Random Post

Random posting here... I have been busy this week...we all know how that goes. Monday night we entertained my husband's ex boss up here from San Diego. She brought us this lovely bouquet of flowers and another rather interesting hostess gift, pink lemons from her garden.
I cut one open today to use for my iced tea, and though it was not as pink as I would have guessed, the juice was pink...it is where we get Pink Lemonade from. I had no idea there was such a thing as pink lemons? Who knew...probably everyone but me :0)

Oh guess what I served for dessert...my Hot Choc Pots, she loved it!

Yesterday I went on one of my favorite errands of all. Nursery shopping. I just grabbed an iced latte and hit all my favorite spots, and came up with some great springtime treats.
The main item I was shopping for was a small white flowering tree. I ended up choosing a "Cherokee Princess" white flowering dogwood. We had a sumac in this spot, but it ended up going nuts and we had to transplant it out back near our desert. It now overlooks the cement bench. I'll post a picture of that when the iris are blooming next week or so.
Here are some of my other goodies...various perennials, clematis, tomatoes, lemon grass, some annuals, geraniums, and salvias, Victoria and the white one? I am trying one new plant I have never grown that sounds kind of fun. I saw this and I thought of DeeDee. It looks like some of the lovely tropicals that she grows around her swimming pool. Mandevilla “Alice Du Pont” Even though these don’t winter around here, unless I take it in, the gal in front of me in line at the nursery said it grows about 15 feet in one season and is breath taking. So I am giving it a shot. I just love trying new plants. It is very hard for me to stay away from that cute cottagey look, because I like a little of this and a little of that…not very sophisticated in plant kingdom, but oh so fun!

Here are some of my pots of tulips by the front door. I like to plant them in pots in the fall, than after they bloom in spring, transplant them out into the garden.
Now I think this was one of the very first plants I purchased two springs ago when we first moved in our house. I was so thrilled to find a big juicy lilac plant. Here it is last week in bud.


This week it is blooming and the scent is my childhood....now just imagine my white dogwood in full bloom behind this...

Here is a smaller lilac, but beautiful big blooms... I don't have the names right off the top of my head, but if anyone wants to know, I can look it up, no problem.

Here is my north side border, and for those of you that want to compare, take a look here at the first year I planted this garden and the one below on my east side.

I was stunned to see these iris in bloom by the veggie garden today.
Here is the first bloom of my tall bearded Iris, more to come next week...so I have been out "in my garden" a bit lately. Cotswold's Part II coming up this week, I promise.