My Garden

Sections

At some point or another, I’ve always been growing a plant. Whether it’s starting ginkgo seeds in a pot that was too small, or learning to propagate succulent cuttings, I’ve been having a wonderful time with all these plants. The number of plants at home always seems to be going up! 

I’ve been using this page to gather all my garden notes in one place. I hope you can find something useful here to help you with your own bundle of plants. Or, if you like looking at photos of potted plants, just scroll on down.

The Conditions

The conditions in my neck of LA…

Hardiness
Most of LA is 10b 35-30f
North side of PV hill is 10a 25-30f
South side of PV hill is 11a 40-35f

Balcony faces directly SW

Due to interference from buildings, sunlight can only come from SE to NW, with some interference in the morning (SE-S). Strongest light from mid-morning to evening (SW-NW).

Sunlight on the balcony, partially blocked by the handrail
Sunlight on the balcony, partially blocked by the handrail

The Plants

The Boston fern is glistening from a light misting
The ginkgo tree is glistening in the morning dew and sun
a wonderful billy ball starting to flower
A calathea beauty star shows off its leaves
The tomato plant is blooming in clusters of yellow
Garlic is making a home in the sunflower pot
The cactus is growing a new arm!
A sunflower seedling alone in a large pot outdoors
The cress is growing in thickly and very green

I care for plants largely in three places – The balcony, inside, and the office. Now that I’m taking the time to think through and keep track, it’s actually more than a few plants. You can fit quite a few lively green growers in a small area! As of July 31st, 2021, the plants are:

Balcony

  • Cherry tomato
  • Bloodleaf
  • Olive tree
  • 4 tiny cacti
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Mint
  • 4 Billy Buttons
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • 2 Shishito peppers
  • 3 Garlic
  • 2 Winter squash
  • 40 Various succulents
  • Various Wildflowers

Inside

  • Bamboo
  • Orchid
  • Money Tree
  • 2 Polka Dot plants
  • 20 Various succulents
  • Sensitive Plant
  • Beauty Star Calathea
  • Corkscrew Rush
  • Boston Fern
  • Zz plant
  • 3 Tillandsia
  • Marimo Moss ball

Office

  • Red Emerald Philodendron
  • Burle Marx Philodendron
  • Boston Fern
  • Pilea
  • Dracaena

Six on Saturday

A wonderful blogging format if you’re looking to talk about your garden. Find out how to get involved by checkout out the place where it all started! I like to use it to keep updates of how the plants are growing from week to week. It’s a fun way to get involved in the garden blogging community and hear advice and ideas from all sorts of people. Don’t hesitate to post your own and share a link on my posts!

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Some Delightful Plants

Sometimes a plant will really surprise me. It’ll draw me in. Whether it’s the story of it, the mysterious survivability… or even sometimes the strange resistance some plants have to living. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank these plants for the amazing life they’ve shown me.

These are stories about plant that are or have been in my garden. For stories about plants that I come across in the wild, please check out my page on Nature Appreciation!

Plant Stories…

The Lonely Ginkgo

The Ginkgo is currently most threatened not by disease or the environment, but by logging. Our homes are our own environments. We get a say at what survives, and can even help plants thrive that otherwise might be disappearing.

Deserted Daffodils

After a few store-bought daffodil planters died at home, the dirt lay neglected in a bag on the balcony. Somehow, the daffodils have come back. I’m so excited.

Planting the Sun

I’ve got plenty of seeds, plenty of random plastic cups to start the seeds, and potentially some balcony space with regular sunlight. There’s only one way to find out if these things will ever actually grow in SoCal.

Updates from the Garden

There’s always something going on in the garden… even during winter! I love my plants, and try my best to keep them happy. It’s a learning experience. In the past, I wrote more free-form posts summing up the garden. After hearing about Six on Saturday, I’ve been keeping a weekly journal on major changes in the garden. Below are the posts from back in the day.

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