Hello Camellias!

Spring is finally here my friends!

I know some of you are still in the cold, but in the high desert things are definitely changing.

The camellias are always in full bloom on the last day of winter.

And the garden as a whole has so many signs of life.

The wildflowers I planted in December are bushy, bulbs are blooming and the fruit trees are full of blossoms.

I'm so in love with the apple tree blossoms.

I can't wait to see what the garden I built over this last year at home does in the coming months.

But for now, we have baskets of neon fuchsia and cherry red camellias.

I am not even sure if the color will translate via screen because it's so intense.

Their scent is so unique, it reminds me of the best suntan and sunscreen lotion on a tropical day.

I have a basket that has handles but also can be worn as a backpack, which is perfect for collecting around the garden.

Some of these more moody photos remind of a snow white setting.

Such a lovely day for collecting, I just love all the bee and bug activity.

Now, we don't get bugs at all like some of you get, but we get just enough that I enjoy looking at them as they zip by.

Luckily the bees do seem plentiful here.

I brought a bunch of camellias inside, and then could not decide which photos to share as I took so many.

There are still many more to bring in as well.

The bees are in heaven.

I accidentally brought a bee inside one of the flowers, so I carefully took him back outside.

I know many people are not into these red tones, but I love a flower no matter the color.

I can't think of a color I don't like.

Pretty soon it will be storing dried flower time.

This tray below is filled with flowers that have seeds, which I dried and kept from last spring and are now all back in the garden.

There might be a random dried rose in there too, but I crumble them up and let them become part of the soil.

Spring is truly in the air in my neck of the woods.

The grape hyacinths have bloomed madly and I see so many other little sprouts peeking out.

Nothing more exciting than that for a garden lover.

One of my favorite edible flowers is an arugula blossom.

They look like they've been drawn on, with the little veining almost making them look like butterfly wings.

They are so tasty too, I love arugula, do you?

Here is another camellia shot, because I simply could not choose what angle I liked more.

A good excuse to bring out my Fenton vases, spring flowers.

I was just outside pruning the bougainvillea, and it is crazy windy out there.

I received a few more mail order plants and will plant them as soon as I am done typing.

Last year when I ordered plants they were small and awful.

But the plants I have ordered this year are a whole other story, big and full.

I suppose stores realized that they better change their mail delivery offerings due to people shopping online.

It's a pleasant surprise really, to receive such nice plants.

I do hope you are doing well.

We are just fine over here (knock on wood), enjoying nature's offerings.

I'll share more from the garden as it unfolds.

I hope to see you again very soon.

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

 

ps:

I forgot to share that…

We gobbled all those giant Napa cabbages.

I made so many different dishes, but I wanted to share how pretty they were once fully ripe.

I even made cabbage rolls.

So yummy!

 

I will definitely be growing these again next year.

I planted my seeds around July and had cabbages to eat in late winter.

They are a cool crop veggie, so that's how that works.

🙂