Archive for the ‘Dianne's Blog’ Category
Girl Fight!
July 1, 2014For days now, two hens have been brooding in the same nesting box. Their body language is different every time I go to the coop.
Could you turn around? The view isn’t pretty!
Boy, I try to improve the view and then you sit on me! What’s up with that?
I’ll tell you what’s up with that! You’re taking up all the room. I need a break!
You’re on my back again, and now my head is stuck in the egg tray.
That’s a good place for it!
Stop trying to make up!
Hey! Help me keep an eye on the hen next door. She might try to squeeze in.
Reform . . .
June 19, 2014Yard sales and flea markets are in full swing. Make a day out of this fun-loving activity with friends or family. There’s always something useful or decorative for the house, office, or garden to be found. Use your imagination and reform an old object into something new. Here are a few ideas for the garden.
Love in June
June 12, 2014
June 12th is Red Rose Day. The meaning of the red rose is LOVE.
Celebrate by giving a red rose to someone you love.
It is 6:00 a.m., Saturday morning
June 7, 2014
I am ready to exit the home office, push my fingers into a pair of garden gloves instead of tapping them on the keyboard where I have spent most of my week. It will feel GOOD to be with nature, to spruce up the plants that need deadheading, and clear the garden floor of leaves.
At some point, I plan to pull out a 15-year-old lavender plant. It is four feet tall and three feet wide, mostly woody. Plants don’t last forever, and I have to admit 15 years ago I did not know how to properly care for lavender. If lavender plants are not trimmed correctly from year one, cutting later, into the ugly woody branches to get rid of them can kill the plant. Having learned too late, I let mine grow and grow and grow.
I won’t be looking for a replacement plant this weekend, but I’ll search the nurseries soon for something less troublesome. For now, I’m going to enjoy my time in the garden—before the triple digits.
Celebration!
May 27, 2014
When I heard about the Celebration of Gardening, I jumped at the chance to tour the private 30-acre estate, Maple Rock Gardens, Newcastle, CA.
My husband and I arrived at opening time, 9:00 am, and already the parking lot was packed. At the entrance, we received a colored map. We didn’t need it, though. The countless paths of bricks, gravel, stones, pavers, river rocks, and other hardscape, were easy to follow from garden room to garden room, each a different theme.
The estate is owned by Scott Paris who also owns High Hand Nursery and High Hand Café in Loomis. Scott purchased the estate three years ago from Ruby and Frank Andrews who had already created a three-and-a-half acre garden, including a large miniature railroad area.
An avid plant and landscape lover, Scott expanded the gardens since taking ownership. By bringing in large plants and trees, the new and old blend together flawlessly. Water falls, streams, bridges highlight thousands of trees, shrubs, ground cover, and of course hundreds of maple trees.
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Just a little update: Ashley’s Gift is now available in the following countries:
United Kingdom, France, Japan, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, India, Mexico, Brazil, Australia
Thank you! Sales are still going strong.
Magnificent . . .
May 19, 2014
Ecstasy invaded the camera lens through my beating heart
with thrills of stealing the graceful flow
of the magnificent magnolia flowers.
Join me on:
In and Around the Garden 