Welcome to my "new" garden!

Sit back, relax, and follow me on to a mysterious, winding path that will take us through beautiful places. It's time to discover the joys of working in the dirt and claiming our small piece of Mother Earth. In this blog, I want to introduce you to my favorite plants. They are special for many reasons. Perhaps their colors or forms and textures are unique. A certain plant fulfills a specific space requirement. Sometimes, a "happy accident" results in a serendipitous arrangement of color and beauty.

Since moving from the east coast (Zone 6-Connecticut) to the west coast (Zone 9/10-
south Orange County coast ), I've had to learn about an entirely new plant palette. There are many plants from Zone 6 that will grow in my garden. Excitedly, there are plants from Australia, New Zealand and even tropical areas that will grow in my outdoor space as well.

Capitalizing on the several microclimates that exist in my relatively small space, I have two main zones. The lot size is about 5500 sq. ft. and the house takes up more than half of that. There is about a 4-1/2 ft wide swath of earth on 3 sides which comprises my small garden. The longest area goes along the side of the house and is what I call the Tropical Zone, and it is mostly shaded, but is also a wind tunnel. There are various ferns, succulents, and other tropical-looking exotic plants in this space. The back yard (my Low Maintenance/Low Water Zone) includes a deck, raised up about 1 foot, with no railing or benches that opens directly onto/into the planted space. Steps lead down from that deck onto a hardscape (concrete and brick) patio. The yard is about 50 ft wide. This part of the yard gets sun for most of the day in the summer, although the right side spends more time in shade than the left.

The front garden is also small, and contains some small grasses, a collection of California natives, various succulents, a pink rose bush, and 2 types of jasmine. There is a small crushed multi-colored stone and flagstone path that leads one through here, and to the side yard. This area gets a few hours of afternoon sun. This area is also a low maintenance/low water zone.
The jade plant growing in this area is a baby from the Mama Jade that sits in a huge pot by our front door. Mama Jade is over 30 years old, and was an indoor plant in our den in Connecticut. She has doubled in size in 5 yrs, and has flowered every year since being moved into her new home. Mama made her cross country trip in the back of my SUV when my son and I drove out to California in 2005. She is indeed special!

As I discover new plants to introduce you to, I will include their growing habits and other pertinent information. Please feel free to contribute your experiences and discoveries, as I would love for this to become a type of bulletin board for other gardeners. Include product links for things that have worked for you, and add to information that is included here.