Ode to the sweet pea

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Patty

Here are sweet peas, on tiptoe for a flight; With wings of gentle flush o’er delicate white, And taper fingers catching at all things, To bind them all about with tiny rings.
– John Keats, English Romantic poet

Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.
– Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator

I’ll leave the actual odes to the sweet pea, or lathyrus, to John Keats and Boris Pasternak, the real poets. I’m just going to gush about the new favorite flower for this season and share pictures of my bounty. Last year was the first season I’d planted seeds and they actually sprouted and gave me these beautiful bi-colored, deep blue-and-magenta flowers for many months. I carefully saved the dried seed pods and gave the seeds away and kept a handful.

I went crazy and bought half a dozen or seven different varieties at Annie’s Annuals. Last fall, I had David and Jacob cut down the two shrubs that were originally planted when we remodeled the backyard in the late spring of 2017, which David was not happy about doing. Apparently, our landscape architect was sad about it, too, because we had broken up the flow of the shrubbery from all around the perimeter of the backyard. But I felt that the shrubs were overtaking the small patio area and I wanted to look out in the kitchen/family room windows during spring and summer and see greenery and color!

So I planted the fledgling plants and here’s where my visual ode to the laythrus begins. Enjoy!

Once the shrubs were taken down, David and Jacob painted the ugly red fence that we’d painted more than 20 years ago. I resurrected the book-reading fairy with broken wing that we had gotten maybe as many as 25 years ago and that had been forgotten in the side yard. (Side note: We had buried our first family dog Bailey’s dog toys after she had passed away in the side yard and planted the winged fairy to watch over her toys.) We put up trellises (little did we know that this wouldn’t be enough for the bounteous sweet peas). I planted a few tulips and may plant more to give some color for very early spring. I also planted three different columbines, or aquilegia, in the front to provide some color at the bottom of the planter box. I also later planted a low-ground violet viola and the lacy orlaya grandiflora, or Minoan lace, annual, to provide some pretty white contrast to smaller bouquets. More on them later. This is March 23rd.

The sweet peas have started climbing the trellis and the columbine are starting to take flight. This is April 21st.

Early May: We had secured the trellis to the fence and put up smaller trellises in the front. We would soon need to tie strong string across various planks to keep the vines upright. As you can see, I planted them too close together (lesson learned for next season).

Mid-May: This is what I see from the kitchen table. This is exactly the scene I had envisioned last fall for this spring.

Early June. Despite all the support systems, ad hoc as they were, the vines were so heavy and laden with blooms that they pitched forward. What ended up happening is that we have a little bit of a natural overhang. I can’t get to the blooms close to the fence on the other side of this overhang – something we’ll have to figure out for next year.

Mid-June in full bloom: And here you can see the orlaya grandiflora below my favorite sweet pea variety, Frances Kate.

This is the view when you walk out of the downstairs utility room – way better than looking at two overgrown bushes!

Another favorite besides the Frances Kate is the North Shore sweet pea.

I strategically planted the orlaya grandiflora beneath the Frances Kate and North Shore sweet peas. Imagine them in a small bouquet together!

The early bloom of the orlaya grandiflora, or Minoan lace.

And when they go crazy blooming. Now you know why they’re called Minoan lace, originating from the island of Crete.

The ever-favorite butterfly-kite-like columbine is a perfect companion in the sweet pea planter box. And white is a nice compliment against the green, pink, white, and magenta colors all around this columbine.

So one thing I didn’t think of was the attraction to bees! Lots of them. A nice surprise is seeing birds coming in and out, and the hummingbirds hovering and resting on the dewy vines and seeking shade beneath the overhang.

This is one of the first bouquets in the spring – later April. The stems were wonderfully long, which meant I could use slender vases. This is a mix of Bix, Solstice Crimson, Nuance, and Bix.

More long-stemmed bouquets. As the season wore on, the stems have become shorter and shorter, which is something to note when procuring vases for sweet peas for the season – getting enough vases with the right height and circumference for the beginning and middle-end of the season!

A typical harvest every third day – seriously. I could spend an hour cutting and then putting them in short vases or cups.

An early mix of sweet peas when they were just starting to bloom.

This set, which I found at T.J. Maxx, is originally for utensils for an outdoor party, but they are much prettier as vases. From left to right: a mix of Blue Vein, Solstice Crimson, and Annie B. Gilroy in the first vase; a mix of North Shore and Cupani in the second vase; and a mix of Nuance and Bix in the third vase.

Another mix in a vase that had several “pockets” for bunches of flowers.

I have become a collector of tiny bottles and vases. Even a small vintage pitcher that I found in a vintage store is perfect for sweet peas – Bix on the left and Frances Kate on the right.

One harvest produced a row of sweet-smelling blooms. Oh, and that’s my artist friend Tana’s painting hanging in our library!

And now for individual attention to each variety. The Solstice Crimson didn’t last long and produced few blooms. It came up early and died early. I think that was due to planting too many of them so close together. Next year, I’ll find a singular spot for this beauty.

The Blue Vein was also one that struggled. Few blooms, tiny blooms. But oh so pretty up close. Again, I’ll have to find another spot so this one can shine next year.

Look at the Blue Vein up close and you’ll see why it’s aptly named! They look like butterflies on a stem! Lovely, lovely!

This gorgeous variety is called North Shore. Delicately marked and bi-colored, this sweet pea is going to have its own place in the garden so it doesn’t get lost among the similarly colored sweet peas.

Here is a small bouquet of North Shore sweet peas and the seed pods of love-in-a-mist.

I think this is a North Shore slowly deepening its colors.

Nuance (pink) mixed with Bix (cream tinged with pink)

Close-of mostly Nuance with some Bix at the top.

Like cotton candy up close! A mix of Nuance and Bix.

I tend to stuff the sweet pea bouquets because there are so many blooms. However, a few, some tender and not opened yet, give a Victorian feel, especially when put into a bottle that looks Victorian.

Another version of the Cupani. I’m not quite sure whether these blooms are from the seeds of last year’s sweet pea. A couple of the varieties look similar!

I saved the best for last: Frances Kate. This variety has remained long-stemmed even at this stage of the season. I love how the stems twist and turn, so all you have to do is put them in a small vase and they create their own architectural shapes, almost like a Japanese arrangement.

Ruffly blooms, they’re like tiny full skirts.

Here is the vintage pitcher that is well suited for long-stemmed Frances Kate sweet pea.

I love the long, curved stems of the Frances Kate, the ruffly petals, and the intense purple markings and edging.

When I write, I love having the bouquets around me, so I can enjoy their fragrance and their intense colors.

And our broken-winged, reading fairy is also happy to be among the sweet peas in his new spot in the backyard patio garden. I’ve learned some lessons for next year – don’t plant so closely, spray for powdery mildew earlier, set up the trellis and string/wire much earlier, and find other places in the garden so that I can accommodate the current varieties I planted and the others that I didn’t get at Annie’s Annuals but will next year. Hope you enjoyed the sweet pea mini-garden. Stay tuned for an expanded version next year!

Garden as haven

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Patty

May I a small house and large garden have;
And a few friends,
And many books, both true.
― Abraham Cowley, 17^th century English poet

At some point this summer, I hope to actually enjoy my garden. I mean resting and not pruning, pinching back buds, weeding, and so on, but actually sitting in one of the chairs in the garden and reading a book, thinking about a tangle in a chapter in my novel-in-progress, eating a snack or a meal, or just hanging out with family members, as if I didn’t have a million things to do, as if I had all the time in the world, as if I could have a really long sentence and not care where the period ends it.

In the meantime, I wanted to put together what the garden looks like this season. I’ll start with when our magnolia trees were in full bloom back in late February, when COVID-19 was spreading across our country and we had no idea we would find ourselves in shelter in place.

Our backyard isn’t that big (perhaps it is in the Bay Area), but a picture of one and a half of our magnolia trees makes the yard seem like a park. This is our magnolia tress in full bloom.

Our magnolia tress from the view of our intrepid, watchful angel.

Our tulips starting coming up in March, on the heels of the daffodils. And I see those pesky bluebells, which we thought we’d pulled all bulbs many years ago. They are persistent, I will give them that.

We always welcome the California poppies that brighten up our side yard and front yard.

I don’t know what the name of this beautiful shrub is in the backyard, but in the spring it explodes in beautiful purple flowers. We also have this shrub in the front yard. I failed to remember the name of flower bulbs I bought at Costco and planted in the fall. It was a colorful mix. But I also planted ranunculus bulbs.

Here are some of the mystery flowers that made that flower box really vibrant with color.

Here’s one of my favorite pictures of the garden. This is what I see when I step out from the family room’s sliding glass door to the landing. Good morning!

Our angel bathed in light and hammered steel drum garden art.

I had to replace the gnarly dianthus on the right of this flower box, but our Chomley Farran and red dianthus went gangbusters this season. They are starting to fade and peter out, but it was a really good season for them this year. I love how the morning light makes a grand statement in this picture.

Another shot of our angel and a sunspot.

Another morning before I pruned the miniature roses and uncovered our angel.

In April, the yellow columbine or aquilegia were ready to take off in flight.

Close-up of the delicate yellow columbine.

Looking at the corner of the garden with flower boxes.

One day, I will read a book in this corner.

I decided to redo my pathetic mini succulent gardens and put them outdoors.

Hidden under the magnolia tree in the corner garden are wind chimes, a white bird house, and one of my favorite garden art – the copper leaves.

A recent addition to the pots in the corner garden – viola ‘Karma Blue Butterfly” in front paired with calceolaria mexicana in the background.

If you keep going from the corner to the fence running to the side yard of dahlias, you will come across a pair of smiling garden sprites under the magnolia trees and above a stone bench and stone bird bath on a pedestal. I love these little stone guys. They bring a little interest and joy beneath the magnolia trees.

More garden art and a little succulent bouquet beneath the magnolia tree.

In the dahlia garden hangs a heavy stone sculpture. I’m not sure where I got it, but I love the Renaissance feel of it. The three headless nudes watch over the dahlias.

I didn’t take care of the dahlias early in the season when I should have, so this season I’ve been battling snails, cucumber beetles, and earwigs. I’m trying to catch up, but this season the dahlias aren’t lasting as long in bloom as they have in the past. We also had to deal with a gopher, which David took care of in quick order. We had dug up all the dahlias from the ground the winter of 2017, but nearly four years later, we will have to dig them up again and separate them and then put them back in the ground. This is no small feat, but we need to take care of our beauties.

A magenta dahlia. Hopefully I will be better about taking care of my favorite flower early in the season so they are hardier and longer lasting.

At the corner of the side yard of dahlias, three clay and metal versions of the sun watch over the delphiniums, ginger, and dahlias in pots.

From our front porch, you can look down into the dahlia side yard garden. A hint of what’s to come.

David captured a hummingbird in our alquilegia in the patio.

My favorite blue hydrangea greets me when I step out of our utility room into the patio area of the garden.

If you come around the other side of the backyard garden, you’ll see the patio.

What’s new this year? I had David and Jacob tear out the bushes in the planter in the patio that our landscape architect planted to hide the view of our neighbor house. But I wanted to see color and not bushes when I look out the kitchen and family room windows. I wanted the sweet smell of sweet peas when I sit in the patio.

So back in February, after the fall when David and Jacob painted the ugly red fence a more neutral stone color, I planted about seven varieties of sweet peas (too many for a small stretch!). One were from the seeds of my one vibrant bi-color blue and purple sweet peas from last year.

Originally I was going to put garden art across the top of the fence, but the sweet peas just kept growing higher and higher. David had to tie the vines to the fence and posts. They were so heavy and thick.

I can cut sweet peas for hours one day and then cut the same amount 3-4 days later. They are so abundant and prolific. I love it. I just wish I had more room.

Our fairy with a broken wing that we bought before we even got married, now resides with the sweet peas and the aquilegia.

Our little bird on a glass globe also watches over the sweet peas.

Our landscape architect didn’t prune the alstroemeria this season, so we had them in abundance this year in our backyard. And not only a lot of them, but Amazonian-size orange and pink alstroemeria. They made wonderful jumbo bouquets this season.

Miniature dahlias in a pot at the edge of our patio.

Violet scabiosa in a stone container by the edge of the patio.

I have red, white, pink and orange gerberas that come up reliably every year since I planted them four years ago.

One of my favorite flowers is the scabiosa – in all different colors and varieties. I have planted them in the front, side, and backyards, and I never get very many blooms. This year I am planting a variety of them in one of the planter boxes. We’ll see if I’m able to get a good crop.

Our garden attracts birds, bees, and butterflies. Isabella took a picture of this little guy enjoying the view from our fence. Thanks for taking a tour of this year’s garden. See you next year!

The joy of Spring bouquets

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Patty

In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.
― Okakura Kakuzo, Japanese scholar, from The Book of Tea

It’s already June and I’m late with my spring bouquets blog. That said, time has been flying for some years now and this, to say the least, has been an unusual year. We are certainly living in interesting times – unprecedented times for our generation. Sheltered in place since March 16th, we are coming upon the end of our third month. One thing that the novel coronavirus has not canceled is the arrival of spring, the arrival of spring flowers in our yard.

Now that I no longer deliver weekly bouquets for the middle school auction, I have the freedom to make the bouquets whenever and each week to ask a local friend if she would like some flowers to enjoy. So without further ado, here are this spring’s bounty to share. One new addition to the garden has been different varieties of sweet peas, and while I’ll post them here, I will blog separately about my new favorite flower. So here we go!

I didn’t cut very many tulips this year. I was so busy with writing and work that I didn’t have time, but I also, for some reason, was reluctant to cut them because they were so beautiful and plentiful in the side yard this spring. So this is a rare bouquet that I made in late March. I dedicated this bouquet and the next to my cousin Annie Esperanza, who passed away untimely after a failed heart transplant. I gave the bouquet to Birthe, who always won the middle school auction year and after, because I knew she would appreciate them. I really enjoyed pairing the yellow butterfly-like columbines with the lipstick-red tulips.

Here is another view of the same bouquet. In addition to the two different types of tulip, I also added the flighty yellow columbines and the sturdy gerberas.

Here are my favorite calla lilies paired with deep magenta tulips and a new flower in our garden, pink ranunculus. I saw pictures of ballet-pink ranunculus, and I loved the tight layers of petals, almost like an old-fashioned tulle skirt.

Here’s a close-up up the pink ranunculus and the pollen-covered calla lily.

I spy two other tulips with their feather-like petals and a magenta ranunculus beside another pink ranunculus with even tighter petals (these look like streamers before you unspool them.

Birthe was the recipient of this trio of spring bouquets.

Calla lilies, white and blue scabiosas, red dianthus, and new flowers from a spring mix I got at Costco.

More on this beauty in a later blog, but here are four different varieties of the ever-fragrant sweet peas that I planted in the planter box in the patio.

I also thought gerberas were annuals, but one year I left them in the planter box in the backyard after the season, and to my surprise, they came up the following spring. They last through summer and are hardy and are coming up with taller stems. So red and pink gerberas, lavender and blue scabiosas, and red dianthus, with a little fern.

So our once-a-year gardener/landscaper usually thins out our alstroemeria very late winter. This year they didn’t, and I’m glad they didn’t. We had a ton of them, and a ton of Amazonian-size blooms. I could have made three or even four bouquets out of the flowers that I stuffed into this vase, but I guess I was seeing how many stems I could fit into the vase. The great thing about alstroemeria is that they are long lasting in a vase. A post-birthday and belated Mother’s Day arrangement for Kelly.

Here is another alstroemeria bouquet. With each one I started getting better about shaping them (not this one, though) and making sure the blooms were all over. For my friend Raissa.

Using a vase that one of the kids made in a summer camp years ago, I created this little beauty – my favorite Chomley Farran bi-colored dianthus and also red dianthus, white gerbera, small magenta dahlias, and blue and lavender scabiosas.

A close-up of the Chomley-Farran dianthus, pink dahlia, and blue scabiosas.

Lone calla lily, scabiosas, a few white columbines, and different varieties of dahlias.

This next batch of flowers were for my friend Susie. Here is a top view of six different varieties of sweet peas. Too bad you can scratch and sniff. The sweetness is intoxicating, wafting through the room when you walk by.

This vase had five different “pockets” to put flowers in, which suited the different varieties of sweet peas like a hand in a glove.

I love this little bouquet: red and bi-colored Chomley-Farran dianthus, red and pink gerbera, tiny magenta dahlias, and miniature white roses.

This mostly dahlias bouquet with lone calla lily features miniature white roses and a few blue scabiosas. In honor of our friend Dan’s graduation and birthday!

My favorite sweet peas. The way this beauty grows out, most of its stems are curved, which makes it quite easy to make interesting miniature bouquets with it.

These next and last bouquets were delivered to my friend Karen. I’m finally sort of getting it right in terms of shaping the alstroemeria.

The usual sweet small bouquet that I’ve added love-in-a-mist flowers, which are now turning into beautiful seed pods and thus make a great addition to bouquets.

My favorite deep-blue hydrangea from our patio is the centerpiece for this small bouquet of white dianthus, miniature magenta dahlias, lavender and two blue scabiosas, and the seed pods of love-in-a-mist flowers.

Highlighting the delicate and beautiful annual orlaya grandiflora, “Minoan Lace.”

And the sweet pea that reminds me of Japanese art.

Fall 2019 bouquets

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Patty

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and fall a mosaic of them all.
– Stanley Horowitz, American poet

Another late blog post, but better late than never. Some of the flowers that bloomed in the fall were holdouts from summer – the hardy alstroemeria, a few brave dahlias, and even a few of the peachy gladiolas. The rudbeckias were a little anemic this year, as were the yarrow. But nonetheless, they persisted. I have been trying very hard to curate carefully, but then I can’t bear to leave many photos out, even if they are the same flowers over and over again. I guess you could say I’m just being positive and optimistic and as light as summer and say this is really just a happy, contagious propensity toward color and beauty and nature. And how can we edit that?

Today, David and I went to Annie’s Annuals because it’s time to plant sweet peas and aguilegia, or columbine, two of my new favorite flowers that bloomed in the garden this year. I’m looking forward to seeing the patio explode in color and to be able to see it from our family room window. Something to look forward to, yes, but for now, a remembrance of autumn, and how quickly it passed.

The gerbera daisies were not only hardy this year but also perennials! The baby’s breath was very late this year, but in time for the fall bouquets. I’ll admit that the zinnias disappointed this year.

The blue Cupid's Dart was a prolific summer flower. — The blue Cupid’s Dart was a prolific summer flower.

The chocolate cosmos were also happy campers this season.

Feathery ferns managed to grow in the dark corners of the garden.

The stately gladiola anchors this flower-sparse bouquet.

The Shasta Daisy was a bust this year, but we still had a few dahlias into fall.

Some red yarrow. Nothing special about this bouquet, but I liked the way the light created some hot spots on the flowers.

A close-up of chocolate cosmos, yellow and cherry brandy rudbeckia, zinnia, blue Cupid’s Dart, baby’s breath, and blue scabiosa.

Late autumn afternoon light warms the last fall bouquet.

A view from the top. Last look at fall. Until spring, my green thumb.

Summer 2019 bouquets

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Patty

We should enjoy this summer, flower by flower, as if it were to be the last one we’ll see.
– André Gide, French author and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

On this winter solstice, yes, I’m posting about summer bouquets. They’re a buried memory, dampened by required winter rains. But I couldn’t let the year end without posting my bouquets of the summer season. It was my last year of donating weekly bouquets for Korematsu Middle School. Now I’ll be delivering bouquets to unsuspecting friends throughout spring, summer, and fall. For now, remembering this past season’s bounty. Enjoy!

The dramatic, dinner plate-size white dahlia.

The reliable, early spring through fall alstroemeria.

The pink and magenta version of alstroemeria.

A new-form favorite – flowers that are taking flight like the love-in-a-mist, yellow butterfly-like columbine (aquilegia), and red geums, anchored by my favorite striped Chomley Farran dianthus on the left.

Another version of this taking-flight bouquet.

I decided to use this celery-type greenery along with wild-growing purple flowers (upright). I’m forgetting their name.

Up-close view of the yellow aquilegia, Chomley Farran dianthus, and a white straw flower in the middle, supported by love-in-a-mist and light purple scabiosa.

I love how the pale yellow dahlia petals curve out and spike, while the white dahlia is more fluted and layered.

Close-up of the fluted petals of this cream-and-orange (like a creamsicle) dahlia.

A stringy but beautiful flower sprung up, and I became an opportunistic gardener! I love the pink, blue, and purple colors of this bouquet.

Dahlias, Cupid’s Dart, scabiosa, love-in-a-mist, and Chomley Farran dianthus.

White and blue scabiosa frame this bouquet, but the star is the delicate, pointy-petaled pink-and-cream dahlia.

Ah, my short-lived Orlaya grandiflora “Monoan Lace.”

The grand dame white dinner-plate dahlia.

Dahlias, Cupid’s Dart, aquilegia, and alstroemeria.

These miniature lilies have been growing in the side yard for years. They play well with the alstroemeria and dahlias.

Yellow dahlia fireworks along with lilies, alstroemeria, and other dahlias.

The most beautiful colors and deep perfume. I kept them on my desk all summer long.

The purple color turned to this beautiful cornflower blue.

Even when the sweet peas were expiring, their colors were still exquisite.

I made a lot of monochromatic bouquets this summer, much to David’s chagrin.

I used stems from some of our bushes to add variety to the bouquets.

The white scabiosa, with its pinpoint centers and ruffly petals.

Mixing up yellow and blue flowers in a bouquet.

The peach-colored gladiolas are naturalizing in our front yard. Lucky me, lucky bouquets.

The red geums have also been proliferating in the front yard this year.

The beguiling blue scabiosa. I’m mesmerized by this close-up. Such delicacy and detail.

The purple dahlias didn’t come up as much, so they were at a premium when they did, and much beloved in a bouquet. And I’m still in love with the cream-and-orange, fluted-petal dahlia.

A couple of years ago, a gardener thinned out her garen of bearded irises. We planted a lot, but our landscape architect’s work thinned ours out! So when the two or three plants bloom, we rejoice.

And we worship the multi-bloom purple iris.

The joy of cutting flowers, including the purple and white echinacea, which looks beautiful throughout his blooming from straight petals to lowered petals and bulbous centers.

The rare red dahlia, paired with the white dahlia.

Orange zinnia, fuchsia and yellow dahlia, and Cupid’s Dart.

Blue scabiosa nestled in-between an orange and yellow alstroemeria. Look at the stripes of the alstroemeria up close. Amazing!

My cherry brandy rudbeckia wasn’t as hardy as it has been in past years. But here’s a beauty.

The reliable red-and-white dahlia, below a wispy white scabiosa and fuchsia dahlia.

I planted this new flower in a pot in our side yard. What a delicate beauty, a beautiful blue color with little antenna tipped in white, almost like straight sewing pins. But they look like they belong undersea.

A big sprawling bouquet with everything in it.

Flower gathering before making bouquets.

Zinnias, rudbeckia, and Cupid’s Dart grace this end-of-summer bouquet.

The last close-up of this late-summer bouquet.

Belated spring bouquets

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Patty

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.
– Pablo Neruda, Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet-diplomat and politician

When May ended, I had intended to post my spring bouquets, as I made weekly bouquets for one of the former Korematsu Middle School auction winners whose husband (both of them were community leaders and supporters) had passed away in the fall. I wanted to bring her some joy. She has always warmed my heart by the pure joy that my auction bouquets have brought to her in the past. To deliver bouquets during spring was the best way I knew how to honor her husband and to bring a sense of rebirth to her. I never make bouquets to decorate my own home. I rather enjoy sharing them with family and friends. I wish I had more time to devote to gardening and to making the bouquets, instead of feeling rushed, because the effort is invigorating and inspiring, and I get in this Zen frame of mind.

Maybe at some point I’ll get there. But for now, I am sharing the spring bouquets with you all. Enjoy!

Birthe’s front porch is full of spring bouquets – tulips, calla lilies, watsonias, and a mix of gaillardia, columbine, geums, carnations, scabiosa, and a few other flowers, in mid-April.

Early March tulips and calla lilies.

Tulips, March 23rd.

Tulip close-up, March 23rd.

Tulips in the side yard.

More tulips, March 30th.

Calla lilies, March 30th. I love the different stages of blooming. Also note the shadow of our ficus tree on the dining room wall. And, of course, my favorite painting of all, Lamp Lady by Gary Stutler.

I believe this is variegated prostenthera (Mint Bush), which delivers brilliant purple blooms in the spring. We have one in the backyard and one in the front yard.

Close-up of the purple blooms of the variegated prostenthera.

One of my new favorite flowers this season. The aquilegia chrysantha (Yellow Queen) came out with such vigor this spring. They remind me of delicate butterflies.

Delicate pink tulip, April 4th.

April 6th bounty ready for spring delivery.

Looks like the tulip is ready to devour the aquilegia….

Nuanced pink tulip, April 12th.

Tulip bouquet, April 13th.

The aquilegia and red geum literally gave new heights and shape to the spring bouquets. Also added scabiosa, dianthus, straw flower, and the greenery from alstroemeria. This particular photo reminds me of a Vermeer, Rembrandt, and other Dutch master painters painting.

April 20th spring bouquet.

I got these three vases from Present, Los Altos, and they’re perfect for my office. Grow. Happy. Bloom. Inspiring.

More aquilegia (or columbine) taking flight in the backyard planter box, April 28th.

April 30th bouquet.

Close-up of aquilegia Black Barrow.

Watsonia bouquet, May 4th.

Close-up of miniature cream-colored rose, blue scabiosa, and red geum.

Alstroemeria bouquet, May 17th.

May 17th bouquet.

Close-up of the bouquet. I love using calla lilies that are in different stages of blooming. When they are still tightly rolled up, it reminds me of a scroll of beautiful paper that is slowly, slowly being unrolled. Also featuring my favorite multi-colored dianthus – Chomley Farran.