Berry bundle container

So it started with bushel and berry’s blackberry and raspberry shortcake- my raspberry died.  I went to a local store to search for a replacement. But all they had were blueberries.  I found a raspberry and blueberry plant at Aldi. Then I saw a video that you need two different blueberry varieties in order for it to produce.  So I ordered it online and needed a bigger container. When I purchased my big container, I spotted ca native huckleberry and a thornless boysenberry.  I bought a chaparral currant and added to the container. I’m thinking of adding mint or woodland strawberries as cover.

 

Baja Yard Update

 My matilija is growing and thriving.

Ed planted my other favorite plant: marigolds- they are so tall. Normally they bloom in fall, so it’s so wonderful seeing them blooming in spring as well. 

Toyon is also growing at a steady pace.

In 2014 I planted poppies- one packet, one time.  Each year, they pop up on their own in different areas of the yard.  After so many years, the poppies have changed: they are much smaller than the original poppies and they are able to thrive without being watered or cared for.

Monarch Butterfly Garden

I’m a big fan of edible gardens.  So having a small garden in a tiny space in Los Angeles I try and get creative- even with my monarch butterfly garden container.  While eating milkweed can make humans sick- monarch caterpillars love it.  So finding Ca native native plants that attack monarchs and safe for human consumption was quite a task. I searched Theodore Payne and tree of life websites. I also visited several gardens including Artemisia (a small local garden store).  

Round 2 butterfly container:

-Narrowleaf milkweed

-Ceanothus - (I like the bonsai look of this plant and the flowers are soapy).  They are host to a 

ceanothus moth.

-Achillea millefolium - Yarrow 

-Trichostema lanatum - Woolly Blue Curls (ice cream, simple syrup)

-Clinopodium douglasii (syn.   Satureja douglasii) -Yerba Buena

-Verbena lilacina 'De la Mina' - De 

 - la Mina Lilac Verbena

I also included a bladder pod plant- it’s also edible.

Edibles: Yerba Buena, wooly blue curls, bladderpod and Allen Chickery Cleveland Sage are edible.

 Resources:

https://youtu.be/Dkm0MYuhbSU?si=AkyZcRp-GmikCtyO

Up to the brim in galvanized pot

 Here’s a recently taken photo the galvanized tub with all its edible edible plants and herbs:

My first galvanized pot holds: 3yr old Swiss chard, lovage, epazote, jellybean flower monkey, lavender, onions, ghost pepper, white flower borage, asparagus, nasturtium, and strawberries 

Purple basil, green basil, winter savory, sorrel, coyote mint, wooly mint, strawberries and parsley are all thriving together in this small space.

I have a white flower borage blooming beautiful in full sun.

Baja in full bloom

 In addition to having edible native in our tiny container garden in Los Angeles- we decided to give native birds and insects a natural habitat slope.  We found ceanothus, toyon, coffeeberry, and other chaparral shrubs and plants. 

Here’s a quick photo drop:

Galvanized Pot update

 Can’t believe I stopped blogging for a couple of years- just felt like it was one growing season! 

I had my double pot method with worms and food scraps in the bottom pot and a plant on top of it. Everything is growing well and I do find worms throughout the galvanized soil container.  I decided this year to plant more native edible plants. So I’ve added coyote mint, hummingbird sage, woolly mint, borage, berries, and Salvia blanca.

When it rains, any extra water flows out so I don’t need to worry about my plants drowning (lol).

You can visit my Instagram : gardening_with_Liz for daily dose of gardening updates.