Showcasing ~

I was browsing through some of my past issues of Victoria and I saw a  picture of a lovely bouquet comprised of all foliage except for one perfect flower.

I thought this was a brilliant idea, so I decided to make my own version and showcase one lovely late blooming Dahlia...and one little ant.

For the foliage I used all herbs:rosemary, lavender, lemon verbena and rose geranium. Now the kitchen smells wonderful, an added plus.

What an great and easy way to bring the garden inside. This offers up a lot of possibilities during the winter months when flowers in the garden are somewhat scarce but there is always some type of greenery I can use.

Thank you for visiting. I hope there is a bouquet in your day.

Fall changes ~

Even though it is a hot 98 degrees today it is beginning to feel a bit like fall. The evenings are much cooler, out in the garden some of the leaves are starting to drop, flower buds are filling out on the chrysanthemums and the fall-blooming asters are ready to burst forth in bloom.

To add a bit of seasonal interest inside the house I decided to put away all of the silver pieces in my kitchen cupboard and bring out my Franciscian Apple dishes. An apple theme seems appropriate for this time of year and gives me an opportunity to enjoy and use these dishes which are otherwise hidden away.

Before bagging and boxing up silver I add one or two of these silver protection strips, they really help to retard  tarnishing during storage. You can buy them online.

It has been quite a while since I have made any changes in the kitchen, over the summer I got too caught up in gardening and the living room project. This was a lot of fun to do

It's amazing how a few seasonal items can make a room look so different. 

I will probably leave the dishes in place for Halloween and Thanksgiving and just add other holiday touches.

Now I am eyeing the tiered stand next to the sink...time for a change here too.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have a lovely day.

My plant of the year ~

Something interesting has happened in my front garden this summer. With the hot weather all of the pink roses stopped blooming and what was a predominately pink border is now a blue and purple border.

Due...

mostly to this plant,

Salvia guaranitica commonly known as Salvia Black and Blue. And this I have decided is my Plant of the Year.

I like just about all of the Salvias. I have a lot of them and have made an effort to add even more to the garden this summer. They perform so wonderfully in our hot, dry, climate.

But this one is special.

 The beautiful bright blue flowers are complimented by the almost chartreuse foliage; a magical combination. I cut them almost to the ground last winter and have pruned them drastically through the summer months and they continue to come back again and again with more bloom.

As the weather cools down and fall begins to assert itself all the roses will have a repeat bloom; here in Southern California, we call this our second spring. Then I will cut back the salvias and let the roses shine. But until then they are providing me, the butterflies, and the hummingbirds, with a great deal of pleasure. 

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have a magnificent day.