After moving back to CA I tried growing plants again. Where we moved was an entirely different type of climate. The winters dipped lower than freezing and summers had triple digits for days on end. If I had to blame something I'd blame the climate. It could be me being out of practice too though.
My yard was empty. No trees, bushes, grass or anything. It was a blank slate ready for anything. I decided on putting grass in the front yard first. Nearly every year I broke up soil, fertilized, planted seed and watered. Every year I had birds, a late freeze, early scorcher, or a kid who over watered. I tried unsuccessfully to grow trees managing to kill 9. Until my son's dog ate them I was had a pretty good start on tomatoes and berries. I was hopeful but the dog stayed about a year. He even ate the tomato cages so while he was with us I gave up on growing anything. When he left I decided to put rock in the front yard. I went with large, 6 to 10 inch, smooth rock. I loved the rock but ended up with weeds like crazy after that.
My philosophy on plants changed since I was young I loved everything green and flowering was an extra bonus. In my twenties I developed allergies and discovered how much work went into keeping a yard looking nice. I loved mowing but weeding and trimming was never fun for me. Now my philosophy on plants is plants need to have a purpose. Grass is pretty but not necessary trees are nice if they bear fruit or belong to someone else. I have the same theory on plants and bushes too. If they are mine they better have the secondary benefit of something edible. Watering plants takes time and money. I find it kind of pointless unless there is a payback. The exceptions are keeping tree roots down and keeping the grass green. Remember I had a rock covered front yard I loved. Today I'd say AstroTurf with padding would be awesome or maybe a jungle of fruit and veggies.
Weeds never have invaded any garden I've had. I hear people either complain or saying how they become close to nature while working the weeds out of the garden. For some there is the therapeutic value to gardening I guess it's kind of calming. Not so much a calming or therapeutic thing for me. In California it seems like every year we are in a drought but I'll water for a purpose. If I put in time watering and weeding I like the exchange of fruit or veggies.
House plant are nice. When I was a teen and into my twenties I had tons of them. I had cactus, spider plants, vines, herb, violets and anything anyone gave me. It was a time of terrariums. Then I starting raising my kids and began unintentionally killing off the indoor plants. Houseplants tend to outgrow their pots and require regular watering. I replaced them with the easy to hose the dust off maintenance of silk houseplants. While I lived in Oklahoma I had some success with a few houseplants people gave me here and one there. When I moved back to California it seemed I was doomed to kill them off again. I am caring for three right now that are not dead but not thriving either.
I recently got brave and planted a few veggies and fruits. The plants are really growing like crazy but the veggies appear for a little bit then they just wither and fall off. We did harvest one zucchini and two tomatoes so far. There are a few dozen tomatoes and a couple of bell peppers too. For some plants it is too early but the others are just stinkers. My thumb appears to be more green than brown now but I'm working on it.
We have several pretty green tomatoes
a couple of tiny bell peppers
and far only one really big zucchini
but one day we will have cucumbers and melons too. Gardens are beautiful. Mine is small and among the wilted leaves it has it's beauty too. I do love the lush green, the bright white and yellow flowers and the yummy fresh produce on the table.
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