Category Archives: Gardening and flowers

Gardening and working in the yard, a love of nature and flowers.

Family vacation in France: Day 4 in Paris

Posted on by

Eiffel Tower
Aviary of the world
Sing Sing
Chimes of Paris
 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet, from “Eiffel Tower,” The Cubist Poets in Paris: An Anthology

Today was another day of giving the ghost Fitbit a workout. Given that we didn’t get tickets ahead of our jaunt to the Eiffel Tower, we got up early Monday morning and took a cab to the Eiffel Tower. How many pictures can a family take of one of the most iconic monuments in the world? A lot, especially if two of us have an artistic eye, with David’s leaning toward the architectural appreciation of this famous structure.

The Eiffel Tower from below, with Jacob.

David’s architectural shot of the Eiffel Tower.

Another artsy shot from David of the Eiffel Tower base.

David’s shot of one of the legs of the Eiffel Tower.

Just a short history on the Eiffel Tower. Architect, bridge builder, and metals expert Gustave Eiffel and his company built the monument for the 1889 World’s Fair or Exposition Universelle to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. I’m not surprised that it is the most visited paid tourist attraction in the world – an estimated 7 million visitors per year – although at the time Parisians considered it an eyesore. The structure was intended to be temporary, and it was almost torn down in 1909. City officials intervened, recognizing its value as a radiotelegraph station. During WWI, the Eiffel Tower was used to intercept enemy radio communications, relay zeppelin alerts, and help dispatch emergency troop reinforcements. During WWII, Hitler initially ordered demolition of the tower, but the order was never carried out. In addition, during the German occupation of Paris, French resistance fighters cut the tower’s elevator cables so the Nazis were forced to climb the stairs.

A selfie with Isabella and me at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

Indulging myself because here we are laughing.

On our way to the sommet!

From the summit of the Eiffel Tower, a view of the Architecture and Monuments Museum across the Seine River.

Another view of Paris from the summit of the Eiffel Tower, with the Seine River in the background.

The other side of the summit, a view of the Ecole Militaire and more of Paris.

From the Eiffel Tower summit, a view of the Seine River and Paris.

Of course, it rained lightly and was windy that morning. We were freezing, but as the day wore on, the sun came out here and there. We would return later to catch the Eiffel Tower at night. Once we exhausted our picture-taking and looking at the city from the summit (I admit that I was nervous going to the top, as I have fear of heights, I realized as we ascended!), we began our trek across the Seine River. We walked through the plaza of the Architecture and Monuments Museum. Every time we turned around, we had great views of the Eiffel Tower, so more photos were snapped.

The Eiffel Tower across the Seine River, taken from the plaza of the Architecture and Monuments Museum.

Seriously, I don’t do many selfies, but I couldn’t resist with the Eiffel Tower behind me….

Family selfie with the Eiffel Tower across the Seine River.

We walked down the Champs-Elysées, stopping at Café Belloy (37 Avenue Kléber, 75116 Paris) for lunch, on our way to the Arc de Triomphe. There I had my first confit de canard (duck confit) with potatoes au gratin. Tender duck and fluffy potatoes. Isabella was sold after taking a bite. She and I would order it at various restaurants to compare which restaurant had the best duck confit. Sometimes the first time is the best. Our waiter knew limited English, which was actually a good sign. Also, many business people were dining there, so we knew we weren’t at a tourist place, another good sign. After our hearty lunch, we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe.

My first duck confit in Paris! The meat was melting off the bone.

We climbed the 284 steps to the observation deck of the Arc de Triomphe. The height wasn’t as great as the Eiffel Tower, but we got great views of the Eiffel Tower. You can also see all the way down the Champs-Elysées A word about this other iconic monument: Napoleon had the Arc de Triomphe commissioned to commemorate his victory at the battle of Austerlitz in 1805. The Arc has seen a lot in its day – the funeral of Napoleon, the occupation by the Nazis, and the triumphant return of Charles de Gaulle after the Allies liberated France. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is also buried here.

Across the street from the Arc de Triomphe.

French flag waving over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

A sculpture on the Arc de Triomph: Le Départ de 1792 (or La Marseillaise), by François Rude. The sculptural group celebrates the cause of the French First Republic during the 10 August uprising. Above the volunteers is the winged personification of Liberty.

Another close-up of the same sculpture.

Another close-up of the same sculpture on the Arc de Triomphe.

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

The Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Looking down on the Champs-Elysées from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

The Champs-Elysées and the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

From there, we walked the Champs- Elysées all the way to the Place de la Concorde, past the Orangerie Museum, to the beautiful and never-ending Tuileries Garden, home to fountains, pools, statues, flower gardens, and plenty of my favorite green park chairs.

The Place de la Concorde near the Orangerie Museum.

A fountain at the Tuileries Garden.

Statues adorn Tuileries Garden.

Light through the trees at Tuileries Garden.

People enjoying the day at the pool at Tuileries Garden, reclining in my favorite green park chairs.

And here are those beloved chairs in Tuileries Garden. We ended up getting an etching by a local artist of these chairs to remember our time in Paris’s gardens.

Birds and statues go together, Tuileries Garden.

Statue in a manicured part of the Tuileries Garden.

Close-up of a statue in Tuileries Garden.

All that walking meant that we had to find one of my friend’s favorite patisseries – Au Petit Versailles du Marais (27 Rue Francois Miron, 75004 Paris). Laura has given five-star recommendations for us in Paris. Her favorite dessert is the religieuse, so David and I had to try it, even though it looked very big and filling. However, it was light and fluffy, so that made it okay to eat every last crumb. Satiated, we walked all the way back to our apartment. Good thing I had sturdy, comfortable shoes with me. We rested up before heading out for dinner.

Enjoying a well-earned dessert stop at Au Petit Versailles du Marais (27 rue Francois Miron, 75004 Paris).

Rainbow colors for dessert at Au Petit Versailles du Marais, Paris.

We chose the chocolate religieuse. Hard to believe, but it’s not as heavy as it looks!

One of David’s colleagues who used to live in Paris recommended a restaurant, Brasserie Balzar (49, rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris), that was a short walk from our apartment. As you can see, it was a delicious meal. Another full day with lots of sightseeing under our belt, monuments crossed off our bucket list (the kids said that the Eiffel Tower was one of the highlights of their France vacation), and good food consumed along the way.

Brasserie Balzar, 49, rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris.

Our seafood starter.

Everything is tasty with a good bottle of rosé!

My Bar Meuniere, a lightly floured sole sauteed in butter with a bowl of potatoes. Jacob had rum steak, in the background.

I don’t remember what I ordered for dessert, but it was good. Isabella got her usual fondant chocolate cake.

Family vacation in France: Day 3 in Paris

Posted on by

I am only good at two things, and those are: gardening and painting.
– Claude Monet, French Impressionist painter

Statues and architecture at the Orsay Museum, Paris.

The expansive railway station-turned-museum, inside the Orsay Museum.

More statues and the ever-present clock at the Orsay Museum.

We reserved our Sunday for more museums – Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie, and the Musée Rodin. While the Louvre obviously is impressive, the three museums we visited today were my favorites, with the Orsay Museum being my absolute favorite. This museum, a former railway station which boasts Beaux Arts architecture, takes up where the Louvre’s art collection ends, namely the Impressionist era. I can imagine coming to this museum on a daily basis for a month or more, just to enjoy and savor every painting, every detail. This museum is full of Impressionist (including post-Impressionist) big names, the ones I’ve learned about when I took an art history class in college – Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin. There also a great many wonderful sculptures.

I love the rendering of the plaid textile in Renoir’s Jeune femme a la voilette (1870), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Manet’s Berthe Morisot a l’eventail (1872), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Henri Fantin-Latour’s Narcisses et tulipes (1862), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Madame Louis Joachim (1868), Orsay Museum, Paris. Look at how luxurious the fabric is rendered.

Detail of a sculpture, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Close-up of sculpture, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Detail of Rodin’s Gates of Hell, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Another detail of Rodin’s The Gates of Hell, Orsay Museum, Paris.

But I also saw some painters whose names are new to me – Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard, Felix Vallotton – and whose paintings drew from me astonishment, delight, and great appreciation.

The Muses by Maurice Denis (1893), Orsay Museum, Paris.

I love the textiles in Pierre Bonnard’s paintings, including The Game of Croquet (1892), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Winslow Homer’s Summer Night (1890), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Alexander Harrison’s La Solitude (1893), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Le Dejeuner en famille by Edouard Vuillard (1899), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Baigneuse rose by Felix Vallotton (1893), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Femme se coiffant dit aussi interieur by Felix Vallotton (1900), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Interieur, femme et enfants by Pierre Bonnard (1899), Orsay Museum, Paris.

A current exhibit is called Ames sauvages: Le symbolisme dans les pays baltes, featuring artists from Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia whose works dated back 100 years or so. These artists embraced the Symbolist movement at a time when the Russian Empire was faltering.

Princess with a Monkey (1913) by Janis Rozentals of Latvia, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Nu (1906) by Janis Rozentals of Latvia, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Close-up of Estonian painter Peet Aren’s Aupres du lit du malade (1920), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Hiver (1908) by Vilhelms Purvitis of Latvia, Orsay Museum, Paris.

The upper floor houses the greats, and you have to get there early to avoid the big crowds that surround each masterpiece. We got there at the beginning, but by the time we reached the top floor, we had to share the paintings with a mass of art enthusiasts.

Monet’s The Garden at Giverny, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Renoir’s Girls at the Piano, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Notre-Dame Cathedral at Rouen, our next stop after Paris.

One of the most memorable paintings that I remember from my college art history class – Gustave Caillebotte’s Floor Planers (1875), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876), Orsay Museum, Paris.

Isabella and Jacob deeply engrossed discussing Impressionism. Not. Orsay Museum, Paris.

The rooftop view of the Seine River from the Orsay Museum, Paris.

I was going to post a self-portrait or Starry Night, but I really liked this painting by Van Gogh of two farm workers taking a rest, Orsay Museum, Paris.

Gauguin’s Tahitian Women (1891), Orsay Museum, Paris.

After lunch at the Orsay cafe, which was behind the massive clock that you see in and outside of the museum, we continued our walk down to the Orangerie Museum. This museum is located in the Tuileries Garden. Monet’s Water Lilies rightfully dominate large sparse rooms. You have to just stand there and take in all that saturated color under natural light from the eight huge curved panels, which Monet worked on “obsessively” for 12 years (1914-1926). Then you work your way downstairs to a collection of paintings that include Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir. This is a very manageable museum, likely best appreciated early in the morning before the tourists come in.

Monet’s Setting Sun, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Clouds, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Green Reflections, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Jacob and Isabella with an incredible backdrop in the Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Morning no. 2, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Reflections of Trees, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Detail of Monet’s Morning, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

One of my favorite photos from our France trip – with Jacob doing selfie duties at the Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Bouquet of flowers by Renoir, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

Monet’s Morning no. 1, 1914-1918, Orangerie Museum, Paris.

We reversed direction and headed to the Rodin Museum, which is a mansion with an outdoor sculpture garden. The museum’s permanent collections reside in the Hȏtel Biron, built in the early 18th century, where Auguste Rodin lived as a tenant. The museum was created in 1916, a year before Rodin died, on his initiative when he donated his works, personal collections, and copyrights to the French state, and was inaugurated in 1919. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke first told Rodin about the estate. When Rodin saw the hotel, he rented four rooms on the ground floor in 1908. At that time, the writer Jean Cocteau, painter Henri Matisse, and dancer Isadora Duncan also rented, but from 1911 on, Rodin was the sole occupant.

Rodin’s The Thinker under a brilliant-blue sky with equally brilliant-white clouds, Rodin Museum, Paris.

Up close with an outdoor sculpture, Rodin Museum, Paris.

Rodin has a way with imbuing such strong emotions in his sculptures, Rodin Museum, Paris.

Rodin is one of my favorite sculptors, so I was excited to see his works in France, especially as I’d seen a very nice collection of Rodin sculptures in North Carolina a few years ago. We were not to be disappointed, with the likes of The Kiss, The Thinker, and The Gates of Hell on display.

Bust of Victor Hugo by Rodin, Rodin Museum, Paris.

Detail of The Gates of Hell, Rodin Museum, Paris.

An outdoor statue at the Rodin Museum, Paris.

We did a lot of walking that day. It was Father’s Day, and is usually the case (family joke), we had to find a bad dinner to celebrate David. Two years ago it was a Subway sandwich shop in New York City. This year, a bad creperie place. The tradition continues….

As dusk falls, Jacob in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Family vacation in France: Day 2 in Paris

Posted on by

As an artist, a man has no home in Europe save in Paris.
 – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

On our way to the Louvre Saturday morning, we look back on the Seine River and see the tip of Ille de la Cite, where Notre-Dame Cathedral sits.

Approaching the Louvre.

A view out of the Louvre, looking down.

Given the size of the Louvre, we dedicated our second full day in Paris to this museum. My experience in the Louvre was not unlike that at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Prado in Madrid – overwhelming! I tend to curl up when the floors and connecting rooms are endless. So we tried to see what the kids and we wanted to see and leave it at that. For the kids, it was all things Egyptian. For David and me, it was the major works such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It’s one of those times where you tell yourself you will have to come back when there’s more time – and no kids – so you can fully enjoy it. The crowds weren’t too bad. We got up early and walked to the Louvre, and enjoyed some beautiful sights along the way.

I did a selfie with me and the Mona Lisa, but sparing everyone here my selfie. Just Mona Lisa her glorious self.

Everyone and their smartphone cameras capturing Winged Victory of Samothrace, Louvre.

Jacob and Isabella surrounded by wondrous statues.

A quiet corner of the Louvre with a statue of a woman in repose. No tourists!

The architecture in the Louvre is outstanding. Ceilings are great to photograph when there are too many tourists, too.

Close-up of an Egyptian mummy at the Louvre.

Isabella will agree that we had the best Nutella brioche at the Louvre café, and lunch wasn’t too bad. All in all, museum food was pretty good. We all agreed that New York museum food is the worst. At any rate, we enjoyed the Delacroix special exhibit. I can’t look at Liberty Leading the People by Eugéne Delacroix without thinking of Cold Play’s Viva La Vida cover. David and I managed to battle the tour groups to get decent, some unobstructed, shots of the Mona Lisa. We also admired the beautiful statues everywhere. The Louvre took up most of the day, as expected.

A refreshing salad with rosé.

Salmon with potatoes au gratin.

Dessert, anyone?

Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix.

I admired the folds and the light in the sheets by this painting by Delacroix.

Bouquet of flowers by Delacroix.

Afterwards, we walked to Jardin du Luxembourg, a beautiful 60-acre garden in the Left Bank. I was enamored of the fountains and especially the green metal chairs that were occupied by people who were in leisurely conversations with one another, having a picnic of wine, cheese, bread, and charcuterie, or reading intently. Few were glued to their smartphones! And how could you not fully take in the beautiful garden.

Beautiful pool at the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.

Statue in Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris.

A replica of the Statue of Liberty stands in this garden. Originally, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the original Statue of Liberty, created a smaller version for the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and was subsequently given to Musée du Luxembourg. In 1905, it was placed outside the museum in the garden. It stood there until 2014, when it was relocated to the entrance hall of the Musée d’Orsay. What is now in Jardin Luxembourgh is a replica of the original scaled-down model.

A miniature Statue of Liberty in Jardin du Luxembourgh, Paris.

Lion statue near the manicured lawns of Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris.

After dinner at nearby La Bastide Odeon, we walked around to take night photos of the city, which was all eye candy.

The Eiffel Tower with searchlight at night.

The Louvre at night.

Next to the Louvre is the Arc du Carrousel, all lit up.

One of the many bridges over the Seine River that are lit up.

Detail of the bridge over the Seine River.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, all lit up.

Approaching home at night, we can see the tip of lle de la Cite, where Notre-Dame Cathedral resides.

Flowers in the fall: from October to Thanksgiving and into December

Posted on by

A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in – what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.
– Victor Hugo, from Les Misérables

It’s almost Christmas, and I have not posted the last of the season’s bouquets. This year, thanks to soil amendment, a drip system, new flowers in the garden, and good care taking, I created bouquets right through autumn and up to Thanksgiving. In truth, although by early November I was only getting a bouquet a week, I could probably eek out a bouquet here and there still.

But all good things come to an end, and the joy of gardening will be the return of spring next year. So in the meantime, here are the final bouquets of the season to enjoy and to carry me through winter.

An October 11th bouquet for my friend Joann next to an autumn gourd made by my cousin Janet.

Close up with the last of the dahlias (yellow) and baby’s breath and the purple scabiosas.

The other side of the bouquet, topped by monster straw flowers, which are still going strong, albeit more petite than in the summer.

Even in October, the miniature roses from Trader Joe’s were going crazy.

Bi-color miniature roses in bloom.

An October 14th bouquet with fabric pumpkins.

Lots of zinnias and my favorite scabiosa.

A vase full of African daisies,which are still producing in December.

An October 16th bouquet for Joann.

Zinnia close-up with yellow stars.

October 23rd bouquet for Joann.

I love this peachy-pink miniature rose in the middle of the bouquet.

Another miniature rose, this one cream colored, peeking out of the lip of the vase.

Hot pink and deep purple complement one another.

An abundant October 27th bouquet for Joann. Lots of zinnias and straw flowers.

Another view of the zinnias, spread out like colorful open umbrellas.

The Halloween – October 31st – bouquet!

Just one more zinnia close-up.

No, this zinnia close-up….

The first November bouquet, which looks like a splash of spring colors!

Those scabiosas and zinnias again.

The other side of the November 6th bouquet, with dianthus.

The dianthus is hanging in there still.

Another full bouquet, November 11th, for Joann.

A fall flower, the rudbeckia.herta, cherry brandy.

A close-up.

The other side of the November 11th bouquet.

Close-up.

Looking down on this bouquet – deep purples, pinks, blues, and oranges.

A Thanksgiving bouquet.

Thanksgiving bouquet, November 23rd, with white echinacea.

We hosted Thanksgiving this year. When my in-laws went home the next day, we gave them this bouquet.

Another close-up.

Thanksgiving 2017 comes to a close.

Well, it’s December 2nd, and we are hosting our annual birthday dinner for our friend Soizic. No bouquets to be had, but a platter of miniature bouquets will suffice nicely. This time with a holiday backdrop.

The lovely ruckbeckia hirta, cherry brandy and purple echinacea.

Another close-up with baby’s breath, miniature roses, straw flowers, dianthus, rudbeckia, scabiosa, yellow gaillardia, and helenium auturnale red shades.

And now our platter of miniature bouquets sits next to the beautiful birthday cake from Masse’s Pastries in the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley. A treasured tradition!

In the morning, the top view of the miniature bouquet. Until spring….

 

The late August and September garden

Posted on by

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
– Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman politician and lawyer

I continue to catalog the bouquets from my garden.

The August 26th bouquet for our LUNAFEST chair, Joann. She has done so much for the East Bay LUNAFEST film festival the past 10 years, that delivering bouquets this summer was just a small token of my appreciation for all that she does and continues to do in the community.

The other side of the bouquet.

The August 30th bouquet for Joann.

Close-up of the August 30th bouquet. I love the combination of pink and blue.

We spend Labor Day Weekend with my cousin and her husband, who live in the next town over from our hometown of Terra Bella. I brought cut flowers and made an arrangement for her dining room table. The light hit it just right in the early morning.

Another view of the bouquet in its pretty green vase, with alstromeria, dahlias, and arctotis.

The September 4th bouquet for Joann.

The September 10th bouquet for Joann.

A late bloomer, one of my new favorites is the rudbeckia hirta “Cherry Brandy.” I love the deep cherry red of this hardy flower.

A nice close-up of a scabiosa and a pink and orange zinnia. I love the little star-shaped details in the center of the zinnia.

The September 16th bouquet for Joann.

A close-up of a zinnia and scabiosas.

Zinnias in the planter box in mid-September.

A butterfly on a miniature bi-color rose, which we got from Trader Joe’s. At first the roses turned black and I cut the four different kinds of roses way back. Then they came back, and they are healthy and prolific bloomers. I’m glad I stuck with them and didn’t pull them out and compost them!

David caught this bee visiting our cosmos. We are excited to see so many bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in our backyard, which is something that we told our landscape architect that we wanted to see with regard to flower and plant selection.

Following the path of the butterfly as it lands in the monster red straw plant in our backyard garden.

The September 20th bouquet for Joann. I like this painting-like photo of this bouquet. The gourd, which my cousin Janet made, gives it an autumnal touch, especially with the red gaillardia x grandi celebration flora, which is right in the front.

A close-up of the September 20th bouquet. The zinnias give it a fall touch.

We had a LUNAFEST reunion dinner at committee member Laurie’s house. Along with a bottle of wine, dessert, and David’s torta, I made this bouquet for the hostess.

I made two bouquets for my friend Soizic. One always brings bottles of wine and bouquets for the hostess. This one features alstromeria, echinacea, dianthus, scabiosa, and amazingly the resurrected dahlias. This is a favorite of mine this season, too.

The second bouquet for my friend Soizic. This one has a lot of zinnias and arctotis. I really like this bouquet, and I consider it one of my favorites of the season.

Looking back on the garden in August

Posted on by

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.
– May Sarton, American poet, novelist, and memoirist

It’s already October, mid-October at that, and I’m behind in my reportage of my summer garden. Time to play catch-up. Here are the bouquets of late summer, with fall bouquets still in production.

For the August 11th delivery for the Korematsu bouquets, here’s the first one.

Here’s the second Korematsu bouquet, a more colorful and bright bouquet.

A close-up of my favorite, the scabiosa, which for the first time in my garden has been giving me more than a few blooms per season. And oh the beauty of the light yellow dahlia tipped in the faintest of pink hues.

The deep pink dahlia in all its perfection.

And the spiked magenta dahlia.

Dinner-plate size pink dahlia.

Spiked fireworks dahlia.

When I was in Maine, I found some beautiful little bottles, some vintage, at some shops in Brunswick. Since I have a lot of flowers that are short-stemmed but equally beautiful, I thought to highlight them in this display. I put them on a platter and used this display as decoration for David’s office group party in mid-August.

Here’s a close-up of the bottles, holding echinacea, rudbeckia “Prairie Sun,” centaurea cyanus blue, and a pink rudbeckia-type flower.

I made a bouquet for David’s office group party, as well. Cosmos, dianthus, and alstromeria accompanied this bouquet of dahlias.

The platter of tiny bouquets decorated the kitchen table alongside a plate of Isabella’s homemade vanilla iced scones.

A pair of swooping swallows, made in Haiti by artisans using reclaimed steel oil drums, appreciate the tiny bouquets I made that was placed on the tables in the patio for the party.

The August 15th bouquet is spilling over in its splendor, with white snow puff cosmos and monster red straw flowers.

For the August 15th ECHS bouquet, I added a platter of tiny bouquets.

The next day, August 16th, I had a lot of flowers to cut, so I made this bouquet for our LUNAFEST chair, Joann. The scabiosa, monster red straw flowers, and zinnias were in abundance.

Another view of the August 16th bouquet for Joann.

One more view of the August 16th bouquet. I confess I’m not great at curating these photos. This one shows off the pink zinnias.

This August 18th bouquet for the Korematsu auction winners is one of my all-time favorites. I like it because it’s so horizontal and bountiful.

Here’s a top-down close-up with zinnias, rudbeckia, echinacea, scabiosa, cosmos, and pink arctotis (African daisy).

The other side of this horizontal bouquet.

The second August 18th bouquet for the other Korematsu auction winner.

A close-up of this second bouquet, featuring rudbeckia, echinacea, arctotis, and zinnia.

I have fallen in love with the zinnia, so I’ll be growing more of these long-lasting flowers next year, even if they are annuals.

The other side of the second bouquet.

The August 20th bouquet for Joann.

A close-up of scabiosa columbaria, “flutter deep blue.”

The other side of Joann’s bouquet.

A variety of African daisy, another new flower that I’ve introduced to the garden.

Joann invited me to attend the El Cerrito City Hall’s time capsule celebration, one of the many events commemorating the city’s centennial. So I made a bouquet to take to City Hall.

A close-up of one of my favorite dahlias in the August 24th bouquet.

The bouquet at City Hall.