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Bloom Day - March 2023
Despite the persistence of colder-than-usual temperatures, my garden is working hard to get a head start on spring. Some plants, like the Leucospermums, are noticeably absent on this March Garden...
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Between storms
This rainy season has been an extraordinary surprise. We were given a poor chance of rain again this year but storms nonetheless started piling up in January and kept on coming. There was another...
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In a Vase on Monday: It's Spring!
Despite the fact that yet another atmospheric river is moving in after spitting at us on and off all day yesterday, spring has clearly taken over my garden. Of course, I got carried away when it came...
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Hey, it's spring (Bloom Day followup)
It's the time of year when new blooms appear almost daily. The steady series of atmospheric rivers has put a damper on new projects (pun intended) so subject matter for blog posts is limited....
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Foliage with fanfare
My love for flowers is well-documented. Nevertheless, I value my foliage plants as well. I've a substantial collection of plants grown specifically for their foliage. However, with the recent and...
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In a Vase on Monday: Sunshine and blue skies
We've had a welcome break in the rain since last Wednesday. More rain is expected Tuesday night into Thursday morning this week but it's been nice to have sunshine and blue skies again in the interim....
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A long-delayed nursery trip (part 1)
A friend and I'd planned to visit our favorite nurseries in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties back in February. We rescheduled several times when one atmospheric river after another interfered with...
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Nursery trip (part 2) and new plants
Our second nursery stop last Saturday was Terra Sol Garden Center in Santa Barbara County. It's much smaller than Seaside Gardens and doesn't have any display gardens but I've always found it to be a...
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In a Vase on Monday: I couldn't resist...
I knew I wanted to use certain Narcissi in one of today's vases but I couldn't decide on a focal point to show them off. My eyes kept coming back to one of my orange-flowered Leucospermums, which had...
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Wide Shots - April 2023
April is possibly the most floriferous month in my garden and I enjoy all the time I spend there during this time of year, even if just collecting photographs to track the garden's development. You'd...
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What's 'Washed Ashore'?
'Washed Ashore' is a new exhibit sponsored by South Coast Botanic Garden. It features sixteen sculptures created using plastic materials that have ended up in the ocean and subsequently landed on the...
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In a Vase on Monday: A lot to choose from
With the return of warmer temperatures, the garden is in hyperdrive. I had too much to choose from so I picked a couple of colors to focus on and got to work looking for flowers that met the...
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Prettier than plastic
My trip to South Coast Botanic Garden last week was focused on the garden's new 'Washed Ashore' exhibit of sculptures created from plastic materials that end up in our oceans, only to be spewed up on...
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Bloom Day Extravaganza - April 2023
My Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts tend to be heavy on photos, especially during spring. However, this one exceeds any of my prior posts. In drought-prone California, rain is magic and this year...
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In a Vase on Monday: Lurid or lovely?
Dutch Iris 'Eye of the Tiger' burst into bloom last week. Last year, when the blooms first appeared, I considered pulling up the bulbs but the color of the flowers grew on me so I left them in place....
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Focusing on fresh foliage
As the deciduous plants in my garden as well as elsewhere in the neighborhood are leafing out, I thought it would be a great time to highlight that fresh green foliage. This is Acer palmatum 'Mikawa...
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My favorite plant combinations (at the moment)
In spring it's hard not to fall in love with your garden, no matter how frustrated you might have been with it during the the winter or summer months. This year, after all the unexpected rain we...
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In a Vase on Monday: Going big
We had a couple of very warm days late last week and while that jump-started some flowers that have been reluctant to bloom, it's directed others to the nearest exit. I factored both circumstances in...
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A facsimilie of a garden show
One of Southern California's largest (and flashiest) malls, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, has been holding a spring garden show for thirty-three years. I started attending somewhere around 2005,...
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Stopping in at Sherman Gardens
The trip a friend and I took to the South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show last weekend was disappointing and we spent far less time there than we have in the past. So, after an early lunch, we headed...
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