The garden seems to be a popular place for ladybugs this year. I’m seeing many more than usual, even for spring. Online, the local gardeners seem to be saying the same thing, so maybe we’re having a bumper year for them here? Here are 6,000 photos of them for #sixonsaturday. Just kidding, only a fewContinue reading “Is It A Ladybug Picnic?”
Author Archives: lisatheardentgardener
The Roses In My Garden — wild, exquisite, and tough as nails
In celebration of Mothers Day Just in time for Mother’s Day, the roses in my garden are starting to bloom. These are not fragile beauties; they are survivor superstars! The Old Roses — Wild, Exotically Perfumed and Robust I enjoy a traditional rose bouquet as much as anyone, but those are usually composed of HybridContinue reading “The Roses In My Garden — wild, exquisite, and tough as nails”
Winged Wildlife Rescues
As gardeners, we learn to observe, don’t we? Our senses become attuned to the plants, the insects, the weather — life all around. And sometimes we notice life forms that need a bit of help. Two notable examples happened last week. An Encounter With a Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly | Battus philenor hirsuta The first happenedContinue reading “Winged Wildlife Rescues”
Petals Aplenty — six snapshots of spring from a Sonoma County garden
The petals are popping and the juice of spring is coursing through my veins like so many shots of espresso. The spring garden is a party not to be missed, and just to sit at my computer to post this blog, rather than be out with the surging sap and sunshine, is requiring a strongContinue reading “Petals Aplenty — six snapshots of spring from a Sonoma County garden”
Our Garden Seems To Be Marie Kondoing Itself
Nature in the form of our garden is having a purge. First, a huge branch of a decades-old willow tree dropped, narrowly missing our most productive mulberry and blueberry patch. Next, a sizeable limb of an old red maple fell. And then one evening while knitting, I heard a splitting crack and felt the house shutter. Was it an earthquake? No, it was a pine tree up on the hill splitting at the base and hitting the ground with force. Our garden seems to be Marie Kondoing itself and has inspired us to have a thorough garden clean-up.
The Sensory Pleasure of Houseplant Foliage
Of the many eventualities I tried to plan for in the garden back when we first began planting 20 years ago, gardening-without-knees wasn’t one of them. Back in late May, my knees decided to take a prolonged sabbatical. After various tests including MRI’s and a recommendation against surgery for now, it appears I will beContinue reading “The Sensory Pleasure of Houseplant Foliage”
Saffron Crocus — Exquisite In Every Way
Something new and vibrant waved at me from across the garden this last week–a bright horizon of purple, beckoning me to come near. As I got closer, an exotic perfume wafted out to greet me and drew me in like an embrace. The new saffron crocus have popped up and burst into little violet-colored stars!Continue reading “Saffron Crocus — Exquisite In Every Way”
Raindrop Adornments — the thirsty garden is quenched | for #six-on-Saturday
As I write this, our drought-parched landscape here in SoCo California is about to get a thorough dousing, probably even flooding! But that is for the next post, which may require a canoe. 😉 Meanwhile, this last week gifted us with our first showers — polishing dusty leaves and quenching a thirsty garden. For thoseContinue reading “Raindrop Adornments — the thirsty garden is quenched | for #six-on-Saturday”
Six Sun-kissed Succulents
I’ve been longing to participate in the Six-On-Saturday blog-fest again (see The Propagator) but in the mega-drought we are experiencing here in the western U.S., the garden is a shadow of its usual glory. So, I’m going to jump in with some sturdy succulents for now! And, to perk up the post, I made someContinue reading “Six Sun-kissed Succulents”
Houseplants Have Become My Summer Oasis
The drought and everything else got to me. Something had to give. Gardening in our summer-dry climate of Sonoma County requires adjusting to winters that are usually verdant and soggy with vernal pools, morphing into summers dry enough to burst into flames if you sneeze too hard. It’s like living in two separate ecosystems atContinue reading “Houseplants Have Become My Summer Oasis”