Fall has begun in October! Leaves, leaves and more leaves are changing color and falling in slow motion in my garden.
Category Archives: Gardening
Homegrown Dried Herbs 🌿
When I visited my sister Banu in Philadelphia a while back I saw her use this amazing selection of dried herbs for a vegetarian chili she was making. The herb bottles were beautifully labeled and the herbs dried to perfection. My other sister Shobha and I looked at these beautiful herbs in awe; they looked like Banu had bought them from a specialty food shop, only to find out that Banu dried them all herself at home. Continue reading Homegrown Dried Herbs 🌿
September in the Garden
September has been a beautiful month here in the Bay Area. Though we had a few days of high temps in the 80s, mostly in our little town of Los Gatos it has been pleasant and very fall-like with partly cloudy skies, cool temperatures, and chilly nights. The leaves have already started falling – this is going to go on especially with my cottonwood trees for the next 3 months! Three months of non-stop falling leaves – the garden is going to look messy for a while. I’ve started sweeping the yard every day and people just look at me perplexed – “Why do you bother?” they are wondering. Well, for one I get a little arm-exercise, two – I get some fresh air, and three – I just can’t stand a messy garden. So I sweep what little areas I have control over – my front balcony, kitchen patio and my courtyard. The rest of the garden is just too big to bother. On the plus side, flowers are still blooming and looking beautiful as ever. Continue reading September in the Garden
August in the Garden & Summer Harvest Pics
Our summer this year has been beautiful and my garden is loving it. I’ve been enjoying gardening this summer because surprisingly the weather has been pleasant where I live in our Bay Area microclimate – with temperatures in the 70s, 80, and sometimes in the low 90s. Flowers have been blooming nonstop and I have been getting a good supply of garden herbs, tomatoes, plums, and apples. Not as many as many other superstar veggie gardeners out there, but we are happy with our modest bounty. Here is a look at what we have been harvesting this summer and enjoying in pastas, pies, and salads. Continue reading August in the Garden & Summer Harvest Pics
Dahlia Love ❤️
There is something magical when dahlias are in bloom in the summer garden. With their vibrant in-your-face colors, intricate petal formations, and stately presence it is hard to gaze away from the glamorous dahlia. It only seems fitting that these spectacular flowers should look so ethereal especially given how their origins can be the makings of a fairytale story complete with villains, heroes, espionage, and even deadly sacrifices. Continue reading Dahlia Love ❤️
July in the garden. Lillies, dahlias and other stuff.
July arrived with a big bang of summer heat in our area. Temperatures went up into the 80s and even in the high 90s. But surprisingly my garden held up well, I only guess it’s because of all the giant trees in our garden that provide welcome shade to plants and people alike. The summer heat enticed all my lilies and dahlias to burst into bloom. I did have lots of other perennials blooming but my eyes and camera kept gravitating towards dahlias and lilies. When lilies and dahlias are in bloom it’s hard to focus on anything else – sorry other beautiful perennials. Here is a look at how my garden did in July. Continue reading July in the garden. Lillies, dahlias and other stuff.
June in the Garden
Summer finally arrived in our area in June 🌞 with temperatures warming up into the 70s, 80 and for a few days even in the 90s. In the garden the heat brought into bloom all types of lillies. Asiatic lillies, daylillies, calla lillies, and a couple of oriental lillies. The first flush of rose blooms are over as are nasturtiums which have already set seed and which I pruned down and collected the seeds. Dahlia tubers started leafing out and our veggie plants are getting nice and bushy too. The heat is bringing into bloom so many perennials and plants such as lavenders, fuchsias, carnations, geraniums, and succulents too. Here is a look at my June garden. Continue reading June in the Garden
Mint. The Social Butterfly of the Garden
Mint, you get a bad rap so often. You take over like a weed many gardeners say. Your fragrance and flavor is very strong, so use it lightly chefs recommend. But to me, you are the social butterfly of the garden.
At any good party we need at least one social butterfly that livens up the gathering with their talkative, amicable, and fun presence. These personalities mingle easily with everyone and make people feel warm and special. That’s what you are mint, a social butterfly in the garden. Continue reading Mint. The Social Butterfly of the Garden
Anjali’s New Herb Patch
Anjali’s herb garden packed with herbs that we can cook with to our hearts content has been the envy of mine for years. Her herb patch always looks full and lush and always and I mean always looks happy 😊🌿🌱🌿. Continue reading Anjali’s New Herb Patch
Marvelous May in the Garden Part II
My marvelous May in the garden continues with more flowers blooming nonstop. It seems all flowers love cool spring like temperatures. Every day that I am out in the garden I see more and more flowers in bloom. Everything from astromeria, geraniums, pelargonium, dianthus, dahlias, freesias, roses, lilies, nasturtiums and even amaryllis and mums are in bloom! Did I forget anything? Probably. Here is a look at what more plants are blooming in my May garden. Continue reading Marvelous May in the Garden Part II
