new life

The "red" glass lantern was peeling and looking much worse than this photo indicates so I took it apart, scrubbed the last of the red film off of it, and re-painted the holder. Ta-Da! Brand new candle holder! If only it were that easy to re-paint the house.

Bloom Day

Chasmanthe

The first Chasmanthe bloom of 2008. Right here, smack dab in the middle of Sunset zone 14. Sunset says it grows in "Zones 13, 15-24". Why not 14? (Too lazy to look it up right now) Chasmanthe aethiopica. Though it is pretty, and certainly a cheery sight for winter weary eyes

it rather makes me gasp at the thought of having to mow it all down before it becomes a ginormous fire hazard in the summer months.

There is a LOT of it. In fact, if it were all gathered together, there is at least an acre of it on this 2.5 acre plot of land.

It's SPRING!

Ahhhh. My favorite time of the year! No matter how crappy the weather may be ahead, we know that there will be more sunny days than dreary days. We are over the hump! I'd jump up and click my heels but that would probaby result in serious bodily harm which would keep me from playing in the dirt. Bad enough that I always over-do things on the first really nice day and then ache in strange places for the next 48 hours. Inbetween admiring the first "scrambled egg plant" flowers (a jasmine) and swooning over the Flowering

Quince and a couple of violets, I managed to do a wee bit of plum tree pruning at my nephew's, pot up some Primroses, cut down all of last year's ginger canes, smell the Daphne, re-fill the bird feeders, prune the juniper, do the doggie-doody duties, and clean the birdbaths.

It is possible that tidying up this yard is an exercise in futility because IF the sale goes through, ohhh, we don't even want to think about the developer's destruction...but IF the sale falls flat due to our sinking economy, then I won't have months of clean-up to do. I'll still be on top of it...more or less. Besides, I still LIVE here. I have my pride. ;>) And I have less money for groceries because I wandered into BelAir yesterday only to be greeted by this SUN, which insisted that it go home with me. At least it isn't some calorie-loaded edible thing that I'll regreat having eaten.

h My Gosh! Its February!

Found some little snowdrops in bloom this week and the buds are swelling on the chasmanthe. A few more days of sunshine and the colors will start dazzling our eyes! The daylight is noticibly longer now too. This is always a good sign and a reason to jump for joy. (Although, jumping for joy right now would have muddy consequences) I hope to jump for joy tomorrow night when Barack Obama

wins the primary in California. My p.u. has sported his bumper sticker since last August, my front yard would love to join in with an
Obama for President sign soon. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, this is Mom's green rose; Rosa chinensis viridiflora. It isn't going to win any beauty pagents but it has a very interesting personality. Curiousier and curiouser, the deer have left this variety alone.

Hellebore

I don't understand. Both my late mother and the current Sunset Western Garden Book (said) say not to disturb Helebores, that "they resent moving and may take 2 or 3 more years to re-establish (if they survive at all)." This one blooming merrily away in a pot was dug up and potted last Spring. It does not appear to be perturbed to me.

This one I had dug up last fall with the intention of potting it for my son. In fact, I did dig it up, cut off a big chunk, potted that, and plopped this one back into the hole it came out of. Note: It is blooming. Another note: Mark's is blooming IN HIS GARAGE in Portland!
I have moved, divided, given away, and potted these plants (I have a pinkish variety too) several times over the past ten years and have never known them to resent the intrusion. I don't understand.

yet another wild hair!

Have had this vase for a year or two...t'was a find at a local thrift shop and just seemed to be something that had to come home with me.

All of a sudden the urge to glue glass baubles to it overtook me and here, after a few mock-ups, is the finished product. I'll take a picture in the daylight tomorrow and see if it turns out any better. Part of me wants to put different colored glass baubles on each of the four sides but something tells me that would be overkill. However....there are all those "odd pots" that I bought last spring.....they're just so PLAIN you know?