Life expectancy of a blog?

Work has been grinding and the daylight fleeting. We are six days away from the winter solstice.The journey then begins back around the track to summer time. Not sure if that will inspire more blogging or not. Growth as it begins in the late winter here (March) is indeed exciting and will undoubtedly inspire some reporting. It has been hard to bring myself and spend an hour typing about the my wards.

I'll soldier on.. today, I pulled out the pelletized form of Bayer Protect and Feed. You, imaginary reader, must think I'm sick using this pesticide (is it really necessary..? ) yes, it is necessary. The bougainvillea are almost all bare of foliage, though they are putting on a refreshing show of color. Of course, being the intuitive genius that I am (not) I nonchalantly measured a wildly approximate application of the poisonous food. I did use sense and water in well. I was  a little disconcerted to see that the pellets immediately began to dissolve-- they were not the time release granules I was hoping for.  As always, we shall see. I wish I could report exact measurements of fertilizer, mixture of soils, etc. that might be of use to the gardener who stumbles upon this note in a bottle, but I don't. Perhaps it might be of comfort to know that my plants are usually quite forgiving and I think they know I am trying. It had rained early this am so some of the pots under the eaves had already been watered. After watering in bougies, I followed up doing planters and bamboo pot. I am going to cut way back on the water for the bamboo, I think I've been overdoing it hence the rotting culms. However, perhaps the rotting culms might turn out to be a blessing as it will take longer for the rhizomes to explode the beautiful pot it's current home.

Bought this white bougie last week at home depot. I hope for some healthy growth during summer time. It is such a pretty color. I really need to dedicate some study time to learn more about the most effective care to promote foliage and blooms.

Now here is a tidbit that a fellow terrace/ patio gardener in Zone 10b might use- try a bowl o' burle. A Mexican unglazed bowl with some nice soil and some cuttings of the philodendron Burle Marx. The leaves are thick and glossy green. The plant will grow up and over the bowl, making a nice specimen. It is however, very cold sensitive. anything below 40 will knock the wind out of it's sails. 

Last but not least for this posting is one of my favorite views.. looking west over an outline bamboo and bird-of-paradise.

guten nacht mien leibchen