Tag Archives: flowers

Move over Peony, it’s Dahlia’s Turn to Shine

Dahlia + Alstromeria

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” ― Iris Murdoch

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Friday Things Considered: The Stephen Curry Edition

Baseball Player Stencil by Francesca Cole

Not much of a sports fan, I can barely distinguish the Final Four from the Fourth Quarter. Case in point. . . This week while having my teeth cleaned I heard a round of applause just outside the exam room door.  The dental staff is usually pretty supportive of my flossing technique, but I’ve never [...]

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Where Have All The Roses Gone?

Sterling Silver rose

Speaking of birthdays.  In a few days it will be my middle daughter’s birthday and that means it’s time to go hunting for a rose for Sydney Rose.  Her dad picked out the very first birthday rose when she was a baby.  ”Bewitched,”  a beautiful clear-pink hybrid tea, captured this spellbinding strawberry-blonde daughter perfectly. Every [...]

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Friday Things Considered

Today is my baby boy’s 22nd birthday.  Like all three of my children, he ignored his due date and lingered with me for awhile.  Though my midwife Peggy (aka the Babycatcher) knew this was a pattern with me and mine, she thought the baby was getting too big and decided she better hurry things along. “Happy [...]

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Spring Treats

Easter Bouquet + Peeps

True confession: I like Peeps.  Yes, those Day-Glo sugar-coated marshmallow chicks are a taste treat I actually look forward to every Easter.  To enhance the texture, I open the package a few days early to let them get a little crunchy on the outside and set them out as part of my holiday display.  Look [...]

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Field Trip: Annie’s Annuals

Garden Gnome

Chipped polish on my dirt-encrusted nails reminds me that I should not be bothering with manicures this time of year. I’m just too busy digging in the dirt. Or frequenting nurseries to find more plants to dig in the dirt. Though I’d already picked up a little spring color at my neighborhood nursery, I was [...]

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Friday Things Considered

Oxalis field

Like a tipsy party guest, oxalis—with its day-glo yellow blossoms and exuberant growth patterns—can be a pain to those attempting a manicured springtime garden display. Here in the woodland hills of Oakland, however, outrageously cheery swaths of oxalis are as welcome as a sunny patch of daffodils in a proper English garden. Also, did you [...]

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Friday Things Considered: The Spring Planting Edition

Spring played peek-a-boo this week with on and off showers and some balmy days punctuated by frosty nights. Nevertheless, I enjoyed several playdates in the garden with some cold-weather annuals.  Like my mother always says about lipstick—everyone needs a little color! Here are a few other things that brightened my world: 1. If you, too, [...]

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Friday Things Considered

My apologies to the rest of the country.   I know you’re oh-so-tired of shoveling snow and watching icicles form on icicles.  But here in the Bay Area, we are in the clutches of an early spring and we can’t help but crow about it. Try to think of our incessant postings of beautiful blossoms as [...]

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The Science of Good Design

After years of interviewing people about the objects they’ve chosen to decorate their homes, I can tell you that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  That said, a recent New York Times story says there is a science to good design—or at least design that most of us want to hold close. [...]

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Kathryn Pritchett

writes about Things Elemental — where we find shelter, why we connect, what sustains us and how we strut our stuff.