My Recent Travels - Part I (San Francisco, California & Modesto, California)

I recently went on a whirlwind trip (business), but managed to see some lovely sights along the way.  As usual, I snapped lots of photos.  Here are some pics from the first half of the trip, which I'd love to share with you if you have a few minutes:

After landing in Oakland, we went straight to Pier 39 in San Francisco, California (one of my FAVORITE places) where we managed to see quite a bit in a short while. 

Pier 39 Entrance - San Francisco, California

Love this crazy crab!

Boudin Bakery - San Francisco, California

 Famous for their sourdough bread, a portion of the original 1849 mother dough is still used in each loaf of sourdough bread baked at Boudin's.

Boudin Bakery - San Francisco, California

Boudin Bakery, San Francisco, California

They bake more than sourdough bread here ... these cookies caught my eye.

Pier 39 Farmers Market - San Francisco, California

I noticed similar super California strawberries approximately 17 years ago on my first visit to San Francisco with my husband during which I fell in love with the city, and have remained smitten ever since (as some of you already know). On my first visit, I didn't sample any of these luscious looking strawberries, so I corrected that on this trip (they had the cutest little sinks at the market to wash the fruit in).  These plum sized strawberries were the best I've ever tasted!  I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was standing on Pier 39 in my beloved San Francisco while tasting them. :-)

 Pretty Mixed Planter on The Pier

You can count on me to spot the flowers ...

The Enlightenment Shop

The Sock Market

 Like the catchy name... and the pretty hanging baskets.

The Sock Market

The Crystal Shop - Pier 39

 I loved these jellyfish paperweights.  

Maybe Santa will bring one this year. :-)

Another Beautiful Planter - Pier 39

The blue flowers are such a striking color.  

Does anyone know what they are?

Pier 39 - San Francisco, California

I thought this was a beautiful view.  The weather was also beautiful.  It was 66 degrees in San Francisco during our short visit.  After a couple of hours at The Pier, we were off to Modesto, California where there was much work to be done.

I snapped this photo while having breakfast in Modesto at The Mediterranean Market & Grill when I realized this striking flower was fresh!  Oh, my goodness!  How stunning!  Once I had my "flower fix," I was set for the day.

I'll post "My Recent Travels, Part II" soon.  I'm off to finish unpacking my bags (my steamer trunk ... lol).

 

Hope you're all having a great weekend! :-)

Encore! Encore!

Friends, I have some very exciting news to share with you!  The Daylily Gods are shining down upon my garden!  A daylily encore performance to beat all others is going on.  Maybe, standing on the deck yelling “Encore,” “Encore!” helped a little bit (one of my "Lucille Ball" moments).  As I began to accept that the daylilies were slipping away for yet another year, to my surprise, scape after magical, bud laden scape began to appear.  Is there a daylily dance to correspond with the rain dance we all know of?  If so, please direct me to the nearest daylily dance studio ... I'm learning this one (no, I will not do this dance in front of the neighbors ... lol)!  Just wanted to show you the current performers, so let’s have a look:

'Orange Crush'

'Beautiful Edgings'

I don't know the name of this inherited beauty.

'Lemonberry Truffle'

I don't know the name of this inherited golden truffle.

'Jesco'

Until next time,

Happy Gardening. :-)

Chit Chat

Yesterday, while out and about with Mr. DS, I spotted this treasure ...

a mesmerizing vase ... it beckoned me from across the department store.  I wandered helplessly toward the gleaming lovely as if it were a mirage in the desert.  "Wouldn't this be the perfect vessel for a lily?" I thought. Once I reached this sparkling treasure, I marveled over it for a while.  Then, I glanced at the price tag, which caused me to quickly "snap out of it" (approximately $650.00).  Price tags are no fun!  It's a treasure all right.  Oh well, the dream was fun while it lasted.

After this, we were off to

look at electronics.  I resisted the urge to set each Nook Tablet, i Pad and Kindle Fire I saw to Daylily Soup and leave them that way!  I don't know what came over me having such thoughts!  Good marketing scheme though ... don't you think?  I can just see the headlines:  "Daylily Soup Bandit" strikes again. ;-)

Don't you just love Starbucks?

Time for a little caffeine.

A front row seat (in the air conditioning) for a delightful, mini Fourth of July parade full of enthusiastic, patriotic children.  Lots of them were on stilts ... amazing! 

Then, I had to pick up a few "paints" for a blank canvas I just happen to have again.  Yes, most of the tall bearded irises had to go due to non performance.  They don't like the warm winters down here.  I did keep my prized 'Rip City' who never disappoints though. Here are the "paints":

'Red Rocks' Beard Tongue

'Garden Spice' Carnation

'Prairie Splendor' Coneflower

'Peacock Cherry Red' Phlox

Missing tag on this one ... think it's button flower.

'Prairie Sun' Black-Eyed Susan

Blank Canvas

I'll keep you posted on the "painting." I'm on vacation today and have already been working on this.  It required early morning gardening to beat the heat.  I require part shade and don't perform well in full sun or high temperatures (been hanging around with the shade loving plants too long). lol

'Halloween Magic'

And, finally, I'll leave you with a bloom 

from one of my encore performers in the daylily garden. 

There has turned out to be quite an encore this year.

Happy Gardening! :-)

Lily of the Day

Inherited (NOID)

This beauty took my breath away this morning.  I was on my way to work, but had just enough time to snap this photo.  This daylily is inherited and I don't know its name, but it's here to stay.  I love the luscious colors on this one, and think the edging on the petals is quite snazzy.  Hope you enjoy!

:-)

Weeding! Argh!

Maintenance/Weeding ARGH!

This MONSTER tub of weeds (brimming over) was one of five that I, the only gardener living here, pulled this morning.  It's times like this that the diva gardener in me starts to come out.  I know, I know maintenance comes with the territory, but WEEDING is not my favorite aspect of gardening.  I prefer to design beds, create beds, rearrange beds and marvel over beautiful plant/flower combinations and beautiful blooms.  I love to fertilize ... I'm like the mad scientist when it comes to fertilizer.  However, being a perfectionist at heart, I can't stand weeds in the garden, so a weeding I will go. 

At some point during this "Argh!" ordeal, I went inside (took the dirty boots off) and was only going to be inside for a minute.  I was told I was too dirty to be inside!  He was right.  Your should have seen my yellow shirt!  Maybe I'll just sit out here, drink Kool Aid and play in the dirt. LOL

Sometimes Life is a Bowl of Cherries!

After pulling weeds for approximately three hours, purging the garden of non performers and rearranging a few residents for another hour, I staggered inside.  Now that I've had a chance to compose myself, I can barely move.  As I ate this bowl of cherries, I thought about my "Argh!" weeding attitude, and how lucky I am to have a garden to weed because along with the weeding comes:

Coneflower

this ...

Canna

and this ...

Daylily (Inherited)

and this!

Disclaimer:  I may (probably will) still have the "Argh!" attitude while weeding, but I vow to quickly get over it, and focus on the beauty of the garden and the many, many joys that go along with it.  Weeds be gone!

:-)

'Stargazer' to the rescue!

Just in time ...

Stargazer Lily

As most of you are just beginning your daylily bloom season, mine is coming to an end.  There are still a few late bloomers putting on a small show.  I can't believe this!  I think the last daylily to bloom is going to be one of the first two that started off the show.  Stay tuned for a daylily end of show post coming up soon ... sigh.  Look who's come to the rescue to save me from lily withdrawal!  Last year, I purchased a bag of 'Stargazer' bulbs (one of my impulse buys).  The bag was supposed to contain a mixture of pink and yellow 'Stargazers.'  This is the first one to bloom and I just love it.  Hm mm, I may start paying more attention to stargazers and other oriental lilies.  These beauties would fill the gap from the end of daylily season to fall.  Now, there's an idea!  I know what you're thinking ... "here she goes with another flower addiction."  I'll pRaCtiCe rEsTraint ... you'll see. ;-)  Just curious, do any of you have any oriental lily recommendations?  I'd love to hear about your favorites.

I'm off to look for spots to plant oriental lilies ...

Hope you're having a great weekend! 

:-)

Wordless Wednesday - Orchid Status

White Orchid - Still Alive & Well

Cream Orchid - Still Alive & Well

Cream Orchid

:-)