Flowers

This is a Hollyhock from my garden. The first ones are starting to bloom now and will bloom all winter. I have pink, and red single and double hollyhocks which bloom each year, mostly given to me by my Mom or Grace. Grace died about 6 months ago and we miss her in our neighborhood. She grew up here, her father planted the citrus grove which we live in. The old farm house is still standing and her son lives in it. Grace lived in the corner house on 18th Street and Marshall. Her yard was always filled with flowers much like an English garden. I drove past her house for years before I knew that I would live on her street one day. I drove on 18th Street to take the kids to the library and would always admire and be in awe of her beautiful flowers. Grace's flowers were part of the reason that I bought this house, I got to enjoy her flowers every day. I feel so at home here because our neighborhood is in a citrus grove and I grew up surrounded by citrus groves and cotton fields.

This is an Indian Paintbrush which grows wild in northern Arizona. It is one of my favorite Arizona wildflowers.

My roses are so beautiful right now. These are called Rio Samba and they start yellowish-orange and end up a bright pink. My Peace rose tends to get the biggest. I picked one today that is about 7 inches in diameter. It is just amazing. I took a picture of it, but haven't downloaded it yet. Maybe I'll show it to you next time. Mom has taught me to grow roses. She is the pro and has always grown beautiful roses. When our kids were little she would grow experimental roses for Jackson and Perkins. They were always a surprise and she got to name them herself. She named one after each of her grandchildren. They would visit Grandma and Grandpa and get to see their rose too.

This is part of our new patio. It used to be a hot tub, but we turned it into a planter. Our friend Chris did the tile work. We also covered the cool deck with red bricks. The kids drew on the bricks with chalk when they were here and we enjoy their chalk art still. I suppose it will eventually wear away, but until then it is a fun reminder of their stay.

This is Dilly picking some white flowers around our cabin in Flagstaff. It's great to be able to go for a walk and see so many wildflowers. There's a hill where Indian Paint Brush bloom every year and lupin bloom under the big pine tree next to our porch.