130303 - Candy Tuft

Candy tufts have begun blooming in the gardens.

121210 - Snapdragons and Candy Tuft

The snapdragons we planted in March continue to amaze. I especially like them with the purple candy tuft.

120830 - Candy Tuft

I was pleased to find a single candy tuft in bloom this late in summer.

1109 - Candy Tuft

I was disappointed when only a few of the candy tufts came into bloom this summer and fall.

I took this photograph in September in the fride (FRont sIDE) garden.

110708 - Arrangement

After several sunny days in a row, the summer flowers are putting on a show in the gardens.

Yesterday afternoon, I made this arrangement of orange coreopsis, pink and red cosmos, and purple and pink candy tuft, which I have found do best in bouquets on the dining room table or the mantel where their unpleasant, "rotting cheese" odor is less likely to overwhelm visitors.

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 - 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.

09 Summer - Queen Cleomes

Here are photos of the two queen cleomes we planted late last year. They are likely four feet by four feet and are clearly covered in blooms. Phil and I were surprised that they not only over-wintered so well, but have bloomed for months now.

090622 - Candy Tuft

Here are several more photographs of the candy tufts in bloom in the backyard.

The flowers get as large as a silver dollar, while the plant can reach almost two feet tall.

090622 - Love in the Mist

Here are three photographs from yesterday of one of my new favorite flowers. I purchased one plant from a nursery last year, and it readily reseeded all over the backyard.

090528- Candy Tuft

I don't think I have a favorite flower - They're all my favorites! - but if you asked me right now which one am I the most excited about, I'd have to say the candy tufts.

In the photo showing the staircase and waterfall, you can see the candy tufts have taken over the bed with the flowering cacti.

At the bottom right of this photo, you can see part of a long, narrow bed just above the lemon tree. It was here where I first encountered candy tufts, which sprang up spring, 2008, from a mixed-seed pack I tossed into this bed when it was clear the pocket gophers had decimated the gladioli.

I love the intricacy of the flowers and its color range from white to pink to dark purple, and I must say I was thrilled and Phil was annoyed by how massive the plants grew when started in early winter, 2008. Phil was annoyed because we literally had to wade through the plants to spot the anemones and ranunculus also in this bed.

090528 - Cactus Flowers

Raccoons find water sources like fountains irresistible, so Phil and I have learned to live with their noise and digging at night.

What we couldn't get used to is their wandering through the garden beds on their way to the waterfall, so we placed nearly two dozen cacti as a barrier between the waterfall and the beds.

Ever resourceful, the raccoons soon found a way to dig up the cacti and toss them into the water, where they let them float and soak up water like sponges for a day or so before eating them from the bottom up.

So, Phil and I saved up and bought a very large, very heavy cactus from a big box nursery. To our amazement, it has bloomed during our cold, foggy spring, its flowers the size of teacups.