Sharing my bouquets: mid-summer flowers

‘All gardening is landscape painting,’ said Alexander Pope.
– Rebecca Solnit, American author who writes on the environment, politics, place, and art, from Wanderlust: A History of Walking

The second week in July, the other auction winner family came back from their summer vacation, so I resumed putting together two deliveries each week. But now, since I started back in March with one family and May with the other person, I only had two weeks left for the 10-week weekly bouquet donation.

July 10th bouquet: Architecturally sound bouquet featuring my late-coming gladiolas.

Close-up of zinnias, dahlias, scabiosa, Cerinthe major purpurascens
“Blue Honeywort,” and Love in the Mist seed pods, July 10th bouquet.

Close-up of “Fama Blue” scabiosa, white gerbera daisy, and dahlias, July 10th bouquet.

July 10th bouquet.

Another view of the second July 10th bouquet.

Close-up of second July 10th bouquet.

July 10th bouquet.

July 10th bouquet.

Deep burgundy dahlia next to “Fama Blue” scabiosa, July 10th bouquet.

“Fama Blue” scabiosa next to the salmon gladiola, July 10th bouquet.

A deeper-blue “Fama Blue” scabiosa. I’m so pleased they are really blooming this season after so many paltry seasons, July 10th bouquet.

Deep burgundy dahlia close-up, July 10th bouquet.

The deer have yet to get to my gladiolas, which are coming up in the front yard around our Japanese maple tree, July 10th bouquet.

Fuschia dahlia, July 10th bouquet.

More dahlias, July 10th bouquet.

July 10th bouquet detail with dahlias and rare white scabiosa.

Here are the final bouquets for the two auction winners. And thus ends my donation for Korematsu Middle School’s auction. In previous years, I donated to El Cerrito High School and Harding Elementary School, all in El Cerrito. It’s been a nice run, and I’m happy to have supported my kids’ schools through the years. The next bouquets will be special because I’ll get to make them for friends.

July 15th bouquet: The red-and-white dahlias finally bloom.

Close-up of red-and-white dahlias, July 15th bouquet.

The second July 15th bouquet.

Close-up of dahlia, July 15th bouquet.

Another view of the second July 15th bouquet.

Bonus: A third July 15th bouquet.

Close-up of rare fuschia dahlia in third July 15th bouquet. Nice paired with the “Fama Blue” scabiosa.

Pale peach and yellow dahlias, third July 15th bouquet.

Another view of the third July 15th bouquet.

Close-up of echinacea (coneflower), dahlias and zinnia, third July 15th bouquet.

Prolific yellow dahlia and fuschia dahlia close-up of third July 15th bouquet.

July 18th bouquet. Last delivery to Grizzly Peak in Berkeley!

Close-up of July 18th bouquet: dahlias, rudbeckia, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), chocolate cosmos, helipterum roseum “Pierrot.”

Another view of the July 18th bouquet.

The second July 18th bouquet anchored by a ginger plant.

The other side of the July 18th bouquet.

Compact side view of July 18th bouquet.

July 22nd bouquet: Last Korematsu Middle School auction delivery: Dripping with cerinthe major purpurascens “Blue Honeywort.”

My rare snow puff cosmos in the July 22nd bouquet.

The other side of the first July 22nd bouquet.

White echinacea close-up of the first July 22nd bouquet.

Second July 22nd bouquet topped by a single gladiola.

Deep burgundy dahlias surrounded by yellow, pink, blue, and orange, July 22nd bouquet.

Another view of the second July 22nd bouquet.

And finally, the last view of the last Korematsu Mddle School auction winner’s bouquet for spring/summer 2018.

Sharing my bouquets: Early to mid-summer flowers

We are exploring together. We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun. The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives.
– Parker J. Palmer, writer, teacher, and activist, from Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

The beginning of June was quite busy, with preparations for Jacob’s high school graduation and our impending family vacation. But I dutifully made the bouquets for the Korematsu Middle School auction winners.

This June 6th bouquet features big yellow dahlias that look like fireworks.

Alstroemeria love, June 6th.

Close-up of dahlias. One of my favorites continues to be the deep pink dahlia, June 6th bouquet.

Another view of the June 6th bouquet.

When you turn this June 6th bouquet around, you get multiple nice views.

Yet another view of the June 6th bouquet: alstroemeria, dahlias, zinnia, cosmos, geum, and a ginger plant.

Last repeat view of the June 6th bouquet. I guess I’m not doing a good job of curating these photos of the bouquets!

We went on vacation to France and were gone from June 14th through July 1st. I must admit that I didn’t want to be away from the garden during peak dahlia season! But I got over it once we left. As we were making our way home on July 1st, I thought about coming home to the garden and our deliriously happy dog. My sister had been taking care of the garden and sending friends and relatives home with bouquets, which warmed my heart. The whole point of having a garden, besides enjoying being surrounding by flowers, is to share in the bounty. So I was happy to get reports that her friends and our cousin Daniel were appreciating the flowers.

June 10th bouquet. Introduction of a new flower – Cerinthe major purpurascens “Blue Honeywort” – the curling green and blue flower on the right side of the bouquet.

Close-up of some of my favorite flowers – scabiosa caucasica “Fama Blue,” dianthus “Chomley Farran,” and geum quellyon var. flora plena “Blazing Sunset.”

Close-up of dahlias and cerinthe major purpurascens “Blue Honeywort,” June 10th bouquet.

The cerinthe major purpurascens “Blue Honeywort” adds a nice architectural shape to this June 13th bouquet.

June 13th bouquet.

June 13th bouquet – a little bit of white verbena at the opening of the vase.

June 13th bouquet with yellow dahlia fireworks.

June 13th bouquet.

Dahlia close-up of June 13th bouquet.

When we returned home, I came back to a bountiful dahlia garden!

The dahlia garden is ablaze with big blooms, July 1st. What a nice homecoming.

Right away, I got back into making bouquets for one of the auction winners. The Fourth of July was only days after we came home, so I set out a bunch of cut flowers in vases, which guests at our annual Fourth of July party would go home with – a memento of summer to take with them. I also made a couple of bouquets for my friend Jane.

An exploding bouquet for July 3rd. The salmon-colored gladiolas are finally coming up!

Close-up of an amazing burgundy dahlia in the July 3rd bouquet.

July 3rd bouquet.

The second July 3rd bouquet.

Not a bad side in this July 3rd bouquet.

Dinner-plate dahlia galore for the Fourth of July 2018.

My latest dahlia addition – dinner-late white dahlia from Costco is going strong, shadows and light, strong architectural lines, Fourth of July.

A rare dahlia nowadays in my garden – orange tipped with yellow, Fourth of July 2018.

July 6th bouquet: Look at that ginormous burgundy dahlia! That’s not a dinner-plate dahlia but a serving-plate dahlia!

Burgundy dahlia – thar she blows, July 5th bouquet.

July 5th bouquet is practically all dahlias now, as they explode in the dahlia garden.

The second July 5th bouquet.

Another view of the second July 5th bouquet, featuring dinner plate-size dahlias, as in this beauty of a white dahlia, and topped with alstroemeria.

Red-and-white dahlia for Fourth of July bouquet.

Sharing my bouquets: Late spring to early summer flowers

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.
– Ruth Stout, gardener

I planted a greater variety of flowers this season so I could have a greater choice of flowers and inject some new blood into my bouquets. I started my Korematsu Middle School auction donation bouquets much earlier this year so I could take advantage of those new flowers. Instead of starting in May, I had the good fortune to start in March and use spring flowers. With last year’s crop providing bouquets all the way till Thanksgiving, I now have flowers nine months out of the year. Enjoy these late spring to early summer bouquets!

For the first time, I became interested in succulents. I initially was trying to find a succulent arrangement to give to my old college roommate, Susan, but I couldn’t find any in a number of local nurseries. So I made one myself, and it was quite fun. Here’s my first attempt.

My bouquet for an April 28th dinner party at the home of Susan, my old college roommate.

Close-up of the bouquet for Susan’s dinner party, April 28th. This bouquet comprises watsonias, gerbera daisy, geum, roses, dianthus, scabiosa, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), alstroemeria.

For the hostess, Susan, my old college roommate: a bouquet, a miniature succulent garden, and a beautiful handcrafted wooden cutting block from the Gardener, Berkeley, CA, April 28th.

Close-up of a bouquet for my friend Kelly’s birthday, April 29th: Roses, African daisy, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), alstroemeria, watsonia, and straw flower.

May 11th bouquet of calla lilies and alstroemeria.

Look at this beauty of a dahlia!

May 11th bouquet: Note the beautiful and delicate aquilegia chrysantha “Yellow Queen” in the center of the bouquet, the aquilegia vulgaris “Black Barlow” at the top of the bouquet, and the blue delphinium at the bottom right of the bouquet.

Close-up of the yellow dahlia, Yellow Queen aquilegia chrysantha, and scabiosa, May 11th.

Close-up of the aquilegia vulgaris “Black Barlow,” May 11th.

Another close-up that includes the baby-blue delphinium, May 11th. The “Yellow Queen” aquilegia chrysantha is as graceful as a diving swallow.

May 13th bouquet. Note the little white flower with the black center in the lower front of the bouquet, helipterum roseum “Pierrot.”

Emboldened by my succulent garden success, I made another one, this time for my friend Felicia, May 13th.

And I made a miniature succulent garden for our kitchen, May 13th.

May 17th bouquet of alstroemeria.

Close-up of the pink-and-yellow alstroemeria, May 13th.

For this May 17th bouquet, I added my favorite blue hydrangea and the purple succulent.

Close-up of the yellow dahlia and blue hydrangea, May 17th bouquet.

Another side of the May 17th bouquet.

Close-up of the May 17th bouquet featuring the aquilegia chrysantha, “Yellow Queen.”

May 20th bouquet that includes the sunny and colorful gazania sunbathers “Totonaca.”

May 20th bouquet featuring pink zinnias, one of my favorite annuals.

May 20th bouquet of dahlias, alstroemeria, geum, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), dianthus, and helipterum roseum “Pierrot.”

May 24th bouquet with a centerpiece of ginger, dahlias, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), dianthus, scabiosa, pink hydrangea, and aquilegia chrysantha “Yellow Queen.”

The other side of the May 24th bouquet.

May 24th bouquet of pink alstroemeria.

May 27th bouquet of orange alstroemeria.

May 27th bouquet, with orange zinnias and my favorite dianthus, caryophyllus, “Chomley Farran.” You can see the purple and red striped flower to the right of the orange zinnia.

Two dahlias, May 27th bouquet.

Close-up of dahlias and geum in this May 27th bouquet.

May 30th bouquet exploding with alstroemeria.

May 30th bouquet, featuring a white echinacea or coneflower.

The other side of the May 30th bouquet, with greenery – foxtail asparagus fern at the top and right side.

Close-up of the white echinacea or coneflower, May 30th.

June 6th bouquet, featuring white cosmos.

The other side of the June 6th bouquet, featuring dianthus caryophyllus “Chomley Farran.”

Close-up of the June 6th bouquet. Note the dianthus caryophyllus “Chomley Farran” – the two flowers surrounding the pink and white dahlia, and the green seed pods of the Love in a Mist.

Another view of the June 6th bouquet.

Close-up of the June 6th bouquet. See the Love in the Mist pods, dianthus caryophyllus “Chomley Farran” and white helipterum roseum “Pierrot.”

Close-up of the June 6th bouquet. I love mixing brilliant blue, fuschia, and pink.

Sharing my bouquets: Spring bouquets

My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.
– Claude Monet, founder of French impressionist painting

In my fervor over working on my novel-in-progress, I let go of many things. One of them was blogging. And as my garden came to life in the spring and I began making and delivering my bouquets to give away as my donation to the annual Korematsu Middle School auction, I racked up a lot of bouquets and pictures, but no blogs. So even though spring is a distant memory and we are more than half-way through with summer, forgive me if I revisit my bouquets and share them with you.

White calla lilies, daffodils, and euphorbia characias for a March 11th bouquet for Korematsu.

Miniature bouquet of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Close up of bouquet of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Another view of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Tulips, March 18th.

More white calla lilies, daffodils, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), and euphorbia characias, March 18th.

Tulips, March 25th.

African daisies (venedio arctotis), dianthus, and scabiosa, March 25th.

This academic school year, I agreed to donate two separate auction bouquet winners – 10 weeks of a weekly bouquet. I was pleased to hear that each auction winner donated $500 to the middle school, for a total of $1,000. One winning bid ended up being a gift to a parent’s mother-in-law, which was sweet. The only problem was that her mother-in-law lives off of Grizzly Peak in Berkeley, meaning up, up in the hills. The other auction winner lived, ironically, next door to Berthe, who has won the auction bouquets the last few years. This is also up in the hills, but straight up from me.

White calla lilies, tulips, and daffodils, March 25th.

Another view of calla lilies and tulips, but in the dining room, March 25th.

Close-up of the beautiful lines of the calla lily and tulips, March 25th.

For my second Korematsu auction winner, a backyard mix of straw flower, African daisies (venedio arctotis), scabiosa, and orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), April 1st.

Close-up, April 1st bouquet.

I love scabiosa, and they have been growing in abundance this season, April 1st.

Close-up of burgundy and pink African daisies (venedio arctotis), April 1st.

White calla lilies and red tulips, April 1st.

Watsonias and pittosporum “silver magic,” April 1st.

Watsonias, April 8th.

Though I really enjoy putting the bouquets together – my Zen time – I added up the hours (harvesting, stripping the flowers individually, making the bouquets, and delivery) and the exercise began to become more onerous to me than bring me joy. Don’t get me wrong: When the auction winners let me know that they loved the bouquets and really appreciated them, I was over-the-moon happy – sharing bouquets brings much joy. But as I start shifting my focus to doing the things that I need to do for my writing and for my family and friends, time becomes an issue. Plus, I want to start giving bouquets to my family, friends, and neighbors. So I made the decision this spring to retire from donating bouquets to the middle school auction.

African daisies (venedio arctotis), dianthus, alstroemeria, scabiosa, and orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), April 8th.

Close-up of watsonias, April 8th.

On April 8th, Isabella and I went to a bouquet tutorial at Annie’s Annuals with Riz Reyes, a horticulturist from Seattle. And he is a Pinoy!

I learned some great tips on making bouquets at an Annie’s Annuals tutorial with Riz Reyes from Seattle.

Riz Reyes and me at Annie’s Annuals, Richmond, April 8th. You can reach him at his business, rhrhorticulture, here.

Watsonias, scabiosa, dianthus, straw flowers, African daisies, (venedio arctotis), and some greenery, April 14th. A bouquet for my friend Soizic’s dinner party.

Watsonias, scabiosa, dianthus, straw flowers, African daisies, (venedio arctotis), and some alstroemeria greenery, April 15th.

Just watsonias and pittosporum “silver sheen,” April 15th.

I will still make the bouquets, but when I want to and not on demand. And I’ll continue to share them with you all here. I may have learned a few things from horticulturist Riz Reyes, who gave a tutorial at Annie’s Annuals in the spring, and from the beautiful floral arrangements at Château de Chenonceau in Chenonceaux, France. At any rate, here are my spring to early summer bouquets. Enjoy!

Tulips, calla lilies, scabiosa, and alstroemeria, April 22nd.

Geum, gerbera daisy, straw flower, scabiosa, and dianthus, April 22nd.

Close-up of April 22nd bouquet.

The other side of the April 22nd bouquet.

Watsonias, April 22nd.

Landscaping project 2017: Finally done, and finally documented!

A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space – a place not just set apart but reverberant – and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.
– Michael Pollan, American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is also the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism, from Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education

Our house, 1994.

When David bought our home back in 1994 – before I met him – he was the second owner of the house on Elm Street that was built in the early 1940s. The previous owner had been a gardener, evidenced by his tool sheds in the side and back yards. Mr. Broligio grew dahlias, Mexican poppies, Bird of Paradise, gladiolas, and other flowers. He likely planted the two huge magnolias trees in the backyard, as well as the camellia and Meyer lemon trees. He was the one who fashioned the backyard with pink-grouted flagstone and brick planting beds and walkway borders. Through the years, we worked on making the two-bedroom, one-bath split-level house into our home. We remodeled the bath and kitchen in 1998, after we got married, but not putting too much thought or money into it since we didn’t think this was going to be our forever home.

Welcome to our home, 1994.

Looking at the back of the house from the back of the property, 1994.

A lot of boxwood hedges, brick, and pink-colored grout, 1994.

One of the shed areas that David immediately took down, 1994.

Little did we know that it would indeed be our forever home. We grew to a family of four with two big dogs. I worked from home and our bedroom was my office. After a few years of looking at other homes and David working on house plans, we expanded our home, beginning in 2006. In the spring of 2007, after seven months of renting we moved back into our home, now a four-bedroom, two-bath, four-level home, with my wish list office area and library included. We loved our home. However, we never threw a housewarming party because we were too embarrassed by our yard.

The original owner liked using bottles as borders. In 1994, the backyard was a bit overgrown.

The magnolia trees weren’t as big, but the Bird of Paradise was! And yes, the old-fashioned clothes drying line.

The side yard was much bigger before we pushed the house out on that side in 2007.

I was bitten by the gardening bug, and especially taken by the yellow dinner-plate dahlias that came up reliably every late spring. So through the years, I collected ceramic, glazed pots and grew different flowers. I found new dahlias to love and nurture, and grew them in our side yard. But we still hadn’t done a thing to our front and back yards, and our dahlias were not producing very well because our clay soil in the side yard was never amended and we weren’t separating our dahlia tubers.

By the end of 2016, we decided we were going to finally landscape our front, side, and back yards. After interviewing a handful of local landscape design firms, we settled on Fiddlehead Gardens (2816 8th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, 510.858.8072). We appreciated owner Racheal’s portfolio, but also her expertise and her openness to our opinions and desires. Plus, she had a stable group of workers, who we really liked.

We started off with the side yard in February because the dahlia buds usually sprout in March. So the workers thoroughly amended the soil, put in a drip system, and separated all the dahlia tubers that David and I had dug up ourselves and dried. We were really pleased with the outcome.

We had a new fence put up in 2002. In 2008, David put up an iron gate and fence to separate the flower garden from the backyard and keep the dogs out. David and our friend Ric put down the flagstone walkway in 2008. Here’s the new dahlia garden after Fiddlehead Gardens renovated the side yard. We have tulips and daffodils in the spring.

We planted daffodils, which popped up in the spring.

We moved the bird bath from the front yard to the side yard.

With amended soil, a drip system, and tuber separation, the dahlias are so much happier and healthier. I found these great iron leaf sculptures at Annie’s Annuals in Richmond.

One of my favorite burgundy dahlias, happy by the side yard gate.

Fuschia dahlias in the side yard.

A pale peach dinner-plate-size dahlia in the side yard dahlia garden.

Then came the front yard in March. We had forgotten certain things like the dead plants in the front that I couldn’t nurture to life, and the broken basketball hoop that lay on its side like a fallen steel soldier off to the side of the garage.

The City of El Cerrito planted the two pear trees in the front yard. We ended up having the blighted pear tree removed and replaced with crepe myrtles this past July. But here’s the front yard, complete with our 1995 Corolla, long since gone.

We threw a lot of plants in the front yard to see if they would grow. Some did, others didn’t. It was a flower lab of sorts. Note the ugly brick border and the big bush leaning over the sidewalk.

Broken basketball hoop in the front yard. And sad flower bed.

We kept the salvia and my favorite calla lilies, but we shed this big tree/bush that we had to keep trimmed so that pedestrians wouldn’t complain about having to sidestep the bush when walking on the sidewalk. The dead potato tree went away, and the princess flower got trimmed. When the tree came down, the front yard felt more open and light. They also used our leftover flagstone and built borders and a path between the walk-up path to the house and the driveway. Again, we were very happy with the outcome.

Our maple tree was freed of concrete and is very happy now. Fiddlehead Gardens used flagstone to make a border between our neighbor’s yard and ours.

A side view of the front yard after landscaping. See how open the front yard is without the big bush of a tree.

The flagstone border keeps the soil from spilling over. The watsonias are in full bloom.

The larger plot also has a new border, replacing the broken-brick border. A much cleaner, prettier front yard. Curb appeal!

You can see the yard now, especially the calla lilies, without that big tree/bush in the way.

David and Ric paved the way for the flagstone walkway in 2008. But now it’s surrounded by a beautiful front garden. (Just need to push that piece of flagstone back in place….)

Fiddlehead Gardens put a flagstone walkway on the other side of the walk up, so there’s nice symmetry of the flagstone paths in the front.

In July 2014, I attempted to work within the confines of the step-up and brick pathway when I redid the patio, or courtyard, but it was always crowded, and I looked forward to expanding out that patio/courtyard area.

When I tried to make the backyard more hospitable in the summer of 2014, I was constrained by the steps and border in the patio/courtyard. It’s very crowded here.

I planted a lot of dahlias in the ground, but many didn’t survive the clay soil.

The backyard was the big project that began in May and took two weeks. First, there was the prep work, which was demolition of the flagstone and bricks, leveling of the ground, and digging up the former patio area outside of the utility room. That took a week a few weeks before the actual work began.

I loved this peach tree, but it was planted crooked and we ended up getting rid of it for the new backyard.

The right corner of the backyard where Sammy liked to play soccer.

Moving things around in the patio before the big makeover in the backyard.

After the peach tree was removed. A gopher was taking down the hydrangea that was near the Meyer lemon tree.

We moved a lot of the pots under the magnolia trees. We didn’t realize how many pots I had accumulated through the years!

The barren dust bowl of a backyard! David built two planters, which he covered with chicken wire to protect the vegetable garden from Sammy.

The patio is cleared out!

The ugly pink grout from the 1940s. And Sammy and his basketball-cum-soccer ball.

After demolition, the crew dug deep into the earth in the patio area. Sammy checks it out.

The bare ground with pipes being installed in the backyard.

Now that the backyard is cleared and leveled, it’s time for the flagstone….

We kept the layout the same as before, but Rachael built six tall planter boxes atop decomposed granite, so we could garden without bending down. Four planters house my flower garden, while David claimed two for his vegetable garden. I had accumulated more than 40 pots – I know! – and we were able to place every single one of them throughout the front, side, and back yards, and the two porches. This time, they were equipped with a drip system, except for the ones on the two porches, which are home to succulents. We replaced the flagstone and instead of grout, Rachael used decomposed granite in between the large pieces of stone. The 1940s chairs that I had found at the Alameda flea market chair a few years ago found a new home in a corner of the backyard that used to be Sammy’s soccer-playing area. Now it serves as the resting place after working on the yard.

Three rusted birds welcome you to the garden from the patio gate. One pending project is painting the ugly red fence to a natural-looking brown.

Flowers, bird house and redwood planter box in the patio.

Night-time view of the patio with the fire pit going and the hanging lights on.

The corner sitting area, complete with old ceiling tins hanging on the fence, pots with colorful flowers, garden ornaments, flea market vintage chairs, solar lights, and newer table.

Our planter boxes, first two on the far left of the backyard (David’s vegetable garden). with solar lights strung on three of the planter boxes.

Middle two planter boxes sport zinnias (annuals) on the left of the angel statue and miniature roses from Trader Joe’s on the right. I keep experimenting with the flowers in the planter box in the back.

The last two planter boxes, with the front one home to varieties of dianthus and baby’s breath in the middle. The planters sit on an elevated layer of decomposed granite.

A view from the sitting area. I put a lot of Haitian steel-drum garden ornaments all over the planter boxes.

Another view of all six planter boxes. The height is perfect for gardening. No sore backs and enough room to move around!

Flowers in full bloom on a sunny day.

When I walk into the kitchen, I can see this first flower box through the sliding glass door. Seeing the angel and all that color, flowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, birds, and bees makes me happy!

I was not an annuals person, but I fell in love with the tough, colorful, and long-lasting zininas. They look really nice in bouquets, too. This year’s lone gerbera daisy is actually doing quite well. But I may stick with just one of them since all of them petered out last year. It’s fun to test out new flowers every season.

I had fun finding new places for the many garden ornaments that I had collected throughout the years. Our Roman column fountain, which was a present to ourselves when we got married and which was hidden in the side yard, broken when we ran it and forgot about it back in 2008, found new life in the back yard. And the block of leftover granite from our 2007 home remodel found a new resting place behind the fountain. We set up lights in the patio area and got a fire pit and heating lamp, and voila, we are ready for even the coldest summer evening in the Bay Area.

Our Roman column fountain is very happy now that you can see it and is lit up at night. The fountain and the ginkgo and two magnolia trees have lights trained on them, and they light up in the evenings.

The happy corner lit up at night. You can see this corner from the family room picture window.

One of my favorite night-time photos. You can see the magnolia and ginkgo trees lit up at night, too.

We had a party on the 4th of July, 2017, and that became our landscape warming party. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances have told us our backyard is like having a few new outdoor rooms. Some have said that they feel like they are in Tuscany, Italy. We agree!

We planted the beautiful ginkgo tree, which turns a blazing gold in autumn, to commemorate when Jacob was born in 2000.

The planter boxes at night from the other side of the backyard.

The leftover granite slab behind the lit-up Roman column fountain in the backyard. The plants around it have grown.

So what’s new in 2018? New aqua-color cushions and umbrella for a more Mediterranean look in the patio. I’m always trying out new flowers and pulling out ones that just don’t work out. I’ll be experimenting every year. And after a pruning, the yard gets fuller and more full of life, bringing in butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. We couldn’t be happier. Now our house is more like a home now. And I am one happy gardener.

I changed out the cushion and umbrella to a more Mediterranean color – aqua. Much brighter! The flowers in the pots are abloom, and the bushes in the patio planter box are bushier!

The blue hydrangea in the patio is one of my favorite flowers. It finds its way in many vases.

Birds now fly in a graceful curve, as if guided by a gentle wind, on the wall in the patio. Hi, Sammy!

A swallow, hydrangea, and fragrant tea candle in the backyard patio.

We had the backyard pruned in early spring, but it’s lush every summer.

The planter boxes in the backyard are brimming with old friends and new flowers. See the lone white gerbera daisy peeking out above the orange zinnia.

The narrow side yard on the other side of our house was always filled with junk. We cleared it out and put a row of planters and they are now home to rudbeckia, straw flower, cosmos, and a variety of scabiosa for my bouquets. I’m running out of room for new plants!

When we returned from our 2.5-week vacation to France in June, my dahlia garden was bursting with big blooms! What a welcome sight upon coming home.