The signs of Spring are bursting forth everywhere and I'm loving every bit of it... except the pollen

An ornamental plum tree and cherry tree grow intertwined at the end of our street. Their spring blossom show is always so spectacular (above and below).

The old cherry tree (below) in the back thicket of our garden bursts with blossoms that never become cherries because we don't have another pollinator tree to make that happen. If I knew the variety I probably would plant a companion for it. Because I LOVE fresh cherries.

Sweet spring mandarin blossoms

I often wonder how a dwarf tree less than 4 feet tall can produce so much sweetness.

Laden with porcelain-white blossoms that fill the air with a sweetness beyond description, this little tree (in cooperation with many honeybees) will take the summer sun's warm rays and make even more sweetness.

When winter's chilly fog descends upon the garden, the orange orbs will almost be ready to harvest. By January when warm sunny days seem far away, summer will drip down our chins in juicy sweetness as we bite into each slice.

Fun facts:

• Did you know that clementines (aka "Cuties") and tangerines are types of mandarins? 
• Our mandarin tree is a Kinnow which is the most widely planted mandarin in Pakistan.
• The mandarin is known for its thin "peelable" skin that even a child can handle.

Plums blossoms with puffy white clouds to match

When I was a little girl, my siblings and I played a lot of make-believe. A favorite make-believe game I liked to play was "Candyland" where my siblings and I would pretend we had entered an all-candy world where everything was edible. We would have our adventures out in the garden. The redwood bark was really chocolate. The clouds were cotton candy. And there was always some drama with a make-believe villain we had to fight to protect our "Candyland".

To this day, when I see puffy white clouds against a blue sky I still think of "Candyland".

In the pink

I'm a huge fan of the color pink. That's why my other blog Dusting in Pearls is pink. That's why the logo for Rosehaven Cottage Inc. is pink. That's why my studio is slowly but surely getting decorated in pink. That's also why Hubby brought home a bouquet of pink roses for me on Valentine's Day (above).

Interestingly, I don't necessarily go ga-ga over every shade of pink. The shade of pink that will stop me dead in my tracks is the soft pink of ballet slippers (you know, the ones that little girls wear to ballet class). I call it "ballet slipper pink". And when I see it, I am drawn to it. Just ask Hubby what happens when we're in a store and I see something in that shade of pink. It could be a pile of garbage, but if it's "ballet slipper pink" garbage, I'll want it.


I really love the blossoms of spring because of their array of soft pinks. The ornamental plum tree at the end of the street is in bloom right now. I was hoping we'd get a break in the rain before the blossoms fell off so I could take some shots. I got my wish today. A beautiful sunny day with blue skies and white puffy clouds was just the ticket for taking shots of the ornamental plum in all its glory.


Of course I have pink hyacinths in my front garden. Of course! When I went out to take shots of them this afternoon, they were laying down because the blossoms had caught so much rainwater that it was weighing them down. I shook the majority of the rainwater out to perk them up and then took some shots.

Yes, indeed, I am swimming in pink right now. I'm even working on pink projects. I'm surprised that I haven't grown weary of it. In fact, just the opposite has happened. I look for pink everywhere now.

Just in case any of you would like to get "in the pink" too, I've created a wallpaper/desktop that is available for anyone to download for free. Just click on the image below and it will take you to the download site where there are download instructions. Have fun and enjoy being "in the pink"!

October Blooms Around Rosehaven Cottage

Since the garden has decided to act like it's spring instead of fall, I decided to just embrace it, photograph it, and share it.

Just last week I commented on Jeanette's photo of her wild iris that I haven't been able to get a good photo of ours that look the same (we call them "fortnight lilies", but I'm probably wrong on that). Then yesterday, I was surprised to find that ours was blooming again. The autumnal light made shooting the white flower much easier than it usually is and I was very pleased to finally have a photo that shows its lovely contours.


The "Gold Medal" rose lives right by the "fortnight lily" (please correct me if I'm getting this wrong), and the older pale yellow blooms looked stunning against the blue sky. I didn't doctor this photo in post-processing either. This is how the photo was shot. I love how the blooms of the "Gold Medal" change colors throughout their life. It makes for a multi-shaded display all on one bush.


The blue sky also looked great over my lovely purple roses that look a lot like "Angel Face" but aren't (the tag fell off this one so now it's a mystery rose). This thing is SO tall right now! The blooms at the top of the canes are about 7 feet tall. I shot this at my full height of 5 foot 2 looking up at them. And I didn't doctor this photo in post-processing either.

I moved to the back garden to look for more photographing opportunities and found many. Probably the only flowers that I expect to see in my October garden are residing in the back. One of the blooms I love in autumn is the diminutive "Cardinal Climber" from the ipomoea (Morning Glory) family. Each scarlet bloom is less than 1 inch in diameter yet they have such detail.


The honeybees and bumblebees are loving all the October flowers. The newly blooming "Cosmos" were being visited by a honeybee or two.


But the majority of the pollinator activity was occurring on the other side of the back garden at the "Pineapple Sage" (from the salvia family) that is in full bloom with its scarlet trumpets. One big fat black bumblebee buzzed from blossom to blossom so quickly that it was hard to photograph it. I did get a couple of good shots, thankfully. I wonder if the nectar tastes like pineapple as much as the leaves smell like pineapple...

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What the...????

Okay. So I'm out in the garden yesterday harvesting the last tomatoes and other produce...

The tomato bed was located next to the Pippin apple tree that hasn't fared well because it doesn't belong in our climate. The apples all fell off long before they were edible (always do). The raccoons and other critters eat the bounty because they obviously don't get a sour stomach from unripe apples. I've been tempted to remove it so many times, but then I feel bad and leave it because I can't bring myself to cut it down.

Anyway... as I moved around the tree, I didn't pay much attention to the fact that the leaves aren't turning like the rest of the trees around here, like the liquid amber just across the garden from it. It really didn't register that the apple tree's leaves are a deep, lush and vibrant green in stead of the usual crispy brown that they usually are this time of year from being zapped by our August heatwaves.

I was too focused on harvesting the tomatoes for it to register. But...

Then something caught my eye. I thought I was seeing things in the late afternoon autumn light. Is that what I think it is?


I moved closer. What the heck?

Okay, did someone switch hemispheres on me while I wasn't looking? There are apple blossoms on my Pippin... and it's the 14th of October! And last I checked, California was in the United States in the northern hemisphere! What in the world?????

It was too late to photograph the blossoms yesterday, so I waited until today to go back out and get shots of them. As I was shooting the blossom cluster I discovered yesterday, I realized that there's another cluster of blossoms higher up. This is insane!


The tree still has an apple hanging on the north side, and on the south side it's got apple blossoms--in OCTOBER!!!!

I've got friends and family that have just had their first frosts and snowfalls. They all live in the northern hemisphere (where I thought I was).

Seriously, did someone relocate California when I wasn't paying attention?

Okay, I'm officially freaked out now. The wisteria blooming in September was explained by my pruning it in August and encouraging a second bloom, but this??? Somebody explain this one for me.

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Bees and Lavender Blossoms

I only have one surviving lavender bush (at one time I had three). I almost lost this one too due to a very rude fennel that was its neighbor (fennel isn't good at maintaining "personal boundaries"). I cut out the fennel and then trimmed the pathetic sun-starved lavender back severely with the hope that it would come back.

Well, it loved the haircut it got and has thanked me with a profusion of lovely blue blossoms. This round little orb of a bush has been a favorite of the bees since it started to bloom a couple of weeks ago.

I went out a couple of days ago to look at it and all the buzzing activity going on. In less than five minutes, I saw two different kinds of bumblebees and also honeybees climbing around on the blue blossoms! It seemed so magical and serene, I ran inside and got my camera to try and capture the moment.

As I took these photographs, I couldn't help but think of Penny over at Lavender Hill Studio. If you go take a peek at her blog (and website), I think you'll see why. So these photos of this year's lavender bloom are dedicated to Penny.

Too bad no one has invented smell-a-vision for the internet, huh?

Act Two of Spring Begins

Around here, by the time mid-April rolls around spring has been underway for a couple of months. February usually kicks off spring with the early spring blooms like the crocus and daffodils. So by now, all the bulb blossoms have bloomed and faded leaving the stage free for the flowering shrubs and bushes to put on their show of the season.

Although I greatly anticipate the sprouting and blooming of the bulbs, I always look forward to this time because the profusion of color is no longer close to the ground but is up at eye-level (sometime higher), and the garden is ablaze with its springtime palette. Even at a good distance, one can appreciate and enjoy the spectacular display.

Even small blossoms like the tiny Breath of Heaven (left) can't be missed simply because of their sheer quantity. Breath of Heaven bushes can get quite large in our zone. I planted ours in the spring of 2001, and it's already about 5 feet tall and almost as wide. In the spring breezes, the whole giant orb of light and delicate branches sways and "dances" to a silent melody.

Another spring favorite at this time of year, are all the insects that are out and about in the garden doing their job and keeping nature in balance. I'm always happy to see little critters wandering around the blossoms laden with pollen like the bug on the Lilac Hibiscus (above left). I am also always pleased to see my good friends, the ladybugs, wandering around throughout the garden. As I go about my garden chores, I watch for flashes of orange so I don't harm any of these helpful little ones when they happen to be somewhere I don't expect them--like sunning on the garden hose (above right).

The roses are all putting on their first big show of the year. The climbers that I planted in 2006 along the southwest fence of the back garden are quite happy in that sunny location. Despite the summer heat, they fare very well with just a dripper a piece at their bases to give them water. Right now, their deep roots are still enjoying the benefits of the winter rains. The Joseph's Coat (above left) is just one of 7 rosebushes growing along the fence. Of those 7 bushes, 5 are covered with blooms right now which I can see just outside my studio window.

I am happy to report that the plum tree is still covered with little green plums. This will be the first true crop I've had in about 3 years, and I'm tickled to death about it. We did have some 40 mile an hour winds two days ago that knocked a few off the tree (I was very sad) but there are still enough left that I should be able to enjoy fresh juicy plums in a few months as long as nothing else comes along to disturb them.

And finally, a spring favorite that never really stopped putting on a show--my pink mystery rose. Planted here long before we came to live at Rosehaven Cottage, this bush was cut to the ground when we bought the house, and I finally discovered it as the garden started coming back to life over the first couple of months. I soon discovered that its a climbing rose that needed a trellis. I found a nice craftsman-style trellis for it shortly after that discovery, and its been a very happy rose ever since. Like most roses, it likes to be trimmed and pruned vigorously and always thanks me with these amazing pink blooms that are often 6 inches in diameter when full-blown. It has a nice traditional scent and is amazingly disease resistant. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what variety it is? I have yet to figure it out.

And that's my spring favorites... for now anyway. I can guarantee that in the next few days, I'll find something else that qualifies as a "favorite" too.

Monday Montage for Spring (Without Words)

Top left: Wisteria blossoms; Top right: Narcissus
Middle left: Deep Purple Tulip; Middle right: Blue Bearded Iris
Bottom: Blue Bearded Iris

Buds and Blossoms of Blue

Click on any of the above images to see larger

I was thrilled beyond words this week to discover that the plum tree in the back garden is in full bloom! Now, at first blush some readers may think that my excitement stems from the sign of spring that the blossoms represent. Yes, I must admit that this did play a small part in my excitement. However, the main reason why I am so excited is because this tree hasn't had a full bloom in about 3 years. It has gone past the blossoming stage straight into leafing out with only a few blossoms that I witnessed being eaten by a sparrow (thanks!). Last year, only 2 plums developed on the tree. I LOVE plums and this was very disheartening to say the least. I've been praying and hoping that this year would be different. The plethora of blossoms is a good sign that it will be.

Click on any of the above images to see larger

Another reason why I'm so happy is that the garden is full of blue blossoms right now. I LOVE blue flowers! And it seems that right now, everywhere I turn is a little splash of blue perfect for my taste. The rosemary (above left) is a favorite of the honeybees that, despite the heavy rains of last week, come out in force as soon as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. The grape hyacinth (above center) form a small and delicate ring of blue around the base of a potted dogwood. The standard blue hyacinth (above right) have such a heady fragrance right now that every time I step out onto the front porch, I am enveloped in their scent.

It was so hard to leave everything and go on our little getaway to Southern California this weekend because I was certain that it would all be gone after we got back. Silly me. Of course it wasn't; they were all still here to usher in the first day of March when we arrived home.