Nasturtiums

Five different colors came from last year's seeds.  Last year the only color was orange.  Besides these three colors I got dark red and a pale peach.  I'm mystified.

For the Love of Growing Things

These are just a few of the fresh and fragrant daffodils 

that have suddenly burst into blossom 

in a hidden garden above Discovery Bay.  

Their caretaker loves them passionately.  

She adores the variations
in their subtle/striking
colorations.

She delights in the chrystal-like
structure of their translucent petals.

She sent me home with a lavish bouquet.

I tried my best to capture their fragile beauty.

You can only imagine the fragrance!

I wish I could remember their names.

That's "Chroma Color" on the left!

Did you know that
daffodils are native
to the mountains of
Morocco?

Makes me think of the Little Prince and his beloved plant.

One very rare variety is the
Pineapple Prince, and I think
this might be he.

Blooming November 15

It's cold and stormy. A few snowflakes fell south of here last night. It's dark from 4 to 8 but !! things are still blooming. The strawberries in the basket that I mentioned in the previous post are the most astounding, but I have yellow snapdragons, deep russet mums with yellow centers, purple petunias that refuse to quit, some leggy gaura and even some English peas that the deer enjoy nibbling are still putting out white blossoms.

New Beginnings

Passed a little group of wet-haired, towel-wrapped kids hiking up the road from the swimming beach late this afternoon. They'll be back in school soon, days of freedom come to an end. Surely a few might be actually looking forward to all the possibilities that lie ahead. In September even though I haven't been in school for eons I always feel like it's the start of something new. It's the cooling off, the shorter days, the conditioning from childhood that create this excitement about taking on a new challenge. For me this year it's the chair position of the Gallery that's got me excited. The web site, our online banner ad, better signs . . . lots of ideas for drawing in more visitors and building on the success of the newly famous slug hunt.

Closing in on a year since I started this blog and I'm happy to have a record of how things were back then, as things have changed, like my ability to do hard and heavy landscaping, since my back is messed up to a great extent. Aside from that, it's the most conscientious journal I've ever done and probably a good tool for keeping the brain cells alive.

Tonight's Salad

Still getting a thrill from gathering greens from the garden. Wouldn't this be fun to paint? Guess I'll get started tomorrow after recruiting slug hunt sponsors. Feeling sleepy now. Went birding with local Audubon group @ 7:30 A!M!

Pak Choi or Bok Choy?

Pak Choi or Bok Choy?
Originally uploaded by JuliMil

Anyone know the difference?

It's November and I have an abundance of this in my still-growing garden. Kept an eye on the weather all day and dashed out just before dark to pick a big bag full for Jacob and some (too much!) for myself.