First things first, we did NOT move to Southern California. That was temporary insanity on my part that was squelched with a much needed visit to friends and a ton of stuff going on in late summer/fall/winter of last year. I took some time off to recover from what proved to be a serious roller coast of awesome, and heartbreaking moments. But now... I am back and ready to rebel!
There is a lot going on here in California as I am guessing most of the US knows, we are in the midst of an epic, apocalyptic, biblical (I'm told, I won't know I don't read that mythology on the reg) drought. We're talking Hollywood disaster movie levels. It's hard on everyone for sure, but if I am being perfectly honest it isn't *as* hard on us here in Berkeley.
Why you ask? Well... I'll tell you it's a lot of things. Our nabe is situated in the lowlands where the natural water table is pretty high, so our older plants (roses and trees) can actually send roots down and survive on ground water supplemented by only occasional watering by us. Also, Berkeley is really damp with a nice thick marine layer all summer, so my new plants are getting a good dose of dew every morning.
SO, all in all we are surviving with these natural elements, plus our own water saving procedures. (Washing veggies in the sink? Do it in a big bowl and then save the water for potted plants. Taking a shower? put a buck in there to catch run off while the water warms, and then use it in the garden.) We've lost a few cheap plants that were on the deck (Scroll back to old posts to see how awesome our deck USED to look) where it gets mega hot, but most of our garden is intact, and some of it is actually thriving.
Check it out, we are doing well with: Spaghetti Squash, Roses, Strawberries, Mexican Primrose, Blanket Flower, and Pansies that are basically infiltrating every possible space in the garden.
I had no idea Pansies were so aggressive in their naturalizing/reseeding. They are actually growing in the sand in-between the stones on the patio we built. They are kind of a menace. Who knew? Meanwhile, we aren't having too much trouble with the Primrose, which according to every garden blog on the web, is the true nightmare invasive plant.
I guess even plants rebel against stereotypes in Berkeley.
