I’m generally not a huge fan of yellow flowers, especially the very bright, lemon-yellow kind. However, the petit blossoms of Golden Current have become a much anticipated exception to this each spring.
Continue reading Golden Currant (Ribes aureum)
To say that I like roses would be a bit of an understatement. There are over 30 different varieties of roses currently growing in our garden, and we are always on the lookout for more. I see nothing wrong with this.
Continue reading Lady of Shalott (Rosa ‘Lady of Shalott’ or Rosa ‘Ausnyson’)
Since moving into our home in 2007, we have systematically removed nearly every tree, plant, and lawn that was originally here. Our daffodils are one of the few surviving remnants planted at some point by one of the many prior owners of our home.
Continue reading Daffodils (Narcissus Genus)
Let’s face it, plants that bloom in spring and summer get the lion’s share of attention in nursery’s and gardens. Soooo… what’s happening in your garden in the fall?
Continue reading “Everett’s Choice” California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum var. latifolium)
I have a lot of plants in my garden that are “bee magnets”, but few will be carpeted in the buzzy little critters like my African Blue Basil. And then there’s pesto!
Continue reading African Blue Basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum × basilicum ‘Dark Opal’)
There is a point each year where my garden looks a little like Monet’s famous garden, and I am clearly quite okay with that! Each spring I am graced with a spectacular and long lasting display of some of the most beautiful and diverse blooms I have. Continue reading Bearded Iris (Iris x germanica)
Known also as Granny’s Bonnet (because your granny still wears one?), Columbines are a diverse group of perennial flowers that are sought after due to their unique flower shape and the ability to have multi-colored blooms.
Continue reading Columbine Flower (Aquilegia spp.)
One of the things missing from so many modern cultivars of plants is the one thing we keep sticking our noses into them for: fragrance. Yes, looks are good, but why not have both?
Continue reading California Lilac (Ceanothus spp.)
Usually when a plant has the word “weed” as part of it’s name, it doesn’t immediately attract itself to the typical gardener as a good candidate for their landscape. But this is one of those that should be given a second look.
Continue reading Narrow Leaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
Imagine a carpet of the most intensely blue flowers polka-dotting a mat of deep green foliage and what you’re really seeing is Lithodora. This lovely ground cover plant brings in pollinators throughout much of the year, too.
Continue reading Lithodora diffusa
This is easily the most photographed plant in my garden. With a generous supply of the most luscious, peachy-pink blooms in a classic, cabbage rose form, it is easy to understand why.
Continue reading “Ambridge Rose” (Rosa ‘Ambridge Rose’)
This is probably the least troublesome plant that I have in my garden, as well as the most spectacular. Not only do people stop and gawk, but the bees are happy to see them, too.
Continue reading Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
Each spring I eagerly await the appearance of my freesias. Their sweet aroma greets me every time I walk outside and their bright blooms are some of the first spots of color I see.
Continue reading Freesia (Freesia corymbosa)
I’m a sucker for old-fashioned looking flowers like the kind you see in a typical English Cottage Garden. However, England’s climate isn’t all that similar to mine. In fact, not at all.
Continue reading Scabiosa (“Pincushion Flower”)
I have a lot of pictures of this plant, and for a good reason. Starting in mid-summer into early fall it is enshrouded in a cloud of deep-blue flowers with a halo of pollinators all around.
Continue reading Caryopteris x clandonensis “Dark Knight”
When I watched “The Wizard of Oz” as a kid, I never understood why the poppies in the field Dorothy walked through were all red. Duh, everyone knows that poppies are orange!! Right? Wait…
Continue reading Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
I’m a big fan of having a colorful array of flowers in my yard blooming throughout the year. But without splashes of white to offset all that color, it just tends to run together. With satiny white petals, and bright and cheery yellow centers, the Shasta Daisy fills that roll of color balance very nicely!
Continue reading Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)
Perhaps one of the reasons that roses are such a favorite of mine is that they can take a fair degree of abuse, yet still produce so much beauty season after season. However, there are limits to what they will put up with!
Continue reading Caring for Roses Part 2: Sun & Soil
There are few flowers that I don’t like. On the same token, there are few flowers that I love. I love California Poppies.
Continue reading California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
The scent of lavender is incomparable. Good thing that lavenders tend to be profuse bloomers!
Continue reading Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
Mostly Greek 