As another year begins, it seems an appropriate time to look at the moments that captured my attention in 2019. I've been impressed by the retrospective reviews other garden bloggers have pulled together this past week but was a daunted when I thought of wading through 158 posts and many, many more photos to select those that resonated most with me. I took a haphazard approach, looking at blog post titles and pulling up only those that rang a bell for one reason or another, then selecting just a few photos each month that I found appealing or that told a story. Here we go!
January 2019![]() |
| Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' was the splashiest flower that isn't really a flower in my garden |
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| Last winter we had more rain than I can remember since I started gardening. I visited Madrona Marsh, a nature reserve in the middle of the busy urban center of Torrance, California and found the wetland marsh restored and full of migrating birds. |
February![]() |
| I used some of my Leucadendron flowers to create tulip look-alikes |
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| Regular rain gave us some pretty sunsets |
March![]() |
| Hummingbird moths (aka sphinx moths) visited my garden |
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| The unique blooms of Ferraria crispa (aka starfish flower) made an appearance |
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| And, after years in the ground, Leucospermum 'Brandi' finally bloomed |
April![]() |
| Flowers bloomed like gangbusters beginning in April, making it much easier to pull together a colorful vase (or 2!) each week |
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| I loved how this combination of Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', self-planted Gazanias, and Lotus berthelotii came together |
May![]() |
| Echium webii commanded attention in the back garden |
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| but Alstromeria 'Indian Summer' provided competition |
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| as did Melaleuca thymifolia |
June![]() |
| I lost the friend who'd given me the ruffled Leucanthemum x superbum shown here in a vase I prepared as a tribute |
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| The garden was at its peak on the summer solstice |
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| The Agapanthus arrived en masse |
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| Succulents and flowers mingled comfortably |
July![]() |
| Our remodel moved into high gear as our kitchen was demolished |
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| The garden wasn't yet markedly impacted by our remodel activity |
August![]() |
| The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) we'd cut back by half after a shot-hole borer infestation survived to bloom again |
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| Suddenly, there were spiders and spiderwebs everywhere |
September![]() |
| The garden was all about Dahlias |
October![]() |
| Early morning arrivals by construction crews meant I captured more sunrises |
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| As flowers waned elsewhere, the bush violets (Barleria obtusa) bloomed |
November![]() |
| Zinnias kept blooming |
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| As our remodel came close to completion, I turned my attention back to the garden, finally working on renovation of the bromeliad/succulent bed on the northwest side of the house trashed by raccoons earlier in the year |
December![]() |
| As Christmas beckoned, we finally declared the remodel (mostly) done |
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| Pipig and I had a scare, she had surgery, but she adapted to her fur-less stomach with the help of a heating pad |
That a wrap! Now that our remodel is done, I look forward to spending more time in the garden and hope to get out and about to see what's happening in other gardens too.
Best wishes for a wonderful new year - and decade - to all of you!
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
