The birds still sing...

My mother-in-law passed away today after a relatively brief illness.  We're in shock over the speed with which her world - and ours - turned upside down.  She was healthy, active, and mentally fit and, even in her mid-80s, my husband and I had assumed she had many good years ahead of her.  

In the week after she was first hospitalized, we rode a roller-coaster of emotions.  One step forward, two steps back - yet we assumed that her health problems would be resolved.  We went through the motions of our lives between visits.  When she elected to return home under hospice care, I was distraught.  Many of my friends believe this is due to the fact that my own mother died just over 10 weeks ago.  But my relationship with my mother and my mother-in-law were very different and I feel her loss differently.  I loved my mother-in-law, not as a substitute mother figure, but for the person she was: intelligent, analytical, straightforward, practical, passionately supportive of her family, as well as her personal interests and, yes, decisive.

I met my future mother-in-law when I was 18.  I can't say that we had an instant rapport.  Our relationship evolved over time.  She intimidated me a bit early on.  Before she married, she'd studied bacteriology, earning a master's degree at a time when fewer women went to college, much less studied science.  She worked alongside her husband, supporting his career as an academic, and raised 4 children.  When her children grew older, she pursued an avid interest in birding, keeping meticulous records of almost 4000 "life birds."  Her interest took her on trips all over the world and created a vast network of friendships.  She restricted her travels during her husband's long illness but maintained her interest in birds until the end of her life.  Her garden, which I wrote about here, was designed with birds in mind.

There was a large collection of feeders, of which those pictured above represent only a portion

Plants were selected to attract and support birds

Birds could always be found at the feeders

And splashing in the birdbath

She had a book by her bedside entitled "On Wings of Song", a collection of poems about birds edited by J.D. McClatchy.  I flipped through the book while sitting with her during the final days of her illness.  I'm not normally one to quote poetry, but one poem in particular resonated with me.

NEVER AGAIN WOULD BIRD'S SONG BE THE SAME

By Robert Frost

                                     He would declare and could himself believe
                                     That the birds there in all the garden round
                                     From having heard the daylong voice of Eve
                                     Had added to their own an oversound,
                                     Her tune of meaning but without the words.
                                     Admittedly an eloquence so soft
                                     Could only have an influence on birds
                                     When call or laughter carried it aloft.
                                     Be that as it may be, she was in their song.
                                     Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed
                                     Had now persisted in the woods so long
                                     That probably it never would be lost.
                                     Never again would the bird's song be the same
                                    And to do that to the birds was why she came.


Because of her, I'll never hear birdsong the same way either.

Foliage Follow-up: Gray Shades

I have just a few offerings for this month's Foliage Follow-up Day, hosted by Pam at Digging.  Most of what I have to share comes in shades of gray.

Dorycinium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), preparing to bloom

Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola', finished with its blooms, still offers an attractive foliage display along a pathway

Ordinary Helichrysum petioare 'White Licorice' and Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' weave together

Senecio vitalis (aka Blue Chalk Fingers) mingling with Rosemary and Osteospermum

A mass of Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) creates a visual break between flower colors

Cercis occidentalis backed by Ceanothus

New growth adds color to a Leucadendron (no ID)

For more foliage posts, please visit the Digging site.  Thanks, Pam, for hosting.

May Bloom Day

With most of my attention given to other concerns this month, I haven't had much time to take pictures of the garden, much less work in it.  Picture-taking has also been hindered by a few days of soaring temperatures and low humidity, which turned once plump, healthy blooms into ragged versions of themselves.  Nonetheless, I'll present the best of what I've got.

There's a lot in bloom in the backyard border.  I need to add some foliage plants to improve the color flow.

Alstroemeria (no ID on variety) and Erigeron karvinskianus (aka Santa Barbara Daisy)

Digitalis purpurea 'Foxy'

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' backed by Hebe speciosa 'Varigata'

Hebe 'Patty's Purple' fronted by Geranium 'Tiny Monster'

California native Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita Bop' and daisies

Bearded Iris are blooming in the back border and elsewhere.  The first 2 photos below show Iris I inherited with the property.  Those in the next photos were added within the last year.

Butterscotch-colored Iris (no ID)

Lavender/purple Iris (no ID)

Iris germanica 'Hautles Voiles'

Iris germanica 'Ravenous'

Adding this unnamed Iris is a bit of a Bloom Day cheat as it shriveled in the heat prior to the middle of the month

Oenothera and Cistus are the highlights of the dry garden right now.

Oenothera speciosa (aka Pink Evening Primrose) with Phormium tenax 'Apricot Queen'

Cistus 'Sunset' and Oenothera speciosa

Genista canariensis, Phormium tenax 'Yellow Wave' and Oenothera speciosa

Hemerocallis 'Russian Rhapsody'

Since the removal of the Eucalyptus tree that once dominated the right side of the property, the side yard gets more sun.  The wind that sweeps through the area in the afternoon is also having a greater impact than it did when the area was somewhat protected by the 60 foot tree.  I've pulled out ferns, primrose and other shade-loving plants but I may have to move others, like the Acanthus mollis and the Arthropodium cirratum as well - I'll see how they do when summer arrives and our temperatures sit in the upper ranges for prolonged periods.

Acanthis mollis and Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily)

Anagallis monellii 'Blue Pimpernel'

Argyranthemum 'Elsa White'

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and Layia platyglossa 'Tidy Tips'

Nigella damascena 'African Bride' looks better in the photo than in the garden itself

The front border is in its glory right now.

Pink Meidiland roses and Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink' dominate this border along the front walkway

The border on the left side of the front walkway duplicates most of the plants in the border on the right side

This new Pelargonium was missing a label but I'm guessing it's 'Katie'

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' is just coming into bloom

Scabiosa hybrid 'Giant Blue'

Scabiosa caucasia 'Fama Blue'

Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' has has bloomed off and on since last summer

Climbing 'Joseph's coat' rose

Please go to May Dreams Gardens for links to pictures of blooms in other gardens.  Thanks once again, Carol, for hosting this monthly event.

Another Neighborhood Stroll

My husband and I have been spending a lot of time at my mother-in-law's home of late.  What started as a respiratory ailment became something far more serious.  She's been in and out of the hospital but she's now home under hospice care.  My wonderful sister-in-law, an experienced RN and social worker, is supervising her care.  The house has been full of people, both friends and family.  Neighbors have left cards and flowers at the door.  Love fills the house but I still can't stop crying.

We've tried to keep the bird feeders in the back garden filled to keep the yard alive with birdsong.  The greedy things seem to empty the feeders overnight, running through the supply my mother-in-law had on hand.  I'm bringing seed from my own supply with me today.

Goldfinches and house finches at the Nyger seed feeder

My husband's cousin and I took a stroll around the surrounding neighborhood yesterday to stretch our legs and clear our heads.  I've always liked the area with its spacious family homes and well-manicured yards; however, it's changed quite a bit since my in-laws moved there in the 90s after their home in Malibu burned down during one of that region's periodic firestorms.  Many of the homes along one adjoining block have been mansionized, leaving smaller front yards.

One of the more traditional homes still left in the neighborhood

Traditional house with front entrance shielded by birch trees

Another traditional home, updated with more current landscaping

One of the mansionized homes, still in a traditional style

Another mansionized home

A few homeowners have given up on the traditional style of the older homes entirely, replacing them with modern style constructions.  Some of these fit into the neighborhood better than others.

This house left me cold

This one, right next door, came off better with the addition of brick on the facade and a more welcoming landscape

I thought some of the smaller-scale modern renovations on another block came off better than the mansion-sized versions.

Simple and attractive

Updated elements and landscaping made a relatively traditional house look new

2nd view of the house above

This homeowner used new fencing and drought-tolerant plants to update the house but the Pittosporum tenuifolium overwhelms the house a bit

Walk-abouts provide a diversion, even if they don't change anything.  On the positive side, I'm grateful I married into a family composed of so many wonderful people, I'm grateful that my mother-in-law has such caring friends, and I'm grateful that I too have the support of great friends.