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White hibiscus flower up close

Posted on September 6, 2008September 6, 2008 by Steve

I love these giant Hibiscus moscheutos flowers.
I LOVE this digital SLR camera we got last spring!!! (It’s a Canon Digital Rebel XT)

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The first of the paperwhite narcissus have bloomed

The first of the paperwhite narcissus have bloomed already! I thought these waited for cooler weather, and it was such a hot summer and even into the fall – we had about five days over 100° in October! But anyway, I’m grateful to see these up as other flowers are fading in the garden! 💚
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#sacramentoflowers #sacramentogardening #zone9gardening #fairoaks #gardening #flowergardening #narcissus #bulbs

Pickled serrano/fresno/jalapeño hot sauce is done

Pickled serrano/fresno/jalapeño hot sauce is done! This is my second year making hot sauce from our homegrown peppers. It’s pretty easy and fun!
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#hotsauce #sacramentogardening #peppers #peppergarden #zone9garden #pickled #pickledpeppers #mygarden

I turned 61 last week. I remember last year thinki

I turned 61 last week. I remember last year thinking 60 didn’t feel so bad, and I’m as healthy as ever! But then it turned out to be a complicated year with surgery and all. The garden didn’t do so well this year with me feeling some physical limitations. But I’m back to feeling normal now, and let’s hope being 61 is an easier ride! My birthday was the day after our daughter’s wedding, so being tired and partied-out, we had a low-key gathering with the kids who were available. Santia got me this wonderful espresso machine ➡️, which has become the gift that keeps on giving! Now I need to learn how to make cool designs with the milk foam 💜😊

This is why I’ve been quiet lately! We were busy

This is why I’ve been quiet lately! We were busy getting ready for our daughter Tadja and Aaron’s wedding. 💜 Santia (leading a crew of many of us) has been helping Aaron’s family get their property ready for the wedding for about six months. What a beautiful outcome! Some of these are screenshots from others, because I was trying to stay in the moment and not behind the camera too much that day. The professional shots are from @amyelizabeth.photo who is amazing and a wonderful friend of our family.

I go walking by the river almost every morning, an

I go walking by the river almost every morning, and getting a little dose of nature as well as some exercise helps me stay balanced and happy. It’s always fun to get to see something out of the ordinary like this morning. 😊 💚
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#Coyote #nature #vitaminN #walking #naturewalk #americanriver

Harvesting corn! Do you pay attention to the seed

Harvesting corn! Do you pay attention to the seed packet when it says ripe in X days? Better to judge by actual conditions - here’s how 😎🌽💚
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#sacramentogardening #gardening #veggiegarden #norcalgarden #corn #harvest

It’s cukes and zukes time! Well, they’re zephy

It’s cukes and zukes time! Well, they’re zephyr squash (last pic), but close to zucchini. I am healing up pretty well from the surgery, and feeling stronger every day. Still under orders to not do any heavy exertion, but I am at least getting out into the garden to do a few things. This super hot summer we are having out here on the West Coast is really hammering the garden! I don’t even want to show you my tomatoes! 😬 How is the weather where you are? And how is your garden growing this year? 💚
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#cucumber #squash #gardening #veg #veggiegarden #hotsummer #sacramentogardening #zone9

Comfort cat and ➡️ what my goofy friend Ryan @

Comfort cat and ➡️ what my goofy friend Ryan @sacappraiser left on the front porch to help with my healing 😂. I don’t think Ryan understands that laughing hurts! It’s day 4 since surgery to remove a cyst bigger than my kidney. Whew! It’s been pretty tough. I’m getting better, reducing pain meds, walking around a little, sleeping a lot, but not eating much. Down 8 lbs in 4 days, so I’m feeling the energy drain. Santia has been taking good care of me. 💜 Thanks for sending love, healing wishes, prayers, and all forms of positive energy my way. I appreciate them all! Sending 💚 back at you all!

Hey, I’m recovering from surgery, and it all wen

Hey, I’m recovering from surgery, and it all went fine yesterday. Santia has been taking great care of me, and I don’t know what I’d do without her! 💜 Thanks for all the well wishes, good vibes, positive energies, and prayers - I felt the power you sent my way! 💚🙏 Meanwhile, what do you think of this cool new flower we got a few weeks ago? It’s called ptilotus or mulla mulla, from Australia. We’d never seen it before, and it’s a fun addition to our tropical garden. 💚

Watching genetic variation from one generation of

Watching genetic variation from one generation of annual flowers to the next is fun! Here are some black-eyed susans (rudbeckia) from my garden. Do you see these kinds of cool color changes in your garden? What are your favorite annuals you let self-sow?
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#flowergardening #flowers #gardening #annuals #rudbeckia #yellow #sacramentogardening #selfsown #annualflowers #mygarden

As I sit near this grape vine, a couple of scrub j

As I sit near this grape vine, a couple of scrub jays perch patiently on the power line, waiting for me to move away. We have plenty of these ‘flame seedless’ grapes, so we’ve been happily sharing with the jays. It’s fun to see them hopping around the bunches and then flying away, grape-in-beak. A few finches have tried them out, too, but I think they’re more afraid of the cats than the jays are. And man, what a great day today! It’s only 80 degrees right now, and that’s so refreshing after so many days over 105 and even 110 this month! 💚
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#grapes #gardening #fruit #sacramentogardening #fairoaks #norcalgarden #mygarden #growfood #zone9

So, maybe “Steve grows stuff” isn’t supposed

So, maybe “Steve grows stuff” isn’t supposed to mean this! 😂 Going into surgery in a week to get something big taken out. Wish me luck! 💚

Monday morning, back to work! Work from home has b

Monday morning, back to work! Work from home has been so amazing for me as a gardener. I get to do my consulting and realtor work here in my converted shed, next to the corn I planted on Father’s Day, along with the asparagus, potatoes, and zucchini. I love it! 💚
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#workfromhome #veggiegarden #sacramentogardening #norcalgarden #zone9b #zone9

A fun experiment has turned out successful! In the

A fun experiment has turned out successful! In the middle of these tomatoes is a white sapote tree given to me by the fabulous @fair_oaks_tropiculture last year. After I planted it in this spot, I topped the area with some compost from last year‘s garden clippings. Turns out my compost didn’t get hot enough, so a whole bunch of tomato seeds sprouted as volunteers. I was going to pull them out, but then I noticed that the little bit of shade they were giving to the white sapote was helping it to wilt less in the hot sunshine. So I left them as a temporary shade for the little tree. Since then, the tree has really started to take off and doesn’t wilt anymore. And it turns out that the tomatoes are yummy! There are several different varieties in there, including some cherries and what looks like it might be Roma. Often the volunteer tomatoes turn out to be deviations from their original hybrid or heirloom parents, and they’re not always tasty. But it worked out this time! Here’s to giving things a chance and seeing how they turn out! Do you have any surprises like this in your garden this year?
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#gardensurprises #volunteerplants #mygarden #norcalgardening #sacramentogardening #veg #tomatoes #veggiegarden #fairoaks

Butchart Gardens! We took a quick little trip to V

Butchart Gardens! We took a quick little trip to Victoria last week to take some stuff to our daughter who just moved up there, and I finally got to see the gardens I’ve been hearing about for 40+ years. It was a good time, and after being in the 110°+ weather of Sacramento in recent weeks, it was so nice to be in the sunshine when it was only 75°!
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#gardendesign #gardens #publicgarden #botanicalgardens #butchartgardens #victoriabc #flowers

Some stuff blooming lately: this huge bouquet of r

Some stuff blooming lately: this huge bouquet of rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) is all one multi-stemmed plant! ➡️ the first echinacea (purple coneflower) ➡️ our gardenia is amazing this time of year! ➡️ lantana is just getting started ➡️ a nice mishmash of gaillardia (Indian blanket flower) and rudbeckia ➡️ black and blue salvia is just getting started, and ➡️ Shasta daisies. How’s your garden doing? What are your favorite blooms right now?
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#zone9 #zone9b #garden #gardens #gardening #mygarden #california #californiagardening #sacramentogardening #flowers #flowergardening #annuals #perennials #perennialgarden #organic

The wedding flower garden is doing great! A few we

The wedding flower garden is doing great! A few weeks back, some of you asked to get an update to see how the jute mesh was working out, and I am excited to say that it’s fantastic!
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#flowergarden #flowers #zinnias #flowergardening #sacramentogardening #weddingflowers

Jute netting to support tall flowers - something n

Jute netting to support tall flowers - something new we’re trying this year. Have you done anything like this? What do you think?
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#flowergarden #sacramentogardening #norcalgarden #zinnia #shastadaisy #cutflowers

Cute rooster and hens, but I hope they stay safe w

Cute rooster and hens, but I hope they stay safe with the wildlife down by the river!
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#fairoaks #fairoakschickens #chickens #rooster

Aurora borealis is visible over Sacramento tonight

Aurora borealis is visible over Sacramento tonight!! My brother just texted about it, so I went outside and captured this. Now, it doesn’t look this awesome with the naked eye, but iPhone night mode catches a lot more of the light and then I amped up the saturation to show even more. I’ve never seen the Aurora before! How cool!
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#aurora #sacramento #aurorasacramento

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