I've had this orchid for at least three years if not more.  It never bloomed for me all this time and I pretty much give up on hoping that it would eventually bloom.  Well, a couple of months ago I saw a sheath developing and it gave me some hope, however the sheath did not have a flower bud emerging for a LONG time.  I have not seen flower buds that took so long to grow.  Finally the last couple weeks or so things seem to have taken some momentum and I finally saw the flower bud taking shape and then a single blooming orchid.

It was definitely a lot of excitement to see the flower blooming, and even a little bit of success felt very rewarding!

Well, I'm back after a long hiatus!  With the weather being so beautiful here in Southern California, I really wanted to do some gardening and thought it would be nice to document it with a few pictures.

Recently I discovered that a local nursery I frequently visited actually had some pretty knowledgeable staff.  I was told that a good way to replenish depleted soil was to work a good amount of compost into the soil and then top it off with mulch so that it would eventually disintegrate into the soil, after that, follow a once every three month fertilizing schedule. 

I have a raised flower bed outside a window in the backyard.  It used to grow nothing because it was heavily shaded under a jacaranda tree.  A few months ago the tree sadly had to be removed because the roots were crawling under the house and spreading out to the entire backyard.  After the tree was gone I suddenly got a good amount of morning sunlight that I never had before so I figure I could give it another try.  

It took a lot of effort to loosen up the soil and mixed the compost in and I only did half of the flower bed in one go.  After that I gave the soil a good soak of water and planted a beautiful pink hydrangea that would eventually grow to 4 to 6 feet tall. 

I also found this geranium plant at the nursery that smells like cheap fake citronella dish soap, however the foliage is pretty and flower is very dainty, also it's suppose to repel mosquito with this scent, so I bought one and planted in the flower bed as well. 

The second half of the flower bed will just have to wait for another day when I muster up enough energy to dig in dirt again!  After that I will top it off with a layer of mulch!

After a long day of work and gardening it's time to relax into the evening. I love burning this palo santo cone as a natural way to scent the house but also bring good energy into my living space.

I got rid of a lot of unused flower pots in my backyard and moved several shelves out of the way to donate.  Dead plants are thrown away and outdoor tables and chairs are dusted and cleaned.  I found whole bag of unused fertilizer and bark chips in the shed and gave all the plants several deep watering.

Within a few days my poor neglected backyard seems to be coming back to life.  After the big clean out it actually became very enjoyable space rather than a messy jungle.  Today I actually sat on the bench for a good while just relaxing, somethings I haven't done for a long time.

I still have to fix two fountains, have my BBQ grill serviced since I haven't used it for years and maybe add some outdoor string lights.  I can't wait to invite some friends over for some BBQ and drinks after everything is all fixed up.

I spent a lot of time over the past couple of weeks pulling out dead plants and weeds out of my backyard.  With some care, my flowers really have perked up!  Gardening is such a relaxing and therapeutic hobby, I wish I would remember that more often.