January Garden Walk

Come, take a morning walk with me through the garden.

Always, there are gophers.

Ornamentals:

My Selecio, "String of Pearls," is blooming, so the whole yard smells heavenly.

The Oxalis purpurea "Garnet" is beginning to come up. I planted it in the fall of 2012, and this year, I can see it has spread more. I love the deep, velvety purple of this oxalis.

The earliest of my three camellias (that grew here before I moved here and receive absolutely no attention from me) is blooming. I'm not a big fan of bubble-gum pink, but I admire the floriferous nature of this tree. 

Oxalis "Iron Cross" is coming up. I think I lost a few spots to the gophers, but three clumps seem healthy and happy. I love the four-hearted umbrellas on the top of each stem and the bloody splotches in the center of each.

Edibles:

The deciduous fruit trees are ready for their winter pruning. 

The Lady Williams are just ripening. A bird found this one. But, don't worry, I ate the rest. 

Broccoli is getting to cutting size! 

The rutabagas are nearing pulling size!

The sugar snap peas are blooming and . . .

setting pods.

And the frisee is a shag carpet of salad-y goodness.

Crimson Flowered favas bloom in front of a bank of Mexican marigolds.

The Meyer lemon is rich with fruit.

Now frost-bitten and crunchy, a banana plant in the clump that gave me fruit last month won't look nice again until spring.

The Cara Caras are coloring up but won't taste great for another month or so. Then, they'll be citrus candy.

And finally, evidence of my summer dreaming, my front yard is full of boxes of makeshift greenhouses in which I seeded members of the Solanaceae genus.