Natives

I drive slowly, but I know where the turnouts are and I always use them. That's what I was doing when, among an unremarkable clump of a member of my studio's namesake genus (Sticky Monkey Flower, or mimulus aurantiacus), above and below left, I caught sight of a little splash of yellow that I knew was special. Do you see it? Take a closer look, below right, etc. . . .

Growing up, we called these "fairy lanterns", and I watched for them every spring in the same shady wooded patch a little ways from my house. In recent years that little colony has waned, so I felt very lucky to find these.

In looking up the latin name (Calochortus pulchellus), I discovered another reason to feel lucky . . . check out this crazy isolated distribution! If you come visit in the Spring, drop me a line. I'll show you where the fairies are hiding these days. : )

Worth the Wait

Any way you look at it, I've been waiting for the chance to design with these roses for a long time- since winter, yes, but over 10 years if you start counting from when I first visited Garden Valley Ranch in Petaluma (it's located just near my godmother's). So you'll please excuse my extreme documentation of these chaps- I was a little overjoyed to have them in my studio!

 

Old News

 Two bits of old news from way back on Easter weekend: 1) Grandma's garden is looking awesome and 2) the man I have long referred to as my brother-in-law (for ease and accuracy of describing the relationship) proposed to my sister (shown below looking out over the Napa River during our reconnaissance of some studio space). Our families have been like family for years, but I'm still pretty friggin' excited to make it official. Congratulations again, L&C! I can't wait to start planning the flowers, so pick a date already! : )