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Bloom Day - June 2016
My Southern California garden has benefited from the June Gloom that has kept the heat at bay thus far. Â A heatwave is expected to arrive this weekend, however, and, although the coastal area in which...
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Foliage Follow-up - Aeoniums
Deciding what to focus on for "Foliage Follow-up," the meme hosted by Pam at Digging, presented a true challenge this month. Â Just about everything in my garden seems to be blooming at the moment,...
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In a Vase on Monday: Summer Rescue Operation
I went outside to cut flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, at 8am on Sunday. Â The thermometer already read 87F (30C) so it wasn't the optimal situation...
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Heatwave Aftermath & Wednesday Vignette
Gardeners in colder climates rue the losses that come from serious freezes. Â In my frost-free zone, it's heat that causes damage. Â Summer arrived here in Southern California in a fury and my garden...
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June Favorites: Looking at the Positives
If you read my last post, you know I was upset by the impact our start-of-summer heatwave had on my garden. Â It's worse in some areas than others but it's hard to walk through the garden without...
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In a Vase on Monday: Heat Hardy Survivors
Last week's heatwave proved to be much worse than anticipated in our area. Â Our temperature reached 105F (40C) on Monday afternoon. Â I can't recall a temperature that high since we moved here and,...
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Summer Succulent Shopping
Two weeks ago, before summer officially began and prior to the June's first heatwave, a friend and I attended the Los Angeles Cactus & Succulent Society's Drought Tolerant Plant Festival at the...
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Wide Shots - July 2016
This is my first wide shots post on the quarterly schedule I've now set for these. Â I didn't think there was sufficient change month-to-month to warrant these posts on a more frequent schedule....
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Are any of these Aeoniums up to the challenge?
Early last month, Loree of danger garden announced her Aeonium Challenge, asking other gardeners to create something using one or more Aeoniums. Â I have gobs of Aeonium, although not Loree's design...
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In a Vase on Monday: Red, white and blue, of course
It's Independence Day here in the US so of course I had to use this week's "In a Vase on Monday" to recognize the event. Â I don't actually have any true red flowers so I had to stretch things a little...
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Really, I can't help myself...
My name is Kris and I'm an addict. Â I'm addicted to plants. Â I see all those holes left in my garden after that horrific heatwave in June and I start itching. Â I pay a visit to a garden center - or two...
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Risky Business
Even in coastal Southern California, planting during the summer months is a risky business. Â Every year I promise myself that I'll stop planting at the end of May. Â And almost every year I break my...
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In a Vase on Monday: Ikebana Experiment
Last week, Cathy of Rambling in the Garden challenged those participating in the meme she hosts, "In a Vase on Monday," to try an ikebana-style arrangement. Â I've admired the arrangements created by...
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Wednesday Vignette: Green Flowers!
In my last post, I grumbled that none of the Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) I planted this spring had produced green flowers. Â I'd ordered 2 collections of Eustoma plugs by mail, one of which...
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Bloom Day - July 2016
With one notable exception, there aren't many large splashes of floral color in my coastal Southern California garden this July. Â As I've mentioned ad nauseum, our horrific heatwave in June left...
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Foliage Follow-up: Stressed out succulents
My Aloe wickensii provided the jumping off point for this month's foliage follow-up, the meme hosted by Pam at Digging. Â I know that succulents will frequently turn red when exposed to water and/or...
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In a Vase on Monday: I've got the blues...
It's very hard not to feel blue now. Â I hesitate every morning before I turn on the news and, on more mornings than I can now count, I wish afterwards that I hadn't. Â But our world of 24/7 newscasts...
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Wednesday Vignette: Dahlias!
I've never succeeded in growing dahlias. Â I tried some fancy varieties in my old garden but, crammed into a small space that offered far too little sun, I got few flowers and lots of mildew. Â I tried...
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The good, the bad and the ugly
This morning we woke to hazy skies. Â I was initially delighted at the idea that the morning marine layer had returned as that usually brings our temperature down and, after days of highs in the low...
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In a Vase on Monday: More about foliage than flowers
My Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' is at its summer peak now and I wanted to celebrate that by using the foliage in an arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the...
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