Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Today, we launched a full-scale assault on the backyard patio at 8:00 am—coffee in hand, optimism at unsafe levels. We decided to turn the beds next to the patio into dedicated flower zones and relocate the herbs into the rotary/vertical planters. That way, we get a prettier view and keep the herbs right where they belong: near the kitchen, ready for duty whenever dinner needs a little rescuing.We started by placing the new flowers in the spots where they will be planted, making sure those that can’t stand the afternoon heat are in a shaded location.
Everyone has a new home!
We even moved the potted rosebush from its location near the planter to the kitchen wall!
We made sure that everyone had a drip line nearby!
I stashed some cages and bags of soil on the right side of the house and discovered the loquat tree was getting ready to be picked!
• Not a true “plum”: It’s often called Japanese plum, but it isn’t a plum at all—loquat is in the rose family (Rosaceae), related to apples and pears.
• Scientific name: Eriobotrya japonica. The genus name roughly means “woolly bunch,” referring to the fuzzy flower clusters.
• Winter bloomer: Unlike many fruit trees, loquat typically flowers in fall to winter and ripens fruit in spring.
• Fragrant flowers: The small white blossoms are strongly sweet-scented, often noticeable before you even see them.
• Pollination: Many varieties are self-fertile, but cross-pollination can increase fruit set and size.
• Bird magnet: Birds love ripe loquats—netting is a common strategy if you want to harvest any yourself.
• Cold sensitivity: Mature trees can handle brief chills, but flowers and young fruit are easily damaged by frost, which is why yields vary year to year in marginal climates.
• Evergreen leaves: Loquat has big, leathery evergreen leaves with a slightly fuzzy underside—very ornamental even when not fruiting.
• Seed fact: The seeds are large and glossy brown; traditionally, they’ve been used to make liqueurs in some regions. (Butdon’tt eat the seeds.)
• Notable caution: Seeds and leaves contain cyanogenic compounds (can release cyanide if improperly prepared). The fruit flesh is the part commonly eaten.
• Flavor profile: Depending on cultivar, the taste ranges from apricot-peach to citrus with mild floral notes.
Picking will require a tall ladder, so I will have to send Mary on an errand while I climb it!
A few are down low, and I took advantage of their position. Today, I snuck on them as I passed by!
The light green ones are about two weeks away!
It’s Tuesday, and that means Mary disappears for a few hours to go to her watercolor class. She departed the patio at 10:30 am to get cleaned up and get ready to leave at 12:30 pm. I kept working in an attempt to be done when she returned, but alas, there was a hiccup in the plans!
I was a busy bee when the phone rang! Guess who? Mary had everything she needed but her paints! They were on the stairway to the loft. I got ready to go, grabbed the paints, and headed to the Tustin Senior Citizens Center as fast as I could in the van. I delivered her paints only two minutes after the class started!
Returning home, I went back to work!
What a mess I had on my hands!
Mary joined me for a bit, then headed inside to whip up a dangerously good stir-fry that should honestly require a permit. I guzzled a glass of wine, watched a little TV, and then went back outside for a few last-minute activities—also known as “wandering around pretending I’m still productive.
After dinner, Mary showed me her masterpiece. She did NOT have time to paint some seagulls, so that will come a little later. I suggested she paint an Archaeopteryx or perhaps a pterodactyl, but my idea was quickly nixed!
Someone was rightly proud of her work!
The painting was one of her best to date. The lighthouse is located in Northern California.
I, of course, framed it!
