First Views: December in the Country Mouse Garden

I'm late for the First Views meme started by Town Mouse - but we're in our third day of a power outage, operating with carbon-yucky generator power!

I took these snaps with my phone, so I'm sorry for the quality. A quick walk through, near dawn, of parts of our property here... Lots of debris from high winds. Yesterday my dad and I ran into town for gasoline, and had to turn around two times due to fallen trees, and find alternate routes! I talked to a neighbor today off to town to get something for his chain saw - a large tree fell on his garage!

Looking down towards the road. I keep hoping to get color here but it's a tough spot.

Taken from Duncan's steps, just above the driveway. Mexican sage.

Duncan on his steps! Another tough area to get anything growing.

Looking up the driveway. Dad's 4 hummingbird feeders on R. The penstemons on this slope are actually coming back.

"Front path" to our door. Salvia spathacea in shadow on r. are not in bloom but are green anyway.

left front path bed. I hope these Heuchera micrantha will thrive and bloom this spring. The "Dark Star" ceanothus is bound to look wonderful come early spring also.

Steps down to the chaparral on left. front porch on right. Salvia 'Bee's Bliss' languishing to L of Duncan. I'd like more color to left. maybe penstemons. I'm trying to grow some seeds from nursery bought penstemon but no luck so far.

Bed 1 on left. with old Madia elegans and Eriogonum nudum and bunch of other stuff.  Needs clearing - lots of seedlings growing up below the dead stuff! On right. new succulent bed seems to be doing OK. Getting weedy. Need container for hose.

To left of bed 1 - native manzanitas and slope down to chaparral.

Bed 3 - hope to put propagated plants here in early spring -- where the bunnies can't go!

Bed 2, succulents, from the new greenhouse patio looking out towards Loma Prieta (invisible).

The grey fuzzy bit just above the black is the Monterey peninsula. The slight tinge of white between both is the bay. Funny how to the naked eye it's much more significant than in a picture. It's really a lovely garden view!

Greenhouse peek. I have propagation updates to blog about, when I have time!

Wind blew down Rat's brace that was supposed to keep the fence up. Fence is up anyway. I cleared the gigantic old dead Madia elegans out of that corner. Hiding in the other corner are some luscious Heuchera micrantha and Iris fernaldii - hoping for blooms this year (and seeds!)

Pool bed 1, bit boring. Jerusalem sage is providing some color. Unfortunately it isn't in this shot.

Pool bed 2. I weeded here last weekend - so many weeds! Dratted sour grass (Oxalis pes caprae) etc.

A little volunteer Viola adunca come in from the wild - I'm trying to bag a few seeds!

Local propagated thimbleberry still has lush green leaves - others are almost bare. Plus - that native succulent whose name I forget. About twice the size of the one I planted near Duncan's Stairs. Nutrition makes a difference! Bedroom deck. Needs tittivating.

Looking out at the pool garden from the bedroom deck. Where the furniture is is where the natural filtration pools will be. Eventually.

We walked out of the pool garden through the pool shed, across the parking area and are looking into the "wildlife garden." Looks great in spring, honest.

We continued across the parking area and down the path towards the corral. Looking left we see this disaster area! Weeds, last year's downed tree, etc. Still, two baby Ceanothus are planted in here, somewhere, and a buckeye. And two Garrya elliptica are healthy but not yet significant. Plus all the other nice native stuff (plus a whole host of weeds).

We turned round and walked behind dad's cottage, almost back to our starting point. Lots of debris on the path through the redwood grove to clear. I'm trying to grow some native California hazelnut for an understory planting, from hardwood cuttings. I also planted thimbleberry and Holodiscus discolor around the perimiter - they are not yet very large. Hoping for great things...

Well, a hurried first view this month - I wonder what January will bring? Now I'm off to link to Town Mouse's post and I'll loom forward to seeing (after work today) what other people have posted for their first views of December.