Have you ever experienced your past intersecting with your present in unexpected ways?
I have. The birth of my grandson a couple of weeks ago, led to some connections from my past that brought back memories.
But before I talk about the past, let’s talk about the the present and the birth of baby Eric and how it did not go as well as planned.
A few days ago, I shared about how the labor process was not particularly smooth – 40+ hours of labor and then pushing led us all to the OR and a c-section. You can read more about the process to this point here.
So, I was waiting outside the door where my daughter was having her c-section and I was straining my ears for a baby’s cries.
Well, it turns out that I didn’t need to strain my ears at all – I could hear the baby’s cries loud and clear when he finally emerged at 3:17 pm – about 42 hours after we first entered the hospital.
My husband came out with the baby and gave me a ‘thumbs up’ sign and then I went with the nurse and baby to the nursery.
When we arrived in the nursery, Eric was still crying, which was a good thing. It’s funny how that is the only time that a baby crying is a welcome sound, isn’t it?
I stood right next to him while the nurse was checking him out and he was absolutely beautiful. Eric Marshall Johnson was 7 lbs. and 20 1/2 inches. Definitely not the small baby that the doctors had anticipated.
After a few minutes, he stuck his fingers in his mouth and stopped crying for a little while. It was funny to see him do that since he often did the same thing during his ultrasounds.
Not surprisingly, there were signs of the rough time he had being born. He was so stuck in the birth canal, that the doctor had to really struggle to get him out. He had a bruised ear, which you can see above, along with a bruise on his hand, his ‘manly’ parts, foot and on his head…
But let’s be honest – I was just focused on this sweet little boy who was melting my heart from where I stood.
My oldest daughter and husband watched on through the v as I got the privelege of putting on the first diaper…
I had forgotten how hard it was to put a diaper on a newborn.
It was at this time that I found out from my husband that my daughter hadn’t seen her baby yet. Due to the spinal that they had given her, she was very dizzy and felt like she was having trouble breathing because the spinal left her without the sensation of her chest rising and falling with breathing – she was breathing and had plenty of oxygen, but wouldn’t you feel a little worried if you couldn’t feel yourself breathing?
Anyhow, I felt so sad that she hadn’t seen her precious little baby yet. While waiting for her to be brought to recovery, the nurse asked if I wanted to hold him…
YES!
I took him in my arms and told him how excited we all were that he was finally here and that he had the best mom who loved him and couldn’t wait to see him and hold him.
About an hour after his birth, Eric was ready to meet his mom for the first time.
No matter how often you see it, there is something so miraculous when you see the bond between a new mother and her baby.
I could see in Rachele’s face that it was all so worth it and she would do it again in a second for her son.
He is one cute baby, despite his swollen nose and upper lip. Now that he was with his mom, he was happy.
Rachele was moved to her room and then Eric got to meet his aunt Brittney.
Can you tell how tired and happy we all were?
While we had planned on being there for Eric’s birth and then taking him and Rachele home with us to Arizona to recuperate, we hadn’t planned on how long it would be.
The morning after his birth, my oldest daughter and husband left for home and I stayed with Rachele until she would be released to go home with me.
While there was the initial anxiousness that accompanies having to reschedule appointments and getting things into order, I must admit that I was happy to have to disconnect from home and work and just focus on Rachele and my new grandson.
Over the days we spent at the hospital, this came to be my favorite view. It looks out on the city of Ventura, the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands.
This is where the paths of my past and present intersected. You see, I grew up just a 1/2 hour south from Ventura. I also went to college an hour north where I met my husband. We married over 28 years ago in Ventura and my mother served as a pastor at a church there back in the 80’s and 90’s.
What makes this interesting is that we haven’t had any recent connection with this city for over 20 years. We’ve all moved away to Arizona and never came back to this town until my daughter just happened to be stationed at the Navy base nearby.
While staying with my daughter, I was fortunate to be able to stay at her little townhouse on the Navy base. To do that however, I had to get a special pass for a week so I could get through the guards and gate without being accompanied by a military person, so Rachele’s friend kindly went with me so I could get a pass.
Every morning, I would wake up and drive to the hospital and enjoy the beauty of California. Except for one day, it was beautiful and clear. We did have a day or two of Santa Ana winds, which brought back memories of struggling to walk to school when the wind felt like it would lift you off of your feet – I really don’t miss the wind.
Back at the hospital, Eric’s first full day involved a hearing test, which he passed with flying colors.
While Eric was doing fine, Rachele was fighting a fever. At night, she would get a fever that would spike to 102 degrees. So, they put her on antibiotics and watched closely.
During the day, her fever would leave, only to return at night. So, her stay was extended so that they could keep a close eye on her.
During that time, I decided to help ‘feather Rachele’s nest’. Her kitchen had only the bare essentials and her living room consisted of a couch, a coffee table and a TV.
I told my mother about my ‘secret’ plan and she was so excited about it that she offered to help too. So, after bidding goodbye to Rachele at the end of one day, I went to the nearest Marshall’s store and bought 2 end tables and much needed kitchen supplies (cheese grater, colander, measuring cups, oven mitts and dish towels). I then stopped by Walmart and bought her a new area rug and door mat for the front door.
Meanwhile, Rachele’s fevers continued at night and now there was a complication with Eric. While changing his diaper one day with the nurse present, we noticed some strange jerky movements on his right side that were unusual.
The doctor was consulted and we were told to observe him closely. That evening, he did it again in front of the night nurse, so an EEG was ordered.
The tech came in and performed an EEG. Eric slept through the whole thing. We were hopeful that it wasn’t anything serious and anxiously waited to hear the neurologist’s findings.
Unfortunately, it was the weekend and we had to wait until Monday for the results. Rachele handled the whole process very well considering how it hard it must be to contemplate something being wrong with your baby.
Sunday morning arrived we got great news – Rachele’s fever had left and she was able to go home with Eric!
I don’t think anyone was so happy about being home than Rachele after her planned 2 day stay had extended to 6.
While Rachele was allowed to leave the hospital, she wasn’t allowed to go to Arizona until the baby’s EEG results came back. Monday morning, we took Eric to the pediatrician so she could check him out again and give us the results of the EEG.
I drove Rachele to the doctor’s office and had to parallel park in a small space in the front. Now, if you have visited California, than you know that parallel parking is a vital skill. The problem was that I was out of practice, but with my backup camera and Rachele’s guidance, I did a pretty good job, if I do say so…
Okay, I admit that it is a little unusual to take a picture of your own parked car, but I wanted to show my husband how well I parked 🙂
While seeing the doctor, we discovered that Eric had gained an ounce since birth and more importantly, that his EEG was normal. The doctors attributed his unusual movements as one of the many newborn quirks that they display. He hasn’t done it since the first two times.
Tuesday arrived and it was time to hit the road for Arizona with both Rachele and Eric.
But, not before stopping by the farm shack and buying strawberries straight from the fields.
We had a smooth trip home and Eric loves the car – he slept most of the way home where he was greeted by his aunts and uncle.
It is so much fun having a baby in the house and having my big girl back home for a few weeks.
After a week home, I am almost caught up on work, but I will cherish the time I spent in California taking care of Rachele and Eric.
**Thank you all so much for your kind words and comments during Rachele’s baby journey – I appreciate them so much!
Keeping America (and Phoenix) Beautiful
Baby Watch: Intersecting Paths
az plant lady familyHave you ever experienced your past intersecting with your present in unexpected ways?
I have. The birth of my grandson a couple of weeks ago, led to some connections from my past that brought back memories.
But before I talk about the past, let’s talk about the the present and the birth of baby Eric and how it did not go as well as planned.
A few days ago, I shared about how the labor process was not particularly smooth – 40+ hours of labor and then pushing led us all to the OR and a c-section. You can read more about the process to this point here.
So, I was waiting outside the door where my daughter was having her c-section and I was straining my ears for a baby’s cries.
Well, it turns out that I didn’t need to strain my ears at all – I could hear the baby’s cries loud and clear when he finally emerged at 3:17 pm – about 42 hours after we first entered the hospital.
My husband came out with the baby and gave me a ‘thumbs up’ sign and then I went with the nurse and baby to the nursery.
When we arrived in the nursery, Eric was still crying, which was a good thing. It’s funny how that is the only time that a baby crying is a welcome sound, isn’t it?
I stood right next to him while the nurse was checking him out and he was absolutely beautiful. Eric Marshall Johnson was 7 lbs. and 20 1/2 inches. Definitely not the small baby that the doctors had anticipated.
After a few minutes, he stuck his fingers in his mouth and stopped crying for a little while. It was funny to see him do that since he often did the same thing during his ultrasounds.
Not surprisingly, there were signs of the rough time he had being born. He was so stuck in the birth canal, that the doctor had to really struggle to get him out. He had a bruised ear, which you can see above, along with a bruise on his hand, his ‘manly’ parts, foot and on his head…
But let’s be honest – I was just focused on this sweet little boy who was melting my heart from where I stood.
My oldest daughter and husband watched on through the v as I got the privelege of putting on the first diaper…
I had forgotten how hard it was to put a diaper on a newborn.
It was at this time that I found out from my husband that my daughter hadn’t seen her baby yet. Due to the spinal that they had given her, she was very dizzy and felt like she was having trouble breathing because the spinal left her without the sensation of her chest rising and falling with breathing – she was breathing and had plenty of oxygen, but wouldn’t you feel a little worried if you couldn’t feel yourself breathing?
Anyhow, I felt so sad that she hadn’t seen her precious little baby yet. While waiting for her to be brought to recovery, the nurse asked if I wanted to hold him…
YES!
I took him in my arms and told him how excited we all were that he was finally here and that he had the best mom who loved him and couldn’t wait to see him and hold him.
About an hour after his birth, Eric was ready to meet his mom for the first time.
No matter how often you see it, there is something so miraculous when you see the bond between a new mother and her baby.
I could see in Rachele’s face that it was all so worth it and she would do it again in a second for her son.
He is one cute baby, despite his swollen nose and upper lip. Now that he was with his mom, he was happy.
Rachele was moved to her room and then Eric got to meet his aunt Brittney.
Can you tell how tired and happy we all were?
While we had planned on being there for Eric’s birth and then taking him and Rachele home with us to Arizona to recuperate, we hadn’t planned on how long it would be.
The morning after his birth, my oldest daughter and husband left for home and I stayed with Rachele until she would be released to go home with me.
While there was the initial anxiousness that accompanies having to reschedule appointments and getting things into order, I must admit that I was happy to have to disconnect from home and work and just focus on Rachele and my new grandson.
Over the days we spent at the hospital, this came to be my favorite view. It looks out on the city of Ventura, the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands.
This is where the paths of my past and present intersected. You see, I grew up just a 1/2 hour south from Ventura. I also went to college an hour north where I met my husband. We married over 28 years ago in Ventura and my mother served as a pastor at a church there back in the 80’s and 90’s.
What makes this interesting is that we haven’t had any recent connection with this city for over 20 years. We’ve all moved away to Arizona and never came back to this town until my daughter just happened to be stationed at the Navy base nearby.
While staying with my daughter, I was fortunate to be able to stay at her little townhouse on the Navy base. To do that however, I had to get a special pass for a week so I could get through the guards and gate without being accompanied by a military person, so Rachele’s friend kindly went with me so I could get a pass.
Every morning, I would wake up and drive to the hospital and enjoy the beauty of California. Except for one day, it was beautiful and clear. We did have a day or two of Santa Ana winds, which brought back memories of struggling to walk to school when the wind felt like it would lift you off of your feet – I really don’t miss the wind.
Back at the hospital, Eric’s first full day involved a hearing test, which he passed with flying colors.
While Eric was doing fine, Rachele was fighting a fever. At night, she would get a fever that would spike to 102 degrees. So, they put her on antibiotics and watched closely.
During the day, her fever would leave, only to return at night. So, her stay was extended so that they could keep a close eye on her.
During that time, I decided to help ‘feather Rachele’s nest’. Her kitchen had only the bare essentials and her living room consisted of a couch, a coffee table and a TV.
I told my mother about my ‘secret’ plan and she was so excited about it that she offered to help too. So, after bidding goodbye to Rachele at the end of one day, I went to the nearest Marshall’s store and bought 2 end tables and much needed kitchen supplies (cheese grater, colander, measuring cups, oven mitts and dish towels). I then stopped by Walmart and bought her a new area rug and door mat for the front door.
Meanwhile, Rachele’s fevers continued at night and now there was a complication with Eric. While changing his diaper one day with the nurse present, we noticed some strange jerky movements on his right side that were unusual.
The doctor was consulted and we were told to observe him closely. That evening, he did it again in front of the night nurse, so an EEG was ordered.
The tech came in and performed an EEG. Eric slept through the whole thing. We were hopeful that it wasn’t anything serious and anxiously waited to hear the neurologist’s findings.
Unfortunately, it was the weekend and we had to wait until Monday for the results. Rachele handled the whole process very well considering how it hard it must be to contemplate something being wrong with your baby.
Sunday morning arrived we got great news – Rachele’s fever had left and she was able to go home with Eric!
I don’t think anyone was so happy about being home than Rachele after her planned 2 day stay had extended to 6.
While Rachele was allowed to leave the hospital, she wasn’t allowed to go to Arizona until the baby’s EEG results came back. Monday morning, we took Eric to the pediatrician so she could check him out again and give us the results of the EEG.
I drove Rachele to the doctor’s office and had to parallel park in a small space in the front. Now, if you have visited California, than you know that parallel parking is a vital skill. The problem was that I was out of practice, but with my backup camera and Rachele’s guidance, I did a pretty good job, if I do say so…
Okay, I admit that it is a little unusual to take a picture of your own parked car, but I wanted to show my husband how well I parked 🙂
While seeing the doctor, we discovered that Eric had gained an ounce since birth and more importantly, that his EEG was normal. The doctors attributed his unusual movements as one of the many newborn quirks that they display. He hasn’t done it since the first two times.
Tuesday arrived and it was time to hit the road for Arizona with both Rachele and Eric.
But, not before stopping by the farm shack and buying strawberries straight from the fields.
We had a smooth trip home and Eric loves the car – he slept most of the way home where he was greeted by his aunts and uncle.
It is so much fun having a baby in the house and having my big girl back home for a few weeks.
After a week home, I am almost caught up on work, but I will cherish the time I spent in California taking care of Rachele and Eric.
**Thank you all so much for your kind words and comments during Rachele’s baby journey – I appreciate them so much!
Keeping America (and Phoenix) Beautiful
Baby Watch: An Unexpected Detour…
az plant lady family, UncategorizedHave you ever spent time looking forward to a big event and found that it seemed to take forever until it arrived?
Well, it certainly was like that for me waiting for the birth of my daughter’s first baby.
(Warning – there is no gardening content in this post, but lots of edge-of-your-seat drama 😉
I was counting down the weeks and later, the days until her due date of January 20th. My husband and I really wanted to be there to support her when the baby was born (the father is deployed overseas). The drive to Rachele’s house on the Navy base is over 7 hours away by car, so we had our bags packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Finally, we got the call we were waiting for – the doctor was going to induce her because he had concerns regarding the baby’s low weight. That meant that we could be there ahead of time. So, my husband and I as well as our oldest daughter, Brittney, hit the road on Monday morning (the 19th).
We met Rachele at her new townhouse on the base and saw how she had made everything ready for the baby’s arrival. While the rest of the family watched ‘The Office on Netflix, I made them all a homemade dinner in preparation for a long night ahead.
Finally it was time to leave for the hospital – Rachele’s induction was scheduled for 7:30 pm.
we walked down the hall to Labor & Delivery
As we walked down the hall to Labor & Delivery, I stopped to take this photo, thinking of how changed Rachele’s life would be after she left the hospital.
It turned out that there were a lot of babies being born, so we had to wait a little while before Rachele could be induced, so we spent time in the waiting room. Brittney showed Rachele a photo on her of what she had looked like just before going into labor.
labor & delivery room
We finally got into the labor & delivery room where we would spend the next hours helping Rachele through labor. She told us that she wanted me with her the entire time, including delivery – I was so excited and a bit nervous!
labor & delivery room
So, Rachele settled in for the night. They found that she was already in early labor, but she did receive some medication to speed it along a bit.
We were all allowed to spend the night with Rachele in her room. So far, the pain was not bad and they gave her a pill to help her sleep. We were excited for the next day (Tuesday) and the birth of her child.
labor & delivery room
The next morning, Rachele was still smiling because she still wasn’t in much pain – but her labor was moving very slowly.
On one hand, she wasn’t in a lot of pain, but Rachele was beginning to get impatient and truth be told, so were the rest of us. We had all gotten a few hours of interrupted sleep the previous night and were quite tired.
That evening, my oldest daughter and I decided to drive to a nearby hotel to get a few hours of sleep, but only after the nurse assured us that Rachele wouldn’t deliver that night. So, we stopped by a somewhat ramshackle hotel by the beach. I couldn’t care less that the hotel had seen better days – the room was clean and we soon dropped off to sleep.
I called my husband, who was staying with Rachele at 4:00 to get an update and they had started her on Pitocin, and the labor was progressing, but not quickly, so he told us to sleep a few more hours.
At 6 am, he called and told us to hurry over since she was in hard labor and had made lots of progress. I was so excited, it was a miracle that I managed to find our way back to the hospital.
When we arrived, Rachele was in a lot of pain, but handling it very well. Before we knew it, she was ready to push and Rachele allowed all of us to stay to help coach her.
At this point, we started taking bets as to when the baby would be born.
I was texting family back home throughout the whole labor process including grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins and Rachele’s siblings. They all came in with predictions for the birth including the latest one from my daughter, Ruthie, who predicted the baby would be born at 1:34. I said that there was no way that the baby would be born that late.
But, I was wrong…
Rachele’s epidural was working well at this point and we watched her contractions come and go and helped coach her as she pushed.
She pushed very well and was making great progress – the labor nurse said that he was almost there. But then, the baby was stuck and Rachele was making no further progress no matter how hard she tried.
The doctor came in and examined her and determined that the baby was face up instead of the more normal position of face down. He discussed the option of using the vacuum, but said that even if it worked, that there would be a lot of tearing and chances are that it wouldn’t work at all. In addition, they are limited to only three tries with the vacuum, before they are forced to do a caesarean section.
So, the decision was made to do a caesarean section. I must admit that we were all disappointed, except for Rachele, who after 40+ hours of labor and then pushing was ready to give birth any way feasible.
So, an hour later, her dad and I found ourselves waiting outside the OR. The plan was for my husband to be with her during the surgery since he is better in those kinds of situations than I am.
I got special permission to wait outside the OR and then would accompany the baby to the nursery.
It was hard waiting and I could hear snatches of conversation between the doctor and nurses along with a few answers from my daughter.
After what seemed like forever, I heard the most beautiful sound of a baby’s cries coming from behind the door.
My heart melted at those sounds and I couldn’t wait until they brought him out.
***************************
This is already a long post, so I invite you to join me for ‘Part Two’ when I share baby photos along with some other ‘hiccups’ that happened along the way making my trip to CA lasting a lot longer than I had planned…
Baby Watch: Intersecting Paths
Strawberry Fields and Hometown Visits
azplantlady, California, UncategorizedDo you love strawberries?
I do. In fact, it’s my favorite type of fruit.
One of my earliest memories is of the strawberry patch growing in my grandfather’s garden in Frankfurt, Germany.
We would visit them once a year for a month when we were young while they lived there. I remember pesky rabbits trying to steal some of the sweet strawberries and my grandfather’s ongoing battle to keep them out.
My hometown, in Southern California, was surrounded by strawberry fields. When you drive down the 101 Highway through Ventura County, you could smell their delicious fragrance.
What’s even better than smelling the strawberries, is being able to stop by the small produce markets right next to the fields where you can buy large flats of strawberries straight from the field.
The strawberries are beautiful, unblemished and you can’t resist sampling one or two or even three before you make it back into your car.
While I love living in Arizona, I do miss the strawberry fields from my hometown. However, now my second-oldest daughter, Rachele, lives close to the town where I grew up and so I get to visit the fields again and bring home huge flats of delicious, sweet strawberries.
In fact, earlier this week, I stopped by this small produce store and bought some strawberries and took them home and made 20 jars of strawberry jam. I stayed up late last night, finishing up canning the strawberries and had some homemade strawberry jam on my toast this morning – yum!
So, why was I in California?
Well, I had a very important reason – my grandson, made his debut!
Of course, my husband and I were prepared to leave at any minute to drive out to California so that we could be there for our daughter when she went into labor, but the entire process didn’t go exactly as we had planned.
In fact, I ended up spending 8 days in California.
I’ll share more of our journey next time – it may be a two-parter 🙂
Summer Adventures: Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries
Winter Garden Harvest: I Never Thought I Would Love Kale!
Southwest garden, UncategorizedDid you enjoy eating leafy greens such as lettuce or spinach as a child?
I would eat a little salad, with some needed prodding from my mother, but I didn’t really enjoy it. Now, I love lettuce of all kinds and like to use a variety when I make my own salads.
Well, I may be older, but that doesn’t mean that my mother is finished with me yet. The other day she brought over some kale from her garden.
I must admit that I have been somewhat resistant to eating kale. I don’t have any good reason for it other than a deep-seated prejudice toward dark-green leafy greens.
Photo: Kale and Romaine Lettuce
My mother didn’t stop with just bringing freshly harvested kale over to my house. No, she actually made a delicious kale salad with lemon zest and olive oil dressing.
I was a little hesitant before I took my first bite. I realized that I really wanted to ‘grow-up’ and like kale and get rid of my ridiculous prejudice.
It turns out that I really did like it! So much so that I plan on growing my own.
It just goes to prove that mothers do know what’s best for us – even when we are all grown up 😉
I hope you have enjoyed my winter harvest blog posts. We’ve gone from broccoli to new vegetables and covered how to get kids to like cauliflower.
Do you have a vegetable that you used to hate and now like to eat?
A Cauliflower Harvest and How to Get Your Kids to Love It
UncategorizedDo you have a favorite winter vegetable?
I have a few, but cauliflower is near the top of the list.
Cauliflower Harvest
While I have had my struggles growing broccoli – its cousin, cauliflower grows very well in my garden.
Every January, you’ll find me in the garden looking at my cauliflower plants to see when they are ready to harvest.
I’m not sure why I like cauliflower so much – I certainly didn’t as a child and I still don’t like it cooked.
As a mom of 5, I recently came up with a neat trick to get kids to not only eat, but like cauliflower.
It all came about when I got tired of spending a lot of money of bags of lettuce during the summer months after my lettuce crop had faded. So, I decided to chop up carrots, celery, cucumbers and cauliflower into small chunks.
I like to call it the “Four C’s Salad”.
I mix all the cut vegetables together and lightly dress it with my grandmother’s “Top Secret Salad Dressing”.
The kids love it and so does my husband, who doesn’t like salad.
You can also sprinkle small cauliflower bits over your traditional salads much like you would cheese. Kids don’t really notice that they are eating cauliflower. My kids like it now since it reminds them of small chunks of cheese in appearance.
I will be planting some new cauliflower transplants in my garden this month (cauliflower is hard to start from seed) so that I will have more cauliflower ready in early spring.
Do you like cauliflower? How do you like to prepare it?
*This is the third post this week about my winter vegetable harvest – so far, we’ve covered broccoli,
‘White Icicle’ radishes/Swiss Chard and now cauliflower. On Monday, I’ll show you some fresh vegetables from my mother’s winter vegetable garden.
A Neglected, Overgrown, Nameless Rose….
Double S Farms, UncategorizedThis gardening story is all about one particular rose bush which is located at our small family farm, affectionately called ‘Double S Farms‘.
I first posted this story about an overgrown, nameless rose 2 years ago.
Since it is time in areas with warm winter climates, to prune back your roses, I thought you would enjoy this story as much as I do 🙂
*************************************
This poor rose had not been fertilized, deadheaded or pruned for a few years. Personally, I think it looks fantastic considering the lack of care it has received. The residents of Double S Farms, (my mother, sister and her family), had only recently moved to the farm, so this rose had been neglected by the previous owners.
I decided to focus on this rose because I wanted to show how to prune a rose and I don’t have any roses that need pruning right now. So, my mother and sister (residents of Double S Farms) graciously granted me permission to prune their rose bush. Actually, they were more then happy to have me do it so they would not have to 😉
I had no idea what variety this rose was. I was pretty sure that it was a shrub rose and it had a lot of old, unproductive growth that needed to be removed. When finished, it would be rejuvenated and ready for the beginning of it’s new life with it’s new homeowners.
So I got started….
My tools – hand pruners, pruning saw and loppers. Oh, I almost forgot – gloves! I also recommend wearing a long-sleeved shirt as well to protect your arms from being scratched from the thorns.
First, because there is so much thick growth, I just started to cut branches in order to make a ‘hole’ like this, which made it easier for me to reach inside with my pruners to remove the interior wood. It is much easier for me to remove the larger branches at the beginning of the process instead of making multiple cuts of the smaller branches and working my way down.
Normally, I remove about 1/2 of the height of the rose bush. But, in this case, I decided to remove quite a few of the large, old branches (canes) at the base of the rose as they no longer produced as many newer branches and roses as the newer canes do. This neglected rose bush has a lot of old growth that had to be removed, so I would be pruning it back by 2/3.
First, I removed the old and dead canes. Then I selected the green, healthy canes that I wanted to keep and pruned back to an outward facing bud and cut at a 45 degree angle.
Okay, you may be wondering why I am included this gross picture of a borer cut in half. Well, borers burrow into the center of the rose canes, causing damage as you can see in the cane to the right.
My son thought it was so cool….he likes anything that is gross.
*To help prevent borers in the future, simply apply some wood glue to the top of the newly pruned canes, which helps seal them out.
Surprise! As I continued pruning, I discovered that there were actually two rose bushes which had grown together.
Every January, it just kills me to prune back roses and watching all the beautiful blooms fall to the ground. But, beauty hurts and pruning will ensure that there will be more beautiful blooms for these rose bushes in the spring.
Here is an example of a cane that has been pruned incorrectly long ago, (I told you this rose bush had been neglected and mistreated). You can see where it turned brown and died. When pruning the canes, be sure to prune back to a bud or back to the base of the larger cane.
I really did the pruning myself and am not just taking credit for someone else’s work 😉
I was almost done. I continued cutting away all the remaining small canes and dead growth with my hand pruners. I used my loppers for the large canes that need to be removed.
I enjoy pruning very much, but I hate this part….
But, I was lucky. I was able to bribe my son and daughter to help me clean up.
Now all I had left to do was to remove all leaves remaining on the roses and clean up any leaves lying around the area surrounding the roses. I do this because the leaves can harbor fungal diseases that will reinfect the new rose leaves.
Guess what? I found the old tag from when the rose bushes were planted. It is a ‘Glamis Castle’, which is a David Austin English Rose. I put the tag back on one of the rose bushes.
I finally finished. The roses were no longer “Nameless, Overgrown or Neglected”. Pastor Farmer (my mother) came outside to see what I had done to her roses. She was a bit dismayed to see so little left of her rose bushes. But I assured her that they would be happy and healthy and covered with blooms in spring.
Fast forward a few months, and these formerly neglected rose bushes were thriving again!
And the flowers were so beautiful and fragrant…
It never ceases to amaze me how pruning, done the right way, can bring new life to an old, neglected rose bush.
Trying New Things In My Winter Garden: ‘White Icicle’ Radishes & Swiss Chard
Uncategorized, vegetablesDo you like to try new things?
I do – especially in the garden. I’m always on the lookout for new vegetables to try out, including some heirloom varieties, which aren’t technically new.
One year, I tried growing ‘container corn’. You can read here how it did.
This year, I tried growing ‘White Icicle’ radishes, which are a cross between radishes and turnips. My mother had given me the seeds and I’ve always had a very easy time growing regular radishes, so I thought I’d try these.
They grew easily and the leaves reached over 2 1/2 ft. long!
It was exciting to pull them out and I couldn’t wait to try them.
While they were very easy to grow, I must confess that I didn’t like them.
I really wanted to and their flavor was a lot like a turnip, but they burned my mouth – much more than the radishes do.
My grand experiment last year was growing Swiss chard and afterward, I wish that I had been growing it all along. It’s not only easy to grow, it also tastes great in salads!
I grow it both in my vegetable gardens and in pots.
So, while I wish that I liked ‘White Icicle’ I don’t. But, it wasn’t a waste of time growing them. You see, gardening is a grand experiment and it’s always fun to try growing new things and while there are going be some failures – there are also great successes (like my Swiss chard) when you discover what grows well that you like.
*This week, I’m sharing what I’ve harvested from my winter vegetable garden and sharing lessons learned. Yesterday, it was broccoli and how to freeze it.
Winter Vegetable Harvest: Broccoli and How to Freeze It
Uncategorized, vegetablesDo you grow vegetables in the winter? Here in the low desert regions of the desert Southwest, we can grow vegetables all year.
My winter vegetable garden is filled with a variety of cool-season vegetables and I have rarely had any problems growing any of them except for broccoli.
For some reason, in past years my broccoli has been rather lackluster. Oh, the plant grows, but the broccoli heads are always small with no real central head forming.
winter vegetable garden
It’s been frustrating because my mother’s garden (just 2 miles away) always produces gorgeous heads of broccoli. Every year, after harvesting a small amount of broccoli stalks, I decide that it is the last time I will grow it.
But come fall, I always relent and plant some more. So, imagine my delight when I ventured out in to my garden this month and found two large heads of broccoli ready for picking!
Aren’t they beautiful?
So, what did I do differently?
I simply planted them in a different location (about 10 ft. away) in the vegetable garden – that’s it! When planting them this year, I remembered that many people plant tomatoes in a different location from year to year to allow the soil enough time to replenish and I thought that I’d try it with my broccoli and it worked!
My entire family loves broccoli and nothing compares to the flavor of fresh broccoli. But, you can also freeze it for later. To do this, you need to ‘blanch’ it by cutting the broccoli into florets and then putting them into boiling water for 3 minutes. Immediately afterward, dip the florets into cold water with ice cubes to stop the cooking. Dry the cooled broccoli the best you can and place meal-sized portions into plastic freezer bags and freeze until you are ready to use!
So the lesson is, that if you grow a type of vegetable that does not seem to grow well despite doing everything right – try growing it in a different location.
Come back tomorrow, when I’ll share with you a new vegetable that I grew in my garden!
My Newly Planted Vegetable Gardens
Winter Harvest From a Desert Vegetable Garden
Citrus, UncategorizedI love living in the desert Southwest.
I really do, except in August. That’s when I start to tire of the long, hot summer and yearn for fall. By September, the days begin to shorten and the weather begins to cool and I plant my cool-season vegetable garden.
One of the things that I love most about gardening in the desert Southwest is that you can grow fruit and vegetables all year long – even in the midst of winter when most of the country can only dream of growing things outdoors.
Where else can you look outside and see delicious vegetables coming up and picking them fresh for your table in January?
desert Southwest winter garden
Oh, and how about the citrus fruit that not only provides us with sweet, tart fruit – but also adds bright color to our desert gardens?
Over the next few days, I thought that I’d share with you what I have harvested from my winter garden in hopes that you will be inspired to grow your own desert Southwest winter garden.
Even if you don’t live in a mild winter area, growing vegetables is not all that different in other regions, except for the calendar. So, you can always pick up some helpful tips from vegetable gardeners who live in other places.
Tomorrow, I’ll share my first-ever success in growing a vegetable that has given me problems in the past.
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Baby Watch Update:
Our second-oldest daughter, Rachele, is expecting her first child soon! She is in the Navy and currently stationed in California – about 7 hours away from us.
She is being monitored closely because of the baby’s low birth weight and now the latest ultrasound shows a lower level of amniotic fluid.
Rachele has been seeing having weekly ultrasounds, stress tests and seeing the doctor. On her last visit, she was told that they may have to induce her maybe a week early.
So, what does that mean for me and my husband? Well, I had to reschedule a speaking engagement on “Updating Your Landscape”.
Our plan is to hit the road as soon as we get the call from her that she is being induced and/or in labor. Hopefully, we will get there before the baby does!
Meanwhile, I’m off to pack my bags!
Vegetable Garden Before The First Frost
A Fun-Filled Family Holiday
az plant lady family, UncategorizedEvery year, I always look forward to Christmas. It begins in late October when I start shopping for the perfect gift for those on my list.
I am blessed to have my entire family living within 20 minutes from me (with the exception of my daughter, Rachele, who is in the Navy). However, it didn’t use to be that way. My family used to all live in California, therefore, we spent much of the holidays on the road.
It’s because of this that I am so thankful that they are all nearby now and our holiday celebrations are even more special.
Here is a glimpse of how we spent our time together.
It all begins early in the week with my annual Christmas cookie baking day. All the old and young kids in the family are invited, ranging from ages 20 on down to 3 years old.
My neice Sofie, my daughter Brittney and granddaughter Lily.
The kids look forward to it every year and so do I, although it is rather a chaotic few hours.
This year, my 4-year old, twin nephews came for the first time. They really enjoyed cutting out the cookies. We have a standing rule that the kids can eat one cookie and then we save the rest for eating on Christmas day.
The twins were really helpful until they ate their one cookie at which time, they lost interest and decided to play. So their dad, my brother Scott, stepped in and helped decorate the others.
We had a large variety of sprinkles and frosting and the kids had fun coming up with creative ways to decorate their cookies.
My nephew Oliver, makes very unique Christmas cookies including his ‘zombie’ gingerbread man.
A few days later, we opened our gifts on Christmas eve. It never ceases to amaze me how helpful my kids are with helping me get everything ready just before it is time to open gifts 😉
We had a somewhat traditional Southwestern Christmas dinner of tamales, chips & homemade salsa with Mexican rice.
Gracie was thrilled with her Barnes & Noble gift card.
Christmas Day at Double S Farms
Christmas Day found us gathered at Double S Farms, where my mother, sister and her family live.
Because our extended family is so large, we draw names each year so that each person give one gift to one person.
This year, we picked both of the twins which made it especially fun to pick out a gift for them.
They have begun to move past Thomas the Train and onto Disney Cars – so their new ‘Cars’ race track was pretty popular.
While we all give my mother gifts each year, my siblings and I get together each Christmas to give her a gift on behalf of my dad who is no longer with us.
Over the past years we have given her an apricot tree, perfume and a homemade cookbook.
This year, we made her an apron with the handprints from all of her grand and great-grandkids.
After the gifts have been opened, we all participate in another Christmas tradition which is a ‘treasure hunt’.
My mother leaves clues around the house and garden, which lead us on a merry hunt. Both adults and kids get into the fun.
The hunt can lead us to clues hiding in the vegetable garden…
On to a nativity…
To leftover pumpkins…
And even the family dog has a clue tied up in her collar.
Special gifts from my mother to all of us await us at the end of the treasure hunt.
Dinner is simple, but delicious, and usually features lasagna from Costco. For dessert, are the cookies that the kids made and decorated earlier in the week.
As evening arrives the last and perhaps the most important tradition of our Christmas celebration begins.
The kids dress up as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. This year, Lily got to be Mary and my nephew, Oliver was Joseph. The twins were the shepherds.
While walking through a dark house, carrying candles, Mary and Joseph search for room to rest for the night. Sadly, no one has room, including the inn keeper.
But, he does have room in his stable, so we all proceed to the ‘stable’ in the backyard.
There is baby Jesus with Mary, Joseph and the shepherds gathered around.
My mother then reads the Christmas story and we all sing ‘Silent Night’.
Both the adults and kids look forward to this tradition, called ‘Las Posadas’ every year.
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and are ready for a happy New Year!
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This coming year will bring a new member to our family. Our daughter, Rachele, is expecting her first child in January. She is currently stationed at a Navy base in California.
She is being closely monitored by her doctor because her baby is underweight according to the ultrasound, but developmentally, he looks good.
In the meantime, I have my packing list ready because once I get the call that she is in labor, I will be too excited and nervous to remember everything I need to bring.
It will take us 7 hours to get there and I hope we make before our grandson is born!
Cookies and Sugar Cone Christmas Trees