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In a Vase on Monday: Imitation orchids and faux flowers
As both of last week's vases are still in great shape and as the front entry, normally one of two spots I place a vase is currently showing off a Christmas display, I didn't "need" to create any new...
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The saddest part of my garden
Alison who blogs as Bonney Lassie recently encouraged bloggers to "tell the truth" about the ugly bits in their gardens instead of showing only the pretty parts. Stepping up to the challenge, I'm...
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Bloom Day - December 2018
The explosion of blooms I'd hoped for following a couple of good rainstorms haven't materialized, at least not yet. Perhaps it's too cold and the days are too short for that; however, I still have an...
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In a Vase On Monday: Purples and Pinks
This week's vases aren't particularly Christmas-y but I'm holding back the flowers in more seasonal colors for an upcoming holiday celebration. Once again, I walked into my garden thinking I didn't...
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Tell the Truth Tuesday (Late Edition)
Alison of Bonney Lassie recently encouraged fellow garden bloggers to let go of the pretty faces we tend to present to the world and share some of the uglier sides of our gardens. Last week, I shared...
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Tree Trimming Trauma
As views of the Los Angeles harbor are valued here, good neighborly relations dictate annual tree trimming. I don't have all our trees trimmed each year but we tackle at least half of them annually....
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In a Vase on Monday: Merry Christmas!
Each year before Christmas, my husband and I host an annual smorgasbord, a tradition I took over from my mother years ago. The food selections have become less traditional over time - even my mother...
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Christmas Surprises
Christmas Day at our house was blessedly low key. And the day even began with a little light rain. Totaling 0.04/inch it certainly wasn't a drought-buster but we've come to appreciate whatever we...
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Flourishing Foliage
While not entirely absent, floral color is subdued this time of year, even in my part of the world. It's foliage that makes a statement. I did a circuit of the garden to scope out what needs to be...
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In a Vase on Monday: Welcoming the new year!
I've got just one vase to offer this week. The holidays have been busy and floral material is also in short supply. My Grevilleas are still the main source of flowers so it's no surprise that another...
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Tell the Truth Tuesday Follow-up
On Tuesday December 18th, following the lead of Alison at Bonney Lassie, I shared some of the ugly truths about my garden. The first item I showed was the mass of asparagus fern, Santa Barbara daisy,...
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Wide Shots - January 2019
I fear these quarterly wide shots posts may be getting a little old but they're one of the best tools I have to track developments in my garden so I hope you'll bear with me. I took all but one of...
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In a Vase on Monday: The usual suspects
Every garden has its rhythms and, despite the mild winter conditions here, mine is no exception. When I look back at photos of arrangements I created in January in prior years, the same flowers...
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Wednesday Vignette: Pool party!
Saturday morning was cold, the sky was gray, and the air was heavily laden with moisture, already signalling the storm that would arrive that evening. However, what immediately caught my attention as...
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Local Nursery Crawl - Plants, chickens, cats & dogs
I had one of those days yesterday. One thing after another went wrong. There were no disasters but by early afternoon I was feeling aggravated and was in search of a distraction. I decided to take...
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In a Vase on Monday: More Grevilleas and Leucadendrons
We got rain last week and there's more coming this week! The air is fresh and clear and my plants have been thoroughly cleaned of dust and grime. Everything looks prettier, even the usually...
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Bloom Day - January 2019
Last year we had the lowest rain level I can remember, with only 3.88 inches registered in our location between October 1, 2017 and September 2018. (California's "rain year" is always calibrated from...
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Rain soaked
Over the past four days we've had 4.23 inches of rain, which is a tremendous amount in a short time for us, especially given our recent history. For three of those days, we were entirely socked in, as...
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In a Vase on Monday: Subtle color variations
After almost a solid week of rain, my garden is saturated. That may bode well for my spring blooms but at present there's not much more in flower than there was last week. I couldn't think of...
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January at my local botanic garden
A number of things have kept me away from the South Coast Botanic Garden since mid-November - the holidays, the weather, and the Los Angeles teacher's strike among them. With no schools scheduling...
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