Here’s the next stage of my happy pomegranate tree. I’m so excited! This is only its second year in the ground, and I’m hopeful we’ll have lots of yummy poms in the future.
Feast your eyes on this unique and lovely flower, a future pomegranate, all ruffly like a petticoat. I am obsessed with the intricacy.
I didn’t intentionally plant this California native Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) — she’s a happy volunteer in the front garden, but I welcome her smiling face and bright yellow petals.
The Daisy follows soft the Sun—
And when his golden walk is done—
Sits shyly at his feet—
He—waking—finds the flower there—
Wherefore—Marauder—art thou here?
Because, Sir, love is sweet!
We are the Flower—Thou the Sun!
Forgive us, if as days decline—
We nearer steal to Thee!
Enamored of the parting West—
The peace—the flight—the Amethyst—
Night’s possibility!
Emily Dickinson
So simple and so true.
I’m not sure where this graphic originally came from, but I found it on Pinterest.
From April’s angst to something a little more palatable and because I try to always look on the bright side, these are some photos I took to cleanse my brain while the rat guy was disinfecting the shed. I carefully avoided that area…
Delosperma Cooperi – succulent ground cover against a backdrop of insane ceanothus with some (I think) Cape Daisies and Creeping Aloe.
Pride of Madeira.
A baby pomegranate!
Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly caterpillar on my Palo Verde tree.
No rats here! Just peace and serenity.
Important info: Regarding Solandra maxima, Cup of Gold Vine–all parts of the plant are toxic and poisonous, so be aware of this before planting if you have pets or small children.
If that’s not an issue for you and you love vines with gigantic flowers — about six inches in diameter — take a look at this!
The flowers deepen in color as they age which make this plant even more appealing and that’s when they become fragrant.
About a year ago, a gardener friend gave me a few rooted stalks of Cup of Gold and they seem to really love it here. One of them is already about 40 feet and growing every day. The others are doing well too, but not as great as this one.
I’ve rooted more and now I have them growing everywhere; in a few years it’s going to look like a jungle around Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
I don’t know why Angel Girl 2.0 and I love the color pink as much as we do, but we DO.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“PINK PINK PINK!”‘
A little research reveals that the color pink represents compassion, nurturing, tenderness, and love. It relates to unconditional love and understanding, and the giving and receiving of nurturing.
A combination of red and white, pink contains the need for action of red, helping it to achieve the potential for success and insight offered by white. It is the passion and power of red softened with the purity, openness and completeness of white. The deeper the pink, the more passion and energy it exhibits.
Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. It tones down the physical passion of red replacing it with a gentle loving energy. https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-pink.html
All I know for sure is that all shades of PINK make me happy, from the pink of my ballet shoes to any and all flowers in the garden. After all, I was named for a flower so in my case, it was sort of predestined.
It’s a little early for my rosebushes, but here’s a very pink freesia:
And deeply pink peach flowers, Since this is the tree’s first year, I know I’m supposed to pinch off all the flowers so the tree will grow stronger but I can’t bear to do that.
My little angels know how to make Grandma happy. Look what came in the mail, whole and undamaged.
It’s a gigantic, perfectly formed, preserved, and decayed leaf they found in their front yard. It brings me so much joy that the first thing they thought of was that it’s something I would appreciate.
I immediately framed it to admire every day.
March is here, winter shifts to spring, trees are budding and leafing, and it’s important to remember that autumn’s falling leaves were the catalyst to everything new. This leaf died so that more will grow; the inevitable circle of life.
It completely fills out an 8.5 x 11 frame. Isn’t this amazing?
These are the first fragrant freesias of spring. (I like alliteration.)
#WordlessWednesday
All of our crazy weather including half the rain we usually get made for an early spring. The fruit trees are flowering, the ash tree did its thing and is leafed out already, as well as the grapes.
Not at all native to this weird deserty, sometimes Mediterranean climate, I saw a forsythia bush and couldn’t walk away without bringing her home. I paid full price too, which should tell you how much I wanted it. Teehee.
When I was growing up back east, I knew spring had arrived when my mom took me violet hunting and the lillies of the valley popped up, An even more glorious sign were the budding forsythia and lilac bushes up against the French doors in the living room.
When the weather warmed up enough to open all the doors and windows, their fragrance was literally breathtaking.
I’ve tried to grow lilacs here and failed, so I don’t have the highest of hopes for this forsythia, but I will try my best.
Fingers crossed, everyone!
P.S. There’s a chance we’ll have rain this week and that’ll make all my plants (and me) happy.
The temps dropped nearly forty degrees and we were lucky enough to get some unexpected rain.
In the morning I was greeted by this flowering orange Hedgehog Aloe against a background of a very healthy ceanothus covered in lilac blooms.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 