Zone One

It's abstract art. Nature scribbling all over the Pepper Tree. Is there a tree under there? 

And then there are the neglected fruit trees. Never given enough water the dwarfs are stunted. I have decided that they have to go. And before I plant, I will plan a space to back my garbage cans into.

I have Corona Tree Service out there today, pulling the ivy off the Pepper Tree and trimming it away from the power lines. Even though the Pepper Tree is an invasive tree, I'm leaving it. It's complicated to remove it and plant something else there. Trunk removal, water lines, a big hole in the landscape - I'm just not in the mood for all of that.

On Sunday after my hike at the Carpinteria Beach, I tackled fruit tree removal myself. Shovel in hand and without a real plan, I started digging around the root ball. My neighbor saw me there and came out to chat. Finally he asked, Would you like some help with that? I'm a good digger. I dig gopher holes all the time. I know he does. Every year he keeps track of the gophers he's trapped and it sometimes gets above 100. And I can use the help and the company.

We each took a side of the little tree and made some progress. It wiggled a bit when we tugged on the trunk. It was a little like a loose tooth. I'd pull the tree one way and my neighbor would get his shovel in a little deeper. Then he'd pull the tree toward him and I'd get a few more bites of dirt. Back and forth we went until we got it out. We did the same with the second dwarf, under a little rain sprinkle. It was quite satisfying.

The best part is that my neighbor took both trees to his yard and found a new home for them. He will take good care of them and who knows, they may have a long life ahead of them. He already has one of my fruit trees, a grapefruit tree I gave up on several years ago. It's bearing fruit at his house.

We dug up against the water line a couple of times. This is a good example of why it is important for me to do some of the work myself. I have changed my mind about what to plant in the side yard. It was going to be some kind of hedge, but now I know that I want any future water line repair to be easy and a hedge would make that complicated. I have decided that one CA Wild Grape (Vitis californica or Roger's Red) will be beautiful there. I will water it by hand until it is established. I promise.

Zones one and two will have NO automatic water system supplying it's needs. With my right hand on my heart, I solemnly swear to keep an eye on my front yard plants and personally give them the water they need when they need it.