May is the month of many flowering plants.

Two sayings I remember well from my childhood;  “March winds, April showers, bring forth May flowers.” And, “Ne’er cast a clout (clothes) until May is out.”  Neither of these quotes seems to be fully true anymore. 

I have on many occasions been without a sweater in April, this year included, and have been known, on rare occasions, to only wear a tee shirt in January!

This year, April, showers and May, flowers, seem to be here together.  This month, I am more often wearing, not only a sweater, but rain gear as well.

But the saying is not wrong about the flowers; every day I see more and more flowers opening their buds across the framework of their branches. Some of the most beautiful flowers bloom in May and June.

The Rhododendrons and evergreen and deciduous Azaleas, too numerous to name, are covered with flowers, everywhere throughout both the town and county.  This link is a good site for Rhododendron variety with color pictures.  Click on the photo gallery and then scroll down through the color pictures, the purples, unfortunately have a blue haze over most of the pictures. 

All parts of the Rhododendron are dangerous, especially the leaves, which is why the deer leave then alone!  

Approximately 800 species belong to this huge group.  The genus Rhododendron, includes both Rhododendrons and Azaleas both evergreen and deciduous Azaleas.  The genus was discovered by the 16^th century Flemish botanist, Charles I’Ecluse.  

The name comes from the Greek words “rodon” which means,  “rose” and “dendron” which means, “tree.”  I am hoping that the rain lets up sufficiently, as they open wide I would like to see them in all their glory at least once before the petals fall.

Rhododendrons and Azaleas have the same basic soil and water requirements.  They require acid soil, air in the root zone and constant moisture for healthy growth.  sun tolerance and cold hardiness for Rhododendron and Azaleas differ by species and variety.

The first of my tree Peonies has been opening a little bit each day.  It has three pink flowers this year!  I am hoping that the rain lets up sufficiently,as they open wide I would like to see them in all their glory at least once before the petals fall.  

I have three more tree Peonies, each a different color, and many herbaceous Peonies, many of which are fragrant.  I expect them to start opening soon.

Peonies are very rewarding garden flowers.  They are rated among the most beautiful plants, both in foliage and flower.  They are easy to grow and long-lived, and grow well in almost all areas except sub-tropical.  They are unlike any other perennial, in that they do not need to be divided.  They are best left undisturbed.

The bloom are large, showy and have a wide range of form and color from pure white to deepest red, many of which are fragrant.  They also make superior cut flowers, lasting a long time if cut in full bud.

Peonies can be healthy, vigorous and free from diseases if grown in full sun, with good air circulation, adequate water and good drainage.  To prevent problems, practice good sanitation and cleanup, especially in the fall.

When planting, ‘peony eyes’ (sprouts) must be pointing up and no more than two inches below the surface of the soil or the plants may not bloom.

As soon as foliage starts to turn brown in late summer, the stalks can be cut off level with the ground.  Do not compost, to prevent the carry over of foliage disease to the next season.

Lilac

The Lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is a genus of 20-25 species of flowering plants in the Olive family, originating in Europe and Asia, with large panicles of pinkish purple to white flowers.

The Lilac capital of the world is Rochester NY, its love of lilacs date back to 1892, when horticulturalist, John Dunbar planted 20 varieties on the sunny side of Highland Park.  The park now has over 500 varieties of lilacs and more than 1200 bushes in the park’s 155 areas.

Note:  Lilac trivia  www.lilacfestival.com/09history.html

Unfortunately, Lilacs bloom for a very brief couple of weeks and even shorter if it rains.  Planting a variety of lilacs, from dwarf to early, mid and late varieties, will give you a prolonged blooming time of perhaps 6-8 weeks.

Lilac 'Palibin'

My favorite Lilac is the Dwarf Korean Lilac, Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin.’  It is not susceptible to powdery mildew or lilac borers and is considered one of the most versatile lilacs, requiring little to no attention once established.  It is the smallest Lilac, growing to 4-5’ in width and height at maturity.  The small dark lavender buds cover the bush for a long time before opening in a burst of intense fragrance in May-June, with a lighter re-bloom in the later summer.  The leaves are petite and rounded unlike the Dwarf ‘Miss Kim’ Lilac and many Syringa vulgaris.

Here is another link of some beautiful close up photos of Lilacs.

Jane 

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

Over the last few weeks, before the rain and wind started, I had been very busy working in a variety of different gardens, including my own.  Mixed with a little sweat and tears at the loss of some plants to the cold winter, was the joy of seeing and feeling the effects of the warmth of the sun on both my body and the garden.

The tree blossoms, dressed to dance, filled the air with their different scents.  One set of petals falling after an incredible display of beauty, giving way to another species of trees bursting into bloom.

The garden is now a riot of color and fragrance.  

Iris pumila

The deep purple dwarf iris’ Iris Pumila, are just beginning to bloom in my garden.  I use them as a low border plant along the front edges of my gardens.  Over the last year I have reduced the amount I have, as they tend to become more maintenance demanding after they bloom, especially when growing in the full summer sun. I have begun planting them in pots for easier care.  I am very excited to have a dwarf yellow Iris this year!  

Yellow Iris

I have a variety of Rhododendron and azaleas opening their beautiful upside down bell blossoms.

Rhododendron 'Jean Marie'

Rhododendron 'Cheer'

Kerria Japonica

Japanese Kerria, Kerria Japonica, has followed hot on the bloom of the Forsythia growing on the east wall of my house.  Their incredible sunshine yellow, tripled petalled flowers are like a beautiful smile, every morning when I leave my house.

Chaenomeles x superba 'Texas Scarlet'

Another early blooming shrub that I like is the flowering quince, Chaenomeles.   These spiny, practically indestructible shrubs can burst in to bloom as early as early February, but this year they were only just coming into to bloom in April.  My favorite is the Chaenomeles x superba “Texas Scarlet’.  My first viewing of this plant and I was sold!  I had to have it.  The tomato red flowers are unforgettable.

Its height and spread is generally 3-6’ but I prune mine back after blooming and pinch back any extended growth throughout the year to keep it small.

To shape limit growth or gain special effects, such as an oriental feel to the garden. A good time is during the bud season.  The cut branches can be brought inside for added enjoyment of oriental style flowers.

Kwanzan Cherry tree

One of the most incredible trees blooming now is the The Kwanzan Cherry, Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan, is easily the showiest and the most popular of the cherry trees.  Its flowers are double pink in large clusters of 3-5 blossoms and are the thickest of all the pink flowering trees.

This tree does not bear fruit, prefers full sun and is intolerant of poor drainage and grows rapidly to 15-20’.  Mature height is approximately 30’.  It can also be used for Bonsai or container planting.

The sunshine and now the rain will bring out the weeds in abundance, so now is the time to get out there and pull all those pesky weeds that you do not want in your garden.

Daphne x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackie'

The shrub with the most fragrance that is blooming now is the Carol Mackie Daphne.  I have three planted in my garden; one by the gate where I enter the garden and another in the middle of the south facing garden and the third is right before the back door.  Either entering or leaving my garden, I am filled with the sweet fragrance of this delightful shrub.

Definition of a weed    Any invasive plants, which you as an individual do not like because they are hard to control and takes over the garden, smothering, desired plants.

Mulch Although there are many different kinds of mulch, my preference is for dairy compost, which I get from a local dairy in Lynden.  If you didn’t mulch in the fall, which is the best time, now is definitely the time to get it done before it is too difficult in between all the plants.  The garden looks so lovely and rich with the dark mulch around the plants.

Mulched!

It is good for the plants too.!

Jane 

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

Beautiful trees are personal choice, yet some trees lend themselves better in structure, size and color.

Along with the two trees mentioned in the last entry, the Thundercloud, which has almost finished blooming already, and Blireiana Plum,  here are a few more early bloomers. 

Magnolia soulangiana

The Saucer Magnolia, Magnolia soulangiana, is usually a multi-stemmed, but can be pruned to be single stem tree spreading to 25’.

Young trees are rather upright but will become more rounded with age! In the winter, the tree is covered with large, fuzzy, gray-green flower buds, sitting at the tips of brittle branches.  The blooms open in early spring, creating a prolific display of large goblet shaped fragrant flowers, in shades from deepest purple to pink to pure white.

The bud

The goblet flowers

Trees prefer a good rich soil with plenty of organic matter when planting which is moist but well draining.  Protect trees from extreme cold and icy winds to prevent loss of buds. USDA zone hardiness 5-9.  Prune as needed after flowering but before buds are set for the next season. 

Magnolia stellata

Star Magnolia, Magnolia stellata, is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree to 15’ with lightly fragrant, star-shaped, showy white or pink flowers, blooming in early spring before the leaves appear.  It is the perfect tree for small properties because of its compact stature.  Use against a dark background, such as needled evergreens. Its’ gracefully flowers and twiggy growth pattern makes it a great specimen tree with a hint of the exotic Asian garden.  Star magnolias like deep organic acid soil with a good layer of mulch around their roots. Little or no pruning is necessary, but if you do, then be sure to prune right after blooming to prevent loss of buds setting for the next year’s blooms.

flowers

Prunus subhirtelia pendula

The Weeping Cherry, Prunus subhirtelia is a wonderful accent tree.  Its showy pink flowers open from deeper pink buds on Pendula branches before the leaves emerge. The heavy flowering, which, while spectacular, lasts only one week!  The bark is smooth and a brown-bronze and in the fall the leaves are a mixture of green and yellow before falling.

close up

‘Pendula Plena Rosea’ is one of the most popular weeping Cherries growing to 20’ with beautiful arching weeping branches but there are many other wonderful varieties.

Jane 

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

The benefits of having street trees are three fold.

Environmental – Trees filter and reduce air pollutants reduces storm water runoff, therefore reducing strain on city sewer infrastructure. 

Aesthetical - enhances the overall appearance of neighborhoods and softens the effect of continuous pavement in the public right of way.

Safety - slows vehicular traffic, while buffering pedestrians from noise, and glare by shading roadways.

BEFORE YOU DIG, always call 1-800-424-5555 to request the location of all underground utilities. Breaking public utility lines is both dangerous and costly!   It is a free service.  The companies for the water, electric and gas lines will come out and mark your planting strip with different color paints.

Cities have specific requirements for trees planted in the planting strip on the street side of the sidewalk.  Always call to get a list of appropriate trees for your area.  

I have included the sites for Seattle and Bellingham.

The most popular street trees blooming now are the Thundercloud and Blireiana Plum and the ‘Mt Fuji’ Cherry is out in some places.

Prunus 'Blireiana'

The Blireiana Plum is a hybrid between Prunus cerasifera ‘Atropurpurea’ and Prunus mume, growing between 15 -20’ high with an irregular shape and width of 15’.   The flowers are very pretty, delicate, pink to rose color and lightly fragrant and are born on almost bear stems.  The leaves open reddish purple, turning deep green bronze by the summer.   One of the advantages of this tree is that it rarely bears fruit.

Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud'

The Prunus cerasifera ‘Thundercloud,’ a cultivar that has been popular since 1937, is similar to the Blireiana, except that the flowers are smaller and bowl-shaped.  It has a more rounded dense shape, growing 25’ x 25’.  New leaves open ruby-red turning dark coppery purple for the rest of the season.

These trees will sometimes set a heavy crop of small red fruit, which are edible.  They can be messy though if left to rot on the ground.

Prunus serrulata 'Mt Fuji'

Prunus serrulata ‘Mt Fuji’ is a beautiful horizontal spreading cherry tree with semi-double white fragrant flowers reaching 15-20 ft high.

As I want to keep my Blireiana to approximately 10’ high, I usually prune after the flowers have finished. 

When pruning always remove dead, damaged or diseased wood first, then remove suckers, usually found growing from the bottom of the tree, then prune for shape and height, making the cut at an outward facing bud. 

Jane 

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

After Catalina Island, my Internet became hard to access, so I resorted to my books.  I had brought along four different books and I was only half way one of them.  Although we did go to some interesting places. I managed to finish Henry James “A portrait of a Lady the night after Catalina Island and Thomas Hardy ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ before we left Los Angeles. 

Eugene seeking shade!

While still in Los Angeles we went to the Runyon Canyon Park, which is an off leash hiking trail.  A great places with lots of trails.  We went up a very steep one with a lovely look out at the top, overlooking Los Angeles, city and country. 

Towards the Hollywood sign

 It was a refreshing change that even with the heat and the steep climb, no one left doggy bags littering the path, for possible pick up later! 

'Donkey'

My son and his roommate’s Great Dane, ‘Donkey’ plus ‘Eugene’ and I took a walk around   Kenneth Hahn Park one afternoon.

Cercis occidentalis

Kenneth Hahn Park is managed by Los Angeles County department of Parks and Recreation, includes large areas of native coastal sage scrub habitat, lawns and landscaped areas, picnic places, a fishing lake, a lotus pond and five miles of trails.

Oil Field

We followed a trail up to the top of the hill, where the view to one side was a large oil field and to the other, a lovely large grassy area where the dogs could release their energy.  It was funny to watch this Great Dane run, she is so dainty on her paws, yet she also looks like she has wet her pants!

After we came down from the hill, we took a circular walk around the man made lake with a beautiful Rill running from a waterfall at one end to the fishing lake at the other end and back to the car.

The Rill

Lake

On the last morning, before we left Los Angeles, while taking Eugene for a walk, I took pictures of the flowers around the area where my son lives.

Prickly Pear

Hibiscus

Cecil Brunner Rose

The area, surprisingly, reminded me of when I first arrived in Bellingham.  Neat lawns, no fences and everyone you met was open faced and friendly.  We were leaving for Death Valley that morning.

We planned a long day of driving with the hopes of seeing some flowers on the way.

We did see a little, mostly yellow, with a few purple.  The temperatures were comfortable but the landscape was barren and the living conditions of most places less than subsistence.   We spent the night in Beatty, with plans to go to Titus Canyon and Scotty Castle the next day.

The Barren Hills

Unfortunately, we were all suffering from sleep depravation and Eugene was refusing to eat or drink.

Titus Canyon was too much for us that day and as it was Richard’s choice, I forgo Scotty Castle and we headed for Eugene Oregon, the original home of ‘Eugene’ my dog, and where my granddaughter lives with her mother.

The Journey out was tedious, but I had a very good book to read, ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ by Muriel Barberry. I wished that I had brought a dictionary; some of the words….they needed one! I loved it humor, something funny, often cynical, and so real.  We stopped just north west of Reno at The Honey Lake Rest Area.  Very neat place.  Good rest stop too!

View

Zero scape Gardens

We spent the night in Yreka again and the difference in the plant life was remarkable.  In just two weeks since we were last there, the plum trees had burst into bloom and the daffodils were delightfully bobbing their heads in the still wintery breeze.

We arrived in Eugene in the early afternoon, after passing through a hail-storm, but the next day was beautiful.  It was wonderful to see all the flowers in bloom all through town.

We didn’t visited the Owen Rose garden this time but in summer it is a real lovely place to wander through and smell the roses.

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

Catalina Island

Yesterday we planned our trip to Catalina Island. It was a rather cool day, which made the ferry ride a little bumpy, but walking was pleasant and mists rolling off the densely foliated hills gave the feeling on being in Hawaii.

Street on Catalina

We strolled through the town, before walking up the Avalon Canyon to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden. Along the way we passed interesting plants and trees.

Bird of Paradise

Geranium

The Wrigley Memorial is dedicated to the memory of William Wrigley Jr. who lived from 1861-1932. Although best known as the founder of the largest manufacturer of chewing gum in the world, he also played an instrumental role in the history of Catalina Island. He helped build the infrastructure for this thriving region of Los Angeles County.
The public utilities, the Casino building, a hotel and transportation and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers were all part of his island legacy. His greatest legacy was his vision was for the Island to remain ecologically protected for all generations to enjoy.

Although the Island receives an average annual rainfall of only 10-12 inches, it often has a cool and moist climate, which makes this geographical region unique.

The Wrigley Memorial with its commanding view of Avalon Bay is the centerpiece of the Botanical Garden. The excavations for the building began in July 1933 and finished by June 1934. The structure stands 232 feet wide and 130 feet high from the bottom of the stairway to the top of its main 80-foot tower.

It was constructed as nearly as possible from Catalina materials. The principal building material was aggregate stone, quarried on the island. It was bonded with cement and sand blasted to reveal and accent the colors of the stone. 13,400 sacks of white cement from the East Coast were needed to bond the aggregate and 9.900 sacks of grey cement from Pacific Coast were used for the foundation and other non-exposed parts of the building. There was 114 tons of reinforcing steel in the structure.

The arches and red tile of the roof reflect the Spanish influence that dominated the architecture of early California. William Wrigley had established the Catalina Pottery Plant on the island in 1927, which produced all of the red roof tiles and the hand made glazed tiles used for decorative effect in the building.

The bronze doors leading to the top of the monument and the original resting place of William Wrigley were beautiful. The Coleman Bronze Co. created the doors to exact specifications for the memorial building in August 1934.

The blue flagstone rock is a natural product of Catalina and came from Little Harbor.

Although most of the marble was quarried in Catalina, the pink and green marble came from Georgia.

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

Well, as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men!” and “if you want something done, do it yourself!” lay in the problems of today. Our plan today was to visit Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

Avenue of trees

Through the gate and along Huntington Ave it looked beautiful, lush and oh, so inviting. It was not to be, the gardens were closed. The park is surrounded by stately San Marino homes set in beautiful estates, starting price 1.8 million and up! I could have lived there in a minute, if of course, I had a few million dollars, so I will be returning to Bellingham, hoping that by the time I get there, spring will have decided to stay for its duration and summer will follow it natural course.

So to ward off the blues, I plugged Starbucks into the GPS and sure enough, there was one less than a mile away! I ordered my regular Hazelnut latte and read the front page of yesterday’s New York Times

My senses recovered, we looked for a park to walk around and found Lacy Park, a hidden treasure within the city of San Marino.

Back in 1875, the center of the park used to be a lake. The city of San Marino purchased the lake and surrounding grounds in 1925 and dedicated it as a park.

Rose Arbor

The roses within the rose arbor will be heavenly in a few short weeks, already there was fragrance filling the air from the few that were open.

Golden Trumpet Tree

Pink Trumpet Tree

Floss Silk Tree

The golden and pink Trumpet trees were very interesting but more so was the Floss silk tree with its incredible thorns all over the thick trunk and branches and fruit like a cocoa pod!

Hollywood Twisted Juniper

I also loved the gnarled old Juniper tree and its very appropriate name!

Photina

The Photina looked like old age in perfection, much more pleasing to my eye than the Photina I see around the Northwest.

Peach Cultivar

The Peach tree was enjoyable in so much as it created an interesting conversation between two other walkers and myself; we all wished we could be around when the fruit were ripe, if it bore fruit!

Jane
Harmonious Garden Artistry
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After an emotional exhausting two days in of San Francisco, we waved goodbye without regret. Although we had enjoyed the Golden Gate Park, we were very glad to heading south on the 101.

We stopped for the night at Shell Beach Inn, a cute place on Highway 1 and only a few blocks back from the cliffs.

Jasmine

The Jasmine growing in boxes along the street were a pretty touch. I was too tired to even try to fight to get both the Internet and word press to work. I did take a walk along the sunny and breezy coastal path at Shell Beach with Eugene before we went to dinner at the Cracked Crab at Pismo Beach; their Blue Crab Cakes were incredible as well as their Crab Bisque.

Dinosaur Rock

This morning, before breakfast, we all took a walk along the beach cliff, past the ‘Dinosaur’ rock to the dinosaur park, which has a long history, dating back to the Chumash Indians.

Memorial Wall

The memorial wall ran in semi-circles around the children’s play area as seating and flat space on top for ball games.

Dinosaur children's park

As we walked I took pictures of some of the plants I thought looked interesting and with the help of my friend in Bellingham, a very knowledgably plant person, (thanks Dick) and the internet, I have found names for most of them.

Sea Lavender

The Sea Lavender or Sea foam Statice, Limonium perezii was growing in large groups throughout the cliff top pathways.

Strawberry

The Strawberry ground cover probably, Fragaria ananassa, was a lawn replacement at someone private home. It had been mowed and edged just like grass. It was a lovely dense thick matt in which it would be hard for any weeds to grow.

Natal Plum

The Natal Plum, Carissa macrocarpa, was interesting and the fruit looked good to eat, although I prudently did not try at the time. Next time I will, as it supposedly makes good jelly! The website I found has a lot of information for those interested.

Sea Fig

The Sea Fig, Hottentot Fig or Highway iceplant. Carpobrotus edulis, is a ground-hugging perennial herb that grows in abundance, flowering throughout the year, in California.

While listed on one site as not native and on the Californian invasive plant list, it has also been widely planted in Californian coastal areas for soil stabilization.

We pl

Playing ball

We stopped for a short run on the beach and then gas in Ventura where I took the picture of the houses and then drove to LA.

California houses

The last 85 miles took us over two hours! Where my son lives is quiet and very pleasant with neatly mowed grass alongside the sidewalks, which Eugene enjoyed much better than the Civic Center in San Francisco.

Across the street at his landlords they are filming part of the TV series, ‘numbers.’ Cameras could be rolling tonight!

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry
Professional Landscape Consulting|photos

Here we are in San Francisco, where everything is busy, busy, busy.  Stop one second too long at the traffic lights and there will a cacophony of horns filling the already polluted air.

It is the first time that a hotel room has felt like a cozy home, even when the “high speed” Internet, does not even crawl!

The Conservatory of Flowers

 This morning we had breakfast and headed out for the Golden Gate Park.  Our first stop was the Conservatory of flowers.  Parking along John F. Kennedy Drive was perfect. We wandered across the road and through the flowers. 

Gecko garden

The Sedum filled Gecko outside, was very cute.

Inside was hot and steamy and only cost $3.00 each to spend some time, weaving along beautifully designed pathways, while avoiding the half dozen school groups of elementary children, to view the many tropical and exotic plants displayed within the confines of the colored glass and mental wall of the Conservatory.

The Buddha's hand

The most extraordinary plant was a lime tree, called The Buddha’s Hand.

From there, we decided to walk to the Japanese Tea Gardens. We went through the Aids Memorial Garden, which was wonderfully calm and serene, especially compared to the traffic of San Francisco, which now was nowhere to be seen or heard, amazingly. 

Shakespeare's garden

From there, we wandered into the Shakespeare Garden, which contains some of the many plants and herbs referred to in his plays.

The Japanese Gardens

The Japanese Tea Gardens were beautiful, not like any I had seen before. 

Having Tea

We, of course stopped to have tea, before wending our way back through the Botanical Gardens, not very exciting, and though a jungle-like walkway back to John F. Kennedy Drive and the car.

On the Jungle-like walk we saw Tree Ferns over 20,’ tall, banana trees and Mohonia with huge bunches of blue berries.  Eugene did not like the overhead sprinklers catching him in their arc of spray over the path! 

Turtles

The highlight of the walkway was a group of turtle, sunning themselves in a stagnant pond, where the surface, looked like it was made of lime green cardboard.

Now we were off to Fisherman’s Wharf.  Well, that was an emotional experience at a stress level 10+.  We were honked repeatedly, drove swerving down a straight road to avoid the double parked cars, the bicycles going 40 miles an hour, UPS vans reversing into parking spots and to top it all, a man in a wheelchair sitting in the middle of the road with a cup held out hoping for money!

While sitting down to enjoy some local crab, Richard discovered he did not have his wallet!  Panic mode is not a good way to eat lunch. I paid for lunch; we rushed to the car, it was under the seat! We took a deep breath and headed for the hotel and safety.

I am ready to leave the big city and head down the coast, for a day on the beach before heading into Los Angeles!

Yesterday on the other hand was a lot quieter and more enjoyable.  We spent the night at a motel in El Cerrito and in the morning, we headed out to U C Berkeley Botanical Gardens.

Interesting!

We spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around the world of plants and other interesting things!

Giant Catcus

Agave

From Giant Cactus’ and Agave, to the arid world of South Africa and Australasia and back to California. 

South African Collection

Giant Coreopsis

We took a quick tour around Berkeley Native Gardens, which unfortunately was not terribly interesting. A little further along the winding and hilly road of Wild Cat Canyon, we stopped at the Charles Lee Tilden Park for lunch. 

Having Lunch

Then we headed out along the Bay Bridge Rd to San Francisco! The rest you know.

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting 

After we left Portland on Sunday morning, replenished with breakfast and good coffee, we got on the road about 10 o’clock, headed for Yreka our stop for the night.   Up in the Siskiyou mountain pass it was very pretty with a delicate dusting of snow, a couple of inches thick.  The temperature fell to 32 degrees!  We had crossed the border into California and it was damn cold!  To top it all I had a call from Bellingham and it was apparently lovely!

A Fine Painted Lady

Once in Yreka, where it was snowing, I decided to take a three-block walk around ‘The Old Town’.  There were a few rather interesting houses, some dating back to 1855.  However, Eugene was beginning to give me the evil eye and we cut our walk short because of the weather.

Back in the Econo Motel.  Not bad for $62 a night, but do not attempt their complimentary breakfast if you ever stop here.

While Eugene snored loudly on the bed beside me, I processed my pictures.  Here are a few from Yreka.

There was a fine old painted lady but my favorite was a little house built in 1858; I thought at first, that it was a church.

built 1858

Miners trolley

SIgn

The planted miners trolley was interesting and the meat market sign surviving from 1858.

The next morning it was very cold but at least it was sunny. 

We had not gone that far today went we could see Mt. Shasta, quite spectacular with its coating of snow.

Mt Shasta

Shasta Lake

Shasta lake was so green, I thought it might be pollution, I t was certainly full of Boathouse docks, and images of drifting away from all the tourists and traffic was a lovely thought. 

By now the temperatures were rising and by the time, we stopped for lunch, Colusa rest stop, it was just about warm enough to eat lunch outside.

Eugene enjoyed a run off to the side where there were dwarf alpine lupines and geraniums growing in the short grass.

Tonight we are in El Cerrito, a concrete jungle, yet every so often there is a smell so fragrant I feel transported back to my childhood days in the Caribbean. 

Tomorrow we are off to the Berkley Botanical Gardens and then San Francisco.

Jane