Clik here to view.
Front Slope: A work in progress
I've been working on the moderate slope on the southwest corner of our garden off and on since late November. Once our annual tree pruning exercise was complete, it was time to clean up and clear out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Let's get the new year started!
I've already cleared most of the spare decorations I set up to celebrate Christmas this year. With those tucked away, I was more than ready to cut flowers to add color to the house. It's been cold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2024: The Year in Review
2024 was a rough year in many respects. The misery and strife so many people in various parts of the world continue to face on a daily basis and the hideous political climate in the US trouble me...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wide Shots - January 2025
My quarterly wide shot posts sometimes sneak up on me. That's particularly true in January as I'm shaking off the holiday season and wondering when I may see the early signs of spring blooms. At...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Looking for something different
I've been stuck in a rut when it comes to selecting materials to fill a vase. While I've spotted some new buds developing here and there, it's going to be a while yet before those buds become blooms....
View ArticleClik here to view.
When the bird feeders are full
I've been leaving my bird feeders empty for much of the year; however, I feel compelled to fill them during the winter months. Granted, what passes for winter in my climate poses far fewer challenges...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pruning or butchery?
I've tackled several pruning tasks during the past week. Some of these were on my list, while others were handled on the fly. With pruning tools in hand, I'm easily distracted. I always think...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase On Monday: Can we hope for better this week?
Last week was an emotional roller coaster. With two major fires burning in Los Angeles County Tuesday evening, we got very nervous when our house was permeated with smoke and we heard fire engines...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bloom Day - January 2025
Under current circumstances, with a fire emergency ongoing in Los Angeles County, I might be expected to skip blog posts but frankly I need something to divert my attention from TV newscasts and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Succulent pot rehab
I'm still spending limited time in the garden, or outside in general. While two sites I initially consulted, AirNow and AQMD, suggested that our air quality was good-to-moderate, the one my husband...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: A diversion on a gloomy day
Between the fires that have decimated large sections of Los Angeles County over the past two weeks and the looming changes in the political leadership of the US, it's been hard to avoid feelings of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A departure from the usual programming
It's been another crappy week. The news out of the US capitol is difficult to watch, although I'm still consuming more coverage than may be healthy. Our humidity level dropped to ten percent as the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Time for a clean-up
Last January, almost exactly a year ago, I cleaned up my north-side garden. At the time I was pleased by how it looked after I removed a large number of Aeonium haworthii to show off a variety of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Rain, at last!
Rain finally arrived on Saturday night. The TV satellite suddenly went off-line and my husband had decided to go to bed. I was reading when I heard the pitter-patter of rain on the roof a little...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What a difference rain makes!
It rained off and on from late Saturday evening into early Monday morning, delivering 1.14 inches of rain in total, and bringing our tally since the start of our "water year" on October 1st to 1.43...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another project ticked off the list
Last Friday I reported on one project involving a cleanup in my north-side garden. I also referenced the horde of Aeonium arboreum I'd accumulated as "edging" in my cutting garden. It started...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Moving toward spring
Spring arrives early in coastal Southern California. We don't have much of a winter season to begin with. My area doesn't experience freezes, much less snow. Our nighttime temperatures rarely dip...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It's looking like they're here to stay...
Peacocks, generally juvenile males recently kicked out of their family's nests, used to pay us brief visits on an infrequent basis on their way to settle in more peafowl-friendly areas. Last year, a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spending time among the Aloes
Before the atmospheric rivers moved in this week I paid a visit to South Coast Botanic Garden specifically to tour the garden's aloe collection. Several years ago, SCBG expanded its Desert Garden,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Getting ahead of the the curve
The "curve" referenced here is the weather. The Los Angeles Times is predicting what could be an epic atmospheric river will hit Southern California this week, beginning as early as Wednesday. Both...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More changes to the front succulent bed
I did an extensive job of renovating the succulent bed in front of the garage last March, pulling out almost half the plants that had been there. New plants were added but while some plants were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bloom Day - February 2025 (Early Edition)
With a significant rainstorm in the forecast, I took advantage of clearer skies before it arrived to take photos for my February Bloom Day post. I'd hoped to squeeze more photos in between showers but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In a Vase on Monday: Spring prelude
The atmospheric river came through as predicted last week, delivering nearly two inches of rain here. Our total for the 2025 "water year" (counted from October 1, 2024) now stands at 4.81 inches....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The upside of drought
When the soil is as dry as ours was for more than eight months, there are far fewer weeds to pull! As much as I yearn for rain, it does generate a plethora of weeds. Try as I can to keep weeds under...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Friends, plants, and lunch
Is there a better way to spend several hours than meeting up with friends while wandering among plants on a sunny day, then tying things up with lunch? Denise of A Growing Obsession proposed the...
View Article