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In a Vase on Monday: Fresh Blooms
In my last "IaVoM" post, I commented that fall can mimic spring here. We expected a warm-up last week and, although temperatures did rise, they didn't soar as high as expected and evening temperatures...
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Wednesday Vignette: A promise unfulfilled
For several days, various weather forecasts referred to the prospect of rain early this week. While I scoffed at the possibility, I of course held out a vague hope that rain, or at least drizzle,...
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Bloom Day - September 2016
Despite the rough start with a horrific plant-killing heatwave, the rest of the summer in my area of Southern California has been relatively mild, not that I'm counting summer quite over yet - another...
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Foliage Follow-up: The Southwest Corner
When I went out to snap foliage photos for the monthly feature hosted by Pam at Digging, the first thing that caught my eye was the curtain of Agonis flexuosa (Peppermint Willows) lit up by the late...
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In a Vase on Monday: Berry good
I headed into the garden with one idea as to what I wanted for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, but I came back with something entirely different....
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Wednesday Vignette: A steely stare
Today's Wednesday Vignette was a lucky catch. I was sitting at my desk late yesterday afternoon and looked up to see a hawk gliding gracefully over the harbor. He surprised me by landing at the top...
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Orchid Show
Last weekend I took a quick trip to my local botanic garden to take a look at the orchid show and sale they'd advertised. I spent less than an hour there so I can't claim I made a thorough study of...
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In a Vase on Monday: Eustoma grandiflorum keeps on giving
For a couple of weeks it seemed as though fall had arrived, ahead of schedule no less. But a high pressure system moved in over the weekend, bringing the notorious Santa Ana winds in tow, and our...
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The heat is on
After a couple of weeks with cool, fall-like weather, the heat turned up again last weekend. Actually, by comparison to Monday and Tuesday, the weekend was tolerable - it was at least possible to work...
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September Plant Favorites
I have to thank Loree of danger garden for hosting a review of the plants that win favorite status each month. At the end of summer in Southern California, it's hard to avoid looking at the garden...
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In a Vase on Monday: Silver Frames
The silvery foliage of my Leucadendron 'Pisa' had grown well over 6 feet tall and was looking a bit unkempt so I gave it an impromptu trim on Sunday morning. That left me with good-sized stems of...
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Wide Shots - October 2016
My last wide shots post on my quarterly schedule was in July. The garden never fully recovered from the horrible heatwave that hit in late June and, although I ignored my better judgement and did some...
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In a Vase on Monday: Shades of Yellow
I spent the weekend gallivanting (aka crawling nurseries or plant shopping), which left me scrambling to cut, arrange and photograph arrangements for "In a Vase on Monday" late on Sunday afternoon. I...
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Wednesday Vignette: Weekend Views
I spent Saturday trawling nurseries in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties with a friend. I'll provide a run-down in a later post but, for now, I wanted to share one display garden I photographed at...
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Bloom Day - October 2016
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens, is always a highlight of the month, although I admit I'm having difficulty getting excited about my garden at the moment. However,...
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Foliage Follow-up: The Old & the New
I had just a little time for a Foliage Follow-up post so this one will be shorter than usual. The bed on the north side of front door grabbed my attention as it's come together as I originally...
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In a Vase on Monday: I had an orange arrangement in mind...
I'd been thinking of using Grevillea 'Superb" with orange accents when I stepped into the garden to pick flowers for "In a Vase on Monday." Why I came back with blue and pink flowers is impossible to...
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A Cause for Celebration (and a Wednesday Vignette)
If you've read my blog for a while, you probably know that I have something of an obsession with water and, more specifically, rain, which we've had precious little of for the last 5 years. According...
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Fall Plant Shopping
Fall is unequivocally the best time to plant in Southern California. It's also the time of year I spend the most time plant shopping. The weekend before last, a friend and I hit 4 nurseries/garden...
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In a Vase on Monday: Similar but not the same
After failing in my plan to create a fall-themed vase resplendent with oranges and reds last week, I powered ahead with that image in mind this week. As appears to have become my habit, I got carried...
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