Garden for Life books arrived.
Look what’s here! My book, Garden for Life: Strategies for Easier, Greener, More Joyful Gardening as We Age (Chelsea Green Publishing) is out next Tuesday, April 21.
It’s mandatory to do this pic when you publish, lol. Never gets old. 🌱
My doorstop is blooming. 🌱
#succulents
Podocarpus ‘ Mood Ring’ has such pretty pink-bronze new growth.
‘Mood Ring’ podocarpus has pretty pink-bronze new growth. It’s supposed to get 10’ ft high and 3 ft wide. Looking good in my New Orleans front garden. 🌱
Sunset yellow hibiscus
Sunset Yellow Hibiscus. Kind of bodacious, but I bought her anyway. 🌱
Native Louisiana irises
My Louisiana irises are starting to bloom. 🌱
Oleander
Oleander. Zone 8-11. Non-native, fast growing, nice flowers. BUT, all parts highly toxic.
My mom once trimmed a neighbor’s hedge. She had hallucinogenic symptoms and extreme dreams after.
I have always looked askance since. Plenty alternatives. Handle with care, and good gloves. 🌱
Excellent!
Bottlebrush blooming
Will be missing this bottlebrush tree that bloomed every March. In its place, a new Trader Joe’s. 🌱
Azaleas blooming
Azaleas are blooming all over New Orleans 🌱
🌱
Lemon blossoms
Lemon blossoms! So excited to see (and smell) these after losing a harvest season due to the wild snowstorm/ prolonged cold that hit New Orleans in January 2025. 🌱🍋🍋🍋
Given that I grew up in Southern California looking out at the Doheny Bay referenced in the Beach Boys song, Surfin USA!
Yes, that happens a lot and I just grit my teeth.
Thanks. Be glad you’re not a Kyle!
Didn’t dodge the Rhonda bullet. My parents went to see Rhonda Fleming at a USO show. That sealed the deal. Have never liked my name. Made sure my kids had better.
I was going to be Michael.
I’m reading Theo of Golden. So far an intriguing tale, but in the story Theo gives a bouquet to another character, with echinacea and narcissus. And we know those don’t bloom anywhere close to the same time. Do vegetation errors in books bother you too? 🌱
Camellia shedding petals
Camellia confetti 🌱
Cauliflowers at farmers market
Look at the beautiful cauliflowers at the farmers market this morning! 🌱
Christmas cactus
My Christmas cactus blooming right on schedule. 🌱
I wonder what they call it.
Liguria
You may know Ligularia as leopard plant or tractor seat plant, due to the distinctive foliage of several varieties. The yellow flowers that come in the fall almost seem like an afterthought. 🌱
Paper plant blooming.
Fatsia japonica, paper plant. Encountered it on a holiday home tour here in New Orleans. Such a striking specimen. 🌱
Small daisy-like flower
Aster or fleabane? My brain said aster to this little ground-hugging late-bloomer (growing in New Orleans schoolyard lawn) but my phone says fleabane, or specifically Santa Barbara daisy. My Seek app says aster or daisy, it can’t decide. It seems a toss-up. What are your thoughts? 🌱
Kalanchoe ‘Flapjacks’
Love the colors of Flapjacks kalanchoe on my daughter’s porch 🌱
Gorgeous!
Yes! You can preorder from Barnes and Noble, Rizzoli or independent bookstores!
Bleeding heart vine
Bleeding heart vine, Clerodendrum thomsoniae, enjoying the extra warm fall here in New Orleans. 🌱
Cactus sitting on a/c unit
Garden wherever you can. 🌱
12-16 inches maybe?
Trumpet vine at night
My daughter’s trumpet vine is a real drama queen. 🌱