The Garden on New Years Day

"Notwithstanding our disasters born of unseasnable frost and wet, sunless skies,I console myself with the reflection that on the whole we have made good progress. The garden is in better order than it was....last year" H. Rider Haggard A Gardener's Year

My Silverado Garden survived the winter storm of late December 2010. The creek rose.....10 feet perhaps.....bolders roared......past the house and garden. New Year's day brought 30 degree weather and frost. All in all, only some damage to tips of salvia waverlies, and this wonderful view of a sycamore leaf incased in ice in the frozen birdbath.

Gardens with good bones.....

"I like the gardens with good bones and affirmed underlying structure.....well-marked paths, well-built walls, well-defined changes in level."

Russell Page The Education of a Gardener

My Silverado Canyon garden in mid April is in full bloom---especially the Salvia greggii "Lipstick"---, accentuating the good bones, well-marked paths and well-built walls.

The Garden in early April

"Gardening has compensations out of all proportion to its goals. It is creation in the pure sense."
Phyllis McGinley.....The Province of the Heart

My Silverado Canyon garden in early April is a feast for the senses and takes my breath away .....Lilacs, abutilon, bacopa (white and pink), begonia richmondensis, tulips, iceland poppies, alyssum, viburnum, anisodentia and the magnificent western red bud all in bloom. Campanula, roses, and geranium incanum are on the way!

                                                                            

The Garden in December

"For the gardener, winter is a season in its own right, with enough time to seek out the best, often elusive scents, notice the texture of bark, enjoy shadows cast on the lawn by trees and trelliswork. ~Rosemary Verey...1990

In December, my Silverado Canyon Garden has only a few spots of color.....the glorious sycamore, the red and gold California wild grape, a few white roses here and there, and of course the hardy salvia waverlys that seems to delight and thrive in the weak light and cold days.

The Garden in August

"Gardening should really be done in blinders. Its distractions are tempting and persistent, and only by stern exercise of will do I ever finish one job without being lured off to another."
Richard Wright "The Garderner's Bed-Book"

This past weekend I spent some wonderful moments in my garden, being lured from first one job to another. Watering the perennials, roses and herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, chives and mint). Roses always need dead-deading this time of the year, as does the vibrant pink valerian. Speaking of which....masses of tiger swallowtail butterflies chased each other and followed me throughout the native garden on Saturday. What a magnificent sight they are! Cucumbers are coming along nicely......at least the flowers. Will we get any to eat, I wonder? Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes are sweet and succulent, wonderful tossed in a big green salad. The peaches are ripening.....turning sweet and the most beautiful color. I need to get to them before the scrub-jays. The hose is still not patched; dreary job, no inspiration there. Maybe next week. Oh, what I wouldn't give for more space to grow a big vegetable garden....sweet white corn, bush beans, peppers, melons and more.

July........and summer heat

"There is nothing much more difficult to do in outdoor gardening than to plant a mixed border well, and to keep it in beauty through the summer." Gertrude Kekyll

Well, Gertrude, so true. My colorful mixed borders are struggling through the July summer heat.

June in the Garden

"June is the luckiest time for weddings. A bridal bouguet should include a sprig of sage to insure domestic peace, good health, and a long life; a sprig of lavender for undying love; jasmine for harmony; a sprig of marjoram, the gypsy herb of love; a sprig of borage for courage----always borage." Linda Ours Rago, The Herbal Almanac

Shall I cut, dry, and save some for the late September marriage celebration? Mais oui!

What herbs are growing in my garden? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Also several varieties of basil, chives, tarragon, and lemon balm.