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In a Vase on Monday: More lilies
I'm impatiently awaiting the arrival of my dahlias and zinnias, which seem to be off to a slow start again this year. In 2019, I had my first dahlia blooms by mid-June and they peaked in August. In...
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Plant Sale!
Don't you love a good plant sale? While most of our local garden centers remained open even during the height of the pandemic, the special plant sales conducted by many botanic gardens were shelved....
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Sherman Gardens' greenHOUSE
As mentioned in my last post, Sherman Library & Gardens has a special exhibit running until mid-September. While the primary purpose of my visit last Saturday was to attend the Plant-o-rama sale,...
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In a Vase on Monday: Summer sulk
We've reached that point in the year when the garden enters its sulky phase - or maybe it's not the garden so much as the gardener. Early summer blooms like the Agapanthus and Shasta daisies are just...
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A quick spin through Roger's Gardens
About 10 days ago, a friend and I paid a quick visit to Roger's Gardens, one of my favorite "local" garden centers (about 45 miles from my home). We dropped by after visiting Sherman Garden's plant...
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Summer Spruce Up
Summer is my least favorite season. It's hot and it's very, very dry. Many of my plants shut down or go into hiding. Gaps develop in spots throughout the garden. I hesitate to fill them as new...
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In a Vase on Monday: Dreaming of Autumn
It's most definitely still summer, although I can't help dreaming that autumn is just around the corner. It's been warmer this past week and humidity has been running higher than normal, making the...
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Wednesday Vignette: Thwarting a takeover
No, I'm not referring to the violent January 6th takeover of the US Capitol. The attempted takeover under discussion here occurred in my garden. It was sneaky but utterly non-violent and thankfully...
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Stepping back in time: Transforming the south side garden
I've published prior posts on the development of my back garden and my north side garden. This post provides an overview of the development of my south side garden, which we transformed over time from...
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In a Vase on Monday: Splashes of color
There are still flowers here and there in my garden but their numbers have dwindled and the dahlias haven't yet filled the breach, although the first buds are in the process of opening. I can't...
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Wednesday Vignette: Staying put awhile
I rarely sit down in my own garden to relax. Neither do the resident hummingbirds. Their constant movement makes it virtually impossible to catch a good photo of one. However, as I was chatting with...
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Bloom Day - August 2021
To my eyes, the pickings look slim this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. However, after looking back at last year's mid-August post, I found that, with a few exceptions, most of what was blooming then is...
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In a Vase on Monday: Dahlias, at last...
Two of my tuber-grown dahlias were finally ready for prime-time coverage and I didn't even hesitate to cut them for In A Vase on Monday, the weekly meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden....
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Another trip to Roger's Gardens
After an absence of more than a year, I've visited Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar three times since April following my Covid-19 vaccination. My most recent trip, just over a week ago, was prompted...
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An easy fix
The garden and I reach a low point in August. Even in good years (namely, those with decent rainfall), the garden looks badly stressed by this time of year. I usually spend a lot of time dispensing...
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In a Vase on Monday: Dark & Dramatic or Light & Bright?
I did a lot of aimless wandering in my garden Sunday morning, undecided about what to cut to put into a vase this week. Somewhat to my own surprise (if not perhaps those of you who are regular...
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Tell the Truth Tuesday (Late Edition)
Some years ago, Alison of Bonney Lassie called on garden bloggers to fess up about the messes in their gardens. She presented her own in posts entitled "Tell the Truth Tuesday." In midsummer, in an...
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Boogying at the botanic garden
In July, South Coast Botanic Garden partnered with Constellation Immersive to open The DiscOasis on the garden's grounds. Frankly, rollerskating to disco music during a surge in COVID-19 cases due to...
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In a Vase on Monday: Not a lot of choices
Although many of the dahlias in my cutting garden have buds, they're still taking their time to develop into blooms. Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy' was close but I decided it wasn't quite ready. Meanwhile,...
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Wednesday Vignette: Surprises, the good, the bad and the just plain odd
Yesterday, as I was heading into the house, I happened to take a closer look at one of the pots sitting outside the front door. Planted with just two kinds of succulents years ago, it didn't look...
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