December 7, 2025 by Born To Organize

A Week of Flowers: Scented One and All

Today is the final day of Cathy’s garden meme. I’ve enjoyed revisiting many of my garden favorites, even if I only managed three out of seven days.

A tip of the hat to the other gardeners who shared photos and checked in all week, and to Cathy for inviting us to share.

As we head toward the winter solstice, we can look back and forward, while enjoying the in between. It’s time for spring and summer gardens to rest, so that they can burst forth with color, energy, and strength the following year. I realized today that most of my spring garden favorites have an intoxicating scent. I’ve gradually introduced seven of the ten most fragrant flowers.

Now close your eyes and imagine the warming earth, bulbs breaking ground, and finally flowers releasing that wonderful scent. Floral scents attract birds, bees, bats, and other pollinators, each fragrance drawing the right crowd. Who’s to say that we don’t play a part as well as we breathe in that aromatic scent, breathing out a bit of energy as we inhale, exhale, inhale, and repeat.

Mmmmmmm

Sweet Peas

Freesias

Gardenia’s in a vase

A colorful floral arrangement featuring white gardenias and vibrant blue flowers, displayed in a decorative cup on a table.

Lavender

Hyacinth

Thank you once again, Cathy.

December 6, 2025 by Born To Organize

A Week Of Flowers: Nasturtium’s Top Ten

I’m joining Cathy of Words and Herbs, along with other gardeners around the globe, for day six of her winter garden meme. Cathy’s invited us to share flowers from this past year’s garden as an antidote to winter gloom.

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I live in USDA hardiness zone 9, which, to my non-gardening readers, means I can effectively garden for 10 months of the year. Frosts are rare.

Close-up of vibrant orange nasturtium flowers surrounded by green leaves. — Yellow nasturtium

It’s not all rosy. We have multi-year droughts, and even in a typical year, rainfall is minimal and seasonal. We might go five or six months without a drop.

I am NOT complaining, just commiserating with gardeners who must step away for a few months till the ground thaws.

Today I’m sharing my garden nasturtiums, and my top-ten reasons for planting them.

They’re in my zone, growing well for months out of the year.

A vibrant garden scene featuring blooming orange and red nasturtium flowers alongside lush green leaves, interspersed with other plants and a few white flowers, creating a colorful and lively atmosphere. — nasturtiums in the garden

2. Nasturtiums self-seed. Plant once, and enjoy their reliable return to the garden.

3. These tender perennials play well with others. They’re happy to grow up between plants or across the patio, but somehow they’re not invasive.

A garden scene featuring a stone fountain surrounded by vibrant orange nasturtiums and blooming hydrangeas in shades of pink and blue, with a wooden bench and fence in the background.

4. They make a fun hiding place for our cat, Tessa.

A tortoiseshell cat observing a garden filled with large green nasturtium leaves and red flowers, with a wooden fence in the background. — Tessa amid the nasturtium and abutilon

A tortoiseshell cat standing among vibrant nasturtium flowers in a garden.

5. They flower twice a year.

Close-up of an orange nasturtium flower nestled among green leaves, showcasing its vibrant color and delicate petals. — orange nasturtium

7. Nasturtiums have beautiful leaves.

A clay sun face wall decoration with green nasturtium leaves and a bright orange flower growing in front of it against a wooden background.

6. The flowers and leaves are edible, cooked, and raw. They’re lovely as a side dressing on a salad or on top of a cake.

8. The rich yellows, oranges, and reds feel like sunshine.

9. When you enjoy crafting and gardening, nasturtiums make their way into your crafting room, where they leave a wonderful impression.

A textured background featuring watercolor illustrations of nasturtium leaves in various shades of green, with handwritten text 'Nasturtiums' in a light orange color.

10. Bees love nasturtiums, and gardeners rely on bees. We all win, and that’s the best reason of all.

Thanks for hosting this fun winter meme, Cathy.

December 5, 2025 by Born To Organize

A Week of Flowers: Looking Back

A picturesque garden scene featuring a hydrangea bush with pink and blue blossoms, set near a stone fountain and a wooden fence. — Pink and Blue Hydrangea

Cathy of Words and Herbs is hosting a week-long meme celebrating the stars of our gardens over this past year. It’s a chance to look back and also to imagine forward, as to garden well, is to plan. That doesn’t mean all goes according to plan, but you learn that planting lettuce in the heat of the summer or forgetting to get your bulbs in the ground on time can lead to disappointment.

Without further ado (it’s day five, but this is the first day I’ve had time to post), here are a few of my garden darlings, and an adorable photo of our grand-pooch.

Our pink and blue hydrangeas are summer stunners. These are known as Bigleaf Hydrangeas(Hydrangea macrophylla).They span shades of fuchsia to cranberry, periwinkle to admiral blue, and even shades of green. It all comes down to the soil pH.

A smiling dog sitting in front of vibrant pink and blue hydrangea bushes in a garden.

Two blooming pink hydrangea flowers with lush green leaves, situated near a window. — Oversized Hydrangea blooms

According to Wikipedia:

“The pink hydrangea has risen in popularity all over the world, especially in Asia. The given meaning of pink hydrangeas is popularly tied to the phrase “you are the beat of my heart,” as described by the celebrated Korean florist Tan Jun Yong, who was quoted saying, “The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!”^[36]

Hydrangeas were used by the Cherokee people of what is now the Southern U.S. as a mild diuretic and cathartic; it was considered a valuable remedy for bladder stones.

If you follow this link to Cathy’s page, you will find other garden bloggers sharing their favs.

Thank you for hosting, Cathy, and for all the goodwill.

January 8, 2018 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Cutting Flowers in the Rain

It’s raining.

Or as I like to say, It’s *RAINING*!

San Jose had the second driest December on record, dating back 124 years.

I love the rain under any conditions, but today’s January storm feels downright celebratory after such a dry start to our winter. What better day to go out in the garden to clip some blooms while soaking up the negative ions that make us feel good.

I’m joining Cathy and Cathy today for a regular feature they call In a Vase on Monday. Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden and Cathy at Words and Herbs faithfully post a vase of flowers from their garden year round. It’s not always easy, especially when you garden in Bavaria, but these two are an impressive pair.

My vase features something old and something new, pretty fringe and a cat, too.

A year ago I received a bottle of blush wine in this charming, cat-shaped bottle. It sat untouched for a year as I’m not really a fan of pink wine.

Wine bottle turned vase

Wine lovers, please look away now.

I poured the pink wine down the sink, rinsed the bottle, and voila, a pretty glass vase.

Okay, you can look now.

The something old comes from my cherished green asparagus fern. In 1988 I bought a pair of ferns for 79 cents and kept them on my nightstand in my one-bedroom apartment for two years. I moved and the plants moved with me. By the time we bought this house 21 years ago, my sprawling fern could no longer be contained. It’s now growing happily along the back fence.

If that plant could talk, eh?

Cuttings from my asparagus fern

Something new is the fresh-fallen rain drops. Isn’t it amazing how everything looks lush after a decent rain?

Cat vase in the rain

The pretty pink fringe you see comes from a few branches of my Loropetalum chinense or Chinese fringe plant.

Pink and green leaves and small fringe-like blooms

It’s a nice complement to last year’s hydrangea blooms, currently faded to shades of cranberry and pink.

Last season’s hydrangea, faded to cranberry and pink

The cat speaks for itself. =^, , ^=

The cat vase on our dining table (the runner is hand-felted by my friend Randi)

I hope you have a terrific week. If you need me, I’ll be outside enjoying the rain.

November 16, 2016 by Born To Organize

A Happy Autumn Treasure From Across The Pond

The lovely Cathy at Words and Herbs just celebrated a special birthday. I’ve been following her blog for several years. She posts stunning pictures of her rock garden in Bavaria, and she also shares vegan recipes. She is currently publishing a series of recipes for World Vegan Month. Cathy also creates wonderful flower arrangements every Monday year round, in a feature called In a Vase on Monday. I’m always so impressed.

When I learned it was Cathy’s 50th birthday, I asked for her address. She in turn asked for mine and before I could pop my little something in the mail, a charming box arrived at my door.

I’m in love!

Crocheted pumpkin with wooden stem

She crocheted a pumpkin with soft orange and green yarn, then added a wooden stem. She even included “warts” made with straight pins for an authentic pumpkin detail.

If you’re not already following along, you can check in with Cathy here at Words and Herbs. Today she published her recipe for Vegan Chocolate Amarena Brownies. You might have to head straight to the market for all the ingredients. Yum!

Crocheted pumpkin with “warts” cleverly made with straight pins

Thank you, Cathy!

April 2, 2015 by Born To Organize

Sweet Peas: Art, Friendship and Second Chances

When my boys were young, Sweet Pea was a favorite term of endearment. They’re teenagers now, so pet names are the kiss of death. I still think it in my head though, especially this time of year.

Sweet Friends

Sweet Pea seeds and the beautiful gift bag

Last year my kindred spirit sent me several packets of sweet pea seeds from up north. I planted them in a few places, to see what worked best. A few came up in the pots out back, but they died back quickly, challenging my garden mojo, They’re supposed to grow like wild flowers. We mused that perhaps they weren’t properly adapted for our hotter climate and chalked it up to experience.

Guess what? They’re back. They’re also bigger and brighter and happily growing in the garden. Don’t you love second chances?

These soft yellow buds opened to lavender flowers

Delicate but strong

Flowers refreshed

This isn’t the first time I’ve planted seeds, that do so-so in the first year, then come on strong a year later. Look at them grow!

Artful Friends

Artist Nicole Meredith created The Flower Map as a way of fundraising for her own healing treatments. I met Nicole through a mutual friend and have followed her journey for several years. As her health improved, she launched The Flower Map. I purchased a handful of cards from her Etsy shop, to send and to give as gifts.

To my delight, Nicole sent me one of her original water colors as a gift. My cup overflows! I framed the sweet pea watercolor, both for its beauty and for the reminder that Nicole, too, is improving and getting her second chance at a healthy life. Her Etsy shop is currently ‘taking a break.’ Nicole, sending healing thoughts your way and thank you once again for this lovely gift.

I’m not the only one who’s in love with sweet peas. Show some blogging love and have a look:

Silk and Threades writes beautifully about her own experiences. Check out The Tendrils of the Sweet Pea.
Take a look at Cathy’s beautiful vase and field of wild sweet peas (be still my heart) at Words and Herbs.
Bloom or Bust has a great idea for trailing sweet peas. She also used them in her wedding, which I think is the sweetest of all.

If you’re viewing this in ‘real time’, have a look at my Descending on D.C. widget to the right. Can you believe it? It’s counting down the hours, not days. I’m so excited.

June 19, 2014 by Born To Organize

Strawberries After All

Strawberries after all

After complaining about the ant invasion in our strawberry patch, I’m happy to be eating my words. I reached in to the dense green foliage of the strawberry patch and came up with the perfect berry: ripe, bright red and ready to eat. The ants moved on, preferring the cast-offs from the fruit tree. The rats and squirrels eat half, then dump the rest for the ants and the fruit flies.

No matter. I gathered the berries the snails missed, and put them to good use that night. The day before, I read Strawberry glut daiquiri at Promenade Plantings.

I’m not much of a drinker, unless you count water and tea, but this sounded really good. We actually had white rum and lime in the house, so it all seemed serendipitous. If you have your own glut of strawberries and you like the occasional fruity drink with a kick, this drink is delicious.

What else can you do with all those strawberries?

Check out these suggestions from my blogging community:

Please drink responsibly.

April 7, 2014 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden posts a photo of a vase of flowers each Monday. She includes flowers from her garden, a prop of some sort, and a variety of vessels. Fun, right?

I think it’s a lovely tradition. I found her blog via another Cathy at Words and Herbs. If you love flowers and the art of arranging, these blogs are a treat.

Gathering flowers in to posies or bouquets is a time-honored tradition. Nothing brightens a home like fresh flowers. The first year I grew cosmos, I had elegant blooms for months. I enjoyed arranging them in a variety of ways, finding it creative and relaxing.

Today’s flowers in a vase includes Daffodils and Mexican Bush Sage with a few fronds of fern. Starting with four empty Tamarind jars, I arranged them in a square. I held the jars together with a piece of lace, a gift from my dear friend and fellow blogger, Boomdee. A strip of washi tape over the lace added texture.

Here is the result.

Flowers in a vase on Monday

Daffodils

Mexican Bush Sage (soft as velvet)

Tamarind jars gathered together with lace and washi tape

You’re welcome to join in, with a link back to the original blogger.

Cathy Lyon-Green writes: “I had not intended to write a blog, but was talking to a friend about how, now I had more time, I wanted amongst other things to keep a better record of the garden and nurture its spiritual aspects, as well as writing poetry more often. She suggested I do it online as a blog, and Rambling in the Garden was born.”

Cathy of Words and Herbs writes: “I’m an English trainer originally from the UK, but now living (and gardening!) in Bavaria. Two of my greatest passions are plants and books, which is what I write about here. I also love cooking delicious vegetarian food, a feature here too, and like to live in tune with the seasons.”

I hope you’ll join in one Monday, too.