What is your favorite mum? Leave a comment and share!
A sea of mums at the local nursery. They had some smaller varieties on sale a few months ago and I have purple and gold varieties there. More signs of Spring.
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What is your favorite poppy? Leave a comment and share!
Simple, delicate, and yet vibrant, this oriental poppy blooms during a recent trip to the nursery.
Spring has already arrived here in Los Angeles and I am seeing blooms in gardens, too, not just in the nurseries.
Our heavy winter rains are causing everything, including the weeds, to explode. There will be a lot of work controlling the unwanted grass this season.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook
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Sign up for the Gardener’s Notebook Mailing List
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library
What is your favorite scent or herb? Leave a comment and share!
We have quite a bit of lavender here in the garden. My wife loves it both for its look and its lovely scent and it grows well in the Mediterranean climate here in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.
I haven’t purchased lavender plants in years as it is so easy to propagate. Trim a few stems of their lower leaves and place in some potting soil and within a month or so you have new plants ready to pot on or plant out in the garden.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
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What is your favorite springtime flower? Leave a comment and share!
Saucer Magnolia/Magnolia × soulangeana
Each Los Angeles winter/spring these saucer magnolia trees throughout the neighborhood spring to life. They are striking for a number of reasons but I think the main reason is the fact the the flowers appear of bare limbs, before their leaves. For a week or so they are simply a tree of large colorful flowers attracting your eye at every turn.
I don’t have one myself, but I make sure to enjoy my neighbors trees for the short time they are in flower.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local Armstrong Garden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
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Do You Like Purple flowers? Yes/No? Leave a comment and share!
Purple has always been one of my favorite colors and this deep purple hits the spot perfectly.
I also appreciate the simple petal arrangement. You don’t always need double or triple blooms to make something look amazing.
Sometimes that just feels like too much and they end up looking more like a Pom Pom than a flower.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
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What are your favorite flower colors? Leave a comment and share!
I have planted — or tried to plant — daises like this in the past, but they don’t seem to like the environment here in the garden — either in the ground or in pots.
So, like many plants and flowers, I will admire them from afar in other people’s gardens and at the garden center. Sometimes that is the best you can do rather than wasting time and money trying to@force something to grow where it will not.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
Don’t miss a single post!
What are your favorite flower colors? Leave a comment and share!
Our Southern California winter is more like Spring in other areas of the country. It has been, thankfully, raining quite a bit so the roses are recovering with much green growth and the bulbs — snow flakes, paperwhites, and daffodils — are already flowering away. Still, it has been cold at night with some threats of frost. This plays havoc with any tropical plants such as bougainvillea, hibiscus, and focus but most recover over time.
These Gazania, I believe, were in full flower at the garden store and ready to go in someone’s garden today. I fact, planting at this time is best as the natural rains help get them well established before the heat of summer arrive.
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
Don’t miss a single post!
Where do you go to see flowers? Leave a comment and share!
When I have a chance, I stop by our local @armstronggarden store to see what is in-season, new, and perhaps, on sale.
Even when I don’t end up buying something, it is a good opportunity to take some photos to share here and on my garden blog, A Gardener’s Notebook.
Today was quite productive. You’ll see some pictures from that visit and from my own garden over the next few days.
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What interesting flowers and plants do you find in your neighborhood? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Rhododendron, Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanic Garden, San Marino, California
I hadn’t been to the Huntington in a long time, but with our Italian family in time it was a “must see.” Danielle and Marcello had visited 16 years ago on their honeymoon and knew that her mother, Francesca would love to see it, too. We walked — and photographed — a large majority of the gardens and viewed some amazing documents on display in the Library.
Like many past visits, surprises lurked around every corner. These rhododendrons sprung into view as we were navigating a back way to the new Chinese Garden. Such bright flowers in the shade always “pop” so much and — as you can imagine — a photograph was required to remember them and share them here and on A Gardener’s Notebook. Had I not decided this particular route and turned this particular corner at this particular time, I might have missed them entirely. Serendipity always plays a great part in travel and photography.
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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library
What interesting flowers and plants do you find in your neighborhood? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Red hibiscus in the neighborhood
Some flowers are so striking they almost appear to be fake. This hibiscus is so glossy, it looks like something created at a silk flower shop and not actually growing along the street.
This was another photo taken along my walk in the neighborhood.
I find that the revisiting the same places over time allows me to mark the progression of the days and the seasons as plants move from dormancy, to regrowth, to flowering and then setting seed — in some cases.
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Learn more about hibiscus with these books
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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library
