window views quite so much in May?

The regular and unrelenting showers this month have severely depleted my limited reserves of inner sunshine. When the sun (temporarily) comes out,  I'm at my desk at work, and it seems whenever I'm home, the rains return. Because Mother Nature apparently missed the memo about my half-day Fridays, here are the views from my rooms on another rainy Friday afternoon (some taken through the screens resulting in an even mistier look.)

From the north utility room window, the Northwest Territory. Unlike the MulchMaid, the vine maple and other native species in this part of the garden love this wet weather and are thriving in it.



Same room and window, angling slightly toward the northeast.
From the left breakfast room bay window. I'm cheering on the small camellia against the fence, but the cedars to the north are filling in well.

The fatsia japonica has made it above the window sill this year!




George and Martha, the flamingos, are holding court in the bamboo bed seen from the middle bay of our big breakfast room window.

I thinned the bamboo earlier this year and found several runners making their way through the sand barrier when I checked it. The sand trap method, which I described here in an earlier post, seems to be working well.


From the southwest bay of the breakfast room. Now we're getting into MulchMaid territory. See those stakes on the left? Three of them have sprouts from Eucomis pole-evansii in front of them. They're late, but just you wait until, um, August?

Also barely visible behind them is the small, recently planted Callistemon viridifloris. I have high screening hopes for this shrub, since the fig starting to leaf out a little further south does nothing for our privacy in winter.


Looking southeast out of the deck doors.


Last view from the breakfast room, and it's a big one to the south through our deck doors. Everything looks so green for a Mediterranean garden. The ceanothus and  cistus are enhancing the eucalyptus nicely this May as they both bloom their hearts out.


Moving into the kitchen, here's my view from the kitchen window as I stand at the sink. Even when I can't be out there, at least I can imagine sitting on the deck with a glass of wine.

All my overwintered agaves are lined up under the shelter of the soffit where they will get any sun that appears. Sun? Did I say that? They have been outdoors since mid-April and I wonder how much longer I will need to leave them under cover.


Now we're in my dining room, looking out the east window. It has a great view of the southern part of the back garden. I usually position myself in the best seat for this view when I set the table.


Two ceanothus thyrsiflorus Victoria are putting on a show on both sides of the fence, seen from the south-facing dining room window. Last month, this view was dominated by the flowers of the malus 'Prairifire' visible beyond in the parking strip.


Next to the ceanothus, in what this month is laughingly referred to as the "hot bed", my newly-planted olive, and grevilla are trying hard to see themselves commanding the space in the future.

These are the views that keep me  anticipating my outdoor gardening and relaxation time all year long.

Will any of that that happen this long holiday weekend? At 9 o'clock on Friday night, it's not looking very promising.

But there's always next weekend.





6 comments:

  1. At least you have a good view? And everything's green, that's a plus. It's fun to get a look around the garden. I like the way your garden beds all have such clean lines - the garden looks very well defined and pulled together.
    I'm watching the weather forecast at the start of our holiday weekend. What they had previously said would be three dry days is quickly turning into some possibility for a few dry spells here and there. The cold rainy weather never gets me down, but this is ridiculous. I need to follow your lead and move my agaves back under cover. They've been out in the rain ever since the threat of frost passed, and I'm guessing they're not happy about it.

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  2. Your California Lilac seems to be flourishing. I'll admit to being jealous. I used to have a a couple of them through my garden. Unfortunately one died three winters back. So I replanted. The next winter both died, and I noticed many in my area had also perished. I did not replant after that. It was just to sad to go through again. So now I just gaze longingly at your and remember the amazing smell. Mmmmmm.

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  3. Everything is so clean and tidy Jane! Nice to have these views...that is one of the main drawbacks about our house, the corner windows do not allow great garden views. As for the rain drying up...it just has to happen soon, doesn't it?

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  4. I agree with Loree. Everything looks tidy and inviting so you must not hate rain all that much. Just kidding. I'm really tired of this weather too. It was nice today up until evening. At least it isn't super cold. Not much of a bright side, but something.

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  5. Fun to view your garden from the inside-out.

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  6. Today, it was sunny here! Did you get any? I hope so! Things are looking good out there. Just think - all that water from the skies, no need to get the hose out yet! At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.

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