In our garden: Reflections on Earth Day 2013

Earth Day, a celebration of what the earth gives us, was celebrated across the world on Monday.

It is often said that love begins in the home. And, so does our love for our planet earth. Yesterday, amid clear skies and a wealth of lovely sunshine that greeted the San Francisco Bay Area, I seized an opportunity to get outside for a little while and spent some time in our garden.

As I looked around, I thought to myself: "If I love the earth, all will bloom naturally."

We are blessed to have nine different rose bushes as well as irises, calla lilies, fuchsias, rhododendrons and camellias surrounding our house. Indeed, we have an abundance of beautiful blooms throughout the entire year, especially during the month of April.

And, so, in celebration of Earth Day yesterday, I grabbed my camera and started taking photographs, recording these precious moments in our garden for others to cherish. Consider it  as my random act of kindness. 

May every day be like Earth Day to us.

Iris

Mr. Lincoln rose

Pristine rose

Calla lily

Rhododendron

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

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 11

This week's Bay Area heat wave brought a couple of nice surprises to our front yard garden: unexpected blooms. Thanks to three straight days of mercury-rising, 90-degree temperatures, the first blooms for our camellias and the unexpected blooming of our rhododendrons have added a pretty dash of autumn color.

Second-wave rhododendron:
Fall blooms are adding a
pretty dash of autumn color.

We trimmed both our camellia and rhododendron bushes during summer to enable their respective branches more room for new growth. So, imagine my double-take when I stepped outside a couple of days ago to turn on the water sprinkler and discovered new blooms opening up for both of our front-yard bushes.

Unexpected bloom:
Our camellias usually don't
bloom until Halloween.

As I write, two camellia blooms and nine rhododendrons blooms have debuted, and I expect more blooms will open soon. Usually, our camellias open later in the fall season ~ by Halloween ~ then continue through autumn and into winter. While it's not uncommon to have a second wave of rhododendron blooms in the same calendar year (regular blooming occurs in spring), it's not an annual event. Still, it's a welcome sight on a hot day.

Casual but welcome:
An All That Jazz rose opens
its petals and reveals
a vivid salmon orange inside.

Meanwhile, credit the heat wave for bringing a welcome bloom from our All That Jazz rose bush.  Its demeanor may be more casual and the quantity of its blooms less than some of our more productive rose bushes like the Queen Elizabeth and Mr. Lincoln. However, when temperatures rise like they did earlier this week, our All That Jazz choreographs a great entrance in our garden that would make Bob Fosse proud.

Bursting out in blossom ~ painting the dance floor in a vivid salmon orange ~ and singing a Broadway tune.  That's All That Jazz.

The pleasure of our gardens

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year."

~ Robert Frost

One of the pleasures gained from owning a home the past decade has been nurturing our perennials. Our front-yard garden includes a rhododendron, a camellia, a fuchsia and lots of calla lilies. Ten rose bushes and a bed of irises line our back yard. There is an azalea bush and lavender bushes, too. Previous owners planted most of it; we're merely the caretakers of their legacy. It has been educational to keep them healthy, and fun to photograph them.

Each of the plants has its own growth cycle during the year. Luckily, there is always something in bloom. Now that the warmer spring weather has arrived, our iris bed has been bursting with activity. By the end of the week, there should be numerous purple and white blooms.

The first rose of the year, a First Prize, bloomed last week. Soon, our other rose bushes will create a palette of pretty colors that will last until November. The camellia tree has been in bloom since Halloween, and our calla lilies have dotted the landscape very nicely since Christmas. Finally, a couple of newly-opened azaleas last week coincided with the playing of the Masters Championship in Augusta, Ga., where azaleas reign supreme.

Our moderate Bay Area weather contributes to year-round gardening and enjoyment. It is true, April showers do bring May flowers ~ and, in another month, it's going to be quite lovely and colorful.