The photinia in self’s backyard is covered with reddish new growth. The olive tree just behind it is getting huge! It’s so tall it dwarfs the house. She did not plant this tree: it started growing there about a decade ago. Encouraged, she bought an olive tree for the front yard, thinking it would help block her living room window from the relentless summer sun. That one, however, while taller, has hardly any leaves. Best laid plans . . . (sigh)
Posting for Cee Neuner’s Flower of the Day.
We have had weather, here in northern California. First: two days of blustery, high wind (knocked down ALL the pots on the porch, even the huge ones with small orange and loquat trees). Then, all last night, rain.
This morning, though. This morning. Look! After that wind storm, I’m surprised there were any blossoms left on the tree.
Posting for Journeys with Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday. (Self’s cell is an Android, an old one, five years old. It takes grrreat pictures)
One day, self looked at the backyard, and the plum tree was covered in white blooms. The whole feeling of the garden is transformed.
Today’s challenge is a color: MANGO!
Which happens to be a favorite color of self’s. She recently bought a rose with this color (Golden Opportunity). She bought it in January, bare root. She can hardly wait for it to start blooming. A bougainvillea she bought last year, from the Palo Alto (California Avenue) Farmers Market is this color. And her beautiful Moonlight Romantica rose (also bought last year, from Regan’s Nursry in Fremont) has blooms of this color.
The bougainvillea and Moonlight Romantica pictures are from last year; they’re still looking a bit bedraggled after weeks of nonstop rain.
Full list of challenges for February is here.
The host of this challenge, Travel with Intent, has a gallery of haunting photographs on this week’s theme. Check them out!
Morning Sky, 2 January 2023
Parking Garage, Berkeley
Don’t forget that my FOTD challenge accepts gardens, leaves and berries as well as flowers. To see entire list of accepted flowers, click here. Please do not submit photos of trees that don’t show colorful blooms or autumn colors. Leaf close ups are always welcome.
— Cee Neuner, Flower of the Day Challenge
The garden is pretty dead right now, the only bright spot are these holly berries!
Self’s roses have a few scattered blooms, but none look good after weeks of rain and high wind.
Here are All Dressed up and Chrysler Imperial, from early this morning. Normally, Chrysler Imperial is a deep red, but the bud seems to have frosted over, wonder if it will open at all.
Posting for Cee Neuner’s Flower of the Day:
There’s not much going on in the backyard in winter. But, to one side, there is an explosion of yellow. The euryops is a monster bush, at least seven feet high, and has so many blooms that from afar you can’t even see the leaves.
Posting for Cee Neuner’s Flower of the Day.
Experimenting with different WordPress themes this week. Tried something called Mesa, but didn’t like the way the posts were organized. This one’s called Livro.
Today is Halloween! Self has a bag of candy ready. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to set out all her Halloween decorations. Nevertheless, she’ll keep her lights on and sees who shows up.
There are lots of things she’s a fan of, but nothing energizes her as much as bright, vivid color. In her garden, she has a new plant: a bougainvillea. She bought it in June, and it is now covered with orange flowers.
Posting for Jez Braithwaites’s Fan Of . . . #180 Challenge.
Kanlaon 