Saturday at CC!J and Casa

Saturday, September 27 was an incredible busy day full of volunteering. Mike and I coordinated booths for the annual Character Counts ! Jamboree. Then to top off the day, volunteered at the #1 event in San Clemente. The Toast to the Casa.

At the Character Counts Jamboree, we set up a Garden Club booth and Mike had a Bluebird booth next door with the bluebird guys. Here I am (in the pink visor) showing children how to plant a flower and their 'responsibility' was to water and take care of it. We helped 300 children plant snapdragons-ok, it was 297 to be exact! The day was exhausting but so rewarding! It was fun to hear someone say, "my plant from last year is still alive. " I showed many of them how to make the snapdragon flower 'talk'. My booth mates got a kick out of that. I pretended the flower was a puppet and asked their name etc.

The booth was one of the most popular at the event. Here we are working with kids of all ages, including a few moms (that cautiously asked) wanting to plant a flower. It is interesting to share the simplicity of planting a flower. Their caution while pressing it into the cup and adding a little more soil showed that this was a new lesson for most that participated. You could easily tell the few children that did have experience planting something.

This is the 4th year the garden club has participated in this event. The first year we handed out color books, then had the idea of planting flowers. The last 3 years we have had a consistent 300 children visiting out booth.

OK got home at 4pm from a day at Character Counts! Jamboree. Put our feet up for a few minutes...ahhhh.

Now, time to get ready for the event of the year in San Clemente. The Toast to the Casa the major party/fundraiser. Tickets were $175 per person with entertainment, food and wine everywhere. We were volunteers for the evening-only way we would attend. The theme was the roaring 20's (when the Casa was built) with attire and decor to go along with it. Mae West and Charlie Chaplin were there too...We put on our duds and snapped this self photo.

The evening consisted of silent auction, 60 items-we were working that area-a live auction, including a golf cart, 3 bands, 2 areas with piano players and a 3 piece string group. Food from many local restaurants being cooked on the spot and wine from many vintners being poured all evening. We knew many people there because of our community involvement and were 'working' the party but it was something to see. You would never think the economy was in the state it is to see the generosity of these people that attended. Quite the event. We arrived home at midnight. Wow, what a day!

Butterfly's

OK, I am really into butterfly's right now. I took these photos today day with all butterfly stages in and around the Casa gardens. I am having so much fun sharing my finds with everyone.

1. Caterpillars all over the Milkweed. I could see a dozen within a small area.

2. Monarch caterpillar forming into the pupa, or chrysalis. They crawl across sidewalks-I warn everyone who is walking and working around the butterfly garden to watch out for them. Then the caterpillar climbs up a wall to hang while in pupa stage.

3. The pupa hanging from a trellis.

4. The adult emerged and drying its wings. See the empty 'white' pupa below the butterfly.

Flowers in September

Spent some time in the garden this weekend. The plants around the BBQ are looking especially pretty. The 3 balls hanging are all blooming at the same time. On top is a plectranthus, middle a geranium that never stops blooming and the bottom a "stepable" geranium. Very compact. There is a pretty alyssum in there too. On the ground is a succulent. The water drips from plant to plant. Next to the BBQ is a Strawberry tree with coleus in the pot. The tall square pot has a varigated Bower vine, not blooming but the leaves are attractive.

This Mandevilla plant never stops blooming! It takes no care, only water and the only pests I have seen are occasional aphids. Shoot them off with a water hose a couple times and they are gone. I planted some seeds too, cilantro, lettuce and sweet peas. Now if the rabbit that likes to come sit by the herb garden will just leave the new little sprouts alone...I only see him sitting there, acting inocent. He is pretty cute tho. Until I catch him eating my seed sprouts.

Casa butterflies

A lot of work needed to be done in the Casa Gardens today. Mike stopped by and brought me lunch. Then snapped a couple of shots. The Monarch butterflies are all over the place. I have nurtured the plants that attract them.

See the Monarch's? Looks like they are surfing but they are flying around the garden. It is so fun for everyone to watch them. I drag staff, volunteers, guests, everyone out to the gardens to enjoy the butterflies.

David is 60

My brother, David, turned 60 on Sept 3. We showed up with food and cake. Doesn't Mom look too cute :) Hope I look that cute when I am 84!

Landscape Design School

I spent last week attending a Landscape Design School. It is sponsored by the National Garden Club and classes are held nationwide. This one was in Temecula so I decided to delve into the design part of landscape. It was really an intense Four days of landscape design words like: Vernacular landscape, invasive plants, soil type, drainage, hardscape, garden themes, style, accessibility, are you bored yet?

How about zoning, public landscapes, proportion, scale, balance, contrast, form, line, texture, color...

Research, analysis and the synthesis process!

That was DAY ONE. I really did enjoy it and learned lots. There will be another four day session in about a year and if I pass all the tests, so far so good :) I will be certified by the NGC and can judge public landscapes, present certificates etc. on their behalf. By no means a landscape architect though, I will use a lot of the information in my daily garden encounters. And I am going to implement my newly learned design methods to plot out Nicole and Mark's new back yard on graft paper,to scale, with proper proportions etc. Watch out!

Nicole and family are about 20 minutes away from where I took the class. It was over an hour from home so I spent nights there and played with Aubrey, 4 and Garrett 2. They were so cute, running into my room in the morning to cuddle and play.

Big Bear on Labor Day

We zipped up to the cabin on Friday night. No traffic after 7pm.
Read about the Holcomb Valley Rendezvous. The Bighorn Mountain Men sponsor this annual event. Took a long, bumpy, back way to Holcomb Valley. These people camp out for the weekend in late 1700's and early 1800's tents and period supplies. Including warming their water for washing. I enjoyed watching the ladies weave baskets from pine needles and raffia. Mike enjoyed watching them load and shoot off their muzzle-loading rifles in friendly target shooting competition.

For you campers, there is a campground in Holcomb Valley that is remote and beautiful. We drove past it on a dirt road after leaving the Rendezvous event. The cabin is only 15 minutes away :)