Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label flowers

Winter Brilliance

On this winter day, the roses and daisies are showing off on our once-upon-a-time front lawn. How fortunate are we.

SunFlower Brilliance

Saying Hello to July

Surprise! The amaryllis is in bloom. I had no idea the amaryllis could have a second bloom, six months apart. It isn't unusual, according to what I read today. My trick: Do nothing. I'm thinking that it may be getting the right amount of moisture from the foggy mornings.  Hurrah! The drawer full of hens and chicks is new to the front yard. I finally pulled the succulents out from beneath some rose bushes and planted them in this drawer without a bottom. I placed the two plates there to cover the dirty spots on the drawer. Beats having to repaint the drawer. The flowers fizzed out in the VHS-Tape Planter . Cie la vie! The pot of frizzing spider plants on the other side of the yard called out "Dibs!" I hope they like their new home. Many years ago in another town I recall a house lined with sunflowers on its south side. I thought it was so cool and wanted to do something like that one day. Looks like that day arrived. I'm linking up with A

Oh, Sweet Pea

Sweet peas. One of my favorite flowers. One of the first flowers I successfully grew as a kid. When I was a teenager, they let me grow sweet peas on the south side of the house. I can't recall though if I was a decent shepherd of sweet peas. You know, if I had watered them regularly without being told. I doubt they would've told me if I forgot. Knowing the parents, they would've given the sweet peas a drink if they were watering in the area. The parents were great. I like to think they were impressed that I actually took an interest  in growing stuff. I also planted Sweet Williams beneath a tree in the front yard, but they didn't do as well as the sweet peas. Sweet Peas. Sweet Williams. Yup. I was attracted to the names. This morning I collected sweet pea seed pods in the backyard. Their season went quickly. The sweetpeas in the picture are the last for this year. They're volunteers. I didn't even know there were sweet peas until I looked out the wind

Wow!

WOW — Cosmos! The first Cosmos to grow in our yard, as well as the first of the season. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word wow as "a striking success" when used as a noun and "to excite to enthusiastic admiration or approval" when used as a transitive verb. The noun has been around since the early 16th century while the verb usage was said to begin in the 1920s. Wow, huh? Every day, I am wowed by the wow's happening on the once-the-front-lawn. Today's wows are all firsts on some sort. WOW—Pompom Poppy! Friend BB gave me seeds from her yard for the past three years. This was the first year for them to pop out for me. WOW—Sunflower! This is the first sunflower of the season. The Husband and I first saw it this morning.   Wow is for the letter W , which is the theme for ABC Wednesday . Click here to see what bloggers from around the world have posted.  Merci beaucoup, ABCW team.

A Flowery View

Some of you dear readers may recall that the Husband and I stopped watering the lawn and bit by bit began pulling it out. The Husband has given me carte blanche to plant what I want where I want. He seems to be happy to do the grunt work such as digging holes, hauling, placing heavy plants where I say, and putting stuff in the green garbage can. He's such a sweetheart, the Husband is. Today, I give you a peek of the view around our mailbox. The cosmos showed themselves over the weekend. It was a grand surprise. We had no idea what flower the feathery green stalks would be. Below is the view looking from the house. The Mama kept the orange roses and pink daisies in pots. I chose to put them in the ground because they have a better chance of surviving. Those are the last of the Spring poppies. Yesterday I pulled out a lot of old growth, throwing many of the seed pods back into the yard. Maybe poppies will show up again in late July. By the way, if you want to see how th

The Mama's Roses in Bloom

A year ago, this day, we buried the Mama. "I already have a place," the Mama said. "With your father. They saved me a space on top of him." Always a forward thinker, as well as practical-minded, the Mama bought a dual burial grave site when arrangements were made for the Daddy in 1982. He was buried in the Veterans section in the cemetery a few miles away from the house. The section was new, so the Daddy scored a front row seat, beneath a big old shade tree that was planted in the same year as the Daddy. I'm sure the Mama was pleased with where her bones are resting. In life, the Mama liked to watch people go by. When I had to arrange all the funeral stuff last year, I was very thankful that the Mama took care of the burial site. I was also grateful that after 34 years the mortuary had a pristine paid-in-full record of that transaction. I hope the Mama's spirit is having loads of fun and laughter soaring through the Universe at beyond warp speed.  I have

Keeping Out the Birdies and Kitties

Click here if you'd like to see how the former lawn has progressed. From last Thursday to Monday morning, I've been playing in the front yard, changing more of the looks of the former lawn. You see, the weather predictors said that rain is a coming. (And it has!) So, of course, I needed to take advantage of the rain. I dug, hoed, and pulled patched of turf and sowed wildflower seeds. The Husband also got in the fun and dug holes for the Mama's roses that were getting nowhere anymore in their pots. One of the dilemmas of creating flower plots in the front yard is trying to keep the birdies from eating the seeds and the kitties (not Molly the Cat) from turning the plots into their personal latrines. No problem. The Mama taught me a good enough solution. We took the branches that we pruned from the fruit trees last winter and criss-crossed them across the flower plots. Voici, voilå! With sun, rain, and good fortune, all will be in bloom by the end of April

First Day of Spring 2017

The Mama's purple daisies. Molly the Cat was right (See yesterday's post ). Primavera. Earrach. Jaro. Molla. Musum semi. Spring! Our first late afternoon of Spring began with a gentle rain. I got a few plants and a bunch of seeds into the ground just in time. Hurrah! Here's a little bit of what Spring looks like around our house. Asian pear blossom. Volunteer lupine. Domesticated mustard (not at all tasty like wild mustard). Check out what's going on with other bloggers around the world at Our World Tuesday . Here's the link . Happy Spring, One and All!

Spring is Around the Corner

"I'm going around the corner," said Molly. "That's where I'll find Spring." Molly and I are linking up with All Seasons , a fun weekly meme hosted by Jesh who blogs at Artworks from JeshSTG . Click here to check out her blog and the meme.

Flowers Now and To Come

This week has been one of delight when it comes to flowers. One of the Mama's orchids has a blossom. I only noticed the flower over the past weekend. I truly was going la, la, la when I've been watering the orchid pots. Oh well, makes for a nice surprise. Aren't the orchid's colors gorgeous? The Husband's bicycle has almost the same color of green.   Sigh. I miss pedaling around on Tilda-Hilda, my sweet pink cruiser. The ornamental pear tree is in full bloom. This is the second year that the tree's branches are in synch with their flowers. Until last year, it could've been October, December, March, June, or whenever a branch felt like showing off its blooms. I'm happy with whatever it wants to do. On Valentine's Day, I sowed a large packet full of seeds that when in bloom will attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I threw the seeds in that old drawer (in the photo) and in that space in front of it. I put branches and twigs on top of

More Color!

Today the color is orange. It's an upclose look of an orange rose. Yes, from one of the Mama's rose bushes. I cropped and enlarged a photo I took of the rose, then enhanced in Photoshop.  Nothing more to say. Until later.  

Color!

Bold, bright, brilliant, yet tranquil, joyful, and sensual. . . C O L O R ! ! ! That's what I need to see a lot more.  The Mama put it this way , as she planted more flowers in her crowded boxes: "I like flowers. Lots of flowers."  B y the way , th at cluster of the Mama's pink roses are hanging out in the backyard. They don't seem to mind our cold wet winter . Thank goodness! It's the letter C at ABC Wednesday , a fun meme with participants from around the world. Want to join in or check out other C posts?  Then please click here .  Thank you, ABCW team!

Loving Winter

Rrrrrrrr-umble. . .BANG! Thunder! I didn't see it, but I did hear the thunderstorm sometime after midnight. I was quite happy not to see the flashes. FLASH! It has been raining. Glorious, glorious rain. And, if the weather guys are correct, it will continue to rain until Thursday. Knock on wood. During a not-raining lull this morning, Molly the Cat and I ventured into the backyard to see how things are holding up. Our raggedy back fence heartily stood up to yesterday's wind. Whhhheeeeeeeewwwwwh. . . Molly was busy sniffing out what she probably hoped would be wild animals while I shot photos. We are so different from the Mama who would've swept as many leaves as she could before she decided it was too muddy and cold to be outside. By the way, did you find Molly among all that green stuff? In the photo up there, that is. Yes, the path was once clear and free of leaves.  :-) And, look, here. A rosebud! The Mama's spirit continues to shine in her rose bus

Narcissuses

I like the ss-sss sound that comes by saying narcissuses. If only you could smell the fragrance of these narcissuses.  Mmmmmmmmm. The Husband bought them for me at the farmers market in Santa Cruz yesterday. Yes, it was sweet of him.  What was most sweet of the Husband was that he held my hand as he helped me hobble across the street to the parking lot.  

A Sunflower Grows

For the past 12 summers, a summer isn't summer without sunflowers growing somewhere in the front, back, or side of the house. I sowed the first sunflower seeds, and until this year, the Mama sowed seeds from the previous year's harvest. I tossed the seeds about the backyard too late, meaning after the last of the rain. And, me watering sporadically and forgetting where I had tossed the seeds, not a sunflower was to be seen. Then. Last week, I saw that spindly sunflower smiling at me as I was watering flowers. I'll do better next year. I'm linking up with Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by jesh stg. Click here to join in and/or to check out other blogs.

Eden Hills Friday's Hunt V2.1

The photo meme, Friday's Hunt , hosted by Teresa of Eden Hills , starts its second ABC round today.  It's a fun one. I made it to the letter L in the first round. Knock on wood, all goes well that I shall make it to the letter Z this time going.  As Jack Gleason used to say, "Away we go." Starts with A and Week's Favorite Our town is holding its annual motorcycle rally this weekend. It comes on or near Fourth of July to commemorate (I guess) the biker "riot" that took place in Hollister in 1947. The The Wild One starring Marlon Brando was loosely based on that incident.  So, for the next three days, we will be hearing and seeing thousands of bikers from all over, who have trekked to the Birthplace of the American Biker.  Many of them will park their bikes on our main street, where the 1947 incident took place.  Want to know more about the 1947 biker "riot"? Click here . This morning I headed down to the rally before it officially ope

A Pleasure of Mess

Sunflowers from the grocery store. I sprinkled a jar full of seeds throughout the backyard a month ago. As the Mama said about things she planted, "If they grow, they grow." Tiny roses from the roses that the Mama planted in the box I built many years ago and which I demolished on Friday. I should've either reinforced the box or removed the plants and potted them elsewhere for the Mama. Something I thought every time I watered the box the last few years. Bougainvillea and jasmine from the out-of-control vines in the front yard. The Mama would've been pleased to see the jasmine in full bloom, but also would've sighed that the vines had taken over. And, now, it's up to me to figure what to do. "What are you writing?" asked the Husband, looking up from the newspaper. The remains of our lunch sprawled on the kitchen table. "Nothing." A few minutes later, I looked across the flowers on the table at the Husband and said, "I wa

Awake.

Until this past week, since April 8, the day after the Mama's funeral, all I wanted to do is sleep. Sleep, to catch up with not having slept. Sleep, to not think. Sleep. Tonight, sleeping takes a back seat to playing in Photoshop. The piece above is from the top left section of this photo. I'm linking up with this week's Creative Every Day , hosted by Leah Piken Kolidas. Thanks, Leah. Now, I'll go to sleep. Good morning, All.

Qualifying the statement.

"No more grandma," said an old woman who I've seen at Filipino parties but never met. The Husband said she greeted him the same way when he welcomed her into the house for the Mama's post funeral service reception. I imagine the stone-faced woman thought her quip was quite comforting and witty. She reminded me of once-upon-a-time visitors to our home when I was a kid who talked about how fat I was in their language not knowing that I understood what they were saying. We stood in the backyard. Smiling, I held up my arm and waved at the Mama's garden in full bloom throughout the yard. "Mama's here," I said. "Always." The woman looked at me, queerly. No doubt she thought I was crazed. After all, I requested "I've got the joy, joy, joy joy down in my heart" for the procession song as we rolled the Mama out of the Catholic Church. It's the letter Q at ABC Wednesday . Thank you, Roger, Di, Melody, and the rest of