Learning to Fly - Part Trois

Song - Petite Fleur by Petula Clark


 

 

What would Paris be without her Fleurs?

Everywhere you turn, flowers are spilling out of shops.

Beautiful plantings are in the local parks for all to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Here is a woman selling Lilac's at the neighborhood marche.

They are in paintings....

Some of my favorites are large masses of the same flower in a window display.

Can you just imagine taking these creamy white tulips home?

Oh look....my new boyfriend is bringing me a bouquet right now!

Shhh......don't tell Mr. B!!!



"La vie est une fleur dont l’amour est le miel."

Life is a flower of which love is the honey.
--Victor Hugo

Garden Colors

Song - Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls (Kina Grannis Cover)

The first round of roses are blooming and the very first one was this beauty above.  I don't even know the name because it was one of the few plants that we kept when we bought our home 20 years ago. In honor of the woman who built and lived in this house for about 45 years, I have nicknamed it "Nancy's Rose". 

The main plants that are blooming right now are the bearded Iris.....

And the Wisteria.....oh my.....

If you walk anywhere near this Wisteria you will hear the hum of big ol' fat black bees and get knocked over by the aroma from the flowers.

The Dogwood trees are loaded with blossoms.....

....as are my three white Lilac bushes.

And if you look closer.....

The Lady apple trees are making me and the honey bees happy.

 The little Japanese Iris in the woodland garden loved all of our winter rain!

 

Even the Foxgloves are preparing to bloom.

Our side garden has once again become my meditation place after we brought back 

our lawn for our son and sweet daughter-in-law's wedding last Fall.

Mama Dove and Papa Dove are enjoying the new nesting box under our eves.

Last night Papa showed up one hour early to relieve Mama.  

True Love.

I find that my day is not complete without a morning & early evening walk around our garden to see what's blooming, growing, changing, hatching, in need of pruning, etc. each and every day!

"Nothing in nature blooms all year.  

Be patient with yourself." -- Unknown

 

Tranquil Tuesday

 Song - Kiss From a Rose by Seal

I just love Apple blossoms!

This week we have been walking around the yard and enjoying the beauty of Spring!  My favorite time to walk in the garden are early in the morning with breakfast in hand and late in the afternoon (with a glass of wine!) I do a little watering and weed pulling but mostly just enjoy the daily treats that are popping out all over.

I have already had a bouquet of roses in the house and it's only March 25th! But my rose garden is just full of beautiful buds.

The strawberries are blossoming and setting fruit. Mika is licking her lips!

I have a huge bouquet of white lilac's in our kitchen right now.  I finally found out how to keep them from wilting in the vase and it works!  Click here for the info.

Cherry blossoms

Baby figs are covering this little tree

Beautifully scented Freesia's

Of course the roses in the front yard have already be eaten by the deer as are my primroses and Hydrangeas!

The Foxgloves will be blooming later this week

Oh yes.....and the Dandelions are doing beautifully as well!

Spanish Bluebell

Yesterday Mr. B and I retrained our grapevines and Wisteria pouring over our pergola.

(this is the "before" photo of the grapes & Wisteria vines)

 (scratch and sniff right here!!!)

The birds are happy, the flowers are happy and I am happy to have inherited the gardening bug from both of my parents as well as my grandparents!

"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.  To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body but the soul."  -- Alfred Austin

Spring Iris

Song - John Denver "Inch by Inch"

Our garden is a riot of color right now due to my obsession with Bearded Iris!  Well, that and roses and Spring bulbs and Lilac's and Wisteria and......well, you know how it can be.

My Grandpa Art got me started with roses.  He always had several roses in his front yard in Oakland with cuttings and onions underneath.

Grandma Sophie in the rose garden in Oakland

Grandpa Art with 3 of his 4 daughters in the rose garden.  My mom is on the far left.

Both of my parents are wonderful gardeners and their yard looks like a park.  They are in their mid-eighties (shhh...don't tell them I told you that!) and it wasn't until this year that they hired someone to "mow & blow" but all of the rest of the work, they do themselves.  They get great satisfaction from working in the soil and coaxing a plant along.

My parents at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco while they were dating.

My mom & her sister Marie in a garden

 

My Grandpa Art working in the rose garden while his four daughters pose for the camera.  L-R is my Aunt Bernadine, my mom, Aunt Alma and Aunt Marie.  Not sure who the little girl giggling on the steps is.




Now that all of the Spring blossoms have left the trees and the bulbs are withering and my roses are just about to burst into bloom, I have time to enjoy my Iris.

I hope you enjoy them too.....

 

 

Where I relax after gardening.  Ahhh......

Had to add a beautiful white Lilac!!!  Can't you just smell the lovely fragrance?

And some Peonies just about to bloom!!!  So exciting.....

Our Wisteria at the back gate.

You would not believe the iridescent colors on this Iris when the sun is shining.  Unfortunately it was a hazy day today.

Some white Clematis on our fence.

The entire fence is a beautiful creamy white.

A little American Goldfinch taking a sunbath on the birdbath.

 

PS - I picked my first bouquet of Sweet Pea's today and they smell glorious! 

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. " - Luther Burbank