Gardening Nirvana

Art in the Mist: The CreARTfuldodger

You know how it goes. You follow a blogger who follows another blogger and before you know it, the three of you are walking on a beach in Victoria, BC.

Wilma and Boomdee, Victoria BC, August 17, 2014

Two years ago this month I met Wilma, the artist behind the blog creartfuldodger (CreArtful Dodger). When I returned to Victoria in June with Mike, Wilma drove into town to share a meal. She offered…

In late June I signed up for Serena’s Thrift Diving challenge: a 30-day outdoor patio makeover. Serena hosts these challenges a few times a year. Many of her followers sign up for the fun of it and for the extra motivation that comes with a deadline.  I’m an avid follower of her down-to-earth, informative and fun blog.

Our deck needed refreshing more than a complete makeover, but I signed up for…

Good times at Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I met Boomdee via WordPress, a wonderful forum for finding your people. There are days when I still can’t believe it.

Boomdeeadda

Yet here we are, making the most of our time together, while making do with the time apart.

Boomdee lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She hosted me at her home in Edmonton. We also took a two-day excursion to the mountains, the world-famous Canadian Rockies, about a five-hour drive from Edmonton. Mr. B, as he’s affectionately known, drove the ten-hour round trip. The drive was breathtaking.

The mostly two-lane highway passes magnificent forests of Alpine Larch, Spruce, Fir to name just a few. Meandering rivers are a glorious milky blue this time of year as the snow and glaciers melt. We stopped at two or three waterfalls on our journey. It’s difficult to describe the power of the water slowly carving out the mountains as the icy waters rush downstream. This video will give you a general idea.

The high point of the day, if you’ll forgive the pun, was time spent above the Columbia Glaciers. You walk along a cliff-edge walkway before arriving on a glass-floored observation platform 918 feet (280 metres) over glacier-formed valleys and rushing waterfalls. If you follow this link, you’ll see the full magnificence of the viewing platform, unobstructed by tourists like me. Boomdee preferred the solid footing of the cliff.  I ventured out with Mr. B, weak-kneed but excited to experience the incredible view.

The magnificent Canadian Rockies

Big Horn Sheep

View of the walkway ahead

Waterfalls below the observation deck

On the glass walkway (Skywalk)

Mr. B on the Skywalk

Another view

View of the Skywalk from the edge

Looking down

Not for anyone afraid of heights

View of the edge from the Skywalk

Wildflowers of Alberta

That night, we stayed in her friend’s cabin just across the border in Valemount, British Columbia. It’s a small village of about 1,000 people. What a treat!

Valemount, BC

On our way home, we enjoyed lunch at the historic Jasper Park Lodge, known locally as JPL.

Good times on the Adirondack Chairs

Boomdee tests the waters (warm)

Beauvert Lake as seen from Jasper Park Lodge

Local chipmunk looking adorable

Back in Edmonton we packed in more fun. We visited Fort Edmonton with Ben and Sherry, and enjoyed coffee and banana bread with her Aunty Kathleen. We visited Urban Scrapbook, The Duchess Bakery and Greenland Garden Centre and nursery. Boomdee recently replanted her boulevard, but saved a space for a plant that we bought together. Isn’t that the sweetest? We sat on her deck or patio, enjoying tea, coffee and toast.

When you get back from a trip, you often here “What was your favorite part?” In a word: Boomdee.

Together we giggle like school girls and seemingly travel on the same emotional plane.  We have similar loves and shared world views, which make our time together easy. She’s a gracious host, married to a lovely man and together they live with a pair of charming cats named Blossum and Petals.

Helping out in the Boomroom

I see you

Blossum lounging on his custom-made bed

The girls

Your’s truly feeling right at home

I felt welcome and right at home. Do you have a friend like that?

We’re already planning our next trip, which makes the time apart seem more doable.

Come have a look at Boomdee’s post about our time together. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s still  dark, but actually very warm outside this morning. When I say morning, it’s very early, only 4:25AM.  The kitties followed me downstairs and did a drive-by snacking.  Now, I’m thinking they’ve gone back to bed because the house is very still and quiet.  It’s Alys’s last day here in Edmonton…[read more]

In case you missed it, here is my post documenting her creative process for Urban Scrapbook.

Ten Reasons to Visit Alberta (and BC)

Glacier Skywalk Experience

Trees of Alberta

Jasper National Park

Valemount, British Columbia

Fort Edmonton

Jasper Park Lodge

Edmonton Parks

Delicious Restaurants and Wonderful Service

Urban Scrapbook

Boomdeeadda

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Reporting From the Boomroom

I’m visiting my dear friend Boomdee in Alberta, Canada. She works for The Urban Scrapbook, and is on deadline for her monthly page layout.

Working her magic in the Boomroom with Petals the cat looking on

Urban provides a kit each month, filled with patterned and solid-colored paper, ribbon, and other embellishments. She kindly brought home a second kit of papers, so that we could make…

Seriously.

After my squash bug infestation a few years ago, and a follow on year resembling squash bug Armageddon, I stopped planting pumpkins for a few years. With little rain over a four-year period, those pumpkin-sucking bugs easily over-wintered and destroyed my meager crop. Twice.

Last summer, something amazing happened: one noble pumpkin grew in the middle of my former lawn. Without any…

For the second time in two months, I’m off to Canada for some rest and relaxation. I took Mike to see Victoria for the first time in mid-June.

White caps outside of Victoria Harbour

A pair of humpback whales, a mother and her calf

Lighthouse as viewed from our whale watching excursion

Craigdarroch Castle

View from the lobby looking up, Craigdarroch Castel

My favorite: a period dress with sewing accessories hung at the hip

The Butchart Gardens: Sunken Garden

The Butchart Gardens: Ross Fountain in the rain

Fuschias

We enjoyed the garden in the rain

MIke poses in the Italian Garden

Japanese Garden, the first of the Butchart Gardens, planted over 100 years ago

Next week I’ll visit Edmonton, a trip planned nearly a year ago. I’m visiting my “Boomdee Bestie”, a dear, dear friend whom I met through blogging. We laugh when we’re together, and everything seems right with the world. I’m counting the days.

What I planned as a vacation, a holiday away from the mundane, now feels like an escape. These are dark times in America. Current events have laid me low.

Our parents raised us to be tolerant and fair-minded, kind and sincere. My Canadian mother and British father met on a blind date in the mid-fifties in Ontario, Canada. They moved our family to California when we were still in grade school.

All these years later, I still  long for the safety of home. Home was a place where nobody cared about a second-amendment right to bear arms. The idea of owning a gun was absurd. In a 2013 survey of 80 countries by the World Values Survey, Canada ranked among the most racially tolerant societies in the world.

Conversely, the States seem mired in racism and gun violence, with little if any progress toward a cure. One of our major presidential candidates wear’s his hateful, misogynist, xenophobic opinions proudly. When he says “Let’s make America great again” it has nothing to do with tolerance. He talks of building walls along the Mexican border,  profiling Muslims, punishing women’s right to choose and a myriad of other aberrant stances that could set this country back a hundred years if he wins.

This past week, police officers shot and killed two men of color with both incidents caught on camera. A four-year-old girl sat in the back seat of the car, miraculously unharmed. The video ends with her tiny voice comforting her distraught mother. “It’s okay, mommy, I’m here.” I sat alone in my car, listening to her small voice while her mother sobbed and I wept along with her.

A day later, as I tossed and turned in bed, further gun violence unfolded. A lone gunman shot a dozen police officers standing watch over a peaceful protest rally. When the long, terrible night was over, five officers were dead, several more wounded including two civilians.

I’m weary and sick and frightened, too. There must be a better way forward.

“Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life.” – Jimmy Carter

“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” – Dalai Lama

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa

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Once the Heat Descends

I continuously cut bunches of sweet peas to keep the plants blooming.

When you live in sunny San Jose, the heat waves are inevitable. What’s new, however, is the duration. In the past, the temps would rise for three days, then drop back to a seasonal norm. Now they seem to last five to seven days at a stretch. With my fair, cool-weather complexion I wilt. Sadly, so do the sweet peas.

The Jungle,…

Let’s start with the wires, the electrical transmission wires that travel along the fence line of our property and carry several thousands volts of electricity. I glanced out of the kitchen window to see a firefighter approaching our front door. I asked him if everything was okay and he said “yes, as long as you stay out of your back yard.”

Oh no!

My garden!

My garden, not far from the pine tree

He said that a neighbor reported sparks coming from the power line and that a crew from PG&E (Pacific, Gas & Electric), would arrive shortly.

Yikes!

By the end of the night it seemed to have all blown over and no one said another word. We assumed it was a false alarm.

The following morning, three PG&E trucks were on the scene, along with two large tree-trimming trucks with crew and a couple of supervisors assessing the problem. It turns out that the neighbor’s pine tree, a tree large enough to span four properties, had a broken limb resting on the line. The crew disconnected power to our home and surrounding neighbors while crews went up into the tree and removed the offending branches.

Slinky is often disoriented

Qualified tree service

Pine tree viewed from in front of our house

Pine tree viewed from one street over

They removed a lot of branches

I brought Slinky indoors for the day, worried that she would either get under foot or have something fall on her. They were able to restore the power by late afternoon, and all was well. No fire as a result of the falling branch, and a nicely trimmed tree in the process.  I’m always a bit unsettled to see workers climbing so high into trees, followed by the awful noise of chain saws and stump grinders. It was a relief when they were finally done.

This past Tuesday, we offered our garage as a local polling place. This is something we’ve been doing for a decade. It’s a nice way to take part in our civic duties in addition to voting.

Our garage the night before the election

If you follow the primary process in the US, you’ll know it’s been a contentious year. I’m happy to have cast my ballot *in our garage* and delighted too that my son could vote for the first time. He turned 18 last June. With all that foot traffic, I made sure Slinky was outside all day, safely enclosed in her favorite outdoor spot.

Slinky’s shelter from the rain

The poll workers, all volunteers, are a wonderful group of people. I served coffee and tea along with bagels and cookies throughout the day, and enjoyed the festive environment of seeing neighbors and friends approach our home to vote. The poll workers arrive at 6 am and stay past 9. It’s a long day for them. I appreciate their commitment to the process. I also wonder to myself why everyone doesn’t exercise their right to vote in this country.

A stunning surprise. These flowers arrived after election day from my friend, Barb. The card said “thank you for your public service. I would vote for you and day.” The sweetest! These flowers and her thoughtfulness  made my day.

Friday, while I was out running errands, a friend called to tell me that Comcast (our internet and cable company) had a representative walking around our garden. I headed home to a note on the door with a vague description of the problem and a request to call their toll-free number. Time spent on phone calls and trouble shooting led nowhere. The customer service rep kept reading from a script, and was ultimately unable to tell me what was wrong.  We went to bed that night without internet, and woke to another Comcast worker wandering around the garden. It’s been one of those weeks.

This morning’s technician told me that squirrels had chewed the lines, weakening the connections so they shut them all down. He had to string new cable through our yard as well as the house behind us. Once they replaced the cable, our internet was up and running. As the technician headed for the door, he told me that I had the “perfect garden for squirrels.”  If he only knew.

My 2016 swing cover remains intact, while the squirrels moved to higher ground.

The Garden Swing: 2015 Edition

I told the tech that the squirrels were doing their part for the economy, keeping Comcast workers employed.

In between the comings and goings of firefighters, PG&E crews, cable technicians and voters, it’s been a hectic start to June.  I’ve been gardening early to avoid the oppressive heat, working on a couple of big projects during the day, and still managed to squeeze in our monthly book club. We celebrated our oldest son’s 19th birthday and both boys finished school for the summer.

I’ve been wondering why I’ve been so tired, but I think I know. I’m missing my introvert time, the hours spent in quiet solitude, reading, writing, gardening or just sitting and petting one of the cats.

It’s been lovely visiting other blogs today and nice to catch up on everyone’s news.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Perhaps like me you’re a bit of both.

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You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

While courting the shiny black females,

Female Carpenter Bee

the amber male, with his bright green eyes and fuzzy amber body, emits a special cologne.²

Valley Carpenter Bee

The female decides if she likes his cologne and only then does nature takes its course.

When Love-in-a-mist met the Valley Carpenter Bee, it was a match made in gardening heaven.

Valley Carpenter Bee circling a Love-in-a-mist flower

Love in a mist flowered all over the garden this spring, both front and back and the bees love it. It makes me so happy to see them buzzing from bloom to bloom. Sometimes I just sit nearby and watch them work.

The more typical, seen daily be the dozen

What surprises me is that most of the bees are small with stripes. There are dozens of them throughout the day working in the garden.

Conversely, the golden hunk of bee is an occasional visitor.

Meanwhile, his female counterpart is out back pollinating the pumpkin planted by the squirrel.

Runaway Pumpkin Vine…and yes, love in a mist

The pumpkin vine is racing across the garden at record speed and it’s only June. In all my years of gardening, I’ve never seen anything like it.

The bees working in my garden are docile. They don’t mind my presence as I brush up against the flowers, currently referred to by my family as “the jungle”. Love in a mist has completely taken over.

The Jungle

Slinky guards her catnip near the love-in-a-mist

Slinky likes to rest near one of the flowers in the back, but to be fair, it’s also close to her secret Nepeta plant, also known as catnip.

Mouse is also enamored with this flower, attracting lots of camera time with his antics.

Mouse loves to pose

Lounging on the sidewalk

Studying the love-in-a-mist

In repose in the jungle

Showing off

On the prowl

In case it’s not obvious by now, I love this beautiful plant and the ease with which it grows. The original seeds were part of a “seeds that attract hummingbirds and bees” packet a few years back. They didn’t do much throughout the drought, but they’ve loved our season of rain.

We’re in the midst of a long heat wave now, so it could spell the end. I’m enjoying them while they last.

Love-in-a-mist

Genus: Nigella

Nigella damascena

Pollinator at work

The fruit is a large capsule

Going to seed

Going to seed

Seed pods

¹Wikipedia: Xylocopa varipuncta

²Native Bees: What’s the Buzz

Friends Who Blog and an Enchanted Light-Catcher

The Gathering of the Bloggers, Washington DC and Virginia, Spring, 2015

A year ago last spring, I spent an extraordinary week gathering with bloggers from around the world. It was an experience I’ll never forget. We traveled from Canada, parts of the US and as far away as New Zealand, gathering in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

Laurie of Life on the Bike, and Julia of Defeat Despair, invited us…

Theater has long been my passion.

So when an invitation arrived to attend a west coast premiere of Camp David at The Old Globe theatre in San Diego, I pounced. The program exceeded my expectations and left me feeling hopeful for our troubled world.

The Carter Center

Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter,  the Atlanta-based Carter Center has helped to improve the quality of life for people in more than 70 countries. The Center, in partnership with Emory University, is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering.

Our Weekend

We gathered at The Old Globe for a luncheon and a presentation by Hrair Balian. Balian is the Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center.

I could have listened to him speak all day. His presentation was brief, but informative, touching on many subjects that I would like to learn more about.  I was able to appreciate all of the Center’s efforts towards peace. In conversations about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), The Carter Center involvement includes:

Relations with all, across multiple divides

Involvement of women, siting UN Security Council Resolution 1325

Factual conflict analysis

Coordination with the UN

Peaceful transition for Syria

and more. We were able to chat with Mr. Balian before lunch and sat with him during the play, which we loved.

Camp David received a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd. Playwright Lawrence Wright is also an awarding winning journalist. His thorough research, including access to the Carters, led him to add Rosalynn Carter as the fourth character in the play. Rosalynn Carter is a powerful force in her own right, advocating for mental health care around the globe.

Conversations with Playwright Larry Wright

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, author and playwright Lawrence Wright wrote the play, Camp David, and a follow-up book called Thirteen Days in September Days. It chronicles the thirteen days at Camp David that led to a peace accord between Israel and Egypt, facilitated by the President Carter. Peace between those two countries remains thirty years later.

Wright spoke with us after the play, and we joined in a question and answer session; also far too brief. What a fascinating man. They hope to bring Camp David to Broadway in the near future.

Special thanks to Seema Shams and Marian Dickson of The Carter Center

If you’re interested in learning more, here are a few links:

The Carter Center: Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

Rosalynn Carter and The Carter Center’s Mental Health Program

Hrair Balian, Director, Conflict Resolution Program Bio

Lawrence Wright Plays

The Old Globe, San Diego, California

History of the Camp David Accords

Here are a few snapshots from the rest of our weekend. We walked along the Shelter Island harbor, ate dinner near Balboa Park, and enjoyed an outdoor breakfast at our hotel.

Photo from the wall of The Old Globe

Carter Center Presentation at The Old Globe

A view of the bay

Flowers outside our hotel

Sculpted from driftwood

Wallpaper library

Lunch!

Taking selfies make us laugh

Towering San Diego palm trees

How the other half live

Map of Shelter Island

Our hotel had it’s own tiny beach

Artsy fountain shot

A Garden Under the Influence of Rain

Wisteria refreshed

It’s been an extraordinary spring!

Everywhere I turn I see a happy garden under the wonderful influence of rain. I’m taking none of it for granted.

From the self-seeded pumpkins,

Self-seeded pumpkin, impervious to the cool night temperatures

to the spontaneous cottage garden

My all-volunteer (self-seeded) garden

everything seems larger than life.  It’s rare for San Jose to get…

Indexing the Garden: It’s a Whole New Page

I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a plant index for my blog. It’s been easy to put off because listing a bunch of plants seemed fairly mundane.

I started it last week  and worked on it here and there and it’s now (mostly) done. Once I got going, I actually enjoyed the process. I worked from memory, notes, trips to the garden, some landscape plans, more trips to the garden and my good ol’…

Who’s That Pollinator: Wasp or Bee?

An Amazing Spring: Everything you see here self-seeded thanks to gentle, frequent rain. The Love in a Mist are now blooming, along with California poppies and sweet peas which appear to have swallowed the trellis

Late afternoon is a happy time in the garden. With spring in full bloom, bees and possibly wasps are doing what they do best: pollinating.

One of the many joys of blogging is learning…

Re-covering the Garden Swing: The 2016 Edition

It’s become a bit of a hobby of mine. I like re-covering the garden swing every year.

Not!

I just finished sewing my third cover, not counting the original, for my beloved swing.

Garden swing cover, the bed sheet edition

I blame the squirrels. I’m not being mean here. I have photographic proof of the carnage. It’s become a bit of a neighborhood tradition to dismantle parts of my swing cover each…

No Bigger Than Thumbelina

Fairy garden jungle?

Imagine for a moment that you’re no bigger than Thumbelina. You’ve been away for a while, and when you return your garden is overgrown.

Nature’s been kind this year. The longed-for rain finally fell and the earth smiled. Precious seeds pushed up through the dampened soil, welcomed by the warming sun.

They grew healthy and strong. Encouraged by continued rains, seedlings…

Slinky Malinki has impaired hearing and her overall senses are dulled, but her sense of smell is superb. How else to explain her catnip tomfoolery?

A domestic cat’s sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as human’s. Cats have twice as many receptors in the olfactory epithelium(i.e. smell-sensitive cells in their noses) as people do, meaning that cats have a more acute sense of smell…