Striving for perfection ~

Every year when the trees in my crabapple allée bloom I try to take a perfect picture that will capture their beauty. I planted these trees along the front part of the driveway about four years ago. This area used to be a large mixed border requiring lots of maintenance and water. This was the solution to cutting back on both those and it has worked wonderfully.

 A gravel path wends its way through the trees ending in a little sitting area; mulch takes care of the rest. Pink tea roses which will bloom later offer a backdrop. The trees are under-planted with the ever dependable Santa Barbara Daisy.

Now that they are blooming the trees attract lots of honey bees, in the winter the small fruit provides food for birds.

As for the perfect picture, it still hasn't happened. I just can't seem to capture what this looks like especially in the early morning sunlight.

But I think I am getting a little closer, here is my attempt for this year. The blossoms haven't yet reached the top branches. They will last for several weeks then trees will slowly be covered in new green leaves.

Not perfect but still pretty, I will try again next year, after all perfection isn't easily obtained.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a pretty if not perfect day.

Rain and roses ~

We have been getting rain. Lovely, lovely rain.

A few day ago I received a delivery of some David Austin Roses: Princess Alexandra of Kent. This rose came highly recommended to me by a member of my gardening class as a good pink Austin rose suitable for growing in Southern California.

I love David Austin roses but some of them don't do really well for me and take a while to reach their full potential. These however are very robust looking with large, strong canes and I think they are going to be excellent performers in my garden.

I just love the box these come in

In anticipation of the predicted rain I got them all planted a couple of days ago and hopefully in a few months they will be full of blooms similar to these. 

 There is nothing like a good rain to get new plants off to a good start, here we appreciate every drop and according to the weather man over the next few days we might be getting more.

Hooray!

Thank you for visiting and thank you Carol for helping me pick out just the right rose.

I hope you all have a glorious day.

A rose cocktail ~

I have been making cocktails, not for myself, but for my roses. Actually, as far as drinking is concerned I prefer a glass of wine.

No, this rose cocktail is definitely not for human consumption, nor a fertilizer, but a soil conditioner, full of good things to increase friablity and tilth and works especially well for roses. 

One of the ingredients of most importance to me, Epsom salts, not really salt but magnesium sulfate, helps stimulate growth of new canes. Anyone, especially those with old rose bushes in their garden, can appreciate the benefits of new canes; canes produce flowers and flowers are the glory of growing roses 

antique tea rose: Marie Van Houte

Actually, I had forgotten about all about Rose Cocktail until it was mentioned recently in my gardening class by the extremely knowledgeable and highly regarded author, instructor and gardening expert Jan Smithen. As far as I and many others are concerned when Jan recommends something, it is always of value and importance to your garden and well worth doing.

So,

 this week I have been mixing up batches and scattering it throughout the roses in my garden. I am halfway done and over the next few days should be finished. I have a lot of roses so this is a bit of a chore but I know it will be worth my time.

Here is the recipe, you might want to give it a try.

Rose Cocktail

(not a fertilizer but a soil conditioner for roses)

Mix together:

1 cup gypsum

1 Tbs iron chelate

1 Tbs Epsom salts

1 Tbs sulfer

1 Tbs bone meal

Apply 1 cup per rose bush around the drip line in early spring.

You can of course increase the amount of the mixture, I have been increasing it four fold which gives me enough per batch for 5 applications.

After all this work a real cocktail or glass of  wine for me sounds wonderful.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a 'Rosy' day.

Old spaces refreshed ~

The shower in the master bath is somewhat unique, when the room was designed I thought it would be fun to have a sunken tub and shower with sliding doors leading to an adjoined enclosed deck. And it has been nice. A little quirky but fun...it is like showering outside, but with privacy.

Over time rambunctious raccoons leaping from the roof onto the protective Plexiglas cover of the deck damaged it and the space had all become to look a little scruffy and neglected. I finally had the cover replaced and now it was time to clean the deck up and make it look a little more inviting. 

 I decided to use blue and white to match the tile in the shower, the Chinese garden seat and cement planter were already here. With this in mind I  purchased the floor mat at Cost Plus. Made out of recycled materials and washable it is perfect for outside use.

The plates were sitting unused in a kitchen cabinet. The plant stand and chair were in the barn, I just freshened them up with a coat of white paint. The blue solar light was out in the garden largely unnoticed.

I potted up some succulents from the garden, they should do well here and won't need frequent watering.

Now it looks better from afar...

and

 I love my new view when I am taking a shower. The ficus vine is trailing down and I will probably cut it back but right now I am enjoying the effect, it reminds me of a very old orangerie I once visited in France where it was allowed to trail down in a most magical way.

Miss Twiggley's likes it, this is the closest she gets to going outside. When she came out to help me she really didn't want to go back inside. She found lots of interesting bugs and new spaces to investigate. 

Come on Miss Twiggley...we're done!

Thank you for visiting.

Have a happy day!

Early signs of spring ~

This morning when I went out to walk the sun had just come up and cast a glow that allowed the garden to be in perfect light. That kind of light that makes everything look good...even weeds. I stopped, went back inside for my camera and took this picture.

~~~~~

Although it is very early, I am beginning to see signs of spring. Some of my vintage roses are starting to bloom along with the daffodils, iris and alstroemerias. The clematis are sending out tendrils and I can see tips of  Oriental lilies just breaking through the soil.

Back garden taken from the deck

The little weeping cherry tree your can see here, a baby at two years, is just setting blooms and the trees in the crab apple allée are covered with buds. Even though we haven't as yet gotten the full force of El Nino the rain we have gotten has made a difference.

It is days like this that make gardening worth all of the work, bother, and frustration. And, hopefully more rain will come. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thank you for visiting. 

I hope that you day started out as lovely as mine.

A box for all seasons ~

 This week my garden group is holding its annual event to raise money to fund our speakers for the coming year. I decided to make a wooden box to take for the raffle. A dual use container that could be used as a planter or for display, such as the box I made for myself which currently sits in a sunny kitchen window planted with succulents. During the holidays with the succulents removed, it was filled with greenery, pillar candles and ornaments and used as a centerpiece for my dining room table.

There are so many things you can do with one.

.

~~~~~~~

I started with a standard 24 inch plastic window-box from Home Depot and built a wooden container to put it in. Getting the dimensions right was a bit tricky but I finally solved the problem. I wanted it to be easy to lift out.

 Decorative molding and side handles were added to to dress it up a bit. It was then stained, and for protection, and a some richness given several coats of polyurethane.

And...

here it is early this morning in the car ready to go to the raffle.

At first I was going to plant it with succulents but then I decided on winter and early spring annuals. When I was at the garden center I couldn't resist the violas and these amazing yellow primroses.

I hope that someone will enjoy having it.

PS. Thank you Alexa

Almost free ~

I have been looking for a large mirror for my dining room for some time. Ideally I would loved to have discovered an amazing and beautiful antique mirror, or a frame, that I could have had made into a mirror at a yard sale, antique store or thrift shop. My brother, the source of all things beautiful and interesting had mirrors but none of them were large enough.

So...I ordered the mirror you see below from a catalog. Stylistically it came very close to what I wanted, was the right size, and on a special sale.

When it was delivered and I managed to get the very heavy package inside and opened I found that although the frame was okay the mirror was in shards. Somehow during shipping it was damaged. I completely expected to pack it back up and return it but when I called and told them what had happened to my amazement they told me that they would refund my money and to throw the empty frame in the trash.

What! The frame is the most important part of the mirror and this one was far too lovely to throw in the bin. Instead I took it to the glass shop and they easily cut a new mirror to fit the frame for a fraction of the cost of the original.

So this is my 'mostly free'  new mirror. It is perfect for the room and much nicer here then in the trash. This is my bargain by happenstance; wouldn't you agree.

Thank you for visiting.

Food, books and flowers ~

I have the most wonderful local library and sometimes when I see new books that sound interesting to me I go first to see if the library has them available. Often if they are not in their collection and they sound worthy they will buy them. Such is the case with these three books. 

The first is My Paris Kitchen, David Lebovitz. This is a beautiful book, it just feels good in the hands, and full of lovely antidotes and ideas for cooking in the Paris manner. It is just too good to pass up and I definitely want one of my own.

The other two, In a French Kitchen and The French Beauty Solution (do you see a theme here) are also great. In a French Kitchen has really made me think about a new way to look at food and the way I eat. It offers suggestions for honoring fresh ingredients and elevating the humblest meal into a treat. Her recipe for a blue cheese quiche sounds divine. The author, Susan Herrman Loomis has written several other well received books, most notably, On Rue Tatin.

The French  Beauty Solution is a detour from cooking. The author, Mathilde Thomas, is one of the founders of Caudalie skincare products, it is written in a practical manner and offers lots of suggestions and ideas for taking care of your skin. What I like is the emphasis on practical and low cost products that don't offer miracles but bring out the best in your appearance. She also has a nice section on do-it-yourself masks.

I think I am fated to buy these two books too.

About bringing out the best...my camellias this year are amazing. I can't remember when they have been so lush, and the sizes are amazing. I have no idea what this one is called, it is very old and has become a small tree. I love the soft blush pink color. I just had to share it. This bouquet is really brightening up the office.

If you enjoy food, books and flowers I guess this is the post for you.

Thank you for visiting.