Plants for spring and Talking to the Shepherd

 Hi friends. I can tell it is spring because I went to the locally owned garden center and bought quite a few plants and seeds. Are you doing this too? I know some of you in Australia have different seasons of course.

Two daisy type flowers for a large pot I have, where a lemon tree grew for many years. Plus a six pack of 6 sugar pea plants and a six pack of red butter lettuce plants. Also seeds for round carrots and mixed colors of radishes seeds. Today I planted the pea plants and red lettuce in my waist high planter.

Isn't this cute? Dennis says "Do you count sheep to get to sleep, grandpa?" and grandpa says "Nope, I talk to the shepherd."
 

Poppies, Garden Vista, Heart Monitor and Bounce

 

The view when I was sitting outside on a chair on the cafe patio enjoying a decaf latte at my favorite coffee shop. Surrounded by gardens, now that is mighty fine. See that bench, doesn't that look tempting?

The above are three views taken from the same spot, with the top one the most magnified.

I wore a heart monitor for two weeks, put it in the mail as instructed and today read the results, all tests are normal. My doctor's words. Hurray. Another blessing in answered prayer.

Bounce finds delightful scents in this poppy growing in/near the sidewalk, he is checking his mail or as I call it, his pee-mail.

Above, more golden orange poppies seen on our walk today. Below shows poppy flowers when they are furled up and closed, before the sun warms them each day.

 

 Some say plants don't move, but they do. The poppies close up each evening. Remember the powerful scenes in The Lord of the Rings where the trees are needed to move and to go into battle on the side of good? I love those scenes.

Our gardens, poems, and the gardens of others

 

I think gardens and poems fit naturally together. Above is a bouquet from my garden.

Here is a quote I agree with: "I'd rather have roses in my garden than diamonds on my neck." Emma Goldman 1869-1940

"Bless the gardener who believes great things grow from small beginnings

appreciates sunshine and rain and the rhythm of the seasons

plows through troubles willing to get hands and knees dirty

remains grounded but keeps an eye on the sky

plants extra for birds to eat their fill

and never leaves us hungry." Mary Kolada Scott

Remember that you don't have to have a garden to enjoy flowers. I enjoy seeing my neighbors' flowers and shrubs change with the seasons and the years and I get gardening ideas when I visit gardens via your blogs.

Sweet Banquets

"You don't have to own 

your neighbor's garden

to enjoy its flowers 

and even the eyes of strangers

may feast upon the sweet banquets

of someone else's work." Hilda Lachney Sanderson

Mysterious Moment in My Night Garden and the Full Moon

 

At Christmas my oldest son gave me some solar floodlights for my garden. Above is on a night with the full moon. The lights illuminate just a few small areas, and turn off at about midnight. As you can see, most of the garden remains pitch black. I think it gives my gardens a romantic mood. Can you see the two metal peacocks flanking the birdbath? Behind it is my pink rose bush, not in bloom yet.

Above you can see the peacock friends more clearly and below is one of my peacock sculptures in the day time.

When we had our winery on land in the country I was intrigued to get some live peacocks but I realized they do a lot of loud cries and shrieks which would be disconcerting to our neighbors. Once for an anniversary treat we went to a rural motel in our area and they had lots of free roaming peacocks that had acclimated quite well to California.

Spring Pretties In My Garden and Fluffy and Bounce and a Lady from Ukraine

 

I am showing a photo of Fluffy first, as she doesn't get as much mention on my blog and that is so unfair. I call this picture "Fluffy in a Box", as the box on the chair is very coveted by her and by Bounce. See photo below, titled "Bounce in a Box", of course.

 Some ranunculus and freesias I planted recently, these are photos from the packets. I planted the bulbs, or rhizomes or corms, I  can't recall which name is correct for which plant.

Above is Mr. Gnome, a Christmas gift. He is holding a solar light next to the yellow petunias I planted. Am I in a planting frenzy? Yes, a happy frenzy, and I am planting many seeds too, zinnias, knee high sunflowers, sweet peas, Swiss chard and Chinese edible pod peas.

One more photo and that's it, of cute pansies or violas I bought.

A Woman and Her Children from Ukraine Arrive Here

I am writing this post in advance, on Sunday March 27. I must tell you, at Bible Fellowship today a member told us that money we raised is helping a mom and her children from Ukraine arrive in our town tomorrow. We are looking forward to meeting her. She had to leave her husband in Ukraine because no men age 18 to 60 are allowed to leave. Her husband in Ukraine has 6 displaced people staying in their home with him and they are experiencing food shortages. When this was shared, people were quiet as it made all of us count our blessings. Update: The lady visited our small group (25 people) at church last Sunday, and I was not there. I am sorry to have missed meeting her. People found her a house to live in and all sounds as well as can be expected.

Happy Changes In My Garden, Solar Lights and Standing Planter Box

 

Two of my Christmas gifts from my sons on display in my garden. The solar flood light and the peacock sculpture on the right are the new additions. The peacock on the left and the bird bath are long time garden features. The floodlight is actually subtle, not blazingly bright, and casts a romantic mood in my backyard. It is on from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can't see too clearly but the birdbath is about 30 years old and is made of cement with pebbles embedded in it. Kind of old school, I love it. Behind is an old pink rose waiting to bloom.

I have considered buying one of these raised planters for a long time but they are a bit pricey and a hassle to put together. This is another surprise Christmas gift from my sons. Yes, they do treat me like a princess. Now I can grow vegetables while standing up. No more kneeling or leaning over to garden for this senior lady. 

I soaked Chinese sugar pea seeds overnight and planted them. I have an old wooden raised garden bed that is one to two feet high that is close to falling apart and I changed it to a flower garden. This week I planted seeds of zinnias, knee high sunflowers and knee high sweet peas. I bought the seeds from Eden Brothers and they arrived quickly, within a week. Yes, I live in a temperate climate. Nights have been about 40 degrees and days are reaching 70 so I can plant some seeds. 

As I sometimes say "Gardeners and Christians are hopeful people." We plant a tree or a seed or share a Scripture and wait in hope.

My garden flowers and gardens as autobiography

"A garden wall without a climbing rose, or a well-trained peach, is as meaningless to a gardener as a blank canvas is to an artist." Daniel Frogg, garden designer, 1955.
Or, I might add, a climbing flowering vine such as my purple clematis.

I planted this two inch tall Jackmani clematis in February 2018 and it is 5 feet tall now.

The same day I planted a periwinkle blue clematis, which remains 2 inches tall and has not had a flower yet. I have hopes for next season for it.
I have long thought that the books on our shelves and the plants we choose for our gardens have a touch of autobiography in them. For example, my gardens and stacks of books are not very neat, which expresses something about me. I prefer the creative and artistic aspects of gardening to house cleaning, which continually needs to be repeated. I have a book in my collection with a title I love, "A Gentle Plea for Chaos".
I have a statue of the Virgin Mary in my garden which I bought years ago with money I earned from my writing, a treat for me. My younger son gave me a Buddha statue so Buddha and Mary reside in my garden in peaceful harmony.

I like plants that birds, bees and butterflies like. Yes I do like all creatures great and small. Except for gophers and snails and slugs. Even garden snakes and bats are welcome in my garden.
Here is a quote to this point: "A garden that one makes oneself becomes associated with one's personal history and that of one's friends, interwoven with one's tastes, preferences and character, and constitutes a sort of unwritten, but withall manifest, autobiography. Show me your garden, provided it be your own, and I will tell you what you are like." From "The Gardens that I Love" by Alfred Austin, 1835-1913.

Above is my orange clock vine, a vigorous vine which quickly reached six feet tall on the fence and ten feet wide, and then spreads along the ground covering an additional five foot square area. I do love flowering shrubs and trees, including my lilac, 3 hydrangeas, 3 clematis, Strawberry tree and Red magnolia, soon to be joined by one or two camellias. I have a large old Cantua, the national flower of Chile, which my friend who moved here from Chile ordered for me. When she was a child in Chile a Cantua bloomed outside her second story bedroom.

I have small sculptures in my garden, yes, I like happy and pretty things. Smiling stylized suns hanging on the fence, including the one in the above photo, with jasmine growing up to it. Of course a bird bath and bird feeders. I could go on but don't want to bore you. Do you think your garden expresses a bit of who you are?

The pain of root canal and the joy of the garden

Hi friends, I had a root canal done last Thursday, July 26 and brother, for 3 days I was in pain. The pain med that I could take every 8 hours worked for 3 hours and then for 5 hours I was hurting. Round the clock. Anyway, poor poor me, I am feeling much better today. In mid-August I go in for part two, which consists of the specialist dentist (endodontist) checking her work and sealing it up if all is well. So think good thoughts for me.

I decided to balance this pity party with some favorite garden quotes. There are so many, thousands really. Above photo is Canterbury Bells from my garden a few years ago. I like all bell flowers, and well, all flowers.
Here is a garden quote by a man after my own heart, William Coles, who wrote in 1657 "A house though otherwise beautiful, yet if it hath no garden belonging to it is more like a prison than a house."
I enjoy my twice daily walks with Bounce and love the variety of gardens we see, but once in a while I see a sad front yard with no plants or trees or flowers and think it could do with some sprucing up.
Sir Robert Lorimer wrote in On Scottish Gardens, in 1898 "A garden is a sort of sanctuary, a chamber roofed by heaven ... to wander in, to cherish, to dream through undisturbed ... a little pleasaunce of the soul, by whose wicket the world can be shut out."
Don't you love that word "pleasaunce"?

Above is a bonus photo of Bounce, also called Wonder Dog, Prince, Mr. Bounce, Bouncey and Bouncer. You can see by his shirt he likes flowers too.
Usually when I am in my garden I find it so soothing, peaceful and pretty that I live in the now at those moments, and find plenty of things to do. At this summer time of the year I cut off spent flowers and do some watering and soak in the beauty. Oh that new yellow rose I planted, what a lovely color.
 "A chamber roofed by heaven", I like that.

Arboretum plants and sculpture

June 11 I took a walk in the arboretum at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Here are some highlights of a sculpture made from eucalyptus branches and photos of plants from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and of succulents.

It looks like a lion's mane to me. What do you think?

The above shows the back and side. The first three photos below are of orange and of yellow Leucospermums from South Africa.

The above photos are of plants native to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and the last two are of succulents. I plan to go back and write down the artist's name and plant names and add them to this post. I accidentally published this post today when I meant to save it and post at a later date after I found more plant names. Still, the plants are very pretty and speak for themselves.

Apple Blossom Clematis in my garden

A year ago I planted a small two foot high Apple Blossom clematis and it is now six feet tall and climbing up my back fence and has lightly scented white flowers. Many clematis are deciduous but this type is evergreen and keeps its leaves year round. The flowers are about one inch across. I am looking for a Jackmanii clematis with five inch purple flowers, and which does lose its leaves each year.
In July 2017 I bought a deciduous clematis called Niobe with burgundy red blooms in spring and summer. It was dormant when I bought and planted it from a mail order nursery (Wayside Gardens)  so I haven't seen the blooms yet. It has a few leaves and tendrils at the moment. Below is a photo of Niobe in bloom.

Below are two more photos of my Apple Blossom Clematis, in bloom since March 1, 2018.

Our patio, yard and quote

Here are some photos taken this month, which show the view from my kitchen through our patio doors. When I stand at the kitchen sink and look left this is what I see on our patio.

The plant on the left on the table is a pot of pink roses and on the right is a planter of purple petunias, rose cosmos, white bacopas and dusty miller, both of these are gifts from my sons for Mother's Day. Note grey kitty Fluffy on table.

Here is Fluffy on patio, near some potting soil. She chose us by showing up in our fenced back yard about five years ago.
My friend has this quote as her email signature line:
"Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have." by John Piper

What makes you smile? Some things that make me smile

I thought I would share with you some things that make me smile. Since the death of my husband last November these smile bringers are doubly precious.

Pretty much any flower, and some weeds too, make me smile. Years ago I went to a garden center and asked for Jupiter's Beard. The plant expert said that is a weed. I thought "ouch, poor plant, now that is hurtful". When I lived on a farm the neighbor lady called these "Meet Me By the Gate"; also called Valerian. I always think of them as "Meet Me By the Gate" and think of Ann, my neighbor. The photo above has a bouquet of Canterbury Bells and Sweet Peas from my garden.

Song birds in my garden, the hoot of an owl in a nearby tree, and the pelicans soaring along our bay.

Feeling a refreshing breeze. I do not like to be too hot, so I welcome the cooling touch of a breeze.

Picking a vegetable from our garden, admiring it and eating it. For a moment I feel like a pioneer woman. I would like to have chickens here in my city yard and enjoy the photos of you blog friends who have chickens, horses, donkeys, pigs and all the farm critters.

Our cat Fluffy asleep on a soft new blanket. She does sleep a LOT. Cats by their example teach us to be relaxed; they are not worriers.

My dog Bounce adopted from the shelter in the fall of 2016. He is a fun dog and loves to go on walks three times a day so that keeps me active and outdoors. Note the red amaryllis blooming in May.

Watching comedies on TV. I have a new subscription to Acorn TV which offers great British and Australian shows. New ones for me now that I have Acorn TV are Ladies of Letters (my favorite), French Fields and Boomers. Acorn has a whole slew of mysteries and dramas and documentaries too, often on British history which I enjoy. Andy Griffith and the town of Mayberry are great places to visit via our TV and I watch this series on Netflix.

Flowers with what I imagine to be the scent of heaven. For me this includes lilacs, old fashioned roses like the Peace rose, gardenias, common heliotrope, jasmine, sweet peas and lemon blossoms on my two small lemon trees. I planted a heliotrope a year ago and my husband said that is a favorite scent of his so I just break off a tiny sprig and put it in a little vase to enjoy in the house. I recently read on a blog or Facebook that heliotrope is toxic to dogs so keep the plant where dogs can't snack on it. A nickname for this plant is "sugar plant" so I can see why it might attract dogs; the flowers do smell like sugar.

My list could be a very long one. Maybe I should write another book, ha ha. 

What things bring you joy?