09 Winter - Hyacinths

I ordered at bargain prices 40 or so hyacinth bulbs from an online nursery.

I wasn't sure any of them would come up, but Phil assured me that lots of plants are cheap when they are not in bloom, as most customers are only willing to spend money on flowers when they're in bloom.

All of the hyancinths came up. These are photographs of only a few of them.

09 Winter - Bert

After more than a year, I finally broke down this last winter and started feeding the feral cat living in the trees over our hot tub.

Phil named her Bert, short for Roberta, since that sounds like the name of a street-smart, tough girl.

I suspect she's eliminated the pocket gopher population in our backyard, as the few remaining gladioli have flourished this year, while in past springs, they steadily vanished one by one from below ground.

This photograph shows Bert hard at work the first afternoon I fed her. I told Phil the caption should read: "Garden patrol makes me sleepy," while he more aptly suggested, "Smooshed iris are cute."

09 Spring - Erysimum Franciscanum

Here is a photograph of a rare wall flower native to San Francisco. It is about four feet wide and two feet tall, with flower clusters about an inch wide. The flowers are long lasting when cut and smell vaguely like canterbury bells, whose potent aroma I describe to everyone akin to freshly baked tortillas.

We purchased this plant from a nursery across the Bay in Richmond. They say this plant is endangered and was once found along the coastal bluffs from Santa Cruz to northern Sonoma County.

In the background of this photograph are several red anenomes.