oh the fragrance of spring!daphne 'carol mackie'
erythronium oreganum
fothergilla major

busy busy busywhite bleeding hearts
bluebells
leucojum
'pocahontas' lilacahhhhh all the little sweeties of the garden are up and bloomingforget-me-nots, viburnum, daphne, fawn lilies, anenomes, apple trees, mock orange, rosemary, geranium hymalayense, ceanothus, spireae, lilacs, rhodies, the last of the magnoliassoon the roses will be coming onspring, oh glorious spring!

at this time of the year little botanical treasures can be missed if you don't step outside at just the right moment. one jewel i'm glad i didn't miss is this Rhododendron schlippenbachii that only blooms in years that it feels like it. last fall i pruned the vine maples that were growing so huge that they were cutting out quite a bit of light over this shrub. i guess the rhodie is rewarding me for allowing more light to reach its lovely emerald green obovate leaves with its delightful diaphanous petals.

ahhh the fresh color of spring!this is kerria japonica that has moved along with me from garden to garden. i first purchased it at a strybing arboretum plant sale, in san francisco, which i miss being able to attend verrrrry much.

happy easter!these are the pysanky we made this year

in printa detail from my painting 29 is on the cover of the seattle review. this is the literary journal for the university of washington's english department.

blissfulwhen i planted little shrubs from cuttings and young trees a dozen years ago i imagined that someday it would look as it does now. patience and anticipation are what guide a garden designers hand. i have to stop and soak in the image from my kitchen window as the collision of bloom from buttery corelopsis, forsythia, cornus mas, ribes sanguineum to that wonderous prunus 'accolade' just define a perfect moment. i know while i stand there in ecstasy that the image will change soon from its peak to the sublimity of falling petals and then ultimately the focus will turn elsewhere in the garden. but for that brief moment every little problem melts away as i gaze upon those soft colors, spellbound.

grocery bagjust finished my new grocery bag. it's made out of a weird crinkly fabric, with cotton embellishments, that is quilted with cotton batting sandwiched inside to give it some body. this was a fun quilting project, on a reasonable scale, after doing that monster quilt.
grocery bags can be more than utilitarian. they can be a fashion accessory.