MeMeMeme: The TMouse Garden Speaks

The Garden Blogger formerly known as GardenChick has done my caretaker Town Mouse the great honor of tagging her as one of her favorite blog commenters, and inviting her to participate in the MeMe meme. The meme goes like this:
1. You say 7 things about yourself.
2. You nominate 7 bloggers or blog commenters you like. Or maybe just six. Who knows, I'm just a garden.

My caretaker told me she really thought it would be more fun if I, the garden, would write instead, after all, this blog is about MeMe (and the Country Mouse garden). So, here are 7 things.

1. I'm not a pure native garden. My caretaker inherited me, and decided to keep what she liked and replace what she didn't. She's been adding mostly California natives, but enjoys the Gardenia, Camelias, Rhododendron, Japanese maple, and quite a few Mediterranean climate plants.

2. I'm really quite pretty year round. I shouldn't brag, I know. And really, the heat has been hard on me. But people tell me that I look quite beautiful with the buckwheats in summer and early fall, and the California Fuchsia in late fall and up to December. Then the Arctostaphylos (manzanita) start to bloom....Even now, when I feel a little worn out, there's the wild ginger planted by the previous owner which just started to bloom. Let's have another picture of that.


3. I love visitors. My most favorite time is when all the humans gather for the Going Native Garden Tour in April. But I'm also very fond of the lizards, bees, birds, and butterflies. Truth be told, I enjoy the squirrels and the raccoon as well, but the caretaker has mixed feelings about them.

4. I'm not too thirsty, but I do like a drink. The caretaker has done her level best to wean me off the extravagant water regiment I used to enjoy, but I'm not a no-water garden, and never will be. The fruit trees need water, the redwood habitat does, and some of the CA natives like a little bit of moisture as well. I'm not sure you can be beautiful and not imbibe a bit.

5. I'm not just a show-off, I'm also a good garden. I provide the caretaker with fruit. I have chairs and a table for leisurely Sunday meals, and my hammock is the perfect place to rest on a hot day. Yes, I do care about my looks, but I'm also a good garden. Really.

6. I'm really looking forward to fall. The caretaker has promised haircuts, new plants (which will bring new visitors) and lots of native bulbs. It's fun to watch her play around, and sometimes she even plants some things that work out.

7. Secretly, I'm trying to please the caretaker's husband. Yes, I should really try to please the caretaker, but she never stops fussing. The husband is a different sort. He'll just lie in the hammock on a hot day, and I know he really appreciates me.

Now comes the hard part: I have to list 7 blogs the caretaker really enjoys and invite them to write about themselves. Some of my favorites have already been tagged. The caretaker usually lists some of her favorite local or native plant blogs on the blogroll. But here we go:

Wild Suburbia is an inspired blog with a deep commitment to gardening with CA natives. I've learned a lot from that blog, and I'm always excited when there's a new post.

Montana Wildlife Gardener, written by a wildlife biologist, is full of great information and inspiring in many ways.

The Bicycle Garden is not about natives, about Gardens, Bikes, Birds, and Life. Pretty interesting, I think.

From Seed to Table details the amazing adventures of a vegetable garden and his caretaker. Anyone who makes capers from caper blossoms has our admiration. And those photos of the vultures were really something. Besides, this garden is almost local, and we enjoy what's going on down there near Carmel.

An Artist's Garden is over on the other side of the pond, but delights us with amazing photos and the occasional wonderful cartoon.

Dry Stone Garden's posts area always interesting, often educational, and sometimes about CA natives. I'm dreaming that the caretaker will ask Ryan to make a small patio so I'm even prettier.

And I'd probably also list Wisacre Garden Blog, but he'll probably not be interested in the MeMe thing. It's a fun blog, though, with amazing photos of rare and interesting things.

But wait, how many blogs have I listed now? Too many? Too few? Have I said too much about myself? Or not enough? What will the other gardens think? And the visitors?

Oh, get me out of here. I'm just a garden. Please, I'd like a bit of compost and a drink. And, caretaker, next time you write your own post again. Well, let's add one more close-up of the wild ginger. Not a native, but sure pretty and just started blooming.