Roses, Water Lily, Mums

When I returned from my trip to Tennessee, pleasant surprises awaited in the garden. Know this: I am absolutely terrible with roses. Powdery mildew, aphids, you name it — they're beyond my know-how to battle. There's something in my nature that says "yes" to some plants and "no bleeping way" to others. Nevertheless, this bush, which I thought doomed mostly because of its mostly shady location, is blooming for the first time in two years, perhaps thanks to the rainy winter. For some reason, it isn't falling prey to the other bushes' ailments. How lovely!



Also, the white water lily has flowered. (I didn't even know what color to expect.) Last year, only the blue bloomed. Water gardening is new to me, so everything's an experiment. The lilies are seemingly doing well, though, with these fertilizer tablets for use under water. This bloom is a little past its prime, but you get the picture. (Funny tangent: My biggest goldfish Mason thinks he's hidden when his front half is under this biggest lily pad. He floats there, perfectly still. I need to get a picture of that, but for some reason, I haven't been 'feeling' photography in recent weeks. I mean, I spent six days in Tennessee and didn't take one picture. Too weird.)


Finally, last fall's mum is re-blooming now. (Believe it or not, I had a heck of a time finding this color.) I had meant to be pinching back for a fuller plant, but once the buds appeared, I decided not to.

Lettuce now praise. . . uh, lettuce!

Mmmm, home-grown lettuce salad with nectarines, goat cheese, sliced toasted almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette. (I was glad I checked for critters as I harvested, or I would've eaten a little caterpillar.)

Western Tanager in Loquat Tree

Hello, Eleanor!

The "Eleanor Roosevelt" Iris is my favorite flower, my very favorite. We didn't know if it was among the transplant survivors until a few days ago, when the buds revealed the almost black petal tips. "Yay, Eleanor's here!" we said. (Notice the second, smaller bud poking out to the left in my picture above.)


This morning, the first two flowers opened. (Above, still unfurling.) To me, they are soooo beautiful. What a unique, rich color! Like "Eternal Bliss," the flower itself is smaller and more compact than other bearded iris varieties. (Below, fully open.)

Wild Red-Crowned Parrot in Loquat

A pretty parrot having an early evening snack at the very top of our Loquat tree. Several parrots fly noisily over our house most evenings, but lately we'll find one in our tree. First it's the sound of heavy wings (these are big guys), then occasional low throaty rattle sounds almost like a raven's voice.



He's choosing the past-ripe ones. I had assumed they eat the fruits flesh rather than the seeds, but now I'm unsure.

Fresh Peas

Yum!

Lorikeets at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific

Okay, yes, it's an aquarium, but there's an awesome bird enclosure. For a few dollars, you can feed the Lorikeets a cup of nectar. It's definitely worth it!

Eternal Bliss, Belvi Queen, & Victoria Falls

These are the three varieties of Iris currently blooming in the front yard. There are several others that have not yet bloomed and revealed their identities, but I hope that "Eleanor Roosevelt," "Dusky Challenger," and "English Cottage" are among them.


Above, "Eternal Bliss," which has just opened for the first time today. I had this kind in Texas, but it didn't bloom there before we had to move. I like the smaller flower in contrast to the others, the delicacy.


Above, "Victoria Falls" in the shade, looking super-blue.



Above and below, "Belvi Queen," which also bloomed here last fall.

Homemade Rhubarb Pie (my favorite)

Other Things: Pomegranate, Lime, Loquat. . .

Above, pomegranate tree blooming.


Above & below: Love the sweet citrus blossom scent of limes in progress.



Loquats ripening above, Sea Lavender flowering below.



Roses are not my thing, but I have a lot of pretty little white ones now, above. And below, red Dianthus, delightful.

"Persian Berry" Iris

This is one of the irises that I brought with me from Texas. You may remember that I dug up one rhizome from each variety I was growing there (most were from Maryland before Texas). They then lived in a paper bag for about six weeks until we moved into our current house. Some of them were re-transplanted in 100 degree heat about two weeks after that — to the back yard because they were in the plumbers' way out front where I had originally planted them. These pink guys are the only ones to have survived that re-transplant to the back (most left out front survived, though only one has bloomed so far).

This is the pink iris's first bloom, and oh my god, they are magnificent!


They are surrounded by the dark purple guys with yellow/white beards that existed in the yard when we moved in. They had been under a shade tree, where they weren't blooming, so I moved them to the area pictured here. The purple flowers are knee-high, for the most part. The pink flowers, on the other hand, are waist-high. It's cray-zee!


Below is the first one that opened (a few days ago). Today there are nine open plus buds-a-plenty. As you can see in the pictures, the flowers are darker when they first open (below). After a day in the sun, the petals are lighter while the beards become a more saturated orange (above).

In the Garden Today

Acacia dealbata

Blooming now, backyard.

New Machine, New Curtains

In the summer of 2005 on the night before I moved from Baltimore to Austin, my mom's beloved Singer sewing machine, the machine on which I had learned and sewn exclusively ever since, was stolen from my packed car. The Hampden hillbillies we know must've done it probably abandoned it in an alley. It breaks my heart.

About a month later, I bought a new machine. Its box remained unopened until this week. I think I didn't/couldn't open it sooner because I was still so dang sad about losing my mom's antique Singer, and I also feared I couldn't sew except for on that machine. But it was time.

Our dining room needed curtains because my neighbor's front porch is, like, right there. The temporary stitch-witched window coverings had not been intended to stay up for this long, and they were making me sad. It was time to sew, so I sewed, and it was fun. I love the new machine, though it lacks sentimental value. Above is a picture of the finished products in situ. Below, you can better see the fabric pattern.

Yay!

Today

Swan's Neck Agave are blooming now. Mine are too young and newly transplanted, so I'm showing you the ones near our favorite spot in Dunsmore Park. Scale is important to capture here; these flower stalks are huge. The picture in the center includes a bird (click to enlarge).








Treetops. Beautiful blue sky. Clouds that linger after yesterday's rainstorms.

Tonight