Camelia Yuletide

This'll be my first ever attempt at growing a Camelia, and I went with Yuletide for the red blooms with big yellow centers during December and January. It needs to be protected from dry winds, so our Santa Anas are a concern. I'm going to try blanketing the plant for protection as needed. We'll see. . .

What's Cookin'

It's awesome to be able to plant stuff in late fall when everything's going dead or dormant in many zones. The newest culinary additions to my garden are cilantro and beets (a mix including golden ones). Pictured are the little baby sproutlings of each — beets first, then cilantro.

Pink — Gotta Be Pink — Mums

When mom and dad were here, I think I drove them both a little nuts shopping for pink mums for this terra-cotta colored pot. They had to be this color pink, and nobody seemed to have a healthy plant this color, so we kept on looking. Eventual success was tendered by Do It Center in Tujunga. I've been quite pleased, especially during breakfasts on the patio, and I insist that it was worth the effort to find flowers of the correct color. Here's the plant one and two weeks later.

Kalanchoe

Constant blooms, extremely low maintenance.

I Heard a Fly Buzz. . .

Autumn Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile)

Acanthis, Recovering from the Heat

This poor guy died to the ground a few times this summer and fall when it got so dry and hot.