Preparing for Easter

Clivia

 Easter is a big day in the gardens. We have been having an Easter Egg Hunt for as long as I've had a garden to hide eggs in and one of my favorite things is watching the gardens filled with kids hunting over, under and around all the beautiful plants. Throughout the years there are typically anywhere from five to ten little ones doing the hunting and the older kids do the hiding. It started in my Laguna gardens and then moved to the back yard in SJC and now we do it in the Moonlight Garden where the adults can see the fun from the seating area.

Indian Hawthorn

 Because Easter is early this year, the gardens will be in their Spring peak I'm hoping. The scents of flowers is heady and the early spring blooms are really prolific this year.

Wisteria

 I'm hoping the climbing roses and wisteria hang on for another week, although they have been blooming for weeks already.

Heliotrope

 One of the most fragrant plants in the Moonlight Garden is the white heliotrope. I planted a number of plants years ago and they just thrive and bloom all year round. They are rather easy to overlook, until you catch a whiff of the cherry pie scent!

Azalea

The camellias and azaleas are almost done with their show, but the roses starting to open, so it will definitely be a lovely day for everyone!

'Evelyn' rose

Spring Awakenings

Green Agave

 With this rain we've been having has also come some crazy weather. A couple weeks ago he actually had hail, thunder and lightening, an event that takes place rarely around here. It has happened once before while we have lived in SJC with the same results - damage to the green agaves in the form of pits. It will take a few years for it to completely disappear.

Rice Flower

 I have forgotten how many wonderful spring blooming shrubs I have like this rice flower plant in the Moonlight Garden. I have to confess that I have been to a number of nurseries in the past few weeks and have left with nothing in my car. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at what needs to be added or replaced in the gardens. I finally decided I have to get busy before I am too crazy busy with other projects in my life to focus on the gardens so I did load up the car last week with a few basics that I can always tuck in somewhere.

Milkweed

 Milkweed is a must to keep the monarch butterflies happy. They struggle through after being decimated by the caterpillars every year, but a few more never hurts.

Right now the scents from the gardens at sunset are amazing and this combination of pink jasmine and Indian hawthorn are partly responsible along with the citrus blooms. Makes me giddy!

The white roses (rosa spinosissima) and wisteria are waking up in the front driveway. I was afraid the hail would ruin the blooms, but there were enough new ones opening up that they took it all without missing a beat. Even though the roses only bloom for about one month out of the year, I couldn't ask for a more prolific rose with no disease or bug problems.

The wisteria here is about a month behind the wisteria in Laguna, probably due to different micro-climates because they are the same hybrid.

Wisteria and Roses

 I just can't get enough of my wisteria and roses.

 When they start blooming I actually get a little sad because I know they will only last a few weeks.

 Their beautiful scent, the buzzing of the bees, the sparkling of the sunshine peeking through the flowers will only be fleeting for the first few weeks of spring.

 They seem to be the first signs that winter is on the way out and the warm weather is on its way and soon all the other flowers will be appearing.

I really need to learn to spend more time just sitting under this pergola enjoying the beautiful arrival of spring and less time regretting how quickly it passes.

The Scent of a Spring Garden

Some of my favorite things about a garden cannot be shown in pictures or even conveyed in words. Last evening when I was walking back from getting the mail and then again early this morning when I opened the doors to let the dogs out the sweet smell of spring drifted in, from the pink jasmine I'm assuming. Or maybe some blooming fruit trees in the area or the Indian hawthorns that are starting to wake up? Whatever it was it woke up those hormones in me that say that spring is right around the corner more than anything else I can imagine. The days are getting longer and although we haven't really had a winter, and we are looking forward to the rain in the forecast for next week, the balmy, perfumed evenings are always welcome. Don't forget to think about the scent of the garden and make it a part of the over all plan or it will be missing an important dimension that makes the difference between a nice garden and a magical garden.

Loving the Lavenders

I'm not sure I could ever be happy with a garden without lavender growing in it. This year I am ready to replace most of the lavenders that bloom early in the spring with new plants as they are getting a bit woody and unattractive. Those are mainly the Spanish lavenders (Lavandula stoechas) which are one of my favorites. But this time of year the French lavenders (Lavandula x intermedia) take the center stage and they are still looking good. I love the 'Grosso' variety for the tall stems, the perfect domes the flowers create and long bloom period in the summer as seen here. Such an easy, carefree and beautiful perennial should be in every garden - in my opinion!

Honey Perfume

I adore this rose! 'Honey Perfume' is a pretty little floribunda that has a heavenly scent, is rarely ever effected by disease or insects in my garden and blooms profusely. And just look at those pretty flowers! I would highly recommend it!

Jasmine Wins

Years ago I planted this star jasmine at the base of my finicky climbing rose, 'Polka' next to the front door in Laguna.  I had seen the rose on a garden tour and fell in love, but as many romances go, reality set in and I became disenchanted with the rarely blooming rose. Not one to give up easily, I babied it along hoping for a better performance as it matured, but no luck. Meanwhile the jasmine took hold and grew up the rose and across the wire intended for 'Polka". There is a lovely white climbing rose, 'Lace Cascade', on the other side of the door that puts on a show every year, but now the two are entwined and while the rose takes a break after the spring display, the jasmine takes over and fills the air with its lovely scent from these dainty flowers. What a lovely welcome home!

Chocolate Mint

This spot in the garden is the lovely (ahem) septic tank access area in SJC. Two years ago it had to be torn up and many plants (including palm trees) moved to find and reach the tanks. Afterwards we put in some faux wooden stepping stones to make it easier to access next time and added a number of plants that had been propagated from cuttings in the gardens. As you can see it has filled in nicely and there is no signs of the massive undertaking that was there a couple years ago. The happiest plant seems to be this 'Chocolate Mint' scented geranium (actually a pelargonium) that gets just the right amount of dappled light to keep it growing happily without getting leggy and yet enough shade to make the dark purple splotches very prominent. If you are not familiar with this beauty, it is very easy to propagate from cuttings, easy to grow, and has a heavenly chocolate-mint aroma when the foliage is crushed. It does bloom, but the flowers are insignificant and it is primarily grown for the attractive foliage. A lovely distraction from the rather unpleasant, but necessary goings-on below it!

Lavender Time

The lavender is starting to bloom. Be still my heart! I love all my lavenders as they signal the start of Spring. Their dusty colored foliage and vibrant blooms means roses, iris and wisteria is soon to follow. Lavender is a short-lived perennial in our area, requiring to be replaced every three or four years to keep it looking good. It is my go-to plant for sunny areas that I'm not sure what to add to fill in empty spots. I have a number of different varieties for different reasons. I love Spanish lavender for the abundance and color of the blooms. French lavender is so elegant and this year I swear I am going to cut the crop and bundle it to fill baskets throughout the house. My rooms will be filled with lavender potpourri and I will sprinkle it in my bathwater. I am counting every opening blossom!

Perfume for the Garden

I strive for my gardens to be multidimensional. They are not just for looking at, but rather for experiencing with all the senses. I try to pay particular attention to the scents that layer the garden as I walk through it, picking up different aromas as they perfume the air, either alone or mingled together. One of my favorites is that of heliotrope, sometimes called the Cherry Pie Plant because of the sweet scent, that may be too intensely sweet for some people. I first fell in love with the 'Dark Knight' cultivar, with dark purple flowers and deep burgundy foliage, and you will see it throughout my gardens. But I have to give credit to the much over-looked white variety that goes mainly unnoticed in the Moonlight Garden, except for when you pick up a whiff of that heady scent. I planted a couple of them years ago and they thrive in partial shade and regular water among a number of other shrubs and perennials. It is truly carefree and keeps the garden visitor aware of the beauty of a sensual garden experience by perfuming the air year round, quietly and simply.

Scents of Spring

I must admit that I have been busy lately and the gardens get a bit neglected this time of year. Yesterday I was out very early (taking out the trash) and I was struck by the alluring and familiar scent of sweet, pink jasmine.  I'm not sure there is any aroma I love more than jasmine and the unexpected whiff caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting Spring to be so close at hand, but the rambling blooms of jasminum polyanthum indicate otherwise. Today I will make time to get out in the garden and see what else is waking up!

Angel Time

This is the time of year the Angel Trumpets (brugmansia) are in full bloom, sending their sweet scents out at sunset to add to the overall intoxicating charm of summer evenings in our gardens.

Take a Whiff

It is a fact that smells can alter our mood and behavior and the sense of smell is more connected to emotions than any of the other senses. You don't have to tell me twice because whenever I catch a whiff of jasmine I am immediately awestruck with a happy feeling and memories of being a little girl in my grandmother's garden. No wonder so many perfumes use jasmine as a main ingredient. I just wish you could smell this wall of star jasmine (rhynchospermum jasminoides). An amazing garden to me is one that has many wonderful scents like this that create an emotional response for the visitor, while enjoying the beauty.

A Mixture of Favorites

Every gardener develops a list of favorite plants that are the go-to basis of their garden. These are plants that are proven to do well in the climate and culture provided with little work as well as aesthetically pleasing to the gardener's senses. In this photo are a number of my favorite go-to plants, with blooms in the pink range and all shapes and shades of green foliage. Included are; roses (pink carpet and 'Perdita') for beauty and scent, ornamental grass (Japanese silver ribbon) for movement and contrast, boxwood (Japanese) for structure, abutilon (flowering maple) for charm and interest, lavender (French) for scent and variety, erigeron (Santa Barbara daisy) for fill and interest, iris for a beautiful focal point when in bloom and variety in foliage, chamelaucium uncinatum (wax flower) for interest and variety. I could be very happy forever in this little corner of my garden!

Crisp Colors

If I had only a small garden it would undoubtedly be focused on soft, romantic colors and loose, flowing plants. However because I have a large garden with lots of different areas, I can indulge in many different moods and combinations, like this crisp light and dark one in the backyard of SJC. The 'Iceberg' roses were here when I moved in, but one of the first things I did was to skirt them with one of my favorite plants, 'Dark Knight' heliotrope. The heliotrope does well here with just the right amount of light and water and my guess is the organic fertilizer that the roses get trickle down to the heliotrope too. I must admit that I grow heliotrope in other parts of the garden and it doesn't look as good as this. Right place for the right plant I guess, and yes, the fragrance is heavenly!

Angel Trumpet Tree?

I know it is hard to see in this photo, but if you look at the very top (click on the photo to enlarge) you can see the flowers of an Angel Trumpet (brugmansia) shrub, or shall we say tree? This one of the first ones I ever planted in my Laguna garden many years ago and I was walking through the garden a few weeks ago and wondering where it went. Well, over the years it went up! I imagine it was looking for some sunlight as the surrounding trees grew and the only way to get it was head for the sky! I know these plants are a luxury for many people in northern climates, but they seem to do quite well here with little assistance. When I first grew them I read that they needed lots of water, to be fertilized weekly and special pruning. I fussed over the few I had for years until the rest of my chores in the garden made it impossible for me to devote so much time to them. They survive now with little attention and bloom like crazy! Thank goodness because I love their heady scent and charming flowers!

It Smells Like Spring

Southern California has a scent all it's own in the spring. It is the smell of orange tree blossoms. They are just starting to open and fill the air with the sweet, sweet fragrance that is so wonderful.

Chocolate Mint

This is the time of year when I spend time walking around the gardens looking for spots that need improvement. I don't like to see any bare ground which usually means having to put in more plants. Rather than going to the nursery and strolling through the aisles looking for candidates, I try to start in the garden itself, looking for what already does well. One of those plants in my garden is this scented geranium (pelargonium Chocolate Mint). Not only does it grow like crazy, it is ridiculously easy to propagate with cuttings. It does bloom, but the flowers are insignificant white blooms. I grow it for the blotchy foliage and the great scent. Yes, it does smell just like chocolate mint! It even grows in semi-shady areas, but it will lose the dark markings if it doesn't get enough sun. I have about a half-a-dozen new spots for it this year!

Deep Purple

Heliotrope is one of my favorite plants because of its sweet scent. I also love the color of this variety (sorry, I forget the name) which is one of the deepest purples with dark velvety foliage. It is not drought tolerant so it must go where it will not dry out too much and always has a good covering of mulch on the soil. It will get rangy if not pinched back and needs deadheading to keep blooming. I grow this bunch at the feet of my Iceberg roses where it makes a fragrant and colorful combination.

Trumpets in Bloom

I have a number of brugmansias on both of my properties, but this is my favorite one. It is a pink one in a corner of the Laguna garden. It is about ten feet tall (this photo is looking down on it from the upper deck) and as you can see is in bloom right now somewhat. When it blooms in the spring there are literally hundreds of blooms on it and the fragrance drifts up to the house and is quite intoxicating. It is showing some signs of iron deficiency of the edges of the leaves which means ready for some fertilizer after a season of vigorous growth and blooming.