Blooms on the Hummingbird Sage
After heavy rains, the California hummingbird sage Salvia spathacea is producing its first blooms of the year. This plant is native to...
Gulf Fritillary enjoying the sun
After a week of misty, rainy weather, we enjoyed a weekend of sunshine. The plants were starting to get soggy, blossoms moldy. We love...
Bewick's wren and a dandelion plant
Every day I am reminded by local wildlife why it's important not to remove every single "weed" from the patio and garden. I took these...
Lovely rain
Some plants seem transformed by our winter rain. The leaves of this Baja fairy duster Calliandra californica are beaded with raindrops....
Anna's hummingbird in the drizzle
It's been raining non-stop for several days now. During the heavy showers the birds are hunkering down in the trees. But when the rain is...
Hooray for the rain
What a relief! The atmospheric rivers are here, bringing in all that moisture from the Pacific. Here in Northern California we've been...
Poppies blooming again
Some of the California poppies are blooming again. I cut the poppy plants back several times this year when the stems and foliage dried...
The first golden yarrow of the season
Among dormant plants in the garden the bright yellow of the first blossoms on the golden yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum are such a...
Decomposing pumpkin sprouting California poppies
When our Halloween pumpkins started to get squishy and moldy, I distributed them in pieces throughout the garden to decompose and feed...
Monarch Caterpillar Reminiscing
A month ago we still had a group of monarch caterpillars on the Narrow-leaf milkweed plants Asclepias fascicularis. I meant to cut down...
