Tag Gardening

Gardening… The Artichoke!

brilliantviewpoint 33 Comments

I just wrote a lovely post about this beautiful artichoke. Guess what – WP crashed, post GONE! For some reason, the “save draft” wasn’t working well. Early morning tech issues OR the Universe wasn’t keen on the post I had written, wanted me to START OVER! LOL

So, as my creative thought process has now disappeared, I will say… I was in California this past weekend. I went to Half Moon Bay by the ocean. It was wonderful to smell the fishy salty air and hear the fog horn. I used to go there a lot.

While walking on Main Street, I came across a gardening center and saw these artichokes. I don’t eat them much and always wondered how they grew. Now, I know. Seeing them makes me want to give them another try. I was reading that they are a good source of fiber.

Any artichoke lovers out there? What tips do you have to share on peeling / cooking them?

Photography – When it is SPOT ON!

brilliantviewpoint 7 Comments

A shout out to Hannes van Eeden at Wandering Ambivert out of Cape Town, South Africa. He’s an AMAZING photographer. He shares tips / tricks to make “us” better photographers.

I’m hoping this is up to his standards. I’m sure he would have tweaking advice. I did take zillions of photos to capture this one. The birds were on to me – NOT sure what I was up to, so I had to be FAST.

I smiled when I saw a field of dandelions! Did you know that the yellow flower is the dandelion. I always thought the white puff ball was the dandelion. Well, in theory it is, because it is the seeds from the yellow flower.

I did not know that!! What a revelation. It’s hard for me to imagine the yellow flower turning into a fuzz ball. I need to scout out a transformation video on that.

It must happen in the dark of night, right!?

I haven’t seen a bunch of them together in a long time. I was tempted to blow this puff ball out, but if you don’t blow every single one you are doomed in the love department. There is a better myth that you can blow on the seeds and make a wish. I like that one!

NOW, you know why there is a field of dandelions. All those seeds we blow on land somewhere to create more blooms for the next year.

Finally, it is LILAC season. My goodness, they are blooming everywhere, white and lilac colors and they smell heavenly. I do mean heavenly. I admit I prefer the lilac colored ones.

That about sums up my photography for the day. I was on a roll, it was fun!

Our weather is so strange. We’ve got Fall for three days, Spring the next and then Summer. We’ve just got to roll with it. Personally, I prefer Fall / Spring weather, I hope it stays cooler.

Have a nice day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

brilliantviewpoint 10 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day!

Hats off to the wonderful neighbors who have planted tulips for us to enjoy. They are amazing. A shame they only bloom for 1-2 weeks, such a colorful and delicate flower.

I was lucky to get this photo while the sun was shining. We’ve had rain for a few days now.

Let’s do something special… (flowers for ourselves, a pedicure, almond croissant forget the calories, Prosecco with breakfast, a favorite chocolate, take out the tea set – SO MANY possibilities!)

I’ve started you out with some FLOWERS!

ENJOY your Sunday!

In Australia a peony blooms… snow comes to Chicago

brilliantviewpoint 6 Comments

Winter is coming. Actually, it’s almost here. I think we will get our FIRST snow in Chicago today. The first snow is always exciting and beautiful. Then the shoveling and slipping on ice starts (laughing). While I was “thinking” about this, a friend sent me this BEAUTIFUL picture of a peony.

The message was… Thought I would brighten your day. We are having summer, but your winter is starting.

So true, beautiful flowers still bloom when we have winter. I remember falling in love with the Bird of Paradise in Hawaii. What a special flower, it does look like a colorful bird.

How about the orchid. I fell in love with this too. Growing up in the Midwest, we didn’t have exotic flowers. When I moved to California that’s when I started seeing amazing flowers. They say you can see Angels inside the orchid. What do you think?

So, we end the week with a smile and gratitude.

A BIG thank you to my friend for brightening my day with the PINK PEONY.

Have a great weekend!

Gardening… What happened to the sunflowers?

brilliantviewpoint 5 Comments
In bloom…
Drooping…

Summer is over. This weekend, I walked by the sunflowers and they were beautiful, tall, in bloom and soaking up the sun.

Yesterday, I walked by and look how droopy they were. It’s so sad! They looked like they were having a very bad day! I smiled, because that is how we all feel sometimes — head hung low.

BETTER to look bright and chipper and in FULL bloom.

Hope you are having a BLOOMING day and NOT a DROOPY day!

It makes all the difference!

Need some LADYBUGS, buy Geraniums.

brilliantviewpoint 2 Comments

IMG_3514I enjoy gardening. When Spring comes I have favorite flowers. I love impatiens and geraniums. Imaptiens remind me of Carmel, CA, beautiful bedding plant, but they do need watering every day. Geraniums though, they are a hardy flower that bloom constantly with little care.

IMG_3510Recently, I went to the gardening store and was looking for geraniums in this pinkish/redish color. I looked down and this particular geranium was FULL of ladybugs. Of course, I smiled and was transported to my childhood when the “first” ladybug I ever saw had landed on my arm. This little bug was so pretty, sweet and dainty and when it walked up my arm it felt like a little tickle when it moved. My second thought was, “WOW – I must be in for some REALLY GOOD LUCK, there are a lot of ladybugs here!” My third and final thought was, how are there so many ladybugs on “THIS” particular geranium?

So, I read the little instruction sticker and it said that this particular geranium attracts ladybugs to it, which is good for your garden, because ladybugs eat different insects. DID YOU KNOW THAT? I didn’t.

When I got home I Googled “ladybugs” and found that in Europe ladybugs are called “ladybirds.” Not sure that I can see how a ladybug resembles a bird except for the wings it has. At the same time, it made me think that this sweet beautiful little creature does not look like a “bug” either. My research found that ladybugs “are known” for bringing “good luck!”

So, with this post, I share my ladybugs with you.

Let’s see what luck comes our way!