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Butterflies!
I've seen butterflies flitting through my garden now and then over the last several weeks but the butterflies featured in this post weren't photographed in my garden; they're residents of the new...
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In a Vase on Monday: Is it already summer?
Did you know that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US government agency charged with following climate issues, has formulated new definitions of "normal" temperatures?...
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Spring Snapshots at South Coast Botanic Garden
Last week I toured South Coast Botanic Garden's SOAR exhibit, the garden's new butterfly pavilion. Afterward, I took time for a quick spin through the front portion of the 87-acre garden to see what's...
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My first major post-vaccination excursion
Since achieving full COVID-19 vaccination status in late March, I've been to the dentist, had my eyes examined, and gotten my hair cut. I've visited my local botanic garden and my local garden center...
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In a Vase on Monday: Going overboard (again)
It's Spring. I can't help myself. I started with a clear idea of what I wanted in my first vase and a vague notion of a possibility for a second arrangement. And I ended up with four vases.  The...
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Wednesday Vignette: Weeds
Any honest gardener will probably admit to an ongoing battle with weeds. But what is a weed? The common definition is that it's a plant growing where it's not wanted, usually vigorously and often to...
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The garden has its glow on
I'm always a little startled when I realize that the colors in my garden are shifting. Blues and pinks dominated over the past couple of months.  There are still blue and pink flowers to be found but...
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In a Vase on Monday: Mixing things up
Last week's heat fried some plants, including the tulips sent to me in error last November by a mail order nursery. I didn't expect much from them but, after keeping them in our refrigerator for three...
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Wednesday Vignette: Visitors
It's been awhile since I've had visitors come by to share a meal. In the "before times," a group of local friends and I used to meet at least weekly for lunch. That came to an abrupt end in March of...
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Succulents in bloom
As my April Bloom Day post was undeniably overblown, I skipped the succulent flowers with the thought of creating a separate post to address them. But I didn't get around to that until now. A few of...
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In a Vase on Monday: New arrivals
Sunday was Mother's Day here in the US. Both my mother and my mother-in-law passed away in 2013 and my husband and I don't have children (unless you count the furry kind) so we had no specific plans...
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Plant Shopping: Green Touch and H&H Nurseries
Last Friday, a friend and I took a half-hour drive to two nurseries east of where I live. The first one, Green Touch Nursery, is entirely new to me although it's been open for six years. It...
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Bloom Day/Wide Shot Mash-up - May 2021
I thought I'd change things up a little this month and combine my floral photos with wide shots of my garden to provide context. It's not really a "Where's Waldo?" game as not all the flowers included...
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In a Vase on Monday: Everything but the kitchen sink
My garden is bursting at its seams with flowers at the moment, as evident by my recent Bloom Day post. I found it impossible not to go overboard when it came time to pick flowers for "In a Vase on...
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Wednesday Vignette: Taking the good with the bad
On Saturday, my Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' tree finally got its roots in the ground, replacing the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) we removed last October after we failed to halt its decline. I...
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It can be hard to find the foliage for the flowers
It's the time of year when almost everything seems to be blooming and, under those circumstances, it can be hard to see the foliage elements in the garden but they're there. They manage to make a...
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In a Vase on Monday: Garden Gems
At this time of year, it's uncommon for me to step into the garden on a Sunday morning without some notion of what I'm going to cut for "In a Vase on Monday," the weekly challenge posed by Cathy at...
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Wednesday Vignette: What the heck?
 I made a puzzling discovery last week when I came upon the following scene:It took me only a moment to recognize the debris left on this stump as the remnants of the flowers of Leucospermum 'Goldie'...
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On the road again...
A friend and I had gotten into the habit of visiting Ventura and Santa Barbara about twice a year, usually in the fall and early spring when summer heat isn't an issue. We both spent our undergraduate...
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In a Vase on Monday: Pungent Scents
Since last October, I've participated in an online meeting with other gardeners on a roughly monthly basis to discuss selected garden books. Last week, we discussed The Scentual Garden: Exploring the...
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