Finally planted sweet peas

I've been feeling pretty proud of myself lately for getting my bulbs and "Annie's plants" (4" perennials from Annie's Annuals)in the ground. I guess I'm proud because I did something for which the reward comes later. Now that the work is done, I can sit back and enjoy the show come springtime.

I planted more bulbs than ever before. A Berkeley landscape designer whose work I admire, Keeyla Meadows, relies heavily on bulbs for a really big color show. Many bulbs are spectacularly showy, but because they have a dormant period or might be lost to critters, rot, or might be a one-shot deal (most tulips), I haven't focused on them as much in the past. I'm hoping for a great show this year, especially since my soil is recently improved with lots of compost. Fingers crossed that squirrels don't eat everything I planted. I'm pretty convinced they gobbled up nearly the entire bag of 100 daffodil bulbs I planted last year in a raised planter. Now I've added lilies to the menu... heirloom lilies.

I also got my wildflowers planted (they're sprouting). The one task I kept neglecting... well, that and housework in general... was planting my flowering sweet peas. If I'd planted them when I planted my SugarSnap peas, they'd probably be 3-4 feet tall by now. Just got my 'Royal Family' seeds in the ground today. Better late than never, I guess. I hope.

It's supposed to be frosty tomorrow. Gotta protect my citrus tonight. I'm also going to move my containerized 'Caspian Pink' tomato plant into the greenhouse to see if I can get a few more ripe tomatoes out of it.

Cottony Cushion Scale...

... It's not just for breakfast anymore. ;-)

But a few of my newly planted citrus trees have it. According to the UC Pest Note on cottony cushion scale, a few natural enemies provide "excellent control." Cool, I don't have to spray! Not wanting to do nothing, however, I remembered an old house plant trick for scale where you swab the scale off with Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol. What does the alcohol do? I haven't the foggiest. Since I didn't see any predators, I went ahead and swabbed all the scale insects I could find.

Bulb Closure... almost

Finally got all my bulbs planted except for one bag of paperwhites which I'll use for forcing. I'm sure I'll forget where I planted many of them and will have some nice surprises come springtime. Most bulbs went in the ground, but I also stuck some in pots.

I'm happy to see that my 'Mission Bells' and 'Apricot Chiffon' California poppies are sprouting. I also planted Calendula 'Pink Surprise', which came from Select Seeds as a free bonus. It's pretty!