Finally some sun, then more fog, then rain

The weather is never far from a gardener’s mind. That’s true at the balmiest of times, but especially now, when the weather can change quickly and too much of one thing can cause real damage to your plants.

In a previous post I talked about the 400-mile blanket of fog that covered the Central Valley from Bakersfield to Redding for a solid three weeks, completely blocking the sun and keeping temperatures stuck in the low to mid-40s. That was a trying experience for us Californians who are used to seeing the sun on an almost daily basis. In fact, the longer the fog lasted, the more morose and melancholy people became. I have new-found respect and sympathy for folks who live in a place where this kind of weather is not unusual.

On Tuesday afternoon, December 16, the sun made a valiant effort to break through the fog:

December 16, 12:12 pm

It didn’t quite get there that day, but it did on Wednesday afternoon. For a precious few hours, we were blessed by golden light and temperatures in the low 60s. I took Stella for a long walk and soaked up the sun like I hadn’t in a long time.

December 17, 3:03 pm

December 16, 3:11 pm

December 16, 3:12 pm

We might be short on sunshine, but we’re not short on fallen leaves. In some areas, the leaves form a solid blanket, not unlike the fog in the sky. This can make for a pretty sight:

A few blocks from our house

In the Oak Grove at the UC Davis Arboretum

But often enough, the fallen leaves are just a pain:

Clearly this car hasn’t been moved in a while

In our neighbor’s backyard, as seen from my office window. Imagine if she had agaves, aloes, or cacti in the spot where all the leaves are!

I’ve been making a concerted effort to stay on top of the leaves to prevent leaf litter from accumulating in my succulents (see above). Doing nothing while wet leaves collect in the center of a dryland plant is tempting fate.

The sun didn’t stick around long — just for a few hours over a couple of days. Then it was back to the relentless radiation fog. Here’s a short video in which you can hear a flock of Canada geese flying overhead. It’s strange hearing them but not seeing even a trace of them.

And then it started to rain. Not hard (not yet), but enough to get things even wetter than they already were. On a positive note, temperatures climbed 10 degrees into the low 50s. That part is very welcome.

Friday, December 19, 3:29 pm

Finally I had a good reason to install this new rain chain

One positive development: some of the species tulips I planted last month are already coming up

As I write this, we’re waiting for the real rain to start — seven solid days. If the forecast is right, it’ll be a very wet Christmas indeed.

Speaking of Christmas. For me, no other outside plant says Christmas like Kniphofia ‘Christmas Cheer’ (I say outside because for inside it would obviously be the poinsettia). While most pokers bloom in the summer, this one blooms, well, right now. The plants below are on the UC Davis campus; my own are much smaller.

Kniphofia ‘Christmas Cheer’

Kniphofia ‘Christmas Cheer’

After I was done photographing these kniphofias and was getting ready to cross the street, I saw a very typical Davis scene: wild turkeys crossing the road and making traffic stop, not that there was much traffic this morning. There are flocks all over town and while some people seem to think they’re a nuisance, I love seeing them.

Wild turkeys crossing the road

And finally, on a somewhat random note, a couple of gift ideas for the succulent lovers in your life, courtesy of IKEA (I happened to be at our local IKEA store yesterday):

ÄRTBUSKE watering can, $19.99

SJÄLSLIGT, set of 3, $24.99

© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.