110131 - Flower Arrangement

The mud season is ending in San Francisco, as the rains give way to several warm, sunny days in a row.

The giant hyacinths are now charging out of the ground, while bachelor buttons and love-in-the-mist that overwintered in our mild climate come into bloom. The roses that Phil and I routinely ignore have paid us back with fantastic blooms.

Today, I cut and brought indoors these flowers to create an arrangement for Phil's sister, who lives in a state buried in snow for much of the winter.

1011 - Nasturtiums

This photograph is of the nasturtiums in November, 2010, when they were blooming at the top of the staircase running up the center of the terraces.

Phil grew up where summer heat kills off nasturtiums before they have a chance to bloom, so he thinks our gardens are heaven, nasturtiums not only blooming profusely but volunteering themselves everywhere like weeds.

I purchased from an online nursery seed packs that promised blooms the palest of yellows and the darkest of reds. They did not disappoint. As you can see, their descendants came up a bright orange before I could pluck them.

1011 - Delphiniums

Delphiniums remain one of my favorite flowers.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know by the preponderance of their images that I favor the deep purple ones.

The one featured in these photographs is the Pacific giant that has done very well at the base of the terraces in the backyard. This year, it was in bloom in mid-October, when I took these images; and, again, in late December, while we had a warm and sunny late fall.

I cut and brought indoors a few days before Christmas a flower stock from this plant almost three feet long.

In one of these photographs, you can see California primroses and the chimney bell flower fading as the nights grew longer and colder.

1011 - Coreopsis

A nursery off Ocean Beach in San Francisco offered this new coreopsis earlier this fall, and it has done very well at the top of the terraces.

I took this photograph in the middle of November. The plant is now covered in blooms and seems to enjoy our long, cool nights.

The flowers are about two inches across.

101123 - Cosmos

Between two days of winter rains and before a sudden drop in temperature more typical of our winter, I took these images of the cosmos I'd planted in one of the front gardens late last spring.

Three feet and taller, they have exceeded my expectations. I have cut and brought indoors dozens of flowers over the last several weeks.

I hope to have this sort of success next year, when I plan on seeding much of the front gardens with cosmos for an even greater display next fall.

1011 - Hollyhocks

As I'd hoped, the hollyhocks went into bloom throughout the gardens only a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

These photos show just a few of the plants in bloom in the fride (FRont sIDE), side and upper terrace gardens.

Last weekend, I harvested seeds from many of the plants and hope to have several more hollyhocks in the gardens in 2011.

101013 - Hollyhocks

The hollyhocks did rather well this summer, though there have certainly been more blooms in prior years.

As our fall warmed up, the plants sent up new growth, especially at the top of the terraces. I hope they bloom again before the winter rains come.

101013 - Lemon Blossoms

The lemon tree was covered in blossoms mid-October. It hasn't put out much fruit during our cool, foggy summer, but on warm, still nights, the blossoms smelled spectacular.

101013 - Chimney Bell Flower

This chimney bell flower was seeded by the spectacular one we planted two years ago. That one grew to twelve feet tall before it lay down over the garden.

This one reached about eight feet tall before the wind and rain sent it drooping over cacti and delphiniums in the nearby gardens.

It is now covered in blooms.

101013 - Hybrid Asiatic Poppy

About six inches across on a two-foot stem, this hybrid Asiatic poppy was the largest and most long lasting in the gardens this year.

The dismal summer stifled the others before they could bloom, though two managed to send up smaller flowers on delicate stems and looked very nice for several days.