The Morning Walkabout

Work continues at a very intense pace, and my morning walkabouts with the dogs are much curtailed.  This is, in part, due to the fact that I rent my large Victorian house out in the summer to people on vacation, and during the summer months it is full.  My morning walks around the garden, therefore, have to be put aside in deference to the guests' privacy, so this morning when we had a two day respite, it was much welcome.  A break from the garden helps me see it with fresh eyes, and as I strolled around this morning, I was making a mental list of things to do in the fall, while disturbing dozens of tiny little green frogs that seemed to be everywhere.

Our new house rules are that when the dogs are loose outside, the kittens are in the barn, and vice versa.  My dogs, unfortunately, are not to be trusted with cats outside.  This is no slur on their characters.  They were, after all, bred to hunt and kill other furry creatures, and this instinct is hard-wired in their genes.  I wish it were otherwise, but I would be foolish to trust them at this stage.  I hope as time goes on, they will learn that these are OUR cats, and must be left alone.  In the barn it is different.  With close supervision they will not bother the kittens, and even seem to like them.  So, this morning, since my dogs were taking their post-breakfast naps, I let the kittens out and had their company as I did my morning tour of the garden and greenhouses.  With the dogs inside, the heifers in the field next door also showed an interest, following us down the fence line.

Working cleaning bulbs in the greenhouse where I grow the subtropical bulbs, I was enveloped with the most heavenly scent the past few days.  Hymenocallis eucharidifolia is in bloom, and the scent is wonderful.  The beautiful Scadoxus multiflorus ssp. katherinae is also in full bloom.  This lovely Scadoxus can make an excellent garden plant in mild climates.  Here it is to the right, with an umbel of satiny flowers that measures about 15cm (6") across.

The weather continues to be cold and drizzly, with the sun breaking through for short periods.  This is reputed to be one of the coldest, wettest springs on record.  We know it here at Telos, for there have been unusual losses.  Almost all of the mature bulbs of the California Fritillarias have been lost.  This is a serious setback, for I depend on these for seed for propagation.  Many of my California lilies have also suffered, especially those from the dry inland regions.  My bulbs are protected from rain, but the long, cold, wet months of spring when the temperatures should have been warming and the humidity decreasing were conditions they are simply not adapted to.  I am fairly philosophical about such losses.  You have to be when you grow any kind of plants, for Mother Nature will, sooner or later, throw you a curve ball.  It is time to take stock, and reconsider what to grow in the future, perhaps eliminating some of the more difficult species except for a few specimens for my own enjoyment.  We will see.

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