April Flowers

I haven't posted about anything other than food in a long time, so I thought I would share some photos I have taken of the flowers in my garden recently.

Coral Bells

Freesias

Red salvia

Gingersnap Rose

Hens and Chicks

Meyer Lemon

Geranium

Instant Pick-Me-Up

Some people think African Violets are old-fashioned flowers, but not me. I adore them and look forward to their appearance in the grocery stores and box nurseries.

And for only $2.99, how can you resist picking up one or more of these to brighten up a corner in your home? I sure couldn't.

January Blooms Day

This has been a cold January for us here in Northern California with temperatures dipping below freezing for many successive nights. But even with the freezing temperatures some of my plants are thriving, especially the ones that usually bloom this time of year anyway and the ones that are under the overhang of the house and are protected from frost.

I should be thinking of pruning back the roses, but I have a hard time when a few of them are still in bloom albeit showing a little worse for wear.

My azalea, 'Happy Days,' is blooming lovely right now.

I love primroses this time of year because their faces are so bright and colorful against the winter landscape.

This little cyclamen in a pot on the back patio is slowing coming back.

To see what's blooming in other gardens on this Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day, visit May Dreams Gardens for the links.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

One day while reading some of the many gardening blogs I have bookmarked, I discovered Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens, and I am sorry, but I can't even remember what blog led me to her blog - it was just one of those internet connections.  

Anyway, Carol posts what is blooming in her garden the 15th of each month and invites her readers to join her. The idea is that someone, somewhere would have something in bloom in their garden the 15th of each month, even during the winter. Loving gardens and gardening as much as I do, I thought this a wonderful idea. I usually do share what is blooming in my garden (even though I haven't done that in awhile), so I am so excited to participate in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Even though the weather has been mild and the roses should still be in bloom, they aren't at the moment. At least the Gallardia and the Red Salvia are still showing their finery.

Red Salvia - the hummingbirds are happy this is still in bloom

September Sunflowers

My husband brought home that enamelware pot from a garage sale and as soon as I saw it I knew it would be a perfect vessel for a sunflower arrangement. The painting behind it was one of the first paintings my mom did in oils and was my inspiration.

Camellia Day

For this year's Camellia Day, I decided to take a walk down to the Camellia Grove at Capitol Park mid-afternoon yesterday. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a perfect day to get out and about downtown.

The Pioneer Camellia Grove was established on the Capitol grounds as a living memorial to the early founders of California. The Grove was dedicated in June 1953.

Camellias came to Sacramento from a local seed store owner in 1852.

There are over 800 varieties of camellias throughout Capitol Park. 

There are 186 camellias in the Grove and many of them are heirloom varieties that are no longer sold commercially. 

With the park awash in camellia blooms it was easy to see why Sacramento was bestowed the "Camellia Capital of the World" in the 1920s.

I hope you enjoyed the stroll through the Grove as much as I did.

Everlasting Flowers

It's not too early to think about Valentine's Day. Why not give your Valentine some flowers that will last? These are beautiful flowers made out of Deco Clay by dkdesigns.

The artist, Diane Phillips, appeared on The Martha Show last year. She has a shop in San Jose, California and also on etsy.

January Blooms

It's hard to believe that the camellias are already in bloom.

Lady Carmichael

When I read the article in The Sacramento Bee last Saturday a week ago about a local geranium enthusiast, Mr. Geranium, who created a geranium he named, Lady Carmichael, I knew that I had to go to the Geranium Show at the Carmichael Community Center to get her for my garden. He had presented it to Carmichael's Board of Supervisors and they are going to use her in Carmichael's centennial celebration this year.

When we arrived about an hour and a half after the show started at the community center I was so happy to see that there were still some Lady Carmichael geraniums left and so we carefully picked one out.

She is a white geranium with a blush of pink and lavender. This is what she will look like when she blooms:

Photo by Amanda Cruz/The Sacramento Bee

One of the society members told me that they had over 1,200 geraniums and they sold them all in less than an hour! So, I only came home with Lady Carmichael, but that is the one I specifically went to get so I was ecstatic. One of the members told John that there was a long line waiting for them to open and I believe it when I saw that they had only a few plants left for sale.

I am glad to see that so many people in our area love geraniums. I know that they have been a flower that has been out of favor with the garden experts because they are considered 'common', but I have always loved the Geraniums/Pelargoniums because they are such a beautiful, hardy flower and it is a comforting flower that makes me reminisce about home and childhood.

I took some pictures of some of the arrangements that members of the Geranium Society created.

Some of the members also brought some of their prized geraniums and pelargoniums that they have been growing for years.

The flowers on this one are so sweet.

This is a Pelargonium Cotylbdonis. The stems on it resemble bark. You can just see tiny leaflets emerging. The proud owner of this pelargonium was so excited because she said that it didn't have any leaflets on it earlier that morning and that it must really like the lighting in the room. I'd like to get one of these.

Weekend Flowers

Instant Pick Me Up

My daffodils are late this year. It might have something to do with John passing the lawn mower over them about a month ago. They are still growing, but they look a little ragged on the tips.

So when I went to the grocery store this weekend and saw that they had two bunches of daffodils for $3.00, I just couldn't pass them up.

Spring just isn't Spring without daffodils and at just $3.00 I can afford to buy them until my own start to bloom.

Camellia Day

Did you know that Sacramento is the "Camellia Capital of the World?" No? Well, it is. And, today is Camellia Day.  

I began my little 'love affair' with camellias when I was a young girl growing up in South Carolina. Our home had once been on a camellia nursery and we had well over 200 hundred different camellia bushes on our property. I always thought they were the most beautiful bushes in the world when they were in bloom. So, it seems rather ironic that I should end up living over 3,000 miles away on the other side of the United States in a city that is the Camellia Capital of the World.

Each February in Sacramento, the camellias burst forth in all their gorgeousness to bring a bit of joy and beauty to the winter landscape.

I enjoy just walking around the city and taking in all the varieties and colors of this beautiful flower.

 

If you are in the downtown Sacramento area today, stop in at The California State Capitol Museum where the Volunteer Association hands out camellias to visitors.