Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, January 2016

I finally had some time to take some photos of my flowers and plants.  Here is what's going on in the front of the house.  

On the right side of the porch from back to front:

Top shelf, Rosemary topiary from Christmas.  Catnip that seeded and is now growing.

Second shelf, back:  Lambs Ear and Viola

On top of blue box:  Feverfew, Blue Delphinium

On the ground Rosemary, Yarrow, Rosemary, Thyme, Delphinium, Viola and my pruned Fragrant Plum Rose

On the step: Red Geranium

Close ups:

Rosemary

Catnip

Lambs Ear, Viola

Blue Delphinium

White Delphinium

Foxgloves

Viola

Right side of the front porch.

Top shelf:  Pink Ivy Geranium, Rosemary

Second shelf:  Viola, Viola

Bottom shelf (not visible):  Mugwort

In the very 

back:  Nastirtium, Rosemary

Next:  Delphinium, Larkspur

Next:  Pine,

Next:  Catmint,

Next:  Red Geranium
You can sort of see the Brugmansia (Angel Trumpet) tree to the left of pruned rose in the corner.  I finally put it in a larger pot.  I have another one that I moved to the front of the house and repotted into a larger pot.  It had rooted itself in the ground and the landlord would have a fit if I'd left it root so we had to pull it out.  It's a beautiful tree.  I hope it will bloom as nicely in its new pot. 

Close ups.

Viola

Larkspur

Pine

Pink Ivy Geranium and Nasturtium

Nasturtium

Feverfew to the left of the porch

Hanging basket right.

Hanging basket left.

Front of house, far left:  Hollyhock on the left and viola that has been blooming since Halloween.

Now that you can see these pots again, I put some flowers in them.

All the roses are pruned.  Yay!

And here is the patio.  I have a decent collection of scented pelargoniums now.

On the top shelf:

Herb pot (Sweet Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage), Fairy Primrose, Calla Lily

Second shelf:  Sage, Viola, Fairy Primrose

Thrid shelf: All mint

Bottom shelf:  Miniature Rose, Scented Geranium (nutmeg), Patchouli

Pot on the ground is Moonshine Yarrow

In the color hanging pots:  Ivy and all three others are viola

Corner:  Maidenhair fern and Spear Fern

On wire shelf:  Sweat Pea, Scented Geranium, Apricot, Scented Geranium Attar of Roses

Bottom of wire shelf:  Scented Geranium Gray Lady Plymouth, Fairy Primrose, Scented Geranium Candy Dancer

Close up of Scented Geranium Attar of Roses

Just got these sweat peas.

Herb pot with Sage, Rosemary, Thyme and Sweet Marjoram, next to it is Fairy Primrose and Calla Lily

Three different kinds of mint on the middle shelf

bottom shelf:  Miniature Rose, Scented Geranium Nutmeg

Yarrow Moonshine in the pot and spear fern in the corner

Scented Geranium Lemon Fancy, Rosemary, Rue

Scented Geranium Yemen, Viola, Scented Geranium Dean's Delight

Very bottom shelf is Valerian, Basil, Hydrangea

Top shelf here is Scented Geranium Nutmeg, Oregano, Scented Geranium Peppermint

Middle shelf is Scented Geranium Yemen, Viola, Scented Geranium Dean's Delight

Also got a new Maidenhair fern to replace the old tired one.

Some Fairy Primrose.

Calla Lilies

Viola - so perfect for Winter color and I love them.

This Calendula has been blooming since Halloween.

More Scented Geraniums:  Ardwick Cinnamon, Lemon Scented with yellow/green variegated leaves but I forget what it's called, Apple

Scented Geraniums:  Little Gem, Yemen, Lime

Scented Geraniums:  Mabel Gray, True Rose, True Rose

Small Pots in front are cuttings from my mother plant Attar of Roses

First Shelf:  Scented Geranium Nutmeg, Herbs:  Chocolate Mint and Chocolate Mint

Bottom Shelf:  Scented Geraniums:  Strawberry, Fragrant Frosty, Aroma

Scented Geraniums on top shelf:  Sweet Mimosa, Apricot, Rober's Lemon rose

(the rest of these shelves were named in the photo above.)

Top shelf is Scented Geranium Skeleton Rose, Rose and Mint Rose

There is also a small pot of Fairy Primrose on this shelf.

Scented Geranium Peppermint, Thyme, Viola and Sweet Marjoram

Lavender - it's just about done.  Calendula (blooming since October), middle pot is Grape Hyacinth that I planted as bulbs, small front pot is a cutting from Scented Geranium Attar of Roses, Rue

Please visit May Dreams Gardens, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day where gardeners from all over the world post what's blooming in their gardens

If you'd like to see my photography from other gardens, you can check out my Flickr Page here:

The Photography of Danielle Bedics-Arizala

Happy New Year 2016!

I haven’t been updating much lately because I’ve been devoting most of my time to my photography.  I’ve been going to the local gardens; Descanso Gardens, The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden, and also the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.  In 2015, I photographed one of these three gardens at least once a week, if not more on occasion.  I have been keeping up with my garden, but maybe not as much as I did in the past few years where I was running to buy new plants every single weekend.  Nowadays, my roses are established and I have a nice sized collection of scented pelargoniums on my patio.  I continue to refresh all the herbs in my garden as needed (they are a staple), and for a splash of color, I usually change out my annuals.  

This past weekend was rose pruning weekend.  I had 8 of them to do.  It didn’t take me that long, but it was more of a matter of cleaning up the canes afterwards.  

One of my potted brugmansia trees set its roots in the ground and busted through its pot.  We had to pull it up due to the landlord.  Luckily we pulled it out, roots and all and I put it in a larger pot.  I moved it to a different part of the house right in front of our bedroom window where it won’t be able to grow into the ground.  When it blooms we’ll be able to enjoy that heavenly Angel Trumpet scent!  I also repotted my second brugmansia into a larger pot.  It was way overdue and was constantly toppling over every time we got our strong Santa Ana winds.

Since the roses were pruned and the garden looked bare, I needed a little something to brighten up the front of the house.  I picked up some yellow, blue and purple viola, foxgloves and delphinium.  Soon the spring plants and flowers will be arriving and I’ve been trying to hold myself back from purchasing too much now and just wait until closer to spring.  In the past I’d sometimes find myself going to the garden center and buying anything just so I’d have something to plant, even if it wasn’t necessarily something I really wanted.  My plan this year is to be more selective.  I’m only going to buy the things I really love.  I think over the years I’ve learned enough about gardening to know what I love and don’t love so I can be more selective.  We’ll see how that goes.

Since I don’t have any photos to show today, I’ll leave you with a link to my Flickr page where you can see the garden photography I have been doing over the past several months.

Danielle Bedics-Arizala Photography

Decorating for Yule

This year I didn’t get around to taking too many photos of the Christmas decorations in the garden.  I added red and white poinsettia, a rosemary topiary in the shape of a Christmas tree, and a small pine decorated in pinecones and red ornaments.  I also decorated the door wreath as I usually do for every season.  For Yule, I add evergreen, pinecones and red berries.  I also put a big red bow on the door over a fresh cut baugh of Noble Fir strung up with twine.  It sure smelled good!  For an extra touch, I scattered some red christmas balls and pinecones in the pots of the two roses on the porch.  It was very simple and very natural looking.  Just perfect!  

This year we had very strong Santa Ana winds.  They kept blowing the potted roses right off the porch.  What a mess… balls and pinecones scattered everywhere.  Most of the day I had to leave the roses laying on their sides or else the wind would just blow them right over.  They grew so big this year that they became off balance in their pots.  I can’t wait until January to prune them!