For the last week and a half I’ve been living in Paradise…..literally. Paradise, California. I’ve been staying with Mike’s mom, Dee…..my friend. I’ve gone down the hill into Chico a couple of times but didn’t take many pictures. Took care of some business. Hung out a bit with friends which was great.  Chico felt a bit odd in a way.  I think of it as my home town, but I don’t know, it just didn’t feel quite the same.  Anyway, mostly I stayed here at Dee’s. Good company.
While she was at work I happily did some gardening in her back yard. Here are some pics:

 

A few “before” pictures first.  It wasn’t too bad, really.  Mike had built these boxes for growing stuff because it’s mountain soil back there and terrible for growing anything.

 

 

 

It just needed some sprucing up.

 

 

I’d painted the panels hanging on the fence a couple years ago.  They’re holding up pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

So, now for the “after” pictures….

 

…..see?  Not a huge difference, but I got some seeds planted and moved a few boxes.  Dee “planted” the gazing ball and moved the decorative grasses over by the shed.

 

She bought and set up a swing and a fire pit back in the corner.  A very nice place to relax.

 

She put this post and wire up to support the grape vines.  I thought it was a neat idea!

 

 

 

To the right is the herb garden.  There were still a few onions left from last year.  I planted lavender, sage, cilantro, garlic greens, basil and rosemary.  We’ll plant oregano and thyme sometime in the future.

 

 

Dee wanted her orange tree planted in this box and I got carried away!  I wanted it to have a good start in its new home, so I surrounded the base of the tree with bits of brick I found around the yard.  It’ll help keep the moisture in the soil and keep the evil beasty squirrels from planting their *%#*@*$ing nut seeds around it!  I left a couple spaces for planting annual flowers here and there, too.

 

Here’s a close up of the  base.

I love doing this kind of stuff.  It’s like putting a puzzle together.

 

All in all, I planted tomatoes, carrots, bush beans, hubbard squash, beets, zucchini, spinach, lacinato kale, bok choy, strawberries, the herbs, sunflowers and moonflowers.
When I think of moonflowers, I think of Mike.  I planted the sunflowers and moonflowers in the same corner.  I think it’ll make a beautiful combination.
It’s been heaven to have a place to play in the dirt…..or Paradise, as it were….  I did a little gardening at Lin’s house and a lot more here at Dee’s.  It’s been wonderful…..and speaking of wonderful….here’s Dee….

 

….ain’t she cute?