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Should it stay or should it go?
Last May, I published a post with the same title focused on whether or not I should remove a particular plant in my back garden. This post features a host of plants that I'm looking at with a...
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In a Vase on Monday: More than I know what to do with
At present, everywhere I turn there are tree aeoniums (Aeonium arboreum) coming into bloom. The flowers aren't at all subtle. They're large and an almost florescent shade of yellow. As the flowers...
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Checking off small projects when time is limited
Between rain and vet visits, I haven't had much time to work in the garden in the past week. I got started on the to-do list stemming from last Friday's post on Saturday but I haven't finished...
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Spring is drawing oh so slowly closer...
I usually start seeing signs of spring in the offing as early as February. It's been colder than usual here this winter (if nothing close to as cold as other areas of the Northern Hemisphere) and I...
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In a Vase on Monday: Foxgloves
I cut my first foxglove of the season for In a Vase on Monday in early January. At that time, there were two more plants that also had flower spikes. They developed somewhat after that but, as our...
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Progress on multiple fronts
We haven't yet reached that point in early spring where every day brings new surprises but I feel we're getting closer. It's been sunny and our temperatures are back in the upper 60sF (18-20C). The...
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Not exactly what I was expecting...
I paid a visit to the South Coast Botanic Garden earlier this week. As it's early February and I knew a large-scale construction project is underway on the 87-acre site, I wasn't expecting to be...
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In a Vase on Monday: Happy Valentine's Day!
Red flowers seem made to order to celebrate Valentine's Day so I felt lucky to have a number of them at present. I cut a stem of Hippeastrum 'La Paz' to start, only to discover that its color didn't...
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Bloom Day - February 2023
Spring comes early in coastal Southern California and I expect that many who read this post will consider it proof of that statement. While there are a lot of flowers making an appearance, they're...
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Filling in
When I last provided an update on the projects that kicked off with my "should it stay or should it go?" post, I reported that I'd removed the shaggy Sesleria grasses (with my husband's help). This...
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In a Vase on Monday: Scented blooms
Even though temperatures remained cool last week, more of our early spring blooms are creeping into view. This week many of those I selected for "In a Vase on Monday" are scented.I started with Abelia...
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An overdue visit to Madrona Marsh (part 1)
When I want a closer brush with nature than my own garden provides, I usually go to the local botanic garden but, as my January visit showed me, it's not particularly tranquil at present. Then it...
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Madrona Marsh (part 2)
With this post I'm taking you across the street from Madrona's Nature Center, covered in my prior post, to the Madrona Marsh Preserve itself.  There aren't many wetlands left within the vast expanse...
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In a Vase on Monday: Winter weather whiplash
Just when my garden was showing signs of spring, winter returned with unusually low temperatures and torrents of rain. The rain started in the wee hours of Thursday morning and continued virtually...
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Safety in numbers
For weeks now I've seen flocks of birds moving across the sky but I wasn't able to identify them. Even after I filled the feeders, none of the birds in these flocks showed interest in visiting my...
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"A" is for Agave
Linda Brazill, author of the blog Each Little Garden, recently published a post entitled 'The alphabet garden' drawing from grower and garden designer Rob Dilbik's habit of talking about plants in...
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In a Vase on Monday: Dodging raindrops
There was a good chance of rain yesterday morning, although it wasn't anything like the 85+ percent chance it normally takes for me to bank on it. I got spit at but I managed to finish just before the...
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It was just too much...
Yellow is one of my favorite colors, along with blue and green. However, the large size, florescent yellow color, and sheer number of Aeonium arboreum flowers puts me on edge after awhile. I look at...
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"O" is for Osteospermum
Photographing what's in flower for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month can be a time-consuming process, especially in spring. I started taking shots for the March 15th post this week. As lumping...
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In a Vase on Monday: Making my own sunshine
We've had more clouds than sun since the last "atmospheric river" moved through California the middle of last week. Another one is expected to move through our area Tuesday into Wednesday and the...
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