Garden | Kanlaon

Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge # 109: UNDER THE SUN

August 12, 2020 at 8:52 pm (Artists and Writers, destinations, Flowers, fpj-photo-challenge, Links, Places, postaday, Recommended, Weather)
Tags: California, Garden, summer

This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is UNDER THE SUN.

Read to the very end of the post about the theme. The quote from E. M. Forster.

It is still summer. Can you believe it? Summer came. And stayed the usual length of time, despite pandemic and politics.

At the end of July, self visited Filoli Gardens, in Woodside. It had been decades since she’d last been.

Filoli Gardens, Woodside, July 2020

Here’s another picture of the gardens. Visitors wore masks and maintained social distancing. Lines to get in are long, because soooo many people want to get in, and those in line must stand six feet apart.

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In contrast, here’s self’s own garden (sad, dry as the foothills). She took this picture just a few minutes ago:

The Backyard Today

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

7 Comments

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge # 108: SANCTUARY

August 2, 2020 at 8:07 pm (destinations, Flowers, fpj-photo-challenge, Links, Places, postaday, Recommended, Sundays)
Tags: California, Garden, inspiration, summer

Your sanctuary is your ideal place of relaxation, tranquillity and safety and you can create it exactly as you want to. — Shakti Gawain

This week’s Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge is SANCTUARY.

Self is soooo lucky that, less than 10-minutes drive from her home, is the sanctuary of Filoli Gardens.

This huge estate is managed by a trust, and is among the most magical set of gardens she has ever seen (and she’s seen a lot of gardens).

She happened to visit last Sunday, with a friend. Below are a few pictures she took during that visit. The place is so beautiful, and peaceful. A true sanctuary.

Close to the house are large trees providing plenty of shade:

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Further away from the house are rectangular flowerbeds, planted by theme. Interspersed among the flowerbeds is an art installation by Kristine Mays featuring life-size wire sculptures in human shape.

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There’s only one word for the Filoli rose garden: spectacular. The bushes are so fat and laden with what must be (at this time of year) their second round of blooms. Jealous.

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There is a $25 entrance fee, which must be paid in advance. To avoid crowds, especially on weekends, mornings are best. They usually offer guided tours and classes, but these activities have been suspended during the pandemic. It’s wonderful just to walk, though. And self bought two wee basil plants in the Garden Shop.

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

11 Comments

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 105: SPRING

July 13, 2020 at 5:45 pm (Flowers, fpj-photo-challenge, Links, postaday, Weather)
Tags: Garden, Mondays, Redwood City, seasons, spring

It’s summer, but the Lens-Artists Challenge this week is Spring.

So, nostalgia?

In spring, it’s all about the flowers. Her roses were blooming! Everything was blooming!

New Planter Basket, from Whole Foods

Front Yard: mid-May

Backyard: mid-May

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

8 Comments

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 103: SURPRISE

July 3, 2020 at 6:46 pm (Artists and Writers, Food and Drink, fpj-photo-challenge, postaday, Surprises)
Tags: art, Fridays, Garden, happiness, memories, summer

Whew, where would self’s head be right now if she weren’t doing a Photo Challenge? These Photo Challenges are really helping self stay positive during the pandemic.

The latest Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is: SURPRISE.

Would you like to know your future? If your answer is yes, think again. Not knowing is the greatest life motivator. So enjoy, endure, survive each moment as it comes to you in its proper sequence, a surprise.

– Vera Nazarian

Do joing the fun!

Here are self’s recent surprises:

These cherries from a tree in self’s backyard were so unexpectedly sweet!

Picking more cherries!

Her friend Jacinta O’Reilly, a painter in Ireland, sent her this beautiful card that she made herself. What a beautiful surprise to get in the mail!

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

2 Comments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: ONE SINGLE FLOWER

June 18, 2020 at 5:30 pm (destinations, Flowers, Links, Lists)
Tags: Cee Neuner, Garden, summer

Love Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week. Self loves flowers!

Self took her camera to her garden to try and capture “one single flower.” These are the roses growing in her front yard.

Barbra Streisand Rose

Frida Kahlo Rose

Rabble Rouser Rose

More flowers:

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

2 Comments

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #98: Delicate Colors

May 24, 2020 at 3:17 pm (Flowers, fpj-photo-challenge, Holidays, Links, Lists, postaday, Sundays)
Tags: California, flower photography, Garden

As many countries are opening up a bit from lock-down, and I was inspired by the soft glory of spring nature in my part of the world, I thought we would indulge in some Delicate Colours! They are everywhere in nature, but also to be found anywhere you look, in for example fashion, art and architecture. — Leya

Self is always happy to participate in a Photo Challenge. Anything to distract from Shelter-in-Place, entering the third month here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

First: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

To everyone who has a loved one in this fight, or has lost a loved one, blessings.

Hydrangeas on Front Porch: May 2020

Iceberg Roses in Front Yard, May 2020

Looking at the Garden from the Kitchen Window, 24 May 2020. The curtains were from World Market, which has since closed.

Look at these beautiful galleries:

Stay safe, dear blog readers. Stay safe.

4 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge # 95: ALL WET

May 4, 2020 at 4:43 pm (Flowers, fpj-photo-challenge, Links, postaday, Weather)
Tags: Garden, Mondays, Redwood City, spring

Maybe you’ve just given your pet a bath, or perhaps the dewdrops on your garden have given you a smile. — Tina R. Schell

Here are a couple of images from self’s archives:

Cistus (Rock Rose) on front porch after rain

Also After Rain: Clematis Montana Rubens

Backyard Watering

Stay safe. Stay tuned.

12 Comments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: SEEING

April 23, 2020 at 4:03 pm (Flowers, Links, postaday, Surprises)
Tags: Cee Neuner, Garden, Redwood City, spring

Self loves joining these foto challenges. Since Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is SEEING, self took her camera to the backyard to check on how her flowers are doing:

Exciting: Her Winsome Rose is finally blooming!

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More blooms are opening on her Fourth of July Rose:

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Stay tuned.

2 Comments

Tuesday Photo Challenge — ANIMALS

April 22, 2020 at 4:55 pm (fpj-photo-challenge, Links, postaday)
Tags: Garden, humor, inspiration, Redwood City, spring

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is ANIMALS!

Self doesn’t have a pet, her beloved beagles died long ago and she forgot to re-fill the bird feeder, so all the animals for this post are gardening “ornaments” — mostly whimsical little things she picked up in garage sales.