GardenBook

When I received notification that one of my preferred inns on the coast was opening I jumped on it right away. This lodging consists of several stand-alone cottages with no indoor common area, and check in and out were contact free. Funny to think that 6 months ago the concept of contact-free anything was  was unfamiliar. I felt comfortable with the protocols in place and booked a three night stay. The Innkeeper called me two days in advance to ask what my needs would be i.e coffee (hell yes) extra blankets, hair dryer etc. Cottages are left fallow for a day after each guest departure. Guests are provided with a mask, hand sanitizer and disinfecting spray cleaner if you wish to double clean what has already been addressed by the housekeeping staff. Happily the crappy Mr Coffee brewer was replaced with a French Press which was a coffee experience I hadn't had in many years. I might rethink my brewing equipment at home.  Along with the lodging, Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden was

 Botanical Gardens in the state of California have been given the green light to open again, provided the now familiar safety protocols are in place. If there is any public venue I feel completely comfortable visiting it is a public garden. I never touch anything except plants and my camera and  unless a plant sale or some other event is in progress most are relatively uncrowded. At this point events are pretty much all virtual. I waited a couple of weeks after the Ruth Bancroft Garden reopened before taking the journey to Walnut Creek and it felt quite liberating. And I even experienced filling the gas tank in my vehicle which I hadn't needed to do in many weeks.  I arrived at the garden close to opening time, showed my membership card at the kiosk and in I went -my first visit there since New Years Eve.  Agave franzosinii on the march.  There have been significant renovations to the planting spaces in the last few years-more are completed since my December vi

 There is always lots of bloom action going on in the garden in June, and I didn't even try to capture everything. This is a selection of those I am particularly enjoying.   I have no tag for this Lily, but it was the first to open. I planted it because it looked like Regale , which at the time I was unable to find. I planted three Regale this spring and they are budded up. It will be interesting to compare. This Lily is very upward facing, it's a trumpet called 'Silver Angel' . The blooms are just about at eye level . It almost disappeared last summer and I thought it was a goner but it came back strong this year. I count 15 buds after a count of maybe two in 2019.  A newcomer to my garden this spring, Scabiosa caucasica 'Perfecta Alba' . I think I can plant a couple more of these in close proximity for a nice supply of summer cut flowers. Angelica stricta pupurea , a plant that is very popular with pollinators.  The bloom of

 I had some discouraging moments in the last few weeks , having feared that I had lost all my photos from the last 10 years or so. As it turned out I only lost some of 2015 and the rest are hanging out in the wrong year folders.  Even though something like this pales in comparison to what others in our nation are experiencing , it just made me feel worse and basically galvanized me into inactivity. Except for the garden. I have been more present there this spring than I have in decades-working from home has benefits.Instead of changing toner or checking on how much coffee is left or gossiping about company dysfunction, I go out and pull a few weeds or water a few containers.   Once I solved the photo issue (a small triumph) I started to mentally slap myself around to get back into gear. Helping me along the way was the news that one of my favorite get-away coastal retreats in Mendocino County will open mid-June. This particular spot is stand-alone cottages with pretty much no common