Lots of stuff going on around here in our Crapsman Bungledlow....The house has lifted almost 4 inches - in the picture below the top of the tape measure is where we started...We have about an inch and quarter to go - All sorts of things are shifting since the house has been sagging a long time and the prior work done on the house just worked around the leaning - The kitchen counter has moved up an inch, and the "replacement" support they put in the basement is floating and has shifted quite a bit. We are getting there!
As usual, I have multiple projects going, the first was a result of a fortuitous find and the local 99 cent store. They had some half round planters, which became the recipients of some herbs ( Thai basil and Mint) in the picture and three planters of strawberry plants on the stair rail. It has dressed up the back on the house and at the same time I have a nice supply of my favorite herbs. I bought more pots and will probably add more as time passes. Right now I am trying to root a lemongrass plant from a fresh one I bought at the market. I spent several weeks looking for a plant at all the local nursery's without any luck. A very nice employee at Armstrong Nursery gave the me instructions to root the one I bought - find one with a bit of root at the base, stick it in soil, cover it with plastic for a few days to capture the moisture, put it in bright light with no direct sun and it should root. So far it has been a week but i have not seen any progress...I had to take off the plastic because I was seeing a little mold forming... We shall see how this experiment goes. If anyone knows of a place in Southern California where I can find a lemongrass plant, let me know!
In other yard news, I finally bought my parkway trees this past weekend. This is no small feat seeing as I have been researching different trees that would be appropriate - grow fairly quickly, are deciduous, and have a shape I like. I thought about Ginkos (Slow growing, too large for the 4' space between the curb and sidewalk, and very pricey) California Sycamores ( Too big for the space) Crape Myrtles ( Beautiful, but the shape wasn't quite to my liking) and finally, Ornamental Plums. They have dark red leaves and are covered with a profusion of pink flowers in the early spring. Over the past week or so I have been pricing them and had decided that I was going to go ahead and buy one or two at a time, since the least expensive ones I had found were 19.99 at Home Depot. Well, as luck would have it, Steve and I were at Home Depot on Sunday pricing supplies for the bathroom renovation (I wanted to redo the kitchen first but he really hates the tub area) in any case, as we were leaving, I noticed they had a section FILLED with ornamental plums in 5 gallon containers with a sign - 9.99..... So needless to say I bought the six we need - 4 on the side of the house and two for the front, and I got two in the ground this evening. I always forget till I am swinging the pick ax just how bad the soil is here. However, I received the nicest feedback from the neighbors on their evening walks and was asked at least three times what kind of trees they were ( it happened in the home depot lot when we are loading them in the car). One fellow who lives in a stunning and immaculately kept house up the street told me how much he appreciates the work we have done on the house and how it has really made a difference. Its nice to know it does make a difference, and motivates me to do more...
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