130410 - Anemones

After several days of rain, cold and fog, the sun has returned.

Anemones are blooming in the terraces to the right of the staircase.

130303 - Anemones

This winter, I planted dozens of anemones. The purple and red ones are the first to bloom.

121014 - Cosmos

In July, 2012, I planted cosmos seeds in nearly two dozen six-packs.

Two months later, when the seedlings were more than six inches tall, I planted them throughout the gardens. The ones at the base of the terraces have especially thrived, growing over two feet tall and producing these lovely flowers.

Beside the cosmos a delphinium has bloomed for the second time this year. Its flower stock is nearly two feet long.

A few weeks ago, Phil and I decided to grow morning glory over the front of the lower terraces. You can see the little plants coming up.

120830 - Anemones

The perennial anemone has thrived in the shadow of the hot tub fence so much so that its offshoots seem to appear everywhere around it, even in the terrace one level up.

1102 - Anemones

Until last week, when the nights reached record cold in San Francisco, January and February were unusually sunny and warm.

The first anemones have come up, looking a bit anemic.

I hope the winter cold and rains encourage more anemones to come up with larger and more profuse blooms.

10 March - Anemone

This is one of the first anemones to bloom this year.

Late last fall, I planted over 200 anemones, but most show no signs of coming up. I do not know if it is because pocket gophers or something else ate them or because I purchased duds from an online nursery.

In March, I bought another 160 or so from another online nursery and planted these for next year's blooming cycle.

The anemones that have come up are quite beautiful like this one.

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.

091011 - Delphinium

The purple delphinium started blooming in the middle of October, its flower stocks nearly three feet long. This color of purple make this delphinium my favorite of the year.

The cosmos to the right of the delphinium was the first to bloom, putting on a spectacular show, and has now almost completely faded. I am going to gather its seeds for next summer.

09 Summer - Anemone

The perennial anemone went into bloom during late summer and continues to produce white, three-inch flowers on eighteen-inch stocks. The plant itself is about a foot tall and eighteen inches wide.

It has been difficult finding something that can live in the shadow of the hot tub fence at the bottom, left of the staircase. This anemone has thrived there, and Phil and I even think it began blooming this summer sooner than it did last year.

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 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.

09 March - Anemones

Here are two anemone flowers from the fride (FRont sIDE) garden.

The winter rains seem to have ended around the start of March, and the gardens are now cranking.

This plant sits against a brick wall between two perennial bushes. At first, I thought it wasn't getting enough light, but then I noticed the massive flower buds coming up soon after the rains ended.

Not only do I like the droplets of water on these petals, but the little insect, too, which is seeking protection from the morning drizzle.

08 New Year's Eve

Around Christmas, Phil and I finished terracing the backyard by constructing two garden beds at the top left of the staircase. We were pounding six-foot-long fence posts into the ground, when we noticed a hawk had landed on the fence behind our house.

It sat there for an hour or so, before swooping down into a neighbor's yard. It returned to the fence to eat its catch. We were not only surprised by its size, but by how quietly it dropped into the neighbor's yard and, later, vanished without either Phil or me noticing.

The blue anemone was the first anemone to bloom this winter, and the red is the second. I photographed the red anemone just as it was starting to close its petals for the night.

Easter, 2008 - Flower arrangement

This is the arrangement I made in the front room on Easter, 2008.

Those are pink, purple- and-white, orange, and dark pink ranunculus surrounded by yellow alyssum, pink prairie mallow, salmon winter sweet peas, and two small, blue anemones.

080309 - Anemones, Hyacinths and Stock

I cut these flowers today from the backyard gardens.

The purple stock and purple, blue, pink and magenta hyacinths surround the anemones, the ruffled, purple-and-white one unique in the gardens and my favorite this year.

080306 - Terraced Gardens

I took this short video of the gardens this afternoon, when the sun was descending behind the evergreens southwest of our house.

I'll do a similar video in a month or so to show how rapidly the gardens change, as spring approaches.

080209 - Terraced Gardens

I took this photograph today from the top of the terraces looking down at the gardens to the right of the staircase.

You can see past all four terraces to the row of cala lilies edging the dirt pathway alongside the terraces.

Today, it was sixty-five degrees and stunning. The anemones and crocuses were in full bloom, while the ranunculus continue to charge up out of the ground. I cannot wait for them to bloom, too.

The cacti and succulents have definitely perked up now that the sun is drying out the gardens.

Next to the the hot tub is the white Pacific Giant delphinium I've staked several times to support its flower stalk almost three feet in length. I hope it blooms before the next rainstorm, since flower stalks this long typically collapse under the weight of wet blooms.

I planted poppy and larkspur seeds in the gardens today. The relative barrenness of these winter gardens won't last.

080201 - White Anemones

I took this photograph today.

These anemones are located to the right of the stairs on the second terrace.

For several days, they both looked on the verge of opening, but I had little hope for them, as it rained almost day and night this week.

Today, the sun was out for much of the morning, giving one flower just enough of a boost to spring open.

In this photograph, you can also see a round nasturtium leaf, several sword-like ixia leaves, a few hairy poppy leaves, and a toadstool.