Happy Easter/Passover!

Happy Easter/Passover!

Happy Easter and Passover to those who celebrate! Hope you are enjoying signs of spring in your area and hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. The last patch of daffodils finished blooming a few weeks ago (photo above). I love all the fresh spring green this time of year. The hills are covered with…

Dreaming of Spring 2019

Dreaming of Spring 2019

After nearly continuous rainy days since the start of February, we finally have some sunshine this second week of March and the garden is showing signs of life. The plum tree is almost in full bloom. The blue rosemary flowers along the garden fence are beautiful with the plum tree’s flush of bluish pink. The…

Fall is acorn season for visiting deer in our garden
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Fall is acorn season for visiting deer in our garden

I’m nearly done with the new floral scent and am scaling up the formula. I’ll post more about it here on the blog, along with a link to the webpage for the scent. Some of the main notes are mimosa, orange blossom, jasmine, lilac, and beeswax/honey. I’m also hoping to finish the chocolate gourmand in…

Mid summer check-in: strawberries, tomatoes, and oak titmice in the garden
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Mid summer check-in: strawberries, tomatoes, and oak titmice in the garden

I’ve been enjoying our warm summer weather, harvesting lots of tomatoes (sweet 100 and early girl) and strawberries, and also working on the floral scent that’s been in development for quite a while. The tomatoes are providing too much harvest to eat, so I’m freezing the extra. The new scent features a beautiful mimosa oil…

Spring Garden Pics

Spring Garden Pics

This morning was bright but cloudy, perfect for taking some photos in the garden. The pic above is Ballerina rose, a hybrid musk. Below is Climbing Pinky rose on the left and an overgrown Jacques Cartier rose on the right. Oak trees in the background. Below is Iris pallida, the iris that is grown to produce…

Spring Pictures

Spring Pictures

I thought I’d share some photos I snapped recently. The first two photos show the Ballerina rose (a hybrid musk) that is currently in full bloom in my garden.  It repeats bloom throughout the summer and the foliage is healthier than my other roses even during summer’s peak heat. The third photo shows the hills…

My First Peony!

I planted a peony a bit over a year ago, and it just produced its first bloom! We can’t grow peonies very well here because our winters aren’t cold enough, but some varieties will bloom. This flower is enormous – just over 8 inches in diameter. The scent is green and earthy, with what seems…

The next day…

I resisted cutting that rose yesterday since I had plenty others to cut for the house, and today I took another snapshot after it had unfurled for another day. This time the light was softer and better for pictures (in the early evening instead of noon). Morning is my favorite time for flower photos but…