Red Flowers

Posted on by capentalc

Today is a day about red flowers and I’ve got a few! Years ago I never thought I would love red flowers or anything red but just last year I really started “digging” red flowers! Red was too loud, screaming for attention, I thought. Well, not anymore. I like screaming for attention IN RED. Today, in fact, I wore a red jacket to work. It is nice to STAND OUT sometimes. That’s what the flowers in my garden are doing now, standing out, screaming to get their pictures taken.

Red Quince

“Dark Night” Rose

Red Anemone

Flowering Peach Blossoms

This tree is a bit more unique because the buds are dark pink, bordering red color. Some buds opened up into a “peppermint” color flower.

See below, the very same tree has peppermint-colored flowers. So pretty, isn’t it?

This below is another flowering peach tree. It is a red colored flower but in this picture it looks very pink. I love the vibrancy of these flowers.

Ok, you are in for a TREAT with the remaining pictures! First, my garden looked great after the rain, it made everything green and clean! Only my dog is not clean and you’ll see why when you scroll down. Second, the lighting when it is partly cloudy outside makes for great pictures. Third, my dogs are so CUTE in these pictures.

Look at my dog, Hunter walking in the garden looking for puddles and slugs to eat.

Then, there is Lord Waggles below. He was digging for slugs in a super muddy area after the rain. His eyes are not that brown like the picture. He kind of looked like a demon dog, not my cute little Maltese-looking-whatever he is. Did you notice the background? SO PRETTY!

So cute and so yucky at the same time!

The picture of the hyacinth below is also beautiful! I love the pink and yellow together. So vibrant! My Samsung camera takes great pictures.

Finally, this picture below is the best that I’ve ever seen in my garden picture collections. Beautiful colors with the blue skies, blue house, greens and yellows, with some pinks and reds and a white dog! WOW!!! I just love that picture and the way my dog was looking up in the sky. Also, if you remember last weekend I posted about that trellis that fell down? I erected it a few days ago but it is hanging by its chinny-chin-chin broken leg, tied to a flimsy stake, and supported by that big blue pot. If a big gust of wind come through right now, that will be toast!

That’s all for this happy Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed these wonderful pictures! I should have more this coming weekend. I hope I have time to share them. I’ll try!

Gloriosa, Sweet Peas, Godetia, and More

Posted on by capentalc

As a blogger, have you noticed that most views happen on Saturdays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, in that order of importance? I noticed most of the seasoned bloggers post on THOSE days. They must know something. Normally I don’t like to emulate anyone but I noticed those are the most popular days for me as well.

Recently, I signed up for a free WordPress class at my library and it is a 6 wks class, I think. It’s two weeks in and I’ve only logged in once. Terribly lazy, I know!  Well, the first few classes are super boring like how to set up a site blah blah blah. I hope to learn more later this week when they explain how to make the site more user friendly???

Ok, I rambled enough. Now, on to my garden and flowers. My garden looks somewhat green here but if you look closely, the grass is pure dead.  We are in a supposed “water crisis” in California so we are not allowed to water the lawn or something. My garden is a crazy mess right now with grass and weeds taking control. It isn’t quite the cottage garden that I had envisioned. I really need help.

My garden looks so overgrown with stuff and weeds are all over. Sometimes when I take pictures for my blog, I’m always careful to pluck them out of the way or angle it in a way to make it look all nice and perfect for you. That is an art in itself which I think I am pretty good at.

Anyway, I am happy some of the sweet peas that I’ve grown two years ago are finally flowering. Aren’t they fabulous? I heard they are easy to grow but it hasn’t been for me. It took me two years to see them like this. I said if they didn’t grow at the end of this summer I would throw the whole lot out, now look at THAT! They are lightly scented. I love that purple!

Red Gloriosa

I have been trying to grow these in pots for almost two spring seasons now and finally got the watering schedule correct and did not overwater! I realized growing bulbs in pots mean that you need to let them dry out in between so they don’t turn to mush and rot. Such an amazing plant. I  would love to have these in more colors. This is another one of God’s amazing gift to enjoy.

Scabiosa Mix

In this display I grew a clump of scabiosa mixed colors seedlings in one spot and this turned out to be the most unique display of flowers I have ever seen in my garden.  I love all the colors intermingling. Hopefully, the seeds will drop everywhere else in my garden for next year. Actually, scabiosas grow year-round in my garden.

Bee Balm Bergamot

This bee balm is beginning to open up. I grew it from seeds indoors and transplanted in March. I was so excited I had to take a picture right away before something trample on it. Beautiful color!

Gomphrenas

These gomphrenas are charming the heck out of me. They are little pompoms on a stick! They make great groundcovers. These were grown from seeds in February.

No ID Hibiscus

I’m not sure which one this is because I am not very good at keeping track of all the plant names. It is a very small plant that packs a punch with this big lovely flower. The pot is about 2 x 4 inches big. I thought that it might be a color that is similar to one I had seen at a neighbor’s house. For a long time I was hunting all over the internet for an orange-yellow hibiscus that looked like my neighbor’s. This doesn’t come close but is really adorable. It makes me smile when I see it bloom.

Godetia

I grew this little godetia from seeds in February too. I just love the dark pink stripe in the center. What boldness! This picture is from last week but yesterday I saw two flowers. That’s a good sign in my garden…that means it is thriving, not dying.

Well, time to say goodbye for now. I am off to see the new Minion movie that just came out (a month ago). I love those minions and have seen everyone of them so far! Taking my teenage boys and his friends (I’m chauffeuring) but I promised them that I would stay far away from them at the theater so that they don’t see me. More updates on other flowers next week!

A Bevy of Flowers

Posted on by capentalc

Today I thought I should start creating and eventually print a gardening book that will contain all the flowers I showcased in this blog and more that I couldn’t post before. I would put in tips on how to care for them and where to plant. It would be overloaded with pictures of beautiful flowers.

Basically, it is going to be a book I want to use as my go-to gardening book. I have so many gardening books but they are not comprehensive enough or tailored to the plants I love to grow. I want to combine it with pictures of my plants that I love. It would be an eye-candy book for the flower gardener. There are not many books out there that fit my needs for a comprehensive flower gardening book in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

So that’s going to be in the works in the future. For now, let’s look at this week’s favorite flowers.

Fiji Island Hibiscus

This four inch pot produces the biggest hibiscus flower I’ve ever seen. It’s bigger than my hand. It is such a beauty! I am in love!

Twilight Zone Rose

Princesses Charlene de Monaco

My very first rose from this plant so I am super enamored by this. What a beautiful shade of peach and pink!

Chicago Peace Rose

This is the first year that this bush has produced the best number of roses all at once. For the past 2 years it eeked out about 2-3 for a whole year and they were never perfectly shaped. This here, showed I have at least 7!

Linaria “Licilia Peach”

Abutilon “Blushing Belle”

Dondo Blue Ageratum

This is a great plant that I grew from seeds in the spring of 2020 and it still alive and happy today. Beautiful purple color!

Hollyhock Indian Spring

I grew these from seeds last spring and it has finally flowered for the first time.

Cranberry Hibiscus

This tree was grown from seeds 3 years ago. It’s a beautiful cherry colored tree. The flowers opens for a few hours in the early part of the day. By the time I get home from work it had already closed.

Peach Orange Lion-tail Hibiscus

“Fruit Punch” Poppy

I’ve had this plant for three Spring seasons now. It is alive all year long but flowers only in the spring. The color is spectacular every time. This year seems to be a little slow going for it though as this is the second one so far. I normally get at least 5 or 6 by now.

Okay, this picture of my dog Hunter is so cute that I have to share. He used the toy as a chin rest after he chewed the heck out of it! I love him!

Bye now! Have a good day!