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Looking for the positives
I haven't visited South Coast Botanic Garden since early July, which is relatively unusual. I popped in at last earlier this week. My mood may have been colored by the the recent election results,...
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Bloom Day - November 2024
My garden is less colorful this month but, in coastal Southern California, there's always something to share. I'll start with some of the plants that make a habit of blooming at this time of the...
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In a Vase on Monday: Responding to a challenge
Cathy of Rambling in the Garden is celebrating the eleventh anniversary of her "In a Vase on Monday" meme. Last week she threw down a challenge to participants with the simple suggestion to use...
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Sources of cool season excitement
Sources of cool season excitement in the garden are limited. However, by comparison to much of the country, I know that those of us in coastal Southern California are lucky just to have our gardens...
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Anxiety & Appreciation: My annual tree trimming exercise
I expanded my annual "tree trimming" exercise this year to include several shrubs that have gotten too large and unwieldy for me to handle on my own. Although I have great trust in the company I've...
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In a Vase on Monday: Mixing things up
I participated in a lovely Zoom meeting with a half dozen of the IAVOM contributors on Sunday morning Pacific time. It was great to see everyone, if only virtually.It was on the cool side on Sunday,...
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Fall color comes in various forms
With cooler temperatures, we've finally seen a bit of colorful foliage in my part of coastal Southern California. My garden is still mostly green but I appreciate the bright touches where I find them...
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In a Vase on Monday: Variations on a theme
I've been happy to see that the lisianthus plants I happened upon at my local garden center six-plus weeks ago have started to bloom, even if I've yet to see blooms on any of the plants that were...
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A Week of Flowers 2024: Day 4
I'm belatedly joining Cathy at Words and Herbs midway through her fifth annual floral celebration. To quote Cathy, it's purpose is to "remind us of the beauty our gardens and nature offer us in the...
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A Week of Flowers: Day 5
It's Day Five of Cathy's 'A Week of Flowers' at Words and Herbs and I'm joining in again with my second post. Absent a glitch in my schedule, I'm planning to hang on through Day Seven. Cathy's...
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A Week of Flowers: Day 6
I've got another post today for 'A Week of Flowers', hosted by Cathy at Words and Herbs. I'm still focused on spring, which in coastal Southern California rears up in full force in March. I had a...
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A Week of Flowers - Day 7
I've had fun with 'A Week of Flowers' and I want to thank Cathy at Words and Herbs for inviting bloggers to participate once again this year. I remembered that I'd joined in last year on an ad hoc...
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In a Vase on Monday: Keeping it simple
I'm prone to stuffing my vases. Once I cut stems for an arrangement, I'm reluctant to discard any of them. Restraint isn't one of my strong suits. However, with the volume of flowers significantly...
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Mutant Agave 'Blue Glow'
In late November, I announced that I planned to limit my blog posts to twice a week through the holiday season but, with the exception of skipping one post, I seem to have slid into my regular routine....
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Bloom Day - December 2024 (Early Edition)
For the record, I'm two days ahead of schedule for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. This month the outlook in my garden is very pink.My...
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In a Vase on Monday: The Lisianthus are showing off
The lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) I found by happenstance in my local garden center a couple of months ago are blooming with some vigor now and I couldn't ignore them when it came time to put...
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Stocking Up on Succulents
In late November, following our annual tree pruning process, I started a major cleanup of the moderate front slope in the southwest corner of my garden. Although collateral damage in that area was...
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Holiday puttering
I've made stabs at tackling my still hefty list of garden chores this week but I've tended to drift from one project to another without crossing any off in their entirety. The biggest project, a...
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In a Vase on Monday: The garden's gifts
Both of last week's floral arrangements are still in good shape. I edited them a little, gave them fresh water, and shuffled them into new positions. I didn't expect to find much I could use this...
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Front Slope: A work in progress
I've been working on the moderate slope on the southwest corner of our garden off and on since late November. Once our annual tree pruning exercise was complete, it was time to clean up and clear out...
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