Roses

The JFK rose has returned!

More lovely Hollyhocks.

The Iceburg rose and jasmine beneath as pretty as ever.

This incredibly sweet smelling rose keeps returning.

I was moved by the beauty of this plant.

And this is the photo I'll send to Martha Stewart when I apply to work for her. This hydrangea is my baby. I've taken very good care of it.

Hollyhocks, Lily, Mandevilla.

The first seeds I've raised have finally blossomed. It has been an amazing journey watching these grow. Together we conquered rust, snails, slugs, and all of it's brethren die. Today it is quite stately and proud, and so am I!

Also, our lily has moved indoors. It has a very nice fragrance, a more delicate version of the Stargazer variety.

And finally the Mandevilla, which is an excellent vine for the sun. I am very impressed by sun-loving flowers. Now we need to find a home for this beast!

Lilies and Hydrangeas

Our first lily finally bloomed:

And finally, the hydrangeas are all pink!

New Life

This Succulent, which was one rosette, has now multiplied and gifted us with flowers. We feel very lucky indeed. Their cool colors are very soothing.

Plums, on a tree we once believed to be pears! You can imagine our surprise when we learned otherwise. It is certainly a gift eating these. One can grasp a certain indescribable bliss upon tasting them. It is intoxicating.

Behold the incredible beauty of this tree. Indeed, dramatic language is appropriate in describing this plum. As artists, we deeply appreciate the yellows, purples, and reds that offsets the beautiful green of the leaves. Saving this tree has been a labor of love, if not so distressing. It's trunk is clinging to little, and much has been done to prop it, and alleviate weight with pruning. It's worth saving.

Our vegetable garden is growing. In the foreground is butternut squash. Behind it (unseen) are carrots. After that there are fennel, onions, more carrots, green onions, and peas. It is a marvel.

Lettuce. As I picked some last night for a salad, I felt a certain indescribable pleasure that bordered on heavenly. The abundance is overwhelming and beautiful. No matter how much I use I never appear to make a dent. It is delicious and one of the most gratifying eating experiences I've had. Alice Waters is right. There is something deeply satisfying about eating food you have grown. In the upper right corner of the lettuce are beets. To the right of the beets are two tiny tomatoes, growing slowly but surely.

Out front the Lily of the Nile are in full conflagration, like fireworks. I remember when we lived in San Francisco our neighbors had two of these growing in containers. I asked them what they were and they had no idea! A lot has changed since then. This particular variety is especially impressive. The flowers are large, the color incredible. They are neon light purple, a color only nature can produce.

This was once an antique red colored hydrangea, now a beautiful lurid pink, which happily invites our guests out in front. It has given us many beautiful flowers since June gave it to me for an art opening.

Roses, Daisies, Hydrangeas

Years past, we were lucky to get one rose, not two, and soon three, like now here we are getting in Fremont. So pretty!

I had to post this for its sheer beauty. It has since become pink, but I thought this was lovely until that is posted.

These are quite abundant, cheerful, and bright. They are a surprise to anyone willing to sneak around towering rosemary, for which these are sheltered.

more...Shirley Angel's Choir Poppies

Clearly I am smitten with these poppies. They are an everlasting delight. We hope you enjoy these pictures.

Grapefruit

When Grapefruit was in season, I ate them constantly. I decided I wanted a tree for the orchard. From the grapefruit I ate, I saved the seeds, dried them, and planted them as an experiment. After no signs of life for two months, I shelved the seedlings in their starter soil away in a bag and forgot about it.

Tonight, however, I dug through the bag and found these, alive and well and strong! You can imagine my joy and amazement. I am actually growing trees! I am so excited I could scream.

On another topic, we live in an incredible neighborhood. Down the street a neighbor stopped me and we talked for an hour about Hollyhocks, for which she has many, some being 10 feet tall! It was amazing. As if that wasn't perfect enough, she sent me home with Hollyhock seeds and Hyacinth bulbs! Amazing neighborhood!

Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory

The Grandpa Ott's Morning Glories I started so long ago for Will have finally given us it's first bloom. Wow. Now we need to find a home for all the pods we have started!

Shirley Angel's Choir Poppies

Now, I knew I loved poppies, but this particular variety is doubly lovable. Again, like any proud parent, I will remind you I grew these from seed.

They. Are. Amazing.

Each day I wake to a new poppy, a new surprising color, or picotee, my favorite new word.

Plums and flowers.

There is nothing like the attachment of an old plant, let alone an heirloom handed down three generations. One is willing to do anything, including the manly task of wielding a saw and pruning. It had to be done to my grandparent's plum tree, 40 to 50 years old, which precariously leaned from top-heaviness. I removed countless abundant branches, so many lost fruit. Very tragic, but not as tragic as possibly losing this beautiful tree.

Everything is abundant in the orchard, new life springing everywhere. It will be a great season, for we have had much rain. I've always liked rain, but I especially like it now that we're surrounded by plants. Plus, we don't want to water unless we have to!

This particular fig is very mystical indeed! I love it's contorted branches and it's silvery color. I think of Adam's loin cloth when I see these leaves. I grew up on these figs. There is literally no comparison to them anywhere.

 I very much fancy this yarrow. As my friend June and I discussed, yellow flowers make one happy!

These are the beautiful geraniums in from the neighbor's, sneaking into our space and welcomed so eagerly.

Finally, the peas you have been told about are documented. Somehow they disappeared after I took this.

A glorious colony of roses, yarrow, and some white flower, maybe a daisy. It is sweet. You can see my precious Sanguinea Brugmansia wedged in the middle, tiny, but soon to be big.

And finally a sweet smelling rose, as perfect as a catalogue photograph. June was "knocked down" by this. A good sign.

Progress

Allium. The one and only to succeed this season. Maybe a good thing. It smells like an onion! Next time, we'll place the bulbs in the ground.

A big surprise this Calla Lily is.  I never remember having these bulbs, which have reproduced three years consecutively. Again, after living in the city long enough I was scared to put bulbs in the ground. Next time, this will go in the ground.

The first of the Angel's Choir Shirley Poppies that we grew from seed. I am pleased to announce my impatient and reckless planting of these was successful. I dumped the entire packet in this basket! Don't do that!

Again, the most wonderful radishes. Their color is so brilliant. And they're taste so uncannily peppery. We have very much enjoyed growing these. Easy, fun, and beautiful. I would show you all our beautiful peas but they never make it past picking!

All the naughty cows in the vegetable garden. Doodle the pug is caught in the middle of a crime, for which I screamed at him to stop as I captured this moment. The progess of vegetables is slow. We have cantaloupe struggling, a couple butternut squash, beets, more radishes, leeks, multi-colored carrots, tomatoes, and maybe some onions showing life. I have to admit I am most excited about the beets, even though I love melon and squash. Wish us luck!

Dead Peony

If this is what a dead peony looks like I want one all the time!

Will's Rose

Pictures I took today in the garden.

Fuschia. Aren't they unbelievable? But how does one grow them up to be tall?

When these were dormant, I called this plant "hideous". When I removed the weeds that overwhelmed it, I began to appreciate it's cool green color. Once I realized they were yarrow and have since started yellowing, it made me very happy. Whenever I see these yarrow, I think of Oscar Wilde and all the Victorian writers who wrote about it.

Will has convinced me not to pick these, but I'm dying to anyway! I grew these from seed, so you can imagine how proud I must feel. These, coupled with the burgeoning radishes, make me want to eat them even if I'm not hungry!

The first of so many iris bulbs to emerge. I stupidly killed some of Will's bearded iris, so I hope this, plus the other 20, make up for it.

Again, the incredible iceburg roses out front.

We leave you off with this second Fuschia picture. With so many beautiful flowers in the world, it is quite difficult to not indulge in just one. Someday I would like hanging baskets of these, all different varieties. For Fuschias alone, there are hundreds. Aren't they beautiful?