The pleasure of our gardens, part 18

Mr. Lincoln rose / photographed on June 15 at 7:10 a.m. 

In the beauty of our garden,

There are many roses of different shapes and colors.

Like dear friends, each has a personality.

And, a story worth sharing.

Their names include:

All That Jazz, Mr. Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth and Angel Face.

Each comes alive during both sunshine and following rain.

Each is special: full of joy, love and happiness.

Although each is with us for only a brief time,

We are determined to make the most of our time together.

The memories of our roses live on in our minds.

And, thankfully, through my photographs.

Queen Elizabeth rose / Photographed on June 21 at 8:41 a.m.

The pleasure of our gardens, part 14

Calla lily / Our first bloom of  the season

One of the many joys of living in northern California is gardening year-round, including winter.  With daytime temperatures reaching the mid-60s last weekend, my wife and I took advantage of the opportunity to get outside and catch up on some overdue yard work and to spend some quality time in our gardens.

We have been waiting what seems an eternity ~ actually a couple of months ~ for a warm, dry weekend.  Because the sun doesn't always shine on cue, we've endured many weekends of rainy and often-chilly temperatures. Certainly, it doesn't measure up that what many of my friends across the country in the East and Midwest have endured:  namely, sub-freezing temperatures and snowy blizzards.  But, we do get spoiled by our moderate, year-round climate.

Our fuchsia / A colorful edition to our front yard

So, with sunny skies aplenty on Saturday afternoon, I mowed and edged the lawn and pulled some weeds, while my wife trimmed back branches to several of our rose bushes; pruning them will come soon.  Then, it was time to take stock of what all of the winter rain has meant to our garden:  Our camellia bush, which has been blooming consistently since November, still has several blooms; ditto for our azalea.  Meanwhile, our fuchsia has enjoyed quality growth thanks to the abundance of rain this season.

Our camellia bush / Late season bloomer

Finally, the first of our calla lilies, which reside on the cool and shady east side of our house, is about a week away from opening its spathe (the part of the lily that is white and shaped like the bell of a trumpet).

Each of our plants has its own growth cycle during the year. Luckily, there is always something in bloom.

The pleasure of our gardens, part 12

On Thursday morning, I had just finished taking out the last of the garbage and recycling for that day's pickup and was walking back up the driveway.  I waved at my neighbor across the cul-de-sac who was outside watering her plants.  The time was 8:25 a.m.  It was then that I experienced an "ah-ha" moment. I knew I needed to grab my camera and act fast.  It was too good of a moment not to photograph our roses.

Within two minutes, I was back on the driveway, poised but excited, the sound of the shutter clicking away as I snapped photographs of our roses.  My neighbor stopped what she was doing and, for a moment, observed me taking pictures of our Queen Elizabeth roses.  She understood my "ah-ha" moment and offered me encouragement.

I had observed the interesting way in which the sun peeked through the early morning clouds, reflecting nicely off of the roses, and the swiftness in which the clouds danced across the Bay Area sky overhead.  I wanted to capture my "ah-ha" moment for the ages and share it with others.

This photograph represents the best of the bunch I took of our Queen Elizabeth roses.  I stood facing east and crouched, shooting upward to capture the clouds as a backdrop to the roses, which were at the tip of a six-foot-high vine.  In doing so, it's just the simple enjoyment of nature ~ and the pleasure of our gardens ~ at the right moment of time.

Queen Elizabeth roses
Photographed on Thursday, Oct. 14
 8:27 a.m. PDT