flowers

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Bellagio Botanical Gardens: Flowering Whimsy

Charming Display Markers: Children's Clogs

It’s Las Vegas after all, a larger than life playground for adults. I expected over the top everything on my first visit to sin city, but was pleasantly surprised to find delicate blooms, charming displays, and happy children working their way through the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

The Conservatory transforms five times a year, once for each season and a special display to commemorate Chinese New Year. The 2012 Spring Garden display is on view through May. Potent hyacinth were in bed with tulips, while mums lined the walkways. Larger than life wooden clogs housed flowers, with their miniature counterpart used as display markers to describe the scenes. I loved the bicycles, propped up against the landscape and the stunning floral reproduction of a Monet.

Bicycles at the Ready

The over-sized and somewhat silly swans seemed out of scale to the rest of the garden, but the artificial flowers and bees were fun. Whimsical hanging parasols had me mentally redecorating my bedroom at home. The overused catch phrase, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” needn’t apply to a beautiful set of floral parasols hanging from my bedroom ceiling at home. A gardener can dream, can’t she?

'Flapjack' Tulips

Chrysanthemum Ying and Yang

If only they were real

For My Room at Home?

Reminds me of me: I'm always the tall one in the bunch

I guess they meant "literally"

√ You can see some of the past Bellagio displays here.

√ For a time-lapse photo slide show of the garden installation click here.

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Blooming Thursday: Enjoying the Rain

We’re enjoying a wet spring break, with rain falling most days.  I woke to a heavy squall around five this morning and never got back to sleep.  The sound of rain at that hour is soothing and invigorating, unless of course you’re a cat.  Falling rain is simply annoying.  Our kitties cast a backward glance as I open the door, as if to say “make it stop!”

If the flowers could talk, they would tell a different tale.  I’ll attempt to interpret with photos, below.

Raspberry Flower about to Fruit

Through the Grapevine

A New Garden Addition

Pink Azalea Closeup

Refreshed

Candy-cane Azalea Smothered in Blooms

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The Plants are In!

Resident (Self-described) Hole Digger
My Husband, Mike

We’re sore and tired but content with the satisfaction that comes from an honest day’s work. It’s been a few years since we’ve planted for the better part of a day but we did it. Mike prefers sailing to gardening, but at the start of our marriage, he designated himself the resident hole-digger. Am I ever lucky!

The plants near the house went in quickly. The soil is free of roots and was easy to work. The challenge was the planting area under the neighboring pine. I cut away several surface roots before digging was under way, but the roots are invasive, in some cases two inches in diameter. We ended up tag-teaming the larger holes, digging a little, cutting the roots and then digging some more.

Getting Started

We made a quick run to the local Home Depot for redwood mulch, but underestimated by about 10%. Otherwise, the planting and mulching are done.

I can’t wait to get started on the vegetable beds!

Plant Placement

Putting Down Roots

Planting Area Adjacent to the Steps

Planting under the Living Room Window
Don't the plants look cozy under all that mulch?

Abutilons Along the Fence Line

View from the Corner of the House

Paradise Found

Plant Legend

Corner Near Steps:

Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ Coral Bells
Liriope muscari “Variegata” Lilyturf
Phormium hybrid ‘Maori Sunrise’ New Zealand Flax
Hemerocallis hybrid ‘Evergreen Yellow’ Daylily

Under Window:

Azalea kurume hybrid “Hino crimson” Azalea
Campanula poscharskyana Serbian Bell flower
Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ Coral Bells
Liriope muscari “Variegata” Lilyturf

Fence Line:

Abutilon hybridum ‘Flowering Maple’
Campanula poscharskyana Serbian Bell flower

Back Corner:

Campanula poscharskyana Serbian Bell flower
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ Japanese Frost Grass
Hemerocallis hybrid ‘Evergreen Yellow’ Daylily
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’ Garden Hydrangea

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Ready to Plant: Our Trip to Almaden Valley Nursery

Doug Reviews Our Order

The planting begins!  The stars aligned this weekend and we had the time and the weather to begin filling in all the planting spaces created earlier this year when we re-did the hard-scaping in our back yard.

We placed our order with Almaden Valley Nursery, a locally owned nursery and gift shop in San Jose.  Our friend Doug is a nurseryman there.  He pulled the order earlier in  the week, then loaded it into the van with my husband’s help.  Turns out we needed to make a couple of trips, but by late Saturday afternoon, all the plants were home and lined up on the back steps.

After this morning’s Easter egg hunt and a pancake breakfast, we got to work.  Details tomorrow, along with photos of our progress.

Talking Shop

Admiring the Fruit and Dreaming of Another Fruit Cocktail Tree

Soaking up Some Vitamin D

Tucked in Among the Plants in the Van

Plants: This Makes me so Happy

Almaden Valley Nursery is located at 15800 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, California.

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Blooming Thursday: Fairy Garden Flowers

It’s another cold, crisp day in the Valley with the bright sun belying the chilly wind. Yes, we Californian’s are weather wimps. I made a quick dash between appointments to a nursery to gather a few small plants for the fairy garden. I chose Hypoestes for the soft, pink vibrant color, Lamb’s Ear for its softness and Sweet Alyssum for the incredible honey-like fragrance. Color, scent and texture make for lovely landscapes.   Won’t the garden fairies be pleased?

Sweet Alyssum, My Signature Flower

Lamb's Ear, The Closeup

"Silver Carpet" Lambs Ear

Pink-Lined Walls

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Blooming Thursday: Where Have all the Flowers Gone?

Blushing Azaleas

Didn’t spring just arrive? According to my calendar, yes. My garden, however moves along at a different pace. Buds are forming on the berry vines, but everything else seems to be heading for the leafy stage of growth. Green is my favorite color so I’m not completely disappointed, but the contrast of pinks, purples, reds and golds is visually stunning. Only two small blooms remain on the Hardenbergia.  This time next week that spectacle of color will be a distant memory.  The Azaleas are popping in pinks and whites.  Soon they’ll flaunt a brilliant show of color.

Taking photographs each day is a rewarding experience.  I’ve bared witness to things in the garden I might have otherwise missed.  This time next year I’ll have a record for comparison.  Today I’m working on living in the moment.  Perhaps my garden is right on schedule and only now am I taking proper notice.

In order to hedge my bets, I think it’s time to visit Almaden Valley Nursery for some summer annuals.  I want to continue my Blooming Thursdays.

Hardenbergia about to close up shop

Magnolia Continues to Flower

Wildflower Holdover from Last Summer

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Tea Time

Lisa’s Tea Treasures is a charming tea room and gift parlor in nearby Campbell, California. Designed to resemble an early nineteenth century English parlor, they serve “high tea” in cozy rooms where you ring the bell for service. Fresh tea brews at your table in fine china pots wrapped in “cozies.”  Lisa’s is one of my go-to places to celebrate with my tea-loving friends.

Table Top at Lisa's Tea Treasures

I acquired my love of tea from my British father who not only drank it, but grew it on a tea plantation in Darjeeling. I have an album filled with black and white photos from his time in India, carefully captioned in his neat print. It’s a beautiful legacy from the man who died when I was nine.  I wish he were alive to fill in the details of what had to be an amazing experience.

According to Wissotzky Tea,

“Tea is an evergreen plant of the Camellia genus. Its scientific name is “Camellia Sinensis) and it originated in China, Tibet and Northern India. The tea plant has thick leaves, dark green in color, and a strong thick stem. The tea flowers bloom in white or pink and have a delicate fragrance.

There are about 200 different species of the tea plant around the world.”

Assorted Teas Available in Lisa's Tea Salon

We believe tea originated in China, still a primary source of the world’s tea, along with India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Nepal and Japan.  Herbal “teas” aren’t really teas at all but a collection of flowers, stems, leaves and buds.

Visiting a tea plantation is on my proverbial bucket list.  To see this plant, brewed and enjoyed the world round, would be a treat.

A few of my favorite teas:

Numi® Organic Tea: Super premium, organic and fair trade teas.

Celestial Seasonings: Sleepytime anyone?

Yogi Tea: Wonderful green tea.

Traditional Medicinals: I’m a huge fan of their Cold Care and Throat Coat teas.

Do you have a favorite?

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Blooming Thursday: The Color of the Day is Pink

A Natural Bouquet

The color pink can “stimulate energy and can increase the blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate,” according to All About the Color Pink.  Conversely, prison walls are painted  lighter shades of pink to calm aggression and anxiety.

When choosing flowering plants for my garden, pink is my top choice.  Pinks contrast beautifully with green, and they are softer and cooler than reds. I’ve planted pink clover, Impatiens, cyclamen and geraniums in the past along with carpet roses and azaleas.  Interestingly, the star jasmine starts out with pink buds, morphing into white when fully in bloom.  The flowering blossoms on many of the fruit trees are also a lovely shade of pink.  Our now-deceased almond tree served as the focal point of our garden for years.  We were  sad to see it go.  We’ve since replaced it with a four-in-one fruit cocktail tree with equally magnificent flowers, but it will be a few years before it grows to the same magnificent size.

What’s your favorite pink bloom?

Four-in-one Fruit Tree

Flowering Bulbs

Jasmine and Mousy

Yes, I am pretty darn cute

Okay, just one more cute kitty picture. Look at those pink ears and that adorable pink nose.

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Vernal Equinox in my own Backyard

Happy spring!  Here’s what’s happening in my own little slice of garden paradise.

To Bee, or Not To Bee?

Raspberry Vines

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~Hal Borland

Flowering Bulbs and Budding Fuchsia

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

Pittosporum Greens

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. ~Mark Twain

Flowering Carrot

Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men. ~Chinese Proverb

The Bees Arrive on Schedule

All things lavender:

Cowichan Valley Lavender Farm: Beautiful drawings and additional links

Lavender Crafts: How to make lavender wands.

Learn more about the relaxing properties of lavender at The Hub

Provencal Lavender Field Maps (for that fantasy vacation to France)

Lavender in art: Watercolor on Etsy.com

 

For additional garden quotes, visit the Quote Garden.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day: Garden Limericks

Pink Clover

I composed a few garden limericks in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

As a gardener I find much to love,
even weeds at the end of my glove.
I once kept a log,
then I learned how to blog,
hence combining two hobbies thereof.

In my garden I learned how to sow,
tiny seeds laid all in a row.
Then I wait for the pests,
snails and rats never rest,
hoping one day something might grow.

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.” –Irish Blessing

Weeds, Masquerading as Clover

The Long View