Our roses bloom in December, nowhere better to be than the Huntington Library and gardens. Sharing some pictures, but the smell! So many roses today are big and beautiful – but their distinctive odor has been lost in the process. So feast your eyes on some beauty, but go the Huntington for the full experience.
From bright yellow….
To…..
Blush on the rims of the petals…
Through the pinks….
To red! Whites, purples, and many other colors in between.
Then on to other flowering plants.
Purple berries.
Golden Ginko leaves on the tree.
Strange flowers on the aloe.
More weirdness.
And a bee busy at work.
At a wedding recently, the party favors were these tiles, so I went around and asked people if they planned on taking them home, many said no and handed them over to me. See how nicely they go with my pot? Notice that although I’ve owned this pot for many years the sales tag is still on it?? Yeah, I didn’t either until I saw the photo.
Love the happy colors.
I had to ask around the tables to fill out my numbers. These were the table numbers. Can you see how the old original metal numbers are still sort of there, but covered up with the stucco.
I had some old premixed thinset and I slapped these tiles onto the risers of the front stairs.
Within a day or two they started falling off. So back to Home Depot to buy fresh thinset. I think it’s holding this time.
Looks lovely with my pots and my fall pumpkins.
The longer view. And now, really, I need to do some more glass mosaic.
I have been remiss in my garden, but busy with the camera in other gardens.
This is an easy flower to grow in California, so I can’t explain why it isn’t all over mine.
The pinks get darker and darker.
Some are already red.
But translucent as the sun shines through.
And then we get one so dark, it could almost be called black.
Which is why it is so hard to photograph.
Not even a pretend hollyhock, but I couldn’t resist.
The day was overcast, but no rain. Probably better to see flowers that way than in bright sunlight. Notice I am dressed for a California winter.
The old cement quarry in all it’s glory. A collection of gardens this size is an ongoing project. Still in the hands of the same family, they are doing a magnificent job, of both maintaining the gardens and sharing them with vast numbers of visitors.
This is my second visit, I have only been here in summer, each season has it’s own beauty. This could be an inspiration for a quilt or artwork, the shapes, the shades of green, the pops of color.
Flippossibilitiesing for black and white open up all kinds of new posiblities.
One can take a boat ride out on the water, this is an island after all.
I only rode the bronze horse, not the many fanciful animals on the merry-go-round.
And now to the flowers, interesting how in a compact grouping, they include mostly common flowers like geraniums and coleus for contrast in color and texture.
The individual flowers are irresistable.
The bees are busy, without them, no flowers.
Nature produces the most vibrant colors.
Often the texture and color of leaves is more impressive than flowers.
Sometimes it’s just the flower.
and sometimes, it’s how one looks at a tree.
Especially if it is the strange monkey puzzle tree.
Or
A look at the central courtyard with it’s wonderful textures and shapes.
Another favorite, the exterior wall – otherwise known as the dragon wall.
An overwhelming display of shape, texture, line and design.
I don’t know what this says, I just know that I found this image pleasing.
More concrete work, once again, I didn’t see the details inside until I got a close look at my photo. I’m pretty sure this represents a cloud.
Looking down I see a quilt pattern, complete with the quilting lines in place.
A Pagoda with circular windows.From the opposite side, looking through those windows out to the lake.
The circle motif is repeated with the reflection.
A closer look.
In the neighboring Japanese garden the half circle here is called a drum bridge.Water is wonderful! Can’t get enough of it.
The ducks are right at home.
As are the geese. These aren’t Canada Geese, they banish those and they only let one pair live in the garden. The woke up shortly after this and squawked around the lake.
I’m not a fan of the Arizona dessert. It also was very cold, mid 50s. I brought my winter gear and was fine, but it certainly didn’t feel like an escape.
Water fountains take on a much bigger significance in the dessert.
The flora doesn’t excite me, although nice barrel cactii are fun. Looks like a few more weeks and these guys will bloom.
The one cactus that is really unique to this area is the mighty Saguaro. Though sometimes they do need help to stay upright. The one on the right has an interesting anomaly.
This crested fan is due to fascination. Look it up on Wikipedia. It is some form of disease that doesn’t harm the plant but results in the unique shape.
I went with a friend to the adorable town of Carefree. A small town built in the 1950s. The developers clearly had a good sense of humor.
Whats not to love about Ho Hum Road?
The antique shops are fun, my friend inherited this exact Singer sewing machine from her grandmother, although it sounds like hers is in better shape.
They don’t make them like this anymore. I love that these machines were not only functional tools, but made to be as beautiful as possible. 
Any current textile designers out there? Please knock off this cute print! Looks like a 1950s design to me.
The cat isn’t for sale, I just love his attitude!
A nice touch, making the relatively new buildings look old.
Of course I’m drawn to tiles – as kitchy as they may be.
Cactii, rusted metal art and Marilyn – as good as it gets.
We literally stumbled upon an adorable tea shop. 
I love the creativity of using the chipped and broken tea pots and tea cups. This was a delightful way to finish out an lovely day.
So I picked the lemons.
Bought some American Handmade Vodka. Not sure how one ‘hand makes’ vodka. Is it like moonshine?
Peeled the lemons very thinly.
Put them in mason jars, the recipe said, steep for 4 days.
Turns out it all fit in one jar.
Then I made a simple syrup, sugar and water, I cut down on the sugar just a little. Combined the two and voila – Limoncello. I also refilled the vodka bottle, but this is a prettier picture. I love how yellow it is. So not only did the peels infuse the vodka with a wonderful strong lemony taste, it gives it a bright yellow color.
YUM! Success, and since I have so many lemons, I will probably make more to give as gifts. The leftover fruit will become marmalade, nothing wasted here. LeChaim!
