One thing I love about summertime is sitting on the porch in the early morning while it is quiet and still. With the warmer weather, the smells of the garden come to life.
The Campbell’s Gardenias have been in bloom for a month and the fragrance is stunning. 
The little Meyer Lemon has lots of blossoms right now, and I just love to stick my nose in for a heaven-sent aroma. (Nice foot, I’m still in my PJs!) 
Mexican marigolds have an almost overpowering scent, but always a welcome moment as I jostle past them to get my bike out for a ride. 
The bees are buzzing around my sunflowers so I have to share sniffing rights with them. Sunflowers make me sneeze so I keep my nose out of them most of the time, but I do love the very sweet, honey smell. There is nothing like it. 
I constantly wander through the garden, rubbing my fingers on lemon verbena and smelling the spicy scent of the Cecile Brunner rose bushes. The scented geraniums don’t look like much but they pack a scented punch. Herbs are always satisfying, especially when I bring in a bunch for dinner. Hmmmm….the smell of rosemary, basil and sage in the kitchen with fresh cherry tomatoes…..
……sniff,sniff………sniff……… ACHHOOOOOOO! 
Tagged as:
aromas,
flower scents,
Flowers,
herbs,
sunflowers
I bought this plant at a garage sale last year, feeling lucky that I’d found something unusual for my succulents collection. I repotted it, hung it up and have been ignoring it until about three weeks ago when I found it looking like this.
Buds look like little lightbulbs all over the leaves
It’s taken about 3 weeks but the buds are blooming sporadically on the plant. Small but spectacular, dainty yellow blooms.
Tiny mighty blooms
I LOVE succulents!
Tagged as:
Flowers,
succulents
Have you heard of Square-Foot Gardening? Well, I’m practicing Square-Inch Gardening, which is me trying to utilize every square inch of planting space I have available. It’s a challenge, but I’m slowly working my way around the yard, watching the sun’s position throughout the year, and paying attention to the microclimates within the yard. Here’s [...]
Tagged as:
compost,
Flowers,
soil amendment
Alleys don’t the get accolades they deserve. There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in alleys if you take the time to look. I took a ride around my neighborhood the other day and found all these great vignettes. Ohhhmmm……
Tagged as:
Flowers,
San Diego,
Southern California,
vines
I was at my book club last night and a friend asked me about what she should do with her chrysanthemums now that they have finished blooming. I didn’t know the answer because I don’t think I have every grown them, so I looked it up. Here goes: After they finish flowering, cut chrysanthemums back, [...]
Tagged as:
chrysanthemums,
Flowers
Look at the buds on this plant! This plant had one round of beautiful blooms back in July (July 3) and it is going to be just as prolific a second time around. I had no idea what this was when I bought it, other than it was a succulent (which is usually reason enough [...]
Tagged as:
blooming,
Flowers,
succulents
In 1968, the Crown Garden Club was approached by the mayor of Coronado about finding an official flower for Coronado. The board of directors for the garden club did some research and ultimately decided on three choices to be voted on at that year’s Coronado Flower Show. Voters at the show picked the Crown of [...]
Tagged as:
bushes,
Flowers,
hibiscus
I was out in the front yard a couple of evenings ago and got hit by one of my favorite fragrances – the Angel Trumpets are starting to bloom! The blooms last a few days, but they only seem to be fragrant at night. I’ve been taking better care of them this year and I [...]
Tagged as:
angel trumpet,
brugmansia,
Flowers
This flower is stunning and I’m always surprised when they started blooming because I keep moving the bulbs around and can’t remember where I planted them so – SURPRISE! Each bud lasts a day, but they put out multiple buds so you get a pretty good payback for very little effort.
Tagged as:
bulbs,
container gardening,
Flowers
