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Local oddities
Now that the daytime temperatures have fallen to comfortable levels, I've been spending hours and hours working in my garden every day. Most of my activities aren't worthy of a blog post but I've come...
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Wide Shots - October 2022
In the midst of our plumbing and irrigation system woes, I lost track of my quarterly wide shots post. When I remembered it, everything was still topsy-turvy so I let it slide until some degree of...
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In a Vase on Monday: I'm not ready for Halloween this year
Unlike my husband and most of my friends, I like Halloween. I usually decorate in advance of the holiday but I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to do that this year. Part of that may be a reaction to...
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Looking ahead
I'm leaving October in the rear end mirror. Halloween turned out to be a non-event in my neighborhood once again, although Mother Nature graced us with a very pretty sunset.View looking...
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My latest projects
My biggest project this week was tearing up my cutting garden to make way for cool-season plants. Because our winters are exceptionally mild and frost-free, there are a lot of plants we can enjoy...
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In a Vase on Monday: Fall flowers
With my cutting garden effectively decommissioned, I had to search harder for materials to fill two vases this week. Luckily, fall's cooler weather prompts blooms from a few flowers.Senna bicapsularis...
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The Little Things That Make Me Happy
A beautiful sunrise.With a long day of plant shopping ahead of me, I was up early on Saturday and out the door before 8am to meet up with a friend 50 miles away for a longer trek to 3 of our favorite...
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Fall plant shopping trip
A friend and I made our biannual trip north to shop for plants last weekend, visiting three of our favorite garden centers in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara. While I didn't come home entirely...
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In a Vase on Monday: Gather ye rosebuds while ye may*
First and foremost, I want to recognize Cathy's 9th anniversary of the In a Vase on Monday meme. To keep a meme running and fresh for that period of time is an achievement in itself. To pull people...
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Bloom Day - November 2022
While the volume of flowers in my November garden feels less than it should be at this time of year, when I compared the plants in a starring role this month to those I showcased in November 2021 and...
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When Christmas takes over garden centers
In coastal Southern California, our cool season is the optimal time to plant. But when summer hangs on well into autumn as it usually does here, I often delay the plant shopping trips intended to fill...
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Holiday warmth
The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday called for warm colors in this week's floral arrangements, even if the temperatures in my part of the Northern Hemisphere are probably warmer than most at the moment....
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The nerve!
  Of late, other than birds, the only critters I've seen in the garden on a regular basis have been bunnies. Way too many bunnies. The raccoons and the possums have paid regular visits of course but...
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Fall color, Southern California style
The Santa Ana winds are blowing again and the leaves of the deciduous trees are quickly falling so I thought it'd be a good idea to share what passes for autumn color here while it lasts. We don't get...
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In a Vase on Monday: The plant that keeps on giving
When I looked over my garden on Sunday to select material for In a Vase on Monday, the delightful meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden, one choice was obvious. By the start of November, I'd...
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Quick takes on succulent containers
While cleaning up and replanting the area in front of our backyard fountain a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try using one of the seashells scattered there as a plant container for succulents. The...
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The succulents are slowly taking over
Even in sunny Southern California, winter tends to tamp down activity in the garden. The good news is that succulents provide interest year-round. In fact, washed clean of accumulated dust and dirt...
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In a Vase on Monday: Limited options
At present my cutting garden has nothing to offer other than the occasional bloom from Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', which still hasn't give up the ghost. The foxgloves I planted don't show signs of...
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A Week in Flowers: The finish line
Cathy of Words and Herbs launched her annual 'Week of Flowers'last Wednesday to brighten the outlook of gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere facing all too many gloomy days during the colder winter...
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A walk interrupted by diversions and roadblocks
I visited South Coast Botanic Garden this week, my sixth visit this year. My motivation was to check out their gift kiosk for something I had in mind for a friend but of course, knowing they had a few...
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