I just love the new direct flight between SFO and Dublin, Ireland. It leaves at such a civilized time. I'm sitting here in my pjs and fluffy pink dressing gown, tying up a few loose ends before I do the final clean up in the house and hit the road.
The last couple of weeks have been all about getting the garden in shape for summer and, of course, author events. It's been a lot of fun, and I was surprised by the buzz I get reading extracts from my book - especially the funny bits. When writing there's always that time delay between writing and feed back. I love getting amazon reviews. (If you've read
March to November and haven't left a review please do - here's
the link ) It's just such a thrill when someone contacts me and tells me that they loved the book. But when you read a piece to an audience and get the immediate reaction to it, it's like writer's cocaine! Addictive!
So it's a bit early to be planting the summer garden, but with the drought and the way things have been temperature-wise here, I think I'll get away with it.
This post is merely a "before" and also a place where I can view pictures of my garden when I'm away from it. When I get back, I'll post photos of the growth (or not!) from over the 4 weeks.
These are orange lilies, that I bought last year blossoming and all, that have decided to come up again. I hope it's still blooming when I get back - if it blooms!
The pole beans are planted, the trellising is up, (my husband thought we might need a permit from the city for this!) and I'll add the strings when I see how many seedlings actually survive the birds, slugs and ground squirrels!
The tomatoes are in (I hear a collective wince from the
Santa Clara Master Gardeners!) but its a kind of experiment, and I want tomatoes sooner rather than later this year.
I've rushed the photos and the plants can hardly been seen from this distance, but I'm hoping that the "after" pics will be great from this spot.
I didn't buy any new annuals this year - I'm relying on return customers...
and volunteers...
Poppies are out - in the garden and on the hillsides.
And then there's this plant. It was here when we moved in 6 years ago and has never blossomed. Now I'm going to to be away for 4 weeks and it does this!
I can't imagine what the blossom will look like but My Husband (who isn't coming with me due to his own work commitments) is under strict instructions to take lots of photos. I don't even know what this plant is called.
It's nice to know that when I get back from my book tour in Ireland there is a seat waiting for me in the garden.
Byddi Lee
