Big, beautiful and showy blooms perfect for Cinco de Mayo

Memories of Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax dresses and a nosegay

I am a word nerd. I think many bloggers are (whether they know it or are willing to admit it).

Back many moons ago, in my junior high school at the end of every year the 8th grade students participated in "Eighth Grade Graduation". It was a big deal. The school band played "Pomp and Circumstance" while the entire 8th grade class walked in a procession decked out in the finest dress.

Back then Jessica McClintock's Gunne Sax dresses were all the rage so there was a sea of 8th grade girls wearing long calico dresses with lace-up bodices and fancy cuffs on long puffed sleeves. The graduation ceremony happened on the afternoon of the last day of school day, so all the 8th graders showed up wearing this formal attire at the beginning of the school day. The first half of the day everyone went to their regular classes. Those of us girls in 7th grade got to watch the 8th graders gliding across campus from morning class to morning class in their beautiful dresses while we dreamed of the next year when we could do the same.

The year I was one of those starry-eyed 7th graders, one particularly stylish and gregarious 8th grade girl we all loved and admired wore a beautiful Gunne Sax dress while carrying in her hand what appeared to be a miniature wedding bouquet. I was enthralled by flowers even back then, and I thought it was beyond sophisticated and charming that she got to carry around this darling bouquet of fresh flowers. I was transfixed. I heard her mention again and again that this "nosegay" was from her mother.

"Nosegay"... it sounded to enchanting and alluring.

It was a word I'd never heard before.

My flower-loving-word-nerd heart was hooked.

I never forgot that day... that moment... that space in time... when I was introduced to the concept of a "nosegay".

According to Merriam-Webster:

"Nosegay" is a homegrown word -- that is, it originated in English. Fifteenth-century Middle English speakers joined "nose" (which meant then what it does today) with "gay" (which at the time meant "ornament"). That makes "nosegay" an appropriate term for a bunch of flowers, which is indeed an ornament that appeals to the nose.

Is it just the 7th grader coming out in me, or doesn't that still sound so enchanting and alluring?

A May day "basket" of flowers for everyone

"Disneyland" rose in forefront with "Blue Ribbon" peeking its pale purple self from behind
Then going clockwise up and around the bird fountain:
"Our Lady of Guadalupe" rose
"Ronald Reagan"
"Honey Bouquet"
"My Fifi"

I've been in the middle of transitioning to a new computer all day so my intention of posting photos of lots of blooms to wish everyone a happy first of May kind of fell by the wayside until late in the evening. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

When I was young, my mom told me about the old tradition of filling a basket of flowers for the first day of May and giving them to someone special. I have so many people who are special to me (all of you) I can't fill up real baskets for everyone and deliver them in person. But I can share these images instead and we can pretend, okay?

"Blue Ribbon" with a backdrop of fennel, "Disneyland" and our living room windows

The past week, I've been posting a bloom a day in order to share the explosion of color happening in the garden right now (the front garden being the most colorful). Today, I'm sharing some wider shots to illustrate that I'm not exaggerating when I say it is "exploding with color".

Same roses as mentioned above except for the "Abraham Darby" top left and "Parade" to its right

I love when the garden puts on this show. Although most of the roses continue to bloom throughout the summer and fall, there isn't ever quite the same abundance of blooms as there are at this time of the year.  Every time I look out the living room windows, I smile.

"Janice Kellogg" in forefront
"Our Lady of Guadalupe", "Ronald Reagan", and "Honey Bouquet" in background

Bloom-a-day 6: Hot pink alstroemeria

Like an artist's paint palette exploded, the garden is alive with color everywhere I look.

I've decided to feature a bloom a day until this beautiful show comes to a close.

In a pot on the deck, between the barbecue grill and the hot tub, is a large pot with a the pole of a large sun umbrella stuck deep in the soil. The umbrella provides shelter from the rain and the sun when I'm getting my hydrotherapy.

Growing around the umbrella pole is a healthy crop of hot pink alstroemeria that I thought was going to be an annual when I planted it.

That was 3 years ago.

It even grows and blooms in the winter when I think it's too chilly for anything this tropical looking to grow. I think being up against the side of the hot tub helps.

So this bright sassy little flower has become a permanent resident here... much to my surprise.

Bloom-a-day 1: Dutch Iris

Like an artist's paint palette exploded, the garden is alive with color everywhere I look. 

I've decided to feature a bloom a day until this beautiful show comes to a close.

Brilliant and electric yet peaceful and soothing...

I never cease to be mesmerized by the dutch iris. 

The miracle of a red gerbera

I bought it on a lark, reading the plant tag that said "annual" thinking it was a frivolous purchase but couldn't resist the deep scarlet brilliance no matter how temporary it would be.

That was years ago... so many years ago I've forgotten how long it's been.

In the same terra cotta pot, it comes back every year. After the chill of winter has left, the stems begin to emerge and then the brazen scarlet petals of each bloom unfold in unabashed majesty. Unashamed yet unassuming, the gerbera is an every day flower with the simplicity of a kindergartener's drawing (the quintessential garden bloom) yet with a flare that says, "I am no wallflower".

Years of living with its feet in the same pot, the gerbera ate away much of the original soil. Last fall, I lifted it gently and added more soil hoping not to disturb the magical spell that kept it coming back years past its original "annual" label suggested it should. As the fall days grew cooler, the leaves dried, withered and died. It looked as if I had in fact broken the spell.

But just to prove me wrong (like many things in my garden) when the days grew warmer, the gerbera started showing signs of life. The emerging stems came first before any leaves. By late March, the first ruby petals were unfurling.

The spell was not broken.

Dahlia fireworks

To me, the dahlia petals look like they are exploding from the center of each flower.

A visit to the Conservatory of Flowers... like a trip to Hawaii without the cost of airfare

Sitting like a white palace in Golden Gate Park is a magnificent building--the Conservatory of Flowers. Constructed in 1878, it has been there for a very long time. The building strikes me as a "she" for many reasons. She has survived a major fire in 1883; the horrific San Francisco earthquake of 1906; another fire in 1918; and devastating windstorms of 100 mph shattered the 30,000 glass panes and the glass dome in the winter of 1995-1996.

I'd say that sort of tenacity has to come from a "she" wouldn't you agree?

She reminds me of many of the women in my family that lived in the San Francisco area at the same time the Conservatory of Flowers was built.

The above image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

For years after the catastrophic winter of 1995-1996, the Conservatory sat in a state of restoration. Whenever I would be driving through Golden Gate park I would wistfully look at her and wonder what she looked like inside. Fortunately, after a masterful restoration she is open to the public once again. And like any elect lady, her true beauties are within.

Stepping into the first of five separate climate rooms, I was enveloped with the warm moist tropical air of the Lowland Tropics room housed under the main dome. It was chilly outside so my glasses and camera lens fogged up right away. But once everything got acclimated, it was time to explore.

Stepping into the next annex, I found myself in the cool humidity of the Highland Tropics where more than 700 of the 1000 known species of high-altitude orchids native to Central and South America happily reside.

Then stepping through another set of double doors I was enveloped by warm moist air even denser than in the Lowland Tropics room. The Aquatic Plants room showcases a massive pond in the center with a breathtaking array of aquatic tropical plants growing within it.



Some pale blushing anthuriums were one of many tropical flowers growing around the pond.

Tracking back through the rooms and exiting the Lowland Tropics room on the opposite side, I found myself in my favorite room--the Potted Plants Gallery. Fashioned after what garden historians have termed the "Victorian Pot Culture", the room made me feel as if I had stepped back in time 100 years.

Click here to read more about the Potted Plants Gallery

Hubby and I sat for quite some time in this gallery on the large curved bench at one end. It was peaceful and serene. It felt like a home away from home. During certain times of the year this gallery's air is pungent with citrus blossoms, but on this particular day the air was only laced with the aroma of fresh soil and the smell of green life... and it felt like home.

More facts about The Conservatory of Flowers (from Wikipedia):

• The building remains the oldest in Golden Gate Park and is the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining in the United States
• The central dome rises nearly 60 feet (18 m) high and the arch-shaped symmetrical wings extending from it on either side make up 240 feet (73 m) in overall length
• Physical evidence suggests that the Conservatory of Flowers was constructed originally of redwood milled on the West Coast

Two views of a purple Japanese Water Iris

I think many people wonder why so many of my photographs and paintings feature flowers. I discovered the 20th century artist Georgia O'Keefe when I was an Art History major at Mills College in the early 1990's. Her floral work moved me and intrigued me. I felt myself connecting with the way she was viewing and representing the flowers in her work.

Georgia O'Keefe said:

"Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven't time - and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.

"If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself - I'll paint what I see - what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers."

"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty."

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."

Read more quotes by clicking here

Her words could be my own. The small and subtle details of the many flowers that grace this earth have drawn me in since I was a small child. And finding a way to celebrate what I see in a flower through my art and photography has been one of my strongest creative motivations both before and after my discovery of Georgia O'Keefe.

The two images I've included in this post are a perfect example of what I mean. Below, is a photograph I took last week of one of the Japanese Water Iris that grows and blooms at the pond's edge in the back garden here at Rosehaven Cottage.

This shot is "SOOC" or straight out of the camera. That means that I haven't done any digital editing to it once I imported it into my computer from my camera. I just added a watermark and that's it.

The image at the beginning of this post is the same photo except I cropped it digitally after I imported it into my computer from my camera. It's the same photo of the same flower but looks at what you see now:

Because the flower doesn't automatically register in your mind as, "Oh, that's just a flower", your eye can pay attention to the details that your mind would gloss over otherwise.

• The pearlescent sparkles on the petal of the iris become evident. It's a beautiful detail on most iris petals that is often missed.
• The edges of the petals become more obvious and the forms they create become more striking especially against the darker background that creates the negative space in the composition of the photo.
• Little details like the curl of a petal become strikingly prominent and make your eye follow their fluid flowing lines. Your eye moves through the composition differently because of it.
• The small patch of yellow in the throat of the iris is now the central focus of the photo. Against the purples of the rest of the petal, it becomes an example of a perfect pairing of complementary colors (colors that sit opposite one another on the basic color wheel). Yellow and purples are complementary colors. The combination of red and green is another one. And the pairing of blue and orange is yet another. Complementary color pairings are very pleasing to the eye. And nature is demonstrating this with this flower.
• Nature's artistry is also seen in the beautiful veining of the petals. The lines create symmetry, flow and interest in the photo.

The flower is no longer just a flower... it is a work of art that made you look more carefully. That is why there are so many flowers in my work. Yes, I love flowers, but what I truly love are their artful details.

Autumn in the Rosehaven Cottage gardens: White zinnia

Scattered seeds some time in June or July
Hoped for quintessential summer pom poms
No seeds sprouted
Must have been a treat for the birds
Then one blossom comes in November
I don't remember planting white

Flaming Spring

The majority of the time, I like to tweak my photos to create art photos. But sometimes I am so in love with the subject that I don't want to tweak it at all. That's the case with this shot. This bush grows in a neighbor's front yard up the street. The blossoms are a delightful coral/melon pink that is so bright it looks like flames. I was paying attention this year so I could catch it in full bloom.

And, yes, this is the real color of the flowers.

I think my "photographic purist" side comes out most in the springtime. Spring is ablaze with so many wonderful colors. I just realized that the rest of the year, I'm tweaking my photos to give them the same feeling of springtime!

I Often Go Walking...

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I often go walking in meadows of clover,
and I gather armfuls of blossoms of blue.
I gather the blossoms the whole meadow over;
Dear Mother, all flowers remind me of you.

O Mother, I give you my love with each flower
To give forth sweet fragrance a whole lifetime through;
For if I love blossoms and meadows and walking;
I learn how to love them, dear Mother, from you.

Phyllis Luch, 1969, for song "I Often Go Walking"

Yesterday, my mom got the above art on a Mother's Day card I made for her. Now I can post this for all the other women, living and passed, that I love so dearly.

Flower therapy

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As things have finally settled down after an extra long weekend of family gatherings in honor of my father-in-law, I'm getting a chance to post once again. All of your words have meant so very much. You have no idea the profound sense of peace that your friendship and love has brought to us both. It is times like these that I am extremely grateful for the technology that shrinks the world and makes it possible for me to reap the reward of having so many kindred spirits across the miles reaching out to me so that I may benefit from those important connections.



I had the very choice experience of taking my newly acquired floral design skills and putting them to the test by creating floral arrangements for Dad's funeral and graveside services. We chose to rent a cargo van so that I could buy all the flowers here and then transport them and my supplies with us the 3 1/2 hour drive to where the memorial services were being held. Then we could also transport some flowers back to our area for the graveside service that would be local to us. With the help of large blocks of ice and a number of ice chests (including two 150 quart monsters), we successfully transported all the flowers and kept them fresh.



As soon as we drove up to my in-law's home, I set up shop out in their garage and started arranging flowers. I had specific arrangements I did first, but I figured I'd just keep going until I'd used up all the flowers I'd acquired. I finally used up the last daffodils in two small tied bouquets in round glass bowls on Sunday night. Those two bouquets brought the grand total of arrangements to 10 arrangements in two days! I told Hubby that if I ever had any doubt whether I like this kind of work, this would be the test. And I'm happy to report that after all that, I love doing floral design work more than I did before I started.



The whole process was an extremely therapeutic one. I sat out in the garage at my work table. Family members would come in and out as they joined me for quiet chats around the flowers. The wonderful conversations that happened around that work table were so precious. Each arrangement just happened in the midst of all of this love and warmth. Although the first two arrangements were something I had somewhat pre-planned, the rest were born as I sat at the table. It was a profoundly sweet and poignant experience that I will always cherish. And I felt like it was the best way I could honor such a special artistic man--quietly creating while surrounded by family and flowers.

Rhapsody in Blue

Lilacs on our warm climate "Lavender Lady" lilac bushes

It seems that everything is blooming in blues and purples right now in the Rosehaven Cottage gardens. It is a wonderfully serene yet vibrant show that's going on. Blue and purple flowers always amaze and entrance me.

Dutch Iris

I've been reading the book "Flower Confidential" by Amy Stewart. One of the fascinating things in the book is the discussion of how the color of a flower is determined by its internal chemical makeup at a cellular level. There's a lot of science behind it (I won't bore you with the details), but it is a fact that some flowers cannot be blue unless genetically altered. Because of this, no one has yet been able to breed a true "blue" rose.

Dover Beach Bearded Iris

The last I heard, no one has been able to breed a truly "scarlet red" bearded iris for the same scientific reasons why no one can breed a "blue" rose. Frankly, I'm happy with the fact that in order to have blue AND red flowers in my garden I have to have both iris and roses.

"Blue Ribbon" Rose

And even though it isn't really "blue", I think that the "Blue Ribbon" rose is absolutely beautiful. With its dusky scent it smells like the old rose perfumes from decades ago. When I smell it, I am transported back to standing at my Grammy's dressing table when I was 6 years old sniffing all the lovely potions and lotions.

If I really stop to think about it, each one of the flowers pictured here reminds me of my Grammy and her garden. Even the subtle scent of the bearded iris has that connection for me. Isn't it interesting how scents and smells from positive early childhood experiences continue to attract us, particularly women?

What color and scent are the blooms that remind you of happy and content times in your life?

Long and Low

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Today was week 5 in my floral design class at the adult education center in our town. And our arrangement was really exciting to construct. It's called a "long and low" arrangement. It is intended to be used as a centerpiece for a table or an arrangement for a buffet or sideboard. The candle adds a touch of elegance to it.

This week I bought my flowers myself and brought them to class. I had the option to have our instructor pick up flowers at the San Francisco Flower Mart, but I wanted the fun of picking out my own. Costco has a good assortment of fresh flowers, so I did my shopping there yesterday.

At Costco, I was able to find all the flowers I needed (and then some) but I couldn't find any filler. When I got home, I thought about what I might have growing in the garden that might be suitable. I decided to cut some branches of camellia greenery and also some fronds off a wonderful conically shaped fern I have beneath the camellia bushes. I was a bit nervous about bringing them to class, because I wasn't sure if our instructor would consider them appropriate. When I got to class, my instructor immediately recognized the camellia and then shared with us that it is a great filler to use for arrangements. I told her I was really happy I'd been brave enough to bring it. That taught me that I need to trust my gut instincts a bit more when it comes to this new venture of floral design.

The Workshop Windowbox

Back when I posted the first photos of our new workshop, I had some requests to make sure and post photos once I got flowers into the windowbox. It's taken me a while to decide on what I wanted in the windowbox. Since the overnight temps have started to warm up, it made my selection wider, but I was still stumped.

Then when Hubby and I were at Home Depot looking for primer and paint for the deck that's going in, I told him, "Let's just take a quick peek into the garden center to see if they have any trellises I like." Well, of course I didn't make it out of there with only trellises. I'm good when Hubby isn't with me, but when we're together I manage getting stuff I hadn't planned on getting. Kinda backwards from most marriages, but that's the way it is.


I ended up with some gorgeous bright red Gerbera daisies and then some little white petunias that will grow in and fill out over time. Once I got them in, I was so glad I chose the red because it looks great contrasting against the butter yellow of the workshop. And they are a wonderfully happy flower that makes me smile when I see them.

Carnation Parfait

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Today, I attended my first floral design class. We have a wonderful adult education center here in town that offers an array of classes ranging from GED completion to computer skills to creative skills. This beginning floral design class is the first of many that I will be attending in order to achieve my certificate in floral design.

To receive certification I will need to attend 60 classes (180 hours of instruction). I will leave each 3 hour class with a fresh flower arrangement in-hand. Part of the requirement for the certification is to photograph each floral arrangement we create and put the photographs in a binder that will be used for certification. And when that same binder is also a portfolio of our work to be used for getting florist jobs. That means there will be 60 pages of 60 arrangements in my portfolio. Pretty beefy portfolio to walk away with, isn't it?

At 3 hours of instruction a week, it will take a while to complete the certification process, but I am thrilled at the prospect of being able to acquire a valuable marketable skill while still doing all the other things that I do in my life. If for some reason I ever need to go back to working for someone else, the thought of going back to an office makes me queasy. Since I've been attracted to floral design since I was a young girl, this seems like a much better option to me. I told Hubby that this will be a good "fall back" skill in case I ever need it.

Another reason why I'm taking this class is to make it possible for me to broaden my photographic horizons and have more subject matter with which to create my photographic art. I can already tell after one class (and one adorable floral arrangement which I'm calling "Carnation Parfait") that I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.

And another bonus... every time I walk by the mantle, I get a whiff of the spicy aroma of carnations. Not a bad fringe benefit, I'd say.

Flowers for a rainy day

Pink hyacinth just beginning to bloom and looking a bit scrawny

Today is drizzly and rainy outside. The ground is so soggy that if I went out I would end up with clay caked inches thick on the bottoms of my shoes. I'm fine with the rain though. We really need it. I'll just hole myself up here in my studio and do creative things while we get the much needed moisture.

Tight "Cherry Parfait" rosebuds insisting on blooming even though it's February

A few days ago, we got a short break between stormfronts blowing in off of the Pacific. I took the opportunity to take some photos of the flowers out in the garden.

A little volunteer growing in the potted palm by the pond

I find that it's always good to have "sunny" flower photos to look at on days like today. Somehow it makes the skies outside a little less grey. As my sweet Hubby wisely said this morning in an email to me, "...carry your own sunshine".

New Online Flickr Portfolio

I wanted to let everyone know that I've just started a new online photography portfolio at Flickr. In addition to the free stuff that I already had there, I've now uploaded my favorite copyrighted images so that anyone can look through them without having to go through my online image licensing or Etsy interface.

Just a note, if you see an image that you'd like to use on your blog please ask me. In most cases, I will happily let you use the image for free.

Here's a fun mosaic of the images found in Flowers & Plants:

1. Red Camelia, 2. Ronald Reagan Rose, 3. Ronald Reagan rosebud, 4. Carnation Dream, 5. Bougainvillea,
6. Bougainvillea on White Picket Fence, 7. Yellow Pollen on Purple Cosmos, 8. Underside of the Cosmos,
9. Pink Flower Bouquet, 10. Pink Oriental Poppy, 11. Peach Tulips, 12. Tahitian Sunset Rose, 13. Tithonia in downtown San Francisco

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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