For us gardening enthusiasts, growing and maintaining a flower garden is a labor of love. It brings me immense joy to share my flowers or my mother’s flowers with family and friends. Nothing surpasses a handcrafted bouquet of homegrown flowers. The naturalness and charm shine through and provide an experience that keeps on giving. What…
Garden
Adorable Artichoke
My neighbor has a front yard filled with native plants. I passed this artichoke the other day on my morning walk and had to share it with you. Maybe 4” across, it was the tiny crown topping a rather large plant. Too cute! After all the trouble you go to, you get as much actual “food”…
Mother’s Day Bouquets
With my parents out of town for the weekend, I decided to make bouquets for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to celebrate Mother’s Day. Because my mother loves pink flowers with a little bit of red thrown in, it is very easy to put together a bouquet with little effort. The flowers do all the work and…
Photography Monday: Ramona Flowers
My mother and father have an amazing garden filled with flowers, fruit trees, berry vines and vegetables. My father is the son of a farmer and definitely possesses a green thumb. My mother is the creative one, who decides what she wants with my father executing the task of planting and maintaining. Between the two…
Dahlia Delightfulness
My first blooms of the season! What a difference a year makes. Last year, I had sporadic blooms due to a late planting and excessive spring heat. This year, the fact that the bulbs rested and divided on their own has made for happier, healthier plants with fantastic flowers. What is especially endearing are the…
Maple Magnificence
A few months ago, we experienced a hard frost in Southern California. It happens periodically and most often, tender plants are damaged and sometimes killed by these extreme temperatures. We thought our Japanese maple didn’t survive the event. It was covered with dead leaves that were clinging to the branches. I left it alone and…
Mixed Floral Bouquet
For the first time since moving to our charming home, I was able to create a mixed bouquet of flowers from the garden. The roses and lilacs came with the property and last year I planted the sweet peas. I am beyond excited that I was able to create this delightful arrangement with what I…
Luscious Lilacs Part II
Here is the last bunch we picked from the lilac tree. It was the best season so far and I look forward to next year’s crop. Until then, I bid adieu. Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them. -Chinese proverb *Tina
Mr. Grasshopper Part II
It was time to catch the grasshopper and offer him something to else to eat besides my delicious dahlia leaves. I looked for him in the usual spot and he wasn’t there. Hmmm. I finally found him in plain sight on top of one of the dahlia plants. He begrudgingly hopped into the glass jar for…
Mr. Grasshopper
My dahlia bulbs have broken through the soil and are sprouting. While I was weeding around them, I came across Mr. Grasshopper. He was having a grand time and not fazed at all that I was taking his photo. Their activity is at their lowest in the morning so that is when I need to…