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Destination Garden Center
During peak garden seasons, I usually end up at my local garden center at least once every week or two. Summer is not a peak gardening period; however, fall is the best time to work in the garden in...
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In a Vase on Monday: Flashy Lady
I still haven't run out of dahlias for In a Vase on Monday! Some have grown ridiculously tall and two of those have either twisted their stems around their neighbors to catch the sun or collapsed on...
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The Brindley garden, one of the final stops on the Puget Sound Fling
After leaving the Heckler garden on the afternoon of the last day of the Puget Sound Fling in July, my bus headed for Windcliff. Even our small bus faced some difficulties winding our way through...
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Friday Potpourri
"Potpourri" sounds better than mishmash, doesn't it? I've spent a lot of time in the garden this week but not much of what I've done was photo-worthy so this post is comprised of a number of...
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In a Vase on Monday: Protea flowers at last!
I planted my first Protea 'Pink Ice' in the ground in 2018, after it spent two years in a large pot without flowering. Almost six years after planting it in the ground, I finally have flowers. I...
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Halloween, a well timed distraction
Are you decorating for Halloween? I don't usually do much, if I decorate at all. For one thing, my neighborhood has relatively few young children. It isn't the best venue for trick-or-treaters...
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Windcliff, the final stop of the Puget Sound Fling
As I explained in the introduction to my post on the Brindley garden, it and the Windcliff garden next door were bundled together. The only downside to that was that my attention was divided as I went...
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In a Vase on Monday: The hero shows up at last
I'm having a good dahlia season, even though two dahlias have been especially tardy about showing up. 'Belle of Barmera' is within days of opening its first blooms; however, 'Hometown Hero' finally...
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Bloom Day - October 2024 (Late Edition)
As temperatures begin to drop and it's finally feeling more like fall here in coastal Southern California, the bulk of the flowers are still those in my cutting garden but I'll start with the ones that...
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An unplanned nursery stop
Although, like Alice in Wonderland's white rabbit, I seem to be running late for everything recently, I took off on a whim on Monday morning for Flora Grubb Gardens in Marina Del Rey in response to...
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In a Vase on Monday: The Wind Factor
I've been fretting off and on about when to clear my cutting garden of the dahlias that have done so well this year. Given their vigor, I anticipated that the majority could hold up well into November...
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Wide Shots - October 2024
I'm late with my quarterly wide shots post for October. At this time of year, I've got a lot to do in the garden and seemingly never enough time to do it. I also struggled with the light the last few...
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Some progress
I've made progress here and there with my annual fall cleanup but there's still plenty to do - and seemingly never enough time to do it. I have a habit of getting distracted by the little things that...
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In a Vase on Monday: Last call for dahlias?
I spent a good portion of the weekend working in my garden, focusing half my time on taking apart the cutting garden on the northwest side of the house. I've dug up thirteen of the fifteen dahlia...
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Almost Wordless Wednesday: Go Blue!
The blues have it!Barleria obtusa, aka bush violetBarleria obtusa closeupAnother bush violet flowering exuberantlyEustoma grandiflorum, aka lisianthus, making a comebackMany of our neighbors are going...
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Deconstructing and replanting my cutting garden
Tearing my cutting garden apart and replanting it is one of my most labor intensive annual garden projects. I'd thought I might put it off until early November but the Santa Ana winds brought my...
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In a Vase on Monday: The garden giveth
Although I look forward to the flowers that bloom during our cool season, the transition is always difficult. The color quotient in my garden drops dramatically as seeds, bulbs, and plug plants take...
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A Giveaway on Election Day
My husband and I voted early, as did most of my friends, and listening to political advertisements and constant flurries of statistics and predictions was something I've wanted to avoid ever since....
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No colorful fall foliage to speak of
I'd intended to pay a visit to the local botanic garden this week since I haven't dropped in there since July but, between the election results and what weather forecasters have classified as an...
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In a Vase on Monday: I had to scrounge a bit
Once summer's flowers are purged from my cutting garden to make way for the bulbs, seeds, and plugs that will thrive in winter and spring, it gets a lot harder to put together floral arrangements....
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Looking for the positives
I haven't visited South Coast Botanic Garden since early July, which is relatively unusual. I popped in at last earlier this week. My mood may have been colored by the the recent election results,...
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Bloom Day - November 2024
My garden is less colorful this month but, in coastal Southern California, there's always something to share. I'll start with some of the plants that make a habit of blooming at this time of the...
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In a Vase on Monday: Responding to a challenge
Cathy of Rambling in the Garden is celebrating the eleventh anniversary of her "In a Vase on Monday" meme. Last week she threw down a challenge to participants with the simple suggestion to use...
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Sources of cool season excitement
Sources of cool season excitement in the garden are limited. However, by comparison to much of the country, I know that those of us in coastal Southern California are lucky just to have our gardens...
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Anxiety & Appreciation: My annual tree trimming exercise
I expanded my annual "tree trimming" exercise this year to include several shrubs that have gotten too large and unwieldy for me to handle on my own. Although I have great trust in the company I've...
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