Waterwise is a Strategy, not a Style ~ Eat Your Garden

"Gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old, because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized."  ~ Alan Armatage

Edible Landscaping 

 It was a class at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden  by Rosalind Creasy. She's the woman who wrote the book on planting a garden good enough to eat. Literally. In fact, many books. 

I was in the mood for her brand of optimism. Waterwise is more than succulents and cactus interspersed amongst gravel. It is a strategy to get the most out of the resources at hand. Its beauty is not just one vision of paradise- and it can taste mighty good.

Two of her books came home with me. I  intended them as reading material for the stack I'm saving for some soon scheduled bed-rest, but I was too tempted. That weekend's Sabbath was filled with joy and wonderment. For I am a gardener who likes to bring the outside in. Not just the view through the window. I like to bring the ingredients  which the rabbits and squirrels leave as our portion for working "their land."

Lavender blossoms infusing scent and taste into a jar of  Bakers Sugar

Some facts from 'Ros'. The scalloped shape of the tomato below is sculpted from multiple fertilized ovaries. The reason the ugly brown and funny green tomatoes taste so good is that the color genetic-code comes with a flavor boost. 

 Haggen  grocery is open in Diamond Bar. On a nieces recommendation, I went in. They know where to find delicious produce when it isn't in season in my garden. The gorgeous specimen sliced up on a bed of baby spinach and feta cheese just waiting for a family member to anoint it with their choice of salad dressing- this is heaven on a plate.  

Recipes from the Garden

It makes me smile to know that anything edible which can be grown at home is not only more delicious than store-bought: it uses far less water than a commercial crop. When we grow our own food, this leaves more produce for the rest of the nation. Which makes my using a little bit of water patriotic. 

 Last winter, all of California prayed for rain. A polite amount fell. Mostly on weekends: followed by warm workdays. Good for not tying up our notoriously wicked commuter traffic more than usual. Also good for keeping the local mosquito population off any endangered list. 

Next year we need to throw in a request for snowpack. May God throttle- up the volume of fluffy white frozen crystals evolving into clear liquid from trickle to flow. And during this time of drought, may we have the wisdom to be preparing for the rain to come. 

Until we meet again- Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful. 

Lydia 

Quote found on Self Sustainable Life

Week in Review~ Lunar Eclipse~Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (GBBD)~ Before and after ~ Beyond my Garden Gates

"All of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." 

~ Dale Carnegie

Photo courtesy of Gerry Plunk

Trend Report: Color is in.  

The lunar eclipse- a radiant melon hung in the inky night sky in a was a cosmic menage a trois. No cloud offered a veil of privacy. The whole of insomniacs were watching the earth's shadow crawl between it and the sun. Such celestial beauty sky spawning prayers and prophecies. No wonder the the moon blushed.

                        

June, 1989. Our backyard was just beginning to tell us what it wanted from us. It whispered "I want to bloom."

                      

                               

April, 2014:   Today, my garden's wild heart sings.  The view from my study is a symphony of inspiration.  

My garden inspires me to dream in color. 

To have courage and work hard.

To have faith. 

 

It is divine to surround yourself with roses just for the sake of how beautiful they are. How they fill the air with beautiful perfume. 

This season, allergy season, there is a routine. Breathe deep. Sneeze. People offer "God bless you." My reply "I am."

The Mourning Cloak Butterfly- according to this  website- this black beauty is one of the longest lived butterflies in North America. Nothing in my garden is listed as a preferred source of nectar- but there are oaks in our little finger canyon. From there it must have spotted my garden and thought "This is the promised land."

The first several years, this rose bush was a sickly child.  It would send out a few dangling balls: which failed to open.  Her feet are planted near a feeder. Perhaps it is all that "free-range fertilizing" from the song birds  darting about which nourished her to a happy adulthood. 

The sparrows teach about the importance of opportunity. The garden arch wasn't erected for their use- they instinctively know- that is not important.  We can't always have what we want, but we can be happy with what we have.

Caring for this land has expanded my definition of stewardship. As a child, I thought that meant to leave things be.

A lifetime later, I realize that  Mother Nature is not only unreliable, she is, too often, cruel. To enhance the opportunity in the landscape for food, water, nesting and shelter-  this is a higher charge.

Fridays are my day in the garden.  Some time in the morning, I will have crossed over to less civilized terrain.  Clearing weeds. Clearing my mind.

But before I go, let me share a few pictures from beyond my garden gate.

                     

Meet Oulie. The White Highland Terrier is the daughter of the Caesar Dog Food TV Commercial model.  She lives the good life with Dawn Saunders and Ed Bilezikian in Laguna Hills. You may remember their garden from the 2013 Elegant and Enchanting Garden Tour.  

I am still reeling in a sensory awe of the captivating home of artist Maria del Carmen Calvo , and her husband, Dr. Walter L. Henry. This floor insert was created from a broken stained glass window and cast off bits of glass set in cement. 

Fresh flowers cut from the garden graced several vases.  Everything the artist touches- a bit of her soul flourishes.  

The artist has known great tragedy. But instead of wallowing, her gift is to rise motivated to capture moments of great beauty and share them.  

I am but a humble writer. I do not know if dreams of future roses dominate the horizon, or if the ugliness of certain governments of men shall.  It is ominous that Jews in the eastern Ukraine, where Soviet separatists have taken over, have been ordered to register with the government. 

This Easter season, may we lift our heart in joy for every moment of peace and beauty we have.  May our lives be dedicated to active prayer to spread our blessings to those without. 

Until we meet again, Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

Linking to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Part 3 ~ GWA Santa Barbara Tour ~ Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens.

"Time Keeps on  slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future." 

~Steve Miller, lyrics from  "Fly like an Eagle"  

In 2012, the 1 million-plus readers of Birds and Blooms voted the 1976 rock anthem by Steve Miller the best song about birds. Ever.  

Okay. So the bird my lens followed was a seagull instead of an eagle. It was still on a mission. The same as we. To get fed before moving on. Overhead, the clouds pregnant with life-giving rain were about ready to sweetly drench the earth~ but if we didn't hurry, also soak the gourmet sandwiches and salads. 

At Billy Goodnick's suggestion, we gathered at the stone wall at the top of the Erythrina mound, overlooking the pond.   

We had 2 more stops: soon there would be raindrops dancing on our heads.  Nan Sterman and helpers quickly laid out the casual gourmet spread  from nearby Panino. 

It was rather humbling to realize that two guests flew from the farthest side of this continent to join us. Former American Horticulture Society President Arabella Dane and her husband, Nat- what a treat to our tour garnered that level of interest.   

Billy poured the history of this place into our minds. 

Filling a full city block, it once served as the grand estate of Albert Herter's mother. Surrounded by gardens, her mansion was a repository of artwork of his, including lamps designed for Tiffany, artwork by his wife Adele McGinnis, and furniture designed by Herter Brothers, a major New York design firm, also a family enterprise.  

After the  matriarch died, Albert Herter evolved into a hotelier, remodeling the home, adding bungalows and reopening the property as the El Mirasol Hotel. Until it was damaged by  twin fires in the mid- 1960's, the hotel was a long-favored spot to vacation at by those who expected the finest accommodations. 

It's heyday as a hotel past,  there were attempts to revolutionize the property's character with high-rise development. However, the local citizens prevailed in creating property's highest and best use not in commercial usage- but as a place of where plants are largely the guardians of public  peace and serenity . 

During her lifetime, Alice Keck Park, daughter of oilman and philanthropist W.M Keck, never took credit for providing the funds to purchase the property for public preservation. Not until after her death was the benefactor's name disclosed.  

How Alice's name was incorporated in honorarium took some consideration. Alice Keck Park Park - how words sound together is important.

Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. Time slipped away from the days where on this spot stood a fine family home. Slipped past the days as a hotel. Slipped to where the influence of this place is even greater now, when trees  surpass architecture in prominence. 

Such is life. Dreams change. What you didn't even imagine possible when you began your journey through time may not be your greatest accomplishment. 

Until we meet again, Thank YOU for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful. 

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day (GBBD) October 2013- Mostly Roses and Wildflowers

Time flies. In my garden. With my books. With you, dear friends, it is all first class. 

This Brigadoon Rose is rarely out of bloom. A very sturdy bush- I expect it could be clipped by the truck  which is parked next to it - and the plant would be the winner. It was a memorial gift from my friend, a force of nature herself, Glenda Thompson- Bona.

Now a Nevadan, Glenda  provided this inspiring wildflower  image from her days as a docent with the Tejon Conservancy to pair with my Examiner.com article, with promises of a field trip this coming spring .   

This view through the pine is from just outside my study. Last week, our  Mr. Garcia trimmed out some lower scraggly branches- the horticultural equivalent of a bang trim.

The 'Cinco de May' Rose dominates the foreground.

The background is largely fallow.  A lightly sketched upon canvas prepared for the next report of rain on its way. Then buckets of wildflower seeds are on hand to paint with. Once they take hold- there will be no stopping the color wheel turning the hillsides of Diamond Bar bright as in the Poppy Preserve. 

Where the land is planted, it not only looks cooler- on summer days, where it is green is much more comfortable to hang out in than where it is brown. 

The bracts of bougainvillea wave from a thicket near a hidden corner of  back hillside. The blue flowers of the old fashioned plumbago- beginning gardeners beware: this plant acts as though it is shooting  itself up with steroids. Its penchant to muscle in where it wasn't planted presents quite a dilemma. While it is invasive- the soft blue flowers are beacons to butterflies. 

The butterfly rose-  the delicate flowers are so light and ethereal- they appear ready to float away like delicately scented butterflies. The first time it enchanted me was at the former nursery owned by the late Mary Lou Heard. Still hard to believe she is gone. But what a legacy she left in gardens across metro Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

The trumpet vine. I thought it died.  Perhaps it is Hindu. For it reincarnated itself from the bare spot a good five years after it disappeared in the dirt. It was gone more than enough seasons to change the understory from shade-lovers  to sunbathers. So much for that plan. Now  one arm wraps through a re-purposed iron wine rack now serving nectar to hummingbirds when the vine is in flower. 

The summer of 2012 was brutally hot.  It killed the air-conditioning with over-use.  While on travel-the sprinkler to the dainty fuchsia failed.  What remained to greet me upon my return was a littering of parched leaves - and little else.  By the grace of God and a full year of intensive care, what looked like a hopeless case is now pushing her way up, blooming  through the protective outer skeleton of an iron obelisk. 

'Easy Does It' Rose-  Another long bloomer, she provides ample opportunity to study her character. While not declared in her lineage, I believe she is part cactus. She likes sun-bathing in a spot where other roses wilted; begged to be planted elsewhere. There is also a certain charm to the crimped edges of her petals.  Someday I will tell my granddaughter that  the garden fairies designed the unfurling edges with pinking sheers.

'Mary Rose' brings to mind the paintings of Rembrandt. If he were alive now- I imagine this would be a floral muse .  

'Tamora'  rose is one of those cheerful friends who gets along with everyone.  I wouldn't die for her- but I did once break my arm pruning her. 

What would be a collection of David Austin roses be without 'Graham Thomas'. This image was taken looking straight up into the shade.   

Linking to May Dream's GGGD and My Romantic Home.

 

Blessings Counted, The Blessing of Organized

It took awhile, but now I am glad Mother Nature dropped in this unplanned Rose of Sharon

Whenever it rains, it doesn't matter how hard I'm working, it feels like vacation. 

With the first drops of the season giving the earth the first wet-kiss of the season, that last grasp of summer's hot breath last weekend is now a memory as distant as the moon. 

Yesterday was a blustery day to visit our accountant. A weather description that surely will bring laughter to relatives in northern latitudes. Half our circle of friends and family are already shoveling snow while I am putting finishing touches on an article about planting wildflowers. 

Thankfully,  business duties put me near Judy Duvall for a belated birthday  celebration. God graced this friend with this thousand mega watt smile and divinely husky voice. I am blessed that she is part of a group of girlfriends who put up with my journalist's quirks in attitude and behavior. I pray she has many more years filled with music, laughter and love. 

Drive-time home in the greater LA Area- one develops great sympathy for salmon swimming upstream. However, being fortunate enough to be caught in traffic when two of my favorite journalists, Jake Tapper and Hugh Hewitt  were chatting on current events- as a not fully-recovered political geek- I understand I have it better than the fish. 

Home. Every item filled with memories.  The changing of this season is swift. Time to open the fireplace flu, light a log and scented candle.  Unpack the electric blankets to warm the reclining chairs for a rare evening of just enjoying my husband's company. 

Near the fireplace is the rocking chair my wonderful sister-in-law Billie Plunk rocked her babies in. Like the Velveteen Rabbit of literature - it was loved so much that some of it plain wore out.  But the gorgeous lines of the chair- its solid construction- I was thrilled that she let me bring it home. Recover it. And dream of visits where I will read out loud to our darling granddaughter.  

Stock items are now easy to find.

Confession. The last couple years: life had gotten out of hand. This summer I hired myself to take back control. One closet. One drawer. One shelf. One shed at a time.  Physical organization= personal and professional empowerment. 

Yes- the top row of soups are alphabetized

 Just 12 " deep, the height and width of the freezer it sits next to in the garage, Gerry built this shelving unit just outside the door into the house. 

Above it are the over-flow of  kitchen gadgetry that made happy memories.  Upside- down acrylic frames serve as shallow shelves for cookie cutters, tools for frosting- things I often thought should be passed to Goodwill. But didn't. 

For that I am glad. For  I am finding in these years between beauty and the grave that memories aren't just about the past. Planning for future memories  is a great joy- if you can find what it is you need. 

New Stained Glass Window ~ Refurbished, repurposed furniture ~ Thoughts on the Future

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "

~Matthew 6:26 

Soldered. Puttied. Polished.  

As it rests on the patio table top, sunshine plays with the colors and textures of the hand selected glass. As the panel is intended to fit in the top of the Dutch door-  I'm going to be learning about bending brace bar so that the reinforcement is inconspicuous. 

In previous reincarnations, the redwood cabinet was stained the color of brick, then white before this creamy light green was selected as most complimentary of the surroundings.

The second refurbished  bench from one of our parents' gardens rests beneath my study window. It came from a viewing spot along a downhill trail of our garden hinterlands- there is no hurry to return it there. 

 The pale green cabinet was made by my father in 1960 to hold books and magazines in the family room when our parents relocated their 3 daughters from a postage sized lot on the west side of LA  to the roomier lots of unincorporated Whittier. When we closed up the family house 40 years later-  this location turned out to be the perfect size for cabinet. Repainted and topped with Mexican tile, the cabinet is now re- purposed to house the accouterments needed for California living- items like emergency water supply, spa chemicals and lawn games.  

The latest version of the quadcopter- remote controlled kitchen container, scrap wood, cheap plastic and electronics-  has large black  underpinnings- in my imagination -like one of Larry Ellison's racing yachts

 It has always been my deepest desire to live and garden here until my last breath at some impossibly old age. By the Grace of God we've been able to hold still- allowing us the privilege to be custodians of family mementos.

However- if there is one thing in life I've learned- we can guide life- outcomes are not guaranteed. 

Life is, by definition, uncertain. Whatever the future holds and wherever it takes me- may I find a way to replicate the same good cheer as the birds who inspired my newest window. 

Until we meet again - Thank You for all You do to make the world more beautiful. 

Summer Break – Hello to Old Readers and New

A life savored is better than a life rushed through. 

Happy Mid- July-

I lost a mentor and dear friend to heaven and didn't know. RIP Don Skraba. Your habit of sending cheerful notes by real mail brought smiles to everyone lucky enough to see your handwriting on the envelope. I think you would be pleased to know that I've learned to slow down. 

Alex, son of Manny and Krista Chavez came over to help pick fruit.
The chair cover  is made from 1-1/2 towels and 3 straight seems.

 Southern California is having a nice-spring-day- in-Florida summer. A little bit hot and a whole lot of moisture in the air.  One personal piece this week was titled “Either it rained last night or I need to adjust the sprinklers.”  

Mint  pops through the ground cover roses 

It was measurable rain- not by the gauge on the garden arch. The evidence - it calculated just enough moisture to splatter the dust which the breeze normally blows away into Rorschach blotches across the windshield of my faithful old car.

As the scent of jasmine fades away, stephanotis  fills the air 

I stay in shape by keeping busy with projects like little building stairways and retaining walls. 

Hallelujah and amen. God’s shade-cloth dropped the temperature below triple digits just in time for me to finish the back wall on the retaining wall I built behind where bunnies and squirrels have so enjoyed the produce we've tried to grow.  

The mini quadcopter has joined the fleet of dragonflies in our backyard airspace.

A Very Good Life- this blog is what old school would have called a journal.  A recording of one specific woman’s journey.  Some of pictures which follow are historic to our family. My McGuyver, Gerry, invented a way to restore the disintegrated slides which involves aiming the old carousel projector, a cardboard box to aim my camera through and is linked to his computer.

Before I learned to cook I was really thin. The Frye boots I wore surely out-weighed me. 

  I am blessed to be in good health, my business is growing.   For close to 38 years my husband grows ever more in his role of my miracle man.

My husband with his first girlfriend. It must have been a fling. he doesn't remember her name):-. 

 Our sons have grown to be amazing men. The youngest married well. He and his wife gave us the most gorgeous grandchild, the lovely Charley. Not yet 4 months old, she has me rethinking my garden as one where children will play in. Learn about butterflies, birds, bees and blooms.

Papa Kenny wearing Bass Knuckles t-shirt, I'm holding my granddaughter and mom Shannon 

If our good fortune holds out, she and her cousins will learn to love nature in the garden which I am head over heals in love with.  This place is not important for what I have done to it.  Of higher importance is how the act of gardening shaped me from a city slicker to a country girl.

I thank you for your patience between blog posts. I LOVE visiting with you here. When I disappear be certain it is commercial interests that pull me away like a sailor to sea. How I make my living, as a journalist focused on garden-centered living, is not the easiest. It is simply the best. What God always meant me to do while I was busy arguing the point with him.

The journey we take in life.... the wisest among us know to enjoy wherever and however we travel it. My father in law was stationed in the UK when Queen Elizabeth was coronated. These two photos are from her coronation.  May God protect her; the land and the people she serves.  

 

In the queue are more gardens and gardeners for you to meet. 

Until we meet again, thank you for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful.

.