march blooms

the rain has been coming down here in southern california – on and off – for the last two months. not every day of course, and not like heavy east coast or north western rains, but good healthy rains nonetheless. in fact, i was stranded at home – off of work – for a whole week back in january. the great thing about the rain is that all the plants have been given a good deep drink as the days begin to get longer and warmer. eventually the cool days and nights will give way to an unbearably long summer with not a cloud in the sky or a drop of precipitation for about 8 months.

only within the last two to three weeks have new leaves begun popping out, bulbs sprouting and blooming and buds forming on the citrus and fruit trees. in the beginning of february i began fertilizing with triple 15 and also gave the lawns a boost of nitrogen.

today was just too beautiful to pass up taking some great photos of the new growth and flowers at some of my jobs. the freesias are blasting impressive blooms, and some delphiniums i planted back in january are stretching to the sky. my garden sidekick, ozzie, was in awe of how in just a short amount of time the plants have begun to “pop-off”, as he says. he was attributing it to our fertilizing, which i agree with, but was also telling him how it is just the right time of year – and the good amount of rain we’ve been getting this year. the native wildflowers are going to be something to see too.

just this morning we were working at about 8:30 a.m. when a big storm cloud pushed east from out over the ocean and onto land. the dark clouds down-poured for about 20 minutes before letting up to a perfect blue sky with patches of cumulous clouds. it was quite a fresh cool day not to be sitting behind a computer!

all these photos were shot in laguna beach. i was very glad to be out in the garden today – enjoying the amazing scent of pink jasmines and orange blossoms, and checking out the array of color and life.

enjoy the gardening – scott

alyssum - freesias - roses

iris

orange tree blossoms

freesia

leucojum

delphiniums with sunflower

welcome to white sage gardening

the idea behind this blog is simple. it is a blog about gardening. it exists to answer your gardening questions, as a tool to research plants and gardening techniques and as a fun place to check out photos of plants.

i got into plants several years ago and it quickly turned into a passion. a passion so strong that i went back to school for horticulture and got a job at a local nursery to teach myself about plants. at the same time i volunteered at a botanic garden for even more hands on experience. now, several years later i run a modest gardening business in southern california.

a friend of mine convinced me to start a blog as a way to reach out to other fellow gardeners. i hope this blog will grow over time and become a fun place for you to visit. my intent is for the users of the blog to direct its path. i will post photos and stories of my day to day activities in hopes that other gardeners will find them interesting, helpful and enjoyable.

i chose to be a gardener because i love being outside working with plants and giving life and happiness to my clients. the positive energy that flows through the plants and the earth is something i feel every human should enjoy. the benefits of being a part of the natural world are often forgotten and overlooked in this day and age where technology reigns supreme.

i know for a fact that my health has improved remarkably since i began gardening for a living about 5 years ago. i hope this blog encourages everyone to get outside and feel the earth through their fingers, to plant something new in their garden, and to feel the quiet perfection of nature.

thanks for reading – enjoy the garden

scott j ward – white sage gardening

flowering plum tree