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In a Vase on Monday: In with the New and Out with the Old
Dahlias have brightened up late summer and fall for me since I first began growing them in 2017. As summer progresses, flowers become harder to come by here as higher temperatures and our long dry...
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Wednesday Vignette: An Incongruous Pairing
I'm never particularly happy with my garden in late summer and, even though this summer has been milder than some, it's no exception. Everything looks dry. Plants that were flowering beautifully one...
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Bright Spots in my Midsummer Garden
It's easy to get fixated on the ugly bits of my garden during summer's seemingly endless stretch of hot, dry weather but, despite the the challenges of our Mediterranean climate and our ongoing home...
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In a Vase on Monday: Diverted by Dahlias
I've begun to feel that I live in a war zone. Not the traditional kind but rather one of our nation's own making. Lacking anything that could pass for a moral compass, much less concern for the basic...
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Tell the Truth Tuesday (Late Edition): Summer Stress
Even during a relatively mild summer, as this one's been thus far, our Mediterranean climate puts a good deal of stress on garden plants. We had a touch of rain in May, late in the season by our...
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Making Peace with Summer
Summer is the toughest season here, even when conditions are relatively mild as they've been thus far this year. There are far fewer flowers but greenery, enhanced by spots of red, yellow and gray...
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In a Vase On Monday: Oldies and Newbies
Dahlias still rein supreme in my cutting garden but a few new flowers have made an appearance last week. They're not as splashy as the dahlias but they do a good job accenting them.The new flowers...
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Bloom Day - August 2019
Following our plentiful winter rains, my spring garden was loaded with flowers. I unrealistically expected that trend to continue into summer, especially as our daytime temperatures have been...
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In a Vase on Monday: Wispy Blues & Sugary Pinks
The weekend weather carried a hint of fall. Dare I hope that we'll get through the summer unscathed by another searing heatwave of the type we had last year? We can't really count summer's heat out...
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Wednesday Vignette: Who rolled out the welcome mat?
Spiders and insects are a constant presence in our semi-rural area. Walking through my garden in late September through October without a broom or something to sweep away the nearly invisible spider...
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August at South Coast Botanic Garden
I attended a docent brown-bag luncheon/discussion session at South Coast Botanic Garden earlier this week. Afterwards, I made the rounds of a few of my favorite areas and snapped some photos, focusing...
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In a Vase on Monday: Is summer ready to surrender to fall?
Last week I noted a couple of signs that summer might be winding down, readying to turn the seasonal reins over to fall. One sign was the early appearance of spider webs throughout my garden. The...
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Wednesday Vignette: What a difference 9 months can make
Last November I posted photos of steeply terraced slope I used to pass weekly. It's on a busy street in the neighborhood I lived in for 20 years, where homes, mostly condos and townhomes, are packed...
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Lovely Leaves
Last Saturday I attended a Begonia Show & Sale put on by the local chapter of the American Begonia Society. I'd intended to arrive near the 9am starting time but didn't manage to get there until...
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In a Vase on Monday: Seeking Inspiration
There was no shortage of flowers to cut for "In a Vase on Monday" this week but I wasn't feeling inspired. The last of my Dahlias, 'Diva', produced her first bloom last week but with only one bloom...
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Wednesday Vignette: Was she worth the wait?
Dahlia 'Diva' lived up to her name, keeping me waiting for her first blooms well after the other dahlias in my cutting garden flowered. 'Enchantress' was the first to bloom in mid-June. 'Labyrinth'...
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An Agave's Legacy
Reactions to a blooming agave can be mixed.My best guess is that I planted the 2 Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' shown here sometime in 2014 from 1-gallon containers. The containers (and the plants)...
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In a Vase on Monday: Divas and Mutants
Dahlia 'Diva' finally arrived in sufficient numbers to warrant inclusion in a vase, although I dilly-dallied a bit trying to decide what I should use to show off those dark dramatic blooms. I've...
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Wednesday Vignette: Stuck
My Yucca 'Bright Star' signifying how I feel these days:The largest of my 3 plants once again has its leaves stuck overhead, covering its coreOur home remodel continues. Progress often seems very...
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Fall beckons (but summer retains its grip)
While this summer has been milder than most in recent years, we had a stretch of unpleasantly hot and humid weather last week, followed by several nice days this week, but we're facing another heat...
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