Anticipation

"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides."
W. E. Johns "The Passing Show"

                         

This is especially true in mid-winter amidst heavy rains when Silverado Creek is flowing, and so much in my garden lies dormant. It's so quietly satisfying to plan, peruse catalogs, buy seeds, and well.........anticipate the first stirrings of spring, the first buds, and then blossoms.

Pleasure in Gardening

In "Down to Earth" Anne Scott-James reflected...."There is more pleasure in making a garden than in contemplating a paradise."

Spring Daffodils and Tulips

“The tulips along the border are redder than ever, opening, no longer wine cups but chalices...........






                                                                   
                          and lemon yellow daffodils

                                

Early Spring Bloom

Cecil Brunner roses are blooming over the arbor in my native California garden

as well as the Santa Rosa plum tree and the Western Redbud

Blogging and Gardening

The thing about blogging is that it is similar to ....."The trouble with gardening........it does not remain an avocation. It becomes an obsession."
Phyllis McGinley.......The Province of the Heart

My Silverado Canyon Garden stone walls....

I love old stone walls, their permanence and the stories that they may hold.

If these gray garden walls could talk, would they divulge the struggles of early canyon inhabitants, weary settlers or wary animals, and narrate the history of this place?

Early March in the Garden

After a cold and somewhat rainy winter, my Silverado Canyon garden is coming back to life. The yellow daffodiles and narcissus are blooming; the plum tree is blossoming; and the lilac is beginning to bud. Work has begun on getting ready for the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour scheduled for May 2 and 3. Will my garden be ready? Will the roses be blooming? Eternal Optimist that I am.....Yes!!