Late Season Roses

California's second spring is well under way with lovely cool mornings and afternoons in the high 70s. And the roses are getting their second wind. Look at this beautiful bud I found yesterday. With a little cropping and tweaking it could make an interesting abstract painting, couldn't it?

June Blooms

I wandered around my garden yesterday taking a few photos of what was blooming. The hydrangeas are looking lovely...

as are these petunias that LOM planted in the hanging baskets and several pots around the yard.

We have about 40' of star jasmine along our driveway and it is in bloom right now, so the whole garden is full of its sweet perfume.

And this pretty blue flower is on the endive that I let go to seed. It started out as a spring salad mix, but I left some of them too long and this huge flower stalk developed from the endive. Its blue flowers remind me of bachelor's buttons.

Masses of Wisteria

Our wisteria is now in full bloom and I spent quite a while outside Sunday admiring and photographing it.

I is beautiful in every form from these unopened tips...

to these about-to-open buds...

to this fully opened nectar filled flower.

Surely wisteria is one of my favorite pleasures of spring.

Heavenly, Heavenly Wisteria

The wisteria is a little late this year because of all the cold wet weather, but since the last few days have been deliciously warm, it has burst out with a mass of purple flowers. You can find me out under the trellis with eyes closed, inhaling deeply.

Conservatory of Flowers

After Teen1's doctor appointment Friday we popped over to Golden Gate Park and visited the Conservatory of Flowers. It had been years since I'd been there and Teen1 had never been there. It was even more interesting than I remembered. Not only is it a gorgeous Victorian structure, but it is full of fascinating plants - and you know how I love gardens.

It is divided into zones; Lowland Tropics, Highland Tropics, Aquatic Plants, Potted Plants and Special Exhibits. These orchids were in the Highland Tropic area.

Despite its high humidity, I enjoyed the Aquatic Plant area the most. There were several hanging baskets of these fantastical Asian pitcher plants in various sizes and colors.

And these beautiful water lilies.

In the Lowland Tropic zone there were ferns, coffee plants, vanilla plants, and banana plants. The oldest resident of the conservatory, a 100 year old philodendron also lives there. It reaches way up into the steel support beams high above everyone's head.

Another huge plant is the Amazon Water Lily. The leaves of these "water platters" sometimes grow 6' across! Their flower starts out white, but turns pink the second day.

If you love plants and flowers and are looking for a nice day out, perhaps you should consider the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It's a fascinating place. For more information click here: Conservatory of Flowers

Mountain Ranch Garden Tour

We went on a Garden Tour Saturday and it was a wonderful day out. The tour was in Mountain Ranch, an old Mother Lode town up in the Sierra Foothills. Their community center needs work, and it was the recipient of the proceeds. They are a little higher than we are, so their season is about three weeks later, consequently the iris and peonies were reaching perfection.

Most of the houses on the tour were very old by California standards. This one was built in 1852 as a stage stop/post office/bar. It still functions today as a cattle ranch and farm. The garden had several very old plants including these peonies and a huge old wisteria covering the south side of the home.

This is the Mountain Ranch Hotel. The portion you see, built in 1906, was an addition to an older section. This property is available for $1 million. You could fix it up and rent it our for weddings and parties. It even has a swimming pool.

The tour featured arts and crafts too. At the hotel several artists were displaying their work.

Here is the largest garden. It recently had a water feature installed, and the garden was still in a state of disarray, but it was the perfect site for the crafts tables. Since moving here 12 years ago, the owners of this garden have built a huge stone wall all around the property and are now starting to landscape the garden. The home is an 1860 adobe building that originally held a store, but was expanded over the years and has functioned as all sorts of things; butcher, bar, post office, boarding house, some even say a brothel!

One of the interesting things about these gardens was their use of recycled items. Every garden seemed to have lots of rusty things serving new purposes. Here is a plow disk holding succulents. And it looks quite nice, doesn't it?

And here is a rusty bucket serving as a finial on this lovely rock column. I like the rusty gate too.

Old stone houses, rusty accessories, water features...they're nice, but the reason I go on garden tours is to see the flowers and I wasn't disappointed at the Mountain Ranch Garden Tour.

Outside My Kitchen Window

Happy Spring from here Amongst The Oaks. The Joseph's Coat roses are looking splendid just now. This first flush of blooms will last two weeks and then I'll get a ladder and cut off the spent flowers and we'll get a second bloom and more flowers throughout the summer, but it never looks as wonderful as this first bloom. So I had to share it with you.

That little bed beneath the window has some oregano and chives, but I think I'll plant more herbs there soon. It's so handy to step outside the kitchen for a snip of something. Rosemary grows like a weed, and sage would do well there too. And maybe some parsley, but not basil. We usually plant about 12 basil plants out in the vegetable garden where they get more sun and more water. We do love our pesto.


Thinking of planting and enjoying the roses here Amongst The Oaks.

Monday Mosaic - After The Rain

After yesterday's rain everything looked so fresh, clean and bright in the morning sun. I like the way the warmth of the sun was making the fence all steamy. I am joining Mary at the Little Red House for Monday Mosaic. Thanks for visiting us here Amongst The Oaks.

The Scents of Spring

I just love Spring and some of my favorite things about Spring are the scents. Like these Easter Lilies on the buffet in my dining room. Every time I walk past them I catch a whiff of their delicious scent. Love that.

And my first Double Delight rose opened this morning. Double love that.

And then there are these bright stock flowers with their spicy scent.

And my surprise for the year. I didn't realize Cineraria has such a pleasant scent. I'll be getting more of these.

And of course lilac is still blooming in last weekend's bouquet on the Easter table.

And good old Joseph's Coat covers the south wall of my kitchen. Several blooms are open and it is not only a beautiful sight, but another source of the scents of spring here Amongst The Oaks.

Daffodil Hill

Last Sunday we visited McLaughlin's Daffodil Hill near Volcano, Ca. The newspaper article reminded us and we'd been wanting to go for a long time, so we rounded up the family and headed out after lunch. We drove up Highway 88, turned north at Pine Grove, went through Volcano, and continued on up Rams Horn Grade to the garden.

I had been to Daffodil Hill many years ago as a teen, but the Lord of the Manor had never been. And of course, Teen1, Teen2, and the Muffin had never been either. It did not disappoint.

Paths wander through several acres and thousands of flowers. There is a picnic area, so you could bring your lunch and make a day of it. Or you could just wander and take photos of the flowers. Or just sit on a bench and rest amongst the beauty.

There were several varieties; small ones with orange cups...

big ones with huge orange cups...

and the classic yellow ones.

Some were just opening...

while others were wide open soaking up the sun.

I really liked these ivory ones with pinkish cups...

but these tiny yellow ones were adorable too.

Whichever you prefer

daffodils are truly beautiful and seem to shout

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!

The garden opened April 19th and is at its peak now, so if you plan on going, you'd better hurry. They are open 10am to 4pm, seven days a week until the bloom season is over. Click on the link at the top of the post for more information.