life in la la land

life in la la land, originally uploaded by Abby - going camera shopping today!!!.There are many ways to enhance a garden. Adding a picket fence is certainly one way to go. Earlier this year, I found ready assembled sections of picket fences at Lowes. With the help of a good carpernter, and and a few buckets of white paint, my front yard was transformed...

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A Calendar for Growing Flowers in Coastal Southern California

AUGUSTRemember, all beautiful color you see here in winter and very early spring should be planned about this time. The roots get a fine start and much of the best blooms come from this early planting. If your garden is full of mums now, and you lack room, get pony packs and transplant into 4" plastic size pots, and have inexpensive plants ready to pop into place later. If you plant directly into the garden, do it at about 4 p.m. to give the plants a whole cool night to help them thru the next days heat. Shade them for part of the next day....

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A Calendar for Growing Flowers in Coastal Southern California

JULYFERTILIZE, everything is growing fast and continues to need feeding. Water deeply and usually only once a week. Light sprinkling begets shallow roots. Mulch. Keeps weeds down and moisture in. July is the best time to separate iris. Don't use any nitrogens when replanting, only super phosphate. Remember, the new growth does the blooming, the second year is the best bloom and the third is good, then consider dividing. Roses, daylilies and many other things have bloomed and need feeding with low nitrogen fertilizer for more bloom. Epipilliums...

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My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” ~ Tom Boddett, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes.Meet some of my latest rose blooms. After adding a picket fence to my front yard, it was quickly followed with the addition of some pretty pink roses. I'll share...

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“The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.” ~ Jacques Benigne Bossuel

Happy Pink Saturday! Thank you Beverly at "How Sweet the Sound" for hosting.Welcome to my flower blog. This week I'm taking you on a garden tour. First stop; my rose garden! The more I garden, the more I realize roses are my favorite flowers. “The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.” ~ Jacques Benigne Bossuel, originally uploaded...

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Cottage Garden Curb Appeal

"Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic." ~ Lilian Jackson Braun, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes.Nothing is more relaxing to me than walking my dog through my neighborhood, and studying my neighbors "cottage gardens." My home is a small 1950's ranch house, and as my rose and front yard wildflower garden grows and flourishes, it finally...

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Wildflower Garden Experiment Update

all i need is a moment, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes (has Spring Fever).My wildflowers are in full bloom. This is a macro photo of one of the pretty blooms. This is the box of seed, and the flower's baby photos. :-) The box was $6 and yielded an entire wildfower bed beside my driveway, and around my rose gard...

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A Good Day

Need to be uplifted today? Then click the title above... you'll be taken to an inspiring video that I just love. "Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more." Brother David...

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A Calendar for Growing Flowers in Coastal Southern California

AprilIs your patio spilling over with color? It could be!Mine is brilliant with pots of blue and yellow violas, pansies, blue ageratum, geraniums,a nd white alyssum. But they were all planted in November and December. So reach for your calendar and make a note to plant these things next year in those months. Even a huge redwood tub of yellow marguerites was planted last fall. The petunias blooming now are left over from last year. All in the sun. Last month, and this month, is the time to be planting containers and tubs, and moss-lined hanging...

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"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." ~ Leonardo Da Vinci Originally uploaded by Abby LanesThe dogwood tree brings back the Spring in my childhood memories. I found this tree in my parent's front yard in NC, while we were visiting family for Spring Break. I have long associated dogwoods with Easter. The four...

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The Flower Fields ~ Carlsbad, California

If you're anywhere near Southern California this time of year, and you're wild about flowers, the Flower Fields, in Carlsbad, are a must see! I must mention, if you like to shop, they're located right behind the Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall, so you might want to stay a day or two. As for the flower fields, I'll let the flower photos speak for themselves....

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"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go."

~Christopher Morley, John MistletoeI'm dedicating this entry to my blogging friend Sylvia. When she talks about flowers that she loves, it seems that hydrangeas rank the highest. Please check out her blog,"Sylvia Cook Photography" for some of the most gorgeous floral images you will ever see. If you click the title, you will taken directly to her...

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“Plants that wake when others sleep. Timid jasmine buds that keep their fragrance to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let the delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about.”

“Plants that wake when others sleep. Timid jasmine buds that keep their fragrance to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let the delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about.”, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes (on Spring Break!).~Thomas MooreThe jasmine is blooming in my neighborhood. It's delightf...

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African Daisies

Happy Sunshine Sunday, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes.These African Daisies had such pretty morning light. My hope is they'll brighten your day! Chee...

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Angel Face Rose

Angel Face Rose, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes.This is the first rose to bloom in my garden this Spring. In California, we cut our roses back in January and don't fertilize them for that month. They get a nice rest, and fertilizer in February. Our weather has been good "rose weather." The right amount of rain, sunshine, and cloudy days. All...

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