Alas, spring has given way to summer. In my youth, summer meant a break from school, sleeping in, and sometimes a chance to swim in a neighborhood pool. Those are bygone days, not just the loss of youth but the unrelenting heat, smog, and wildfires that are all too common in California in this age of climate change.
I raced to finish planting the curb garden this week, then dressed it with three inches of garden mulch to retain water. I’ll miss the cooler days of spring and the chance of a rain shower. The next four months will be hot and dry.
Following is a gallery of photos taken on or near the summer solstice.
Garden succulents (they don’t mind the heat):
Flowers in bloom include wild Iris, abutilon, hydrangea, and nasturtiums.
It’s time to shift my interests to indoor activities, like card-making, reading, and puttering around the house between client appointments. The garden is such a draw, though. I’ll step out to do something small and realize an hour or two has passed. Life among the greenery and dirt is soothing and joyous.
My youngest son flew home for the weekend to celebrate Father’s Day and his 24th birthday. As a young adult living away from home, I cherish each visit.
This weekend also coincided with the opening of the latest Pixar movie, Inside Out 2.
At Pixar Studios
My husband’s company provides Pixar with technical services. They hosted a vendor appreciation weekend, inviting vendors and family to a premiere showing at the Pixar Studios in Emeryville. We attended many movies there over the years, but once COVID hit, it ended. Four years later, we’re thrilled to be invited back.
The entire movie industry is struggling to find its legs, so I’m encouraged by the success of the opening weekend. Inside Out 2 received an audience rating of 96%
Here is the synopsis from Rotten Tomato: “Spicing things up with the wrinkle of teenage angst, Inside Out 2 clears the head and warms the heart by living up to its predecessor’s emotional intelligence.”
Also, this past weekend, I attended a free seminar at our local library about growing culinary herbs with my friends Cami and Mary. We picked up various growing tips, and now I know the difference between herbs and spices: herbs are leaves and spices are from other parts of the plant or tree including bark, roots, rhizomes, and the like.
“From Middle English herbe, erbe, from Old French erbe (French herbe), from Latin herba. Initial h was restored to the spelling in the 15th century on the basis on Latin, but it remained mute until the 19th century and still is for many speakers.”
Saturday night, we attended a celebration of our friend’s daughter from pharmaceutical school. We’ve lived next door to their family for almost thirty years. Watching her grow up next door has been terrific, and we’re equally joyful about her success.
Suffice it to say I kept dozing off on the couch Sunday night, but it was worth it. It’s been one of the best weekends in recent memory.
Lucky me! After another wet winter, the gardenias put out plentiful, magical, scented blooms, just waiting to be cut for a vase.
I’m joining “the Cathys” for a weekly meme encouraging bloggers to share something “In A Vase On Monday” or IAVOM. It’s a mouthful, and it’s fun.
I’ve arranged five gardenias in a glass jar, some asparagus fern, and a few swigs of purple salvia. Gardenias don’t last long in a vase, but it’s still worth bringing a few indoors. They turn brown and droop, but the intoxicating scent remains. With greenery to keep the flowers company, I can overlook the droop for that scent.
Instead of a vase, I’ve arranged my cut flowers in one of my favorite glass jars. The Quattro Stagionioma sauce is long gone, but the beautiful embossing lives on. It’s challenging to take pictures of glass, but I’m hoping you can see a bit of the pretty pattern.
For some beautiful inspiration, check out some of this week’s vases.
Cathy, the gardener who started IAVOM, shares her gorgeous roses and a history lesson from her English garden today at Rambling in the Garden.
From Cathy’s Bavarian garden, a stunning purple arrangement at Words and Herbs.
Eliza Waters shares the last of her stunning peonies, which were grown in her garden in Massachusetts, US, creating a breathtaking arrangement.
On the 15th of each month, Kate invites bloggers to join in the fun of creating something from scraps. Participants create with fabric, metal, paper, and sometimes all three. If you have something to share made from scraps, please join us. You can contact Kate, linked above, for details.
I’m sharing three cards this month: two made from a reflective folder once used for school papers and a collage card.
My friend Mary Ann, also a cardmaker, gave me the folder and challenged me to create with it. Her scrap became my scrap; now it’s a pair of cards.
I love this sort of challenge, though I’ll admit that the intense shine and reflection of the folder gave me pause. It worked out in the end, though, and I had fun.
The pink card is my beginner’s attempt at collage. I follow a fabulous collage artist in Canada, and she inspired me to give it a go. You can take a look at Wilma’s gorgeous work here.
For the background, I used scrapbooking paper passed on from my sister featuring dress-maker patterns. I inked similar paper before die-cutting it into flowers. The pink sewing machine comes from a leftover piece of gift wrap. I used a few odds and ends of rub-on decals to add a bit of green and light pink. I want to study this medium in more detail to continue making this card style. It’s fun.
The following bloggers enjoy taking part in ScrapHappy. Click on any of the links below to see what they’re creating.
Our summer solstice is still three weeks away, but all the signs of the season have arrived. When we left for Vancouver in mid-May, the California poppies in the front garden were ending the season as the nigella bloomed.
I had hoped the poppies might linger, as the orange and purple look pretty together. Flowers have their own time and place, so, of course, nature took its course. It’s one of the joys of gardening.
Nigella
I laughed when one of the seed pods split open as I worked along the path, spewing tiny seeds in my direction, which bounced off my cheek. The seeds could almost be mistaken for course black pepper. I swept them into the garden and will enjoy what takes hold next season.
With the first San Jose heat wave, the sweet peas cry uncle and begin to set seed. I leave the plants for a few weeks to allow the seeds to drop. This past week, I removed the plants, gathering seeds to offer to friends while leaving an equal amount to self-seed in the fall.
As I removed the sweet peas from the curb garden, I uncovered sturdy gladioli. The sweet peas created a dense cover, but the gladiolus thrived and were none the worse for it. Today, we planted two tomato plants, four sunflowers, and some strawberry starters. The existing ground cover has room to spread its delicate leaves, with lovely purple flowers to contrast the yellows, pinks, and, of course, green.
Over the long weekend, Mike put up the shade sails in the front and back while I uncovered the garden swing, tables, and the like. With virtually no rain until October, we can leave things out.
Nasturtiums spread throughout the back garden, traveling up, over, and around various obstacles, spreading stunning shades of orange, yellow, and, occasionally, red. They took over one of the garden paths while we were away, and how I wish I had a photo of our cat’s expression when he couldn’t pass.
My garden has found its rhythm these past few years as natives are more established, and annual seeds, bulbs, and rhizomes reliably return, filling the garden with spring’s abundant gifts. Back-to-back seasons of welcome rain certainly helped create healthy roots.
We’re expecting temperatures around 90F (32C) this week, so my time in the garden is limited. I’m glad to have accomplished so much in the last two weeks with Mike’s help, and every day, I celebrate this lovely patch of earth.
We’re spending a week in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, celebrating Mike’s birthday and enjoying unscheduled time. It’s been terrific.
Mike’s never been to Vancouver, and I was last here in the early eighties with my friend, Stephanie. The city is as vibrant as I remember, but instead of staying in a youth hostel, we’re in a hotel. Walking to most places has been easy, and we’ve otherwise taken the local bus or train. I have loved being away from car culture for a while.
Walking around Gastown, Mike posing with a steam-powered clock
We lucked out with the weather and only needed a sweater or light jacket most days.
Mike’s birthday coincided with warm, clear skies and a fun adventure: time at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver. We boarded the free shuttle at Canada Place, and within 15 minutes, we entered the lush green park. Storyboards and artifacts from the early days describe the evolution of the bridge. Here’s a blurb from the website:
“The park has a rich history, getting its name, Capilano, from the Squamish Nation’s Kia’palano, which means beautiful river. The park’s story is one of engineering feats, appreciation for the land, and an eagerness to share its wondrous beauty with the world. It’s a testament to respect for cultural traditions and commitment to environmental conservation.”
Crossing the bridge proved challenging in an unexpected way. The suspension bridge never stops swaying, making it impossible to cross without lurching toward one cable, getting your footing, and then inching forward before hanging on again. We could stop and look down below, but it wasn’t possible to linger with so many people traveling to the other side.
Once across the bridge, we were under a beautiful rainforest canopy with wooden walkways and gorgeous lush forest views. There are educational stations for children and adults, a chance to learn about raptors, and unlike the bridge, we could move at our own pace in an unhurried manner. We were there for a few hours.
We timed our return across the bridge so we could have a bite to eat before our next adventure: walking on a single-file walkway above the canyon, again offering magnificent views.
We’ve filled the rest of the week with a variety of activities, including an afternoon at VanDusen Botanical Gardens, where we spotted turtles, goslings, and the occasional fish. The collection of rhododendrons is extraordinary.
We laughed our way to the center of the VanDusen maze and back out. The maze walls feature 3,000 pyramidal cedars. Once in the maze, you can’t see the outer surroundings—such fun.
We attended Vancouver Writer’s Fest: An Evening with David Sedaris on Tuesday. I’ve long admired his writing and sense of humor, and we both enjoyed laughing out loud with a packed house at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Today we took a bus to Stanley Park where we walked along the shore, through wooded areas, pretty gardens and an outdoor cafe where we enjoyed salads and the view. Shortly after photographing the Great Blue Heron, the bird dipped its head in the water and plucked out a fish.
Our cozy hotel is home to a pair of labs, who lounge near the concierge desk for part of each day. I sent my postcards down a mail chute, a vintage relic embedded in the wall. One night, I indulged in room service, ordering chocolate cake to share, and a hot peppermint tea. We splurged on a dinner at the Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant.
All told, it’s been the perfect time away, with hours of sunshine and fresh air, delicious food, and a slower pace.
I finally spotted a squirrel enjoying the long-awaited sunflower seeds. Squirrel-watching is quite entertaining.
Sunflower seeds are like chocolate for squirrels. To my amazement, ‘Mammoth Sunflowers’ self-seeded in January. That’s never happened before, or if a seedling should arrive out of season, it perishes post haste.
By March, the sweet peas took off, quickly surrounding the lower half of the remaining sunflower stalks, so I left them in place to dry. The thick stems of the sunflowers made excellent stakes for the climbing sweet peas.
I wondered aloud to Mike if the sweet peas’ soft scent overwhelmed the subtler smell of the sunflower seeds since they don’t generally get this far along without a squirrel or two snapping off the seed heads.
This week, they figured it out.
I happened upon a squirrel at the top of the eight-foot stalk, and then I ran inside to get my camera phone. I tiptoed down the path and tried to hide behind a tree, but the squirrel was on to me. I got a couple of snaps as the squirrel climbed down.
At the same time, another squirrel rustled in the Magnolia tree overhead. I looked up expecting a bird, but a squirrel appeared, carefully camouflaged against the trunk, hanging upside down while munching away.
I managed four photos in all before they moved on.
Not for the first time, I have renewed appreciation for nature photographers who capture clear, crisp, gorgeous images of wildlife. It’s fun to capture snapshots, though, and its nice to know they can find food, water, and sanctuary in my garden.
My garden is a magical place where fairies roam, and flowers grow.
Daily visitors include marauding squirrels, delicate hummingbirds, mourning doves, and songbirds with handsome yellow chests singing their hearts out in search of a mate.
It provides a refuge for spiders and mantis, which in turn keep the less beneficial bugs at bay. Fence lizards also have a place.
When I gather a spade of dirt and unearth a worm, I apologize and return it to the soil. Some of the hardest workers are unseen and unheard but equally deserving of our respect.
Baby Carrots Fresh from the Earth
Bees are welcome and encouraged with plentiful pollen to gather for their queen. Paper wasps live under the eaves, an equally beneficial guest in the garden’s echo system. They’re not aggressive like yellow jackets, but they are easily mistaken for them. I was pleased to learn the difference.
Paper wasps
Over the years, small packets of seeds have morphed into returning gems. Sweat peas are the garden darlings, with soft, fragrant petals ranging from pale pinks to rich purples and reds. They elicit comments from passersby, generating a feeling of nostalgia.
Nasturtium, purchased as a few bedding plants years ago, cast about the garden with brilliant, showy orange flowers and broad, flat leaves that remind me of paper fans.
California poppies spread across the walkway this year, with several taking up residence around the curb garden and along the drive. They, too, were first scattered from a packet of seeds.
Two seasons of welcome rain have filled reservoirs and water tanks while affording gardeners a reprieve from regular watering.
The garden continues to evolve, moving from the manicured lawn and roses we inherited when we bought this house to a garden filled with native and drought-tolerant plants, three mature trees, and a deck lined with succulents instead of thirsty annuals. The slider featur below shows the back garden in 1996 and 2024.
I’m grateful for the sun and the wind, the rain when it falls, and this lovely patch of earth outside my door.
It’s time for another installment of ScrapHappy, a monthly meme hosted by Kate and her friend Gun.
I’ve been busy turning small fabric scraps into miniature upholstery for one of my fairy gardens.
In addition to sewing a seat cushion for the bench, I made an accent cushion by covering a button with fabric. I added a French knot with green embroidery floss to the center of both cushions. The orange button has been in my stash since the early eighties.
I cut small sections of the leaf motif from the same fabric scrap, attached a few strands of green embroidery floss, and then fused the pieces to make seat covers. I tied the thread along the back of each chair to hold them in place.
After years spent outdoors, the tiny garden bench lost one of its legs. We can’t host a fairy garden party with broken furniture, so a quick fix was in order.
I found a rusted screw from Mike’s workbench to repair the broken/missing leg. He kindly glued it in place.
Fresh flowers grace the table in a tiny brown bottle, and as the day ends, clouds give way to the sun.
ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. Please contact Kate for details or visit her recent blog post at Tall Tales from Chiconia.
We’ve had intermittent rain these last few weeks but found time to work in the garden and visit an open-space preserve. On colder days, we seek out the sun’s warmth by standing on the sidewalk with the sun on our shoulders for a few moments before returning to various tasks.
Mike soaking up some sun under stormy skies
Another winter of unusually heavy rains means lots of beautiful new growth and plenty of weeds. It’s easy to get the weeds out of the ground now, but it’s amazing how quickly the surface soil dries at season’s end. Unlike large parts of the country, San Jose is semi-arid, with most of our rainfall between November and March. After many years of drought, getting so much rain has been a gift.
I did some rearranging on the deck, moving a few succulents to make room for a potted Yarrow.
Together, we wrangled a huge pot from the deck to the area just in front of the deck and to the right of the steps leading to the garden. As the new plants in front of it fill out, it will look like part of the planted landscape. It’s too large and prickly to transplant easily, but since the pot has drainage, the plant is free to set down roots.
Last year, I dug out some overgrown grasses and planned to put down pavers to make a path. After meeting with a vendor and receiving the first quote, I soured on the idea. Then, I came to my senses and realized plants are more fun anyway. We’ve cleared a few overgrown shrubs and replaced them with beautiful, native, or water-wise plants.
Front garden, old and new: California poppies along the walkway
This year, hellebores, hostas, and carnations, also known as dianthus, are new to the garden. They’re tucked in with a thick layer of mulch to retain moisture and deter weeds. I can vouch for the first part of that equation, but weeds, cockroaches, and ivy will outlive us all.
With the garden tasks settled for now, Mike suggested a drive up to Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve. It’s been almost a year since we’ve been up that hill. I thought we had dressed warmly, but a cold wind blew through our layers, so we didn’t stay long.
I enjoyed seeing the cows with a few calfs and grazing horses. There were dozens of ground squirrels everywhere we looked, and they seemed unphased by our presence.
It will be nice to visit again when it’s warmer. April is just around the corner, and by May, we often suffer through our first heat wave. We’ll see how it goes.
Gardening Nirvana 