091231 - Anemones

I planted two-hundred anemones in the gardens this fall and look forward to this winter and spring when they are in bloom.

I am always excited at the first signs of their coming up.

091231 - Cabbage Poppies

Here's a photograph of cabbage poppies coming up in the front garden near the garage doors.

It is hard to imagine right now that these poppies will reach five feet in height and have flowers the size of your hands cupped together to catch water.

091231 - Cactus

Here are three photographs of the cactus that finally kept the raccoons from trudging through this level of the terraced gardens to bathe in the fountain running along the staircase.

This cactus easily weighed thirty pounds last year when we bought it from a nursery. It has grown several young plants up its center, and I look forward to seeing how large it becomes in 2010.

091231 - Clarkia and Cala Lilies

There are two cement retaining walls separating the terraced gardens from the lower gardens against the house. When Phil and I moved into this house, there was a row of cala lilies along the lip of the upper most retaining wall.

You can see in this photograph cala lilies coming up to bloom, with clarkia and candytufts sprouting between them.

091231 - California Primrose

California primrose was introduced into our gardens by a mixed-seed pack promising several shorter plants with spectacular flowers.

They weren't kidding about the primrose, which blooms for several months at the end of summer through the fall.

Phil and I usually cut the plants down to the ground in winter, but this year I transplanted several into higher gardens. This one is in the highest bed and only days away from blooming.

091231 - Candytuft

Candytuft is a summer plant, but this photograph I took today shows one in bloom in "Big," which is the very big garden just to the bottom, right of the staircase.

These beautiful flowers are the size of quarters.

091231 - Canterbury Bell

This photograph was taken in the new garden just to the top, left of the staircase.

Here you can see a canterbury bell I started from seed in March, 2009. It is surrounded by love-in-the-mist and a mullien promised by the nursery where we bought it to grow to five feet and be covered in yellow flowers.

091231 - Columbines

Last spring and summer, the sweet peas and candytufts were spectacular in the fride (FRont sIDE) garden, but clearly stifled the other flowers there.

Only weeks after I pulled out of this garden the last of the sweet peas and candytufts, the columbines went into bloom. Over the last three years, I have repeatedly reseeded this garden with columbines, and the results are even better than you can see here against the pink background of the house.

091231 - Cosmos

Here is a photograph of the one cosmos still in bloom in the gardens. About two feet tall, it is in the front yard, which gets lots of sun most of the day, even in winter.

091231 - Hollyhocks

The photograph of the hollyhock in bloom was taken at the top, left of the staircase. It and four or five other plants continue to grow and bloom as we head into 2010.

The second photograph shows seedlings just now germinating in the side garden in the backyard. A month or so ago, I threw several dozen seeds down against the garden's back wall, hoping to create a living wall of hollyhocks there next summer.

091231 - Nicotiana

In the side garden in the backyard, nicotiana was one of the first flowers we seeded. They now come up every year, changing color from white to pink to dark red as each plant matures.

This plant is scrawny right now but, as spring approaches, will grow so bushy that it will try to take over the small lawn we installed between the side garden and the lemon tree garden.

091231 - Succulents and Carnations

This is one of two gardens I officially handed over to Phil, who wanted to grow things besides flowers.

This garden is to the left of the staircase and at the very far end of our gardens. It is amazing how well these succulents have done over the last year or so. Most were very small when we transplanted them from other gardens.

The pink carnation was one of the first plants we installed in the gardens. It is great to see it so healthy and already in bloom.

091231 - Sweet Peas

This is the little garden next to the garage doors in which the sweet peas do the best. Here, in prior years, salmon sweet peas climbed up their trellis into the second-floor window.

This year, these sweet peas started sooner than those of previous years, so I expect great things from them. I'm not sure which color they will be, though some of the vines show red at their joints, which usually means purple or red blooms.

Growing with these are stock and a single pepper plant trying its best to make hot peppers on the last day of 2009.

091231 - Tac

I took lots of photographs today to chronicle the gardens at the end of 2009. Of course, the cats wanted to help. At one point, Tac decided I was done photographing flowers and needed to pay attention to her, instead.

09 November - Love-in-the-Mist

I took this photograph in late November, when this love-in-the-mist first bloomed. It is now covered with flowers, and a second plant a few feet away has also bloomed. They add some nice color to the gardens, as we head into winter.

Today, just before it started to rain, I weeded much of the gardens and planted 100 giant hyacinths, 200 anemones and 60 ranunculus. Last year, the candy tufts were certainly spectacular, but I suspect they killed off most of the anemones and ranunculus, which didn't get enough sunlight under the larger plants.

Last weekend, I seeded cabbage poppies at the top of the hill to the left of the staircase. I hope they do well this coming year - I think our past summer was too cool and foggy for them.

09 November - Aster

Here is an aster that bloomed in the front yard. It was almost a foot tall and had a dozen or so flowers, which were the size of silver dollars. It bloomed from mid-November until a week or so ago, when it went to seed.

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall....

This is one of my favorite pieces by Richard Knight, a great friend of Phil's, who passed away December 16, 2008.

This hung in the dining room of his house in the East Bay. It is chrome and 48 inches high by 48 inches wide by 5 feet deep. It is wall mounted.

To discover much, much more about Richard, who was like no one else I know, please click on this blog, http://richardgambleknight.blogspot.com/, which Phil and I are maintaining with the tireless assistance of Judith Lynch, who spent the last 22 years as Richard's companion, champion and wife.