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Bloom Day - September 2019
Note: If you experience a sense of deja vu as you read this post, you're not delusional. I took a look at my August Bloom Day post and, while not identical, there's a significant overlap. What can I...
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In a Vase on Monday: 'Punkin Spice' is back!
News that Starbucks was bringing back its pumpkin spice latte made the national news in the US late last month. Ridiculous as I find that, I'm pleased that my own 'Punkin Spice' Dahlia is finally...
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Wednesday Vignette: Capturing a Dragon
I attended a meeting at South Coast Botanic Garden earlier this week and afterwards walked around the garden awhile, snapping random photos, as I looked for the art pieces on loan from the Los Angeles...
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Can a professed flower freak ignore orchids?
The answer is probably obvious, at least in the case of this flower freak: NO. A friend (who is not a flower freak) and I attended the annual orchid show and sale at South Coast Botanic Garden last...
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In a Vase on Monday: No time for fussing
With our remodel suddenly speeding up and my husband down for the count with vertigo, I didn't have much time to fuss with flowers on Sunday. The foliage on my dahlias is getting ugly but the plants...
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Wednesday Vignette: Collateral Damage
It seems that installing a new roof is not only noisy but also very, very messy. I'd thought that the worst of the damage to my garden was over - until the roof work started on Monday. On Tuesday, as...
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Visit to Valmonte Farm & Garden
Courtesy of one of South Coast Botanic Garden's docents, my fellow docents and I were introduced to Valmonte Farm & Garden earlier this week. Although it's operated in its current location...
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In a Vase on Monday: Stuffed to the gills
The dahlias in my cutting garden are still relatively plentiful but, as many of the new blooms are side shoots growing on slender stems, they tend to collapse before I'm ready to cut them. Hence my...
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Wednesday Vignette: You can't keep a grasshopper down
Grasshopper or katydid? She has short antennae and doesn't look like a walking leaf so I'm assuming she's a grasshopper.This little character has been hanging around my cutting garden for weeks now....
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A lot of work but not much to show for it (yet)
Temperatures cooled dramatically late last week, making it much more pleasant to work outside. Roofers overhead made it unpleasant to spend time inside. So I got started in earnest on my fall garden...
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In a Vase on Monday: Sprinting to the finish line
I had a different kind of vase in mind this week but the dahlias in my cutting garden wouldn't be denied. Although I still hope I'll have them around for a few weeks yet, it feels as though they're...
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Wednesday Vignette: Surrounded by mess
While our remodel project is moving ahead with increased speed, the mess surrounding us gets steadily worse. This week, we've been preparing to have the house's exterior painted. The team's first...
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Fall Plant Shopping
Fall is prime planting season here and, with swaths of my garden trashed over the course of our ongoing home remodel and other areas showing the usual stress imposed by our long dry season, I'm anxious...
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In a Vase on Monday: Windfalls
I'm afraid there are yet more dahlias in my vases this week. I've been on the look out for new fall blooms but the usual suspects have been slow to appear. Unfortunately, our Santa Ana winds have...
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Bloom Day - October 2019
My summer flowers are slowly fading but my traditional autumn bloomers have been slow to make an appearance.The newest arrivals are these:The Anemone hupensis japonica came with the garden and aren't...
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Overwhelmed
The title of this post pretty much sums up my current state. As work on our ongoing home remodel speeds up, my work in the garden is subject to unexpected interruptions and complications. Last week...
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In a Vase on Monday: Enchantress bids adieu & Otto does too
I'd hoped to hang onto my dahlias for a few weeks more but they had other ideas. Blooms are opening rapidly and fading fast. As we're experiencing another bout with Santa Ana winds this week,...
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Wednesday Vignette: Pipig checks out our renovation
As work on our remodel has now extended into the part of the house we've been living in, our cat, Pipig (Swedish for "squeaky"), is no longer able to hide out in relative bliss in the back of my...
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In a Vase on Monday: Fall colors
Last week brought another round of hot, dry winds in both Northern and Southern California. Sadly, they triggered more fires. The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County (Northern California) is a monster....
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Fall Standouts
Los Angeles County authorities have posted an "extreme" red flag (fire) warning this morning and with the wind already blowing like a banshee and humidity levels dropping by the minute, work in the...
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