January has been wet, wet, wet for us here in the Bay Area. Rain and more rain and chilly temperatures made for a tumultuous time in the garden.
One of the storms we had was so fierce that one of our eucalyptus trees got ripped off its trunk.
The latter part of January however we have had spring-like temperatures in the 60s! The birds were chirping away thinking spring has arrived early. It has definitely been a roller coaster ride weatherwise.
Movie Review: Dumplin on Netflix
Before I start sharing my garden update I would like to share a quick little movie review of the comedy Dumplin I watched on Netflix last night with my girls.
Folks, Dumplin has to be one of the better movies I have seen in a long time. I am a picky movie audience, very rarely do I recommend movies to watch, but Dumplin is a must see!
Produced by our favorite All-American Girl – Jennifer Anniston, Dumplin is well directed, well acted, and has an awesome story. And kudos to this beautiful lady for producing such a beautiful feel-good movie. This movie is clean, no violence, no curse words, just good old-fashioned story with a great mesage – that no matter what we look like, we are loved, worthy, and beautiful.
You wouldn’t expect a movie about teen beauty pageants to be a feel-good movie, but it is! I won’t spill the story, but let me just say it’s a great story.
Jennifer Aniston is hilarious as Mom of teenage daughter Dumplin. I always knew she is great at comedy (love Friends anyone?) but to see her in a recent movie and be as funny as she can be, she is so good! Not only is Jennifer good, every single person who acted in this movie did an outstanding job. From the lead actress Danielle MacDonald to her best friend in the movie Odeya Rush, everyone deserves an award of some kind 😊👏!
For a good laugh, some tears, great Dolly Parton music, and a feed-good time; check out the movie Dumplin on Netflix.
Back to flowers and all things pretty in the garden
I made cuttings of my favorite geraniums over the summer that are now thriving in the winter. Go figure! They add such a lovely pop of color to my little patio that I couldn’t resist bringing them indoors to enjoy in my kitchen.
Bought a few amaryllis plants from our local Trader Joe’s during the holidays
These plants are only available in December, and I stocked up on a bunch. Here is a look at these gorgeous amaryllis plants blooming all through January.
My Christmas cactus are still blooming along.
The pink one is rather unexpected in that the buds are white and I thought they would have white flowers but they open into beautiful pale pink flowers!
Spectacular January sunsets
We have been having a few spectacular sunsets in January, here is one sunset that I was able to capture the beautiful colors of.
January in the garden is silver-colored
That’s because once all the leaves have fallen off our cottonwood trees, all we see are silvery bark of these beautiful trees. And with the backdrop of the green hills, these tree trunks shine even brighter.
Nasturtium seedlings have started sprouting and a couple even have flowers. I cut a few blooms to enjoy indoors.
Pruned my geraniums and brought a few stalks indoors to enjoy.
Can you believe the vibrant orange color on these geranium leaves! Gorgeous!
Mulched the garden and have started pruning my rose bushes. I have a lot! And I am so picky with pruning that I just do it myself but it does take over a month to get it all done.
My little lemon tree is producing loads of lemons this year. After two years of not getting watered properly the little tree rewarded me with fruit after we fixed the watering situation 🍋🍋🍋.
Moving on to our veggie patch and Anjali’s little herb patch, the herbs are still going strong. Parsley is especially loving our winter.
I took out my Valentine’s decorations most of which I used on my indoor plants and bouquets.
This lacey heart collection I displayed on a beautiful branch I found after one our storms. I love the little patch of moss that looks like a little nest on the branch!
Trying to keep busy in our mild winter weather I made a few more succulent arrangements.
Hope you had a joyous January.
Looking forward to a fabulous February!
There’s definitely a beauty to this season as well. I really enjoyed your photos.
Yes, I concur. winter does have its own beauty. Thank you for stopping by.
Thank you for sharing the beauty you experience 🙏
😊
Very beautiful!
Thanks Basanthi
I love the Lacey Heart Collection and Dolly , along with your Bright Red Amaryllis Flowers , Your Valentine’s Day table would look so romantic with the Right Decor …
Thanks for your suggestions Mami.
Eucalyptus nicholii is notorious for developing a few trunks and then shedding some later. It is better if grown up on single trunks, even if it branches just a few feet above ground. They are very resilient trees otherwise. Ironically, the healthiest are also the heaviest, and most likely to break apart or drop limbs in wind.
Is that a curry plant just above the amaryllis?
Do you recommend we cut off the extra trunks or just leave them all?
Yes! It is a curry plant in my kitchen window! I grow it indoors all year, bought it at our local Indian store in the summer time. They do really well inside. I have an oder one that grew into a tree and i had to move it outsie into my kitchen patio, you can see it in my photo of my patio, its the one with yellow leaves. The outside one drops its leaves in the winter and comes back in spring.
My colleague in the Los Angeles region grows a curry plant, but has no idea of how to use curry!
From the pictures, I can not make a recommendation regarding the Eucalyptus nicholii tree. If you get an arborist out to remove the fallen limbs, he can determine if the tree has been destabilized or too structurally compromised to salvage.
Curry leaves are used as a flavor booster in Indian foods, kind of like using sage or rosemary, it can’t really be eaten because the leaves are tough, but it adds flavor to stews and soups.
Well, he doe not know how to cook, and can not even make tea.
😀😬
So pretty !!
😊 Thanks Swati! 😘