About Janice

I love California, both in and out of my garden. My passions are gardening and photography. My goal is to make Plum Bird Corner a happy place to visit often.

Hummingbird Garden Update

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Janice

Three weeks ago we started a hummingbird garden. You can read about it in Our Hummingbird Garden and in Our Hummingbird garden Part 2.

I’m not sure if readers realized that I potted the plants in containers rather than in the ground. The pots are sitting on flagstone tiles in the center of the yard. It is one of the few places where we get full sun during the day. Most of the sage and salvia plants that attract hummingbirds like a full sun exposure. Each plant has a drip system running to it, but I do have to supplement the water supply. Most of these plants are drought tolerant, but in the hot summer sun, especially in pots, they do need more water.

This morning I went on line to learn how to propagate sage and salvia plants. I discovered a helpful blog called Growing the Home Garden. In a short article I found what I was looking for. I finished reading, and headed into the garden to look for just the right cuttings. As sometimes happens I found myself doing things a little differently than planned, and it also turned out to be a faster way to expand our hummingbird garden.

Above is the Pineapple Sage plant, another hummingbird favorite. I purchased a small plant on May 25, and it had already outgrown its original pot. While repotting the sage, I was able to separate a smaller plant that was an offshoot of the larger one. Above you see the original and secondary plants in their new pots. I can’t wait to see their bright red flowers. I will be sure to post a picture when it happens. This plant seems to be a very fast grower, and something tells me I will soon be sharing pineapple sage plants. Pineapple Sage Tea anyone?

Hiking Black Star Canyon

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Janice

This morning we decided we wanted to do something different, a hike, so we drove to Cleveland National Forest at the end of Silverado Canyon, one of our favorite routes when riding our scooters. We were surprised to find the trail head there closed to the public because of dry brush and fire danger. (You may see my Sept 13, 2014 posting about a major fire in that area of Silverado Canyon.) Disappointed and wondering where else we could go, we spoke to a woman cyclist and told her of our dilemma. She told us of another hiking trail in nearby Black Star Canyon. We’ve lived in this area of Southern California since 1977, but had never been to that particular canyon. Before long we were on our hike there. It was wonderful. Above you can see my husband, Martin, thoroughly enjoying the surroundings. We saw the above Mountain Lion warning as we started up the trail, but we’re used to seeing such signage in the more open and uninhabited areas of California. There were quite a few hikers on the trail, plus mountain bikers, so chances were slim that we would encounter a mountain lion. Plus there were two of us, an added safety benefit. Here I’m enjoying a bit of shade and a drink of water. We had started out later than planned, and it was getting quite warm. We hiked inland for just over an hour, but it took less time to hike back because it was mostly downhill. We were glad we had taken plenty of water with us, had applied sun screen, and were wearing wide brimmed hats!I want to share one more photo with you, so you can see just how dry the brush is on the both sides of the trail. Black Star Canyon was truly a find, and we plan to go back again soon, but next time we’ll start out earlier in the day and go a little farther up the trail.

How to Grow African Violets

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Janice

This is a new African violet that I bought the other day. I’d never seen this particular variety before and couldn’t resist the speckled pink blossoms.I also brought this one home. I’ve loved African violets since I was a little girl in Canada. Mom always had African violets on the kitchen window sill.

When I was first married, one of my husband’s co-workers gave me several African violet plants. She too loved African violets and had collected dozens of varieties. She shared some of her ideas with me and taught me how to grow healthy flowering plants. I want to share what she taught me many years ago.

First of all, I believe that most people over-water their African violets. Below you see the small 4″ plastic container I place under each plant pot. I find that my African violets do best in the small plastic pots I buy them in. Once a year I repot them in a commercially prepared African violet soil, and I fertilize my plants every few months with a very small amount of all-purpose fertilizer.

With the plant pot sitting in the plastic saucer, I usually fill the saucer to the top with tepid water, and let the plant absorb water from the bottom. I do water from the top occasionally being careful to keep leaves dry. Top watering washes harmful salts from the soil that can build up from bottom watering. I don’t water again until the top soil is dry to the touch. Better to underwater slightly than to over water. Above you see a healthy African violet that has finished flowering. The friend who taught me about African violets told me that the leaves in the center of the plant keep the light from reaching in and encouraging flowers. African violets need all of the indirect light they can get to produce flowers.You need to keep your African violets away from direct summer sun because it might burn the foliage and turn leaves yellow. You can see the central leaves above, but In the picture below you can see where I’ve removed some of those leaves.

The plant looks a little bare, but before long it will produce buds, and the center will be covered in delicate flowers. When it does I’ll be sure to post a picture.

Chula Vista Vacation

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Janice

We returned home this afternoon from the Chula Vista RV Park, where we spent four days in our 5th wheel trailer. I took dozens of photos and thought I’d share a few with you. On one of my early morning walks, I spotted this beautiful rose peeking out at me through a white picket fence. It was so bright and full of life.

Here is a friendly couple that I met on another one of my walks around the RV park and marina.
One of many beautiful orchids in the Botanical Building in nearby Balboa Park, SanDiego.

This was quite a surprise. A San Francisco ferry in for repairs at the local boat yard. I couldn’t help but wonder how it had arrived there.

Lastly, here is Annika looking at me as if to ask why we had to end our fun trip. She loves our camping trips, and gets excited as soon as she sees the trailer out front of our house. Sorry little girl, it was time to return home, but we can always look forward to our next adventure.

Our Hummingbird Garden Part 2

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Janice

In my previous post, Our Hummingbird Garden, I promised to show you the rest of the plants in our new hummingbird garden. This is Mystic Blue Salvia, although it’s more purple than blue. Again you see the tubular shape to the blossoms, which make them perfect for the hummingbird’s long beak. The plants are doing well, and most are forming new buds.

This Lemon Light Salvia is getting ready to flower. We haven’t seen a flowering Lemon Light, and we are really looking forward to the first blossom.This is Salvia Microphylla, commonly referred to as ‘baby sage’. I love the pink and white heart shaped flowers. This variety is called Hot Lips.

Berkeley Barb is a Mountain Sage. It’s named for a counterculture newspaper that was published in Berkeley California from 1965 to 1980.

All of these plants with the exception of Berkeley Barb prefer full sun and are growing happily in the center of our back yard, but we may have to move the little Mountain Sage as the summer progresses and the days become warmer.The morning after we started our garden, I was taking long distance photos of the plants, when I realized that a hummingbird was enjoying nectar from the Salvia Gregii. I continued to take photos, hoping I’d caught one of our first visitor. I hope you can see her enjoying some breakfast. As the plants grow and produce more flowers, I’m sure we will see many more of these little birds, and I’ll be posting more and more photographs. I’ll also share any new plants with you as well. I’m sure there will be many more, since there are so many beautiful choices.

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