Flowers

A collection of 41 posts

Flowers

Feeding Birds in the Fall Garden

Fall can be a scraggly time in the garden.  Each year I itch to pull out old plants that have faded beyond their glory days to replace them with something fresh. But, when I wait, and put up with the dead looking, seed loaded plants, I am always rewarded! A

Flowers

How to Plant a Perennial Flower Border

The area along our back fence hadn’t been touched much in 30 years. Plants had come and gone and ivy had begun to take over. It was beyond our skills and strength so we hired a pro to tear out all that ivy deep enough that it wouldn’t

Flowers

Hydrangea Paniculata Strawberry Vanilla

During a  fall color trip back East a few years ago we kept seeing what looked like the hydrangeas we grew at home in northern Calif., but different!  After asking around we found out what we were falling in love with was a paniculata hydrangea named Strawberry Vanilla. A few

Flowers

Gaddis Wholesale Nursery...Preparing Plants for Our Gardens!

Have you ever wondered where and how the plants you buy at your local nursery are grown? I’ve driven by Gaddis Wholesale Nursery for years and always enjoyed the view of the flower filled greenhouses. So today I went there to talk to James Gaddis about how the plants

Flowers

Bachelor Buttons..Old Fashion Charm

When I was a little girl I spent summers with my grandmother in Selma, Calif. . Everyday began with sweeping the sidewalks in front of her big old home, followed by hours of moving the hose from one precious flower or tree to the next. She was always up before daybreak

Flowers

How to Prune a Leggy Hydrangea

Hydrangeas are tricky to prune. Old style mop head hydrangeas bloom on old wood, so if you cut them way back after blooming, you are likely cutting off next year’s blossoms! The newer mop head varieties, such as Blushing Bride or  Endless Summer, bloom on new wood so you

Flowers

Enchanting Sweet peas!

I’ve read about Enchanting Sweet Peas in Sebastopol, Calif. and I’ve even enjoyed the blooms from their wonderful fragrant varieties purchased and grown by my best friend….but, I’ve never actually gone by the once-a-year sale until now. Wow! Glenys Johnson, the owner of Enchanting Sweet Peas,

Flowers

Nasturtiums!

Nasturtiums are such a common garden flower I almost didn’t consider adding any to my garden! But, I read somewhere that chickens like to snack on the flowers….and well, you all know how I feel about the girls! That and the fact that they are wonderful to garnish

Flowers

Cottage Garden Charm

I love it when a someone says, ” You should see my friend’s garden!” I never pass up an opportunity when that happens. So, when my friend Cathy mentioned the roses and peonies in her friend Judy’s garden, I begged to go see it….and I’m so glad

Flowers

Garden Party...Celebrating Roses!

Seventeen years ago I purchased two one gallon Mini climbing roses from the Sonoma County Jail plant sale. I planted one on each end of our deck and now, all these years later, with very little care and no pruning, they’ve become breathtakingly beautiful! Jeanne LaJoie is a wonderful

Flowers

Dahlias!... at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

There are so many plants to see and learn about at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens just outside of Fort Bragg, California. But this time I was mainly stalking dahlias! (Driving to the garden during the worst fire season California has almost ever had, the car was being lightly showered

Flowers

Summer Dahlias!

Last summer I visited Swan Island Dahlias in Canby, Oregon and walked through their gorgeous Dahlia beds for hours. (You can see the trip here.) Eventually I selected six of the many I loved and placed my order. Since the total for these six was $56.00, I thought I’

Flowers

Forcing Paperwhites for Indoor Bloom -Updated!

Nothing is sweeter than the fresh look and sweet scent of a bowl of Paperwhites blooming indoors in the dead of winter.  But, now is the time to plant if you want to have that exciting experience! Start by purchasing the largest bulbs you can find.  I got mine online

Flowers

Swan Island Dahlias

I’m a little dahlia obsessed lately. The perfectly symmetrical, boldly colorful and long lasting flowers just thrill me….makes them so worth growing! So, when my dad and I headed to Butchart Gardens this summer I did a little pre-trip work and found out we would be close to

Flowers

Grow Your Own Babys Breath!

If you love making flower arrangements you’ll definitely want to grow your own Baby’s Breath (gypsophila) when you read how easy it is! I have had the “Happy Festival” plant pictured above for 10 years. It started out planted from a 4″ pot into a large raised bed.

Flowers

Butchart Gardens...100 Years of Beauty!

A plane flight, a ferry ride, a bus trip and we finally arrived at the world famous Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, British Columbia! It’s gorgeous and worth the effort to visit. As I planned to travel there with my dad in August, I thought ahead about what I should

Chickens

Chicken Treat /Wild Bird feeder

Watching the birds hang upside down on our big sunflower heads, working so hard to get at the seeds, made me wonder if chickens might like the sunflowers.  A little research showed me that they love them and they’re good for them! Tossing sunflowers heads into the pen didn’

Flowers

Dahlias...for Color, Form and Beauty!

August is when Dahlias come into their colorful glory! Most people look through catalogs to select those they can’t live without and then order tubers which are delivered the following spring. Here in Sonoma County  we can drop by Aztec Dahlias in Petaluma, Calif.  and see in person which

Flowers

Zinnias...the Perfect Summer Flower

Zinnias are “perfect”  to me because of the perfectly symmetrical way they grow.  Their rows of crisp, even petals are extremely pleasing. They come in so many colors and bicolors, have a lovely green leaf and no scent to cause allergies.  But, they had one drawback in my garden…they

Flowers

Sunflower Bouquets!

I’ve had sunflowers in every garden I’ve ever grown.  While I loved their bright sunny faces, there were a few things I didn’t like. I didn’t like those that were 9 feet tall and produced one huge flower that was great for seeds but fell over

Flowers

Hydrangea Garden

Early this summer I attended a wonderful Master Gardener workshop on growing hydrangeas.  The teacher, Carlyss, a very knowledgeable gardener who specializes in hydrangeas invited those of us who attended her class to tour her garden this July. She grows nearly 250 hydrangeas on acres of garden surrounding her home.

Flowers

Alstroemeria...Long lasting & Beautiful

If I had to give up all but one flowering plant in my garden I’d keep my Alstroemerias! There’s a reason you frequently see them in vases in restaurants and offered at florists and flower stands. They last in the vase forever! Well, maybe not forever but a

Flowers

Hydrangeas !

The hydrangeas are blooming and brightening the shady spots in  the garden! Of the 16 we have all but two are blooming now. I did a few experiments when I pruned last year. I pruned  this Endless Summer quite a bit because of frost damage and it bloomed even more

Flowers

Make Your Own Pedestal Vase!

Walking through a vintage shop in Healdsburg I spotted a shallow Mason jar on a pedestal…it was labeled a “Red Neck” wine glass and was marked $8.00. I thought it looked more like a vase or a planter and I was certain I could make it for less.

Flowers

Orange Blossoms....How Scent Evokes Sweet Memories

It’s said that scent can evoke feelings and memories from years ago…and I know just how true that is. Growing up I spent holidays and summers with my grandparents in the central California valley. Easter time held the sweetest scent of all in  my grandmothers  garden. My childhood