Finding Contentment in Every Situation
Finding Contentment in Every Situation
By JM Perez“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.”
— Agatha Christie
Wishing you all a wonderful Mother’s Day!
By JM Perez By JM PerezI am loving these Spring to Summer flowering deciduous Azaleas, the Cannon’s Double Exbury Azalea shrubs; the latest addition to our plant family. With their delicate green foliage, cream, pink, apricot and yellow flowers; they have begun attracting bees and butterflies.
The amount of rain we received this year has done wonders to the plants. I pruned them last year and they have all returned healthier with strong growth on large canes. I used to have over fifteen rose bushes on my property; the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose is now the oldest rose bush and the only one I kept from eleven years ago. I love the large delicate double lavender-blue fragrant blossoms. There was a set and only one survived.
My lone California Poppy blooming …
Kordes Perfecta Rose is thriving too. She is the replacement of one of the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose lost a few years ago.
I can’t remember the name of the gorgeous hybrid rose tree below; its flowers however, keep on amazing me year after year.
One of the rose buds on the Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose formed with elongated sepals. At first, I thought it was a deformed bud, but it opened its petals just fine. Interesting …
Snow has not completely melted on the mountains, giving us that beautiful view.
I am looking forward to the weekend, there is so much to do in the garden.
By JM Perez By JM PerezThe Photinia Fraseri shrubs are in full bloom all over my front and backyard, attracting swarms of Painted Lady butterflies, Small Cabbage White butterflies, bees and other insects. It’s quite a sight to watch them fly around and my kids are loving it. My husband got one of the butterflies to rest on a tiny rock, and I was able to capture the picture below. Their outbreak this year is a pleasant surprise.
I found a dead Painted Lady Butterfly by my mail box. Since I was unable to see the undersides of the first butterfly I found last month, I carefully flipped this one around and snapped a picture. I love the colors and details on its wings; it’s such a beautiful insect.
I had a tough time taking a picture of The Small Cabbage White. It was all over the place.
I hope you are enjoying these beautiful butterflies in your gardens.
By JM Perez By JM PerezThe weather is warming up, awakening and encouraging the plants to thrive. This is the Spring I love. When everyone and everything comes alive. When the old suddenly becomes news, when what was lost is once again found and when beauty is given for ashes. I love all the seasons, but I love Spring best for new beginnings in the garden.
Last Spring I bought two climbing roses (Yellow Lady Banks Rose) and planted them at each end of the second set of arches by the front gate leading to the backyard. By now, the arches would have been fully covered, but as you can see, only the climbing rose facing the front yard has covered half of the arch. Late last Fall, my neighbor’s cat was strangely attracted to that climbing rose and continuously peed on it for weeks straight. Of course, I could see the tracks, but I didn’t know at the time since all my plants run on drip irrigation. One day I saw that the rose was wilting, so I increased the amount of water thinking it was due to the heat. The next day, the plant died and I could smell the cat urine around the plant and in the soil. I would have made them replace the plant, had the cat (who has caught several times on camera) not gone missing. Yes, cat urine will kill your plants.
I had to wait until early Spring, when climbing roses were available in nurseries to get a replacement. I bought a White Lady Banks climbing rose and given that these are fast growing roses, I am pretty sure the arch will be fully covered by the end of the year. The Lady Banks’ Roses are beautiful and being thornless, they make training and maintaining painless. Also, they are drought tolerant and disease resistant especially when provided with full sun exposure.
After getting rid of almost all my rose bushes years ago, I decided to buy one more last month to replace one of the Blue Moon Roses which died. This one if called Kordes Perfecta Rose and bloomed for the first time yesterday. It’s quite a beauty.
My Rose trees are always infested with Aphids during this time of year. As I was about to spray the rose tree in the backyard with liquid Sevin® Insect Killer a couple of days ago, I was delighted and grateful to see a colony of ladybug larvae at the base of the plant while the majority were making their way up. Knowing the solution would kill them too, I surrendered and allowed them to do their job. As of today the rose tree is almost insect free.
A Painted Lady Butterfly resting on the green leaves of a Golden Arborvitae.
Happy gardening and I hope everyone is having a great day.
By JM Perez By JM PerezI was pleasantly surprised this morning to find a Light Orange Tulip flower, the only flowering plant on the edge of a small flower bed with a variety of bulbs. So bright and beautiful.
Last Friday we went plant shopping at Lowe’s and purchased a few plants. I love Wisteria and it’s such a beautiful plant, but I am still skeptical about planting one in my yard because of the plant toxicity. I suppose time will tell …
I am growing a few cactuses in pots to transplant in the backyard by the dry creek bed along side a varieties of drought-tolerant ornamental grasses.
I dug out the re-did the flower bed under the living room window to match the one under our bedroom since both face the street. I dug out the Lily of the Nile, split most, transplanted them in the backyard and watered heavily. I am sure they will thrive in their new location which is directly exposed to the sun. I had a bunch of Goodwin Creek Gray Lavender seedlings, which I transplanted into the flower bed.
Now I can move on to the next project.
By JM Perez
