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Wednesday Vignette: The Price of Inattention
Back in April, in a Tell the Truth post, I included photos of the clover (Trifolium repens) overtaking the flagstone pathway in my front garden. I justified leaving it alone based on the arguments...
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Bloom Day - June 2019
Summer usually kicks off well before Memorial Day here but the heat that marks its arrival didn't show up until the very end of May this year. The return of the morning marine layer on Wednesday took...
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In a Vase on Monday: The Dahlias have Arrived!
Well, the first blooms on Dahlia 'Enchantress' have arrived in any case. There are buds on 'Labyrinth' too and at least 4 other dahlias look as though they're preparing to set buds while several more...
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Finally, it begins...
We began to talk seriously about a home remodel almost a year ago. On the table was gutting our existing kitchen, an earthquake retrofit, new flooring, and installation of a new HVAC system. After...
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Welcoming the Summer Solstice
Today marks the the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer can be unpleasant here so this isn't something we normally celebrate. This summer may live up to its negative reputation with...
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In a Vase on Monday: From Spare and Simple to Frou-frou
I've been thinking about using stems of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' in a vase since my shrubs began sporting their pretty summer blooms a few weeks ago but I'd no idea what to use with them. When the...
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Succulent Stars
I've been spending a lot of time in my garden, partly to escape the pandemonium associated with our remodel, but also in an effort to manage the garden's explosive growth following the best stretch of...
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Summertime Blues
The title of this post has nothing to do with my mental state, even through the month of June has been a turbulent to say the least. The focus of my post is entirely on the blue-flowered plants in my...
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In a Vase on Monday: Chaos reigns
Not a single room of the house feels familiar or comfortable at the moment. The living and dining rooms are empty and the kitchen is halfway gutted. Every one of the remaining rooms is now serving...
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Wednesday Vignette: Half a house
With the footing for our kitchen extension completed last week, our long-awaited remodel finally kicked into high gear this week with the demolition of our kitchen and dining rooms. The first day was...
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My Daylily Collection
My daylilies were just getting started during the first half of June and most are finishing up their season during the early days of July so I thought I'd take this opportunity to share them as a...
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In a Vase on Monday: Shaking things up
My home is still chaotic. As our remodel proceeds, there's a new wrinkle every day - and sometimes two or three. Our contractor is off to meet with a structural engineer today to resolve an issue...
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Tell-the-Truth-Tuesday: Lost in a cloud
With my house in a state of chaos, I find myself needing to assert some control over my garden. That impulse has been manifested mainly in clean-up activities thus far (but don't be surprised if I'm...
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Wednesday Vignette: You've got to break a few eggs to make an omelette
Demolition continues at our house. At the moment, it seems never-ending. We had an "issue" with the roof design for the new kitchen extension so it's literally back to the drawing board there. In...
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July at South Coast Botanic Garden
After a hiatus of six weeks I led two tours through the South Coast Botanic Garden this week. After the second yesterday, I went back to photograph some of the garden's mid-summer highlights....
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In a Vase on Monday / Bloom Day Mash-up - July 2019
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, and In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, are once again falling on the same day and, rather than publishing...
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Looking up
I took a much needed break from the noise and chaos of our home remodel for some retail therapy this week, meeting up with Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden at Roger's Gardens in Orange County. There'd been...
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A Bevy of Dahlias
Five of my dahlias have now produced blooms and 4 others have buds. Only one, 'Diva', living up to her name, has failed to produce any buds as yet. Caving to their siren calls, I ended up with 3...
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Tell the Truth Tuesday (Late Edition): Ladybugs needed
I was pleased when two of my Hesperaloe parviflora produced bloom spikes this year. They weren't nearly as floriferous as those I saw in Austin, Texas last year but I felt my small collection of...
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Trees make the difference
I heard a report on the news yesterday that this month has been the hottest on Earth since recordkeeping began in 1880. I know people have been suffering with the heat in Europe and much of the US...
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