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Tree Pruning: Before & After
Our annual tree pruning exercise was scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving this year, starting at 8am. The company's president and arborist always arrives about a half hour earlier to review what's...
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A Week of Flowers 2021, Day 4
I jumped into A Week of Flowers, hosted by Cathy of Words and Herbs to lift the spirits of those in the Northern Hemisphere facing the gloomy days of winter, on Day 2, featuring a couple of photos of...
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In a Vase on Monday: A Do-over
Even though several commentators had a favorable impression of the second arrangement I presented last week, I wasn't at all happy with it. Starting with the same silver foliage of Centaurea 'Silver...
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A Week of Flowers 2021, Day 7
I'm back with a post for the final day of A Week of Flowers, sponsored by Cathy of Words and Herbs to brighten the gloomy days many in the Northern Hemisphere face as winter sets in. I shared February...
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Wednesday Vignette: Bird Waystation
I was having breakfast Monday morning when I noticed there was a flurry of bird activity going on just outside. Visitors have increased since I filled the feeders a couple of weeks ago but this level...
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What's new at South Coast Botanic Garden?
I don't usually visit botanic gardens in December, especially when they're running light shows, which I don't much care for. But I'd heard South Coast Botanic Garden had made some changes since my...
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In a Vase on Monday: Scraps from the garden
Floral pickings are relatively spare right now but I managed to cobble together some scraps from the garden for a small arrangement that doesn't include my year-round bloomers this week. As Christmas...
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Bloom Day - December 2021
I dragged my feet collecting photos for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day this month because I felt there wasn't much out there in the garden. In coastal Southern California, our nighttime temperatures have...
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My visit to South Coast Botanic Garden, part 2
Last week I published a post on my most recent visit to South Coast Botanic Garden (SCBG). That post focused on the latest changes to the garden. This one focuses primarily on the Desert Garden but...
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In a Vase on Monday: Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
I was leaning toward an arrangement featuring Grevillea 'Superb' this week but I knew if I did that it was going to end up looking very much like the one I created just before Thanksgiving just based...
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A quick spin around the neighborhood
A close friend visited last Saturday and, in addition to having lunch on my back patio, we took a spin around the neighborhood. I brought my camera of course. Even given the mild winter conditions of...
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A Christmas decorating rerun
COVID-19 restrictions aren't the only things repeating themselves this holiday season. I'm stuck in something of a rut when it comes to holiday decorations. We decided to skip our holiday smorgasbord...
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In a Vase on Monday: Nothing new
I got my Christmas wish: it rained off and on from Thursday through Saturday night. Out total rain for the current "water year" (which started October 1st and runs through September 30th, 2022) now...
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Wednesday Vignette: A pause between rainstorms
We got a bit more rain on Monday, then a brief a pause that gave us an opportunity to dry out before the next storm arrives today. Tuesday was mostly sunny but remained cold (at least by our...
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It wasn't all bad - 2021 retrospective
The Daily Show on Comedy Central recently featured a series of segments on 2021 entitled "the least bad year of the last 2 years."Â That description generally rings true for me, although a few events,...
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In a Vase on Monday: The usual suspects
Pickings in my garden are still sparse as Mother Nature insists on following her own schedule, regardless of my efforts to hurry her along. Every January I find myself clipping the same flowers - and...
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Gifts for a gardener
I received a few garden-related gifts this holiday season. After one of the wettest Decembers on record in California, the soil is still too damp to plant anything in the ground but I did get a few of...
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Wide Shots - January 2022
To change things up just a little this go-round, I'm starting my quarterly wide shots post with my street-side succulent bed and will proceed around our lot moving counterclockwise. Usually left at...
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In a Vase on Monday: The Return of the Triplets
Do you remember the Triplets? They made their first appearance in early February last year and paid a second visit about a month later. Since then they've been in seclusion and I'd just about...
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Wednesday Vignette: Saucy Sparrows
The white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) seem to arrive as a flock, swamping my feeders and emptying them in record time (with some help from the finches). As I looked out my home office...
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