Category Archives: Community

Giving back to the community, whether it be local or global.

Garden as haven

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May I a small house and large garden have;
And a few friends,
And many books, both true.
― Abraham Cowley, 17th century English poet

At some point this summer, I hope to actually enjoy my garden. I mean resting and not pruning, pinching back buds, weeding, and so on, but actually sitting in one of the chairs in the garden and reading a book, thinking about a tangle in a chapter in my novel-in-progress, eating a snack or a meal, or just hanging out with family members, as if I didn’t have a million things to do, as if I had all the time in the world, as if I could have a really long sentence and not care where the period ends it.

In the meantime, I wanted to put together what the garden looks like this season. I’ll start with when our magnolia trees were in full bloom back in late February, when COVID-19 was spreading across our country and we had no idea we would find ourselves in shelter in place.

Our backyard isn’t that big (perhaps it is in the Bay Area), but a picture of one and a half of our magnolia trees makes the yard seem like a park. This is our magnolia tress in full bloom.
Our magnolia tress from the view of our intrepid, watchful angel.
Our tulips starting coming up in March, on the heels of the daffodils. And I see those pesky bluebells, which we thought we’d pulled all bulbs many years ago. They are persistent, I will give them that.
We always welcome the California poppies that brighten up our side yard and front yard.
I don’t know what the name of this beautiful shrub is in the backyard, but in the spring it explodes in beautiful purple flowers. We also have this shrub in the front yard. I failed to remember the name of flower bulbs I bought at Costco and planted in the fall. It was a colorful mix. But I also planted ranunculus bulbs.
Here are some of the mystery flowers that made that flower box really vibrant with color.
More colors.
Close-ups of this flower box.
Delicate flowers, vibrant colors.
Oh, hello, Sammy!
Behold the pink ranunculus!
Here’s the shrub in all its glory.
Here’s one of my favorite pictures of the garden. This is what I see when I step out from the family room’s sliding glass door to the landing. Good morning!
Our angel bathed in light and hammered steel drum garden art.
I had to replace the gnarly dianthus on the right of this flower box, but our Chomley Farran and red dianthus went gangbusters this season. They are starting to fade and peter out, but it was a really good season for them this year. I love how the morning light makes a grand statement in this picture.
Another shot of our angel and a sunspot.
Another morning before I pruned the miniature roses and uncovered our angel.
In April, the yellow columbine or aquilegia were ready to take off in flight.
Close-up of the delicate yellow columbine.
Looking at the corner of the garden with flower boxes.
One day, I will read a book in this corner.
I decided to redo my pathetic mini succulent gardens and put them outdoors.
Hidden under the magnolia tree in the corner garden are wind chimes, a white bird house, and one of my favorite garden art – the copper leaves.
A recent addition to the pots in the corner garden – viola ‘Karma Blue Butterfly” in front paired with calceolaria mexicana in the background.
If you keep going from the corner to the fence running to the side yard of dahlias, you will come across a pair of smiling garden sprites under the magnolia trees and above a stone bench and stone bird bath on a pedestal. I love these little stone guys. They bring a little interest and joy beneath the magnolia trees.
More garden art and a little succulent bouquet beneath the magnolia tree.
In the dahlia garden hangs a heavy stone sculpture. I’m not sure where I got it, but I love the Renaissance feel of it. The three headless nudes watch over the dahlias.
I didn’t take care of the dahlias early in the season when I should have, so this season I’ve been battling snails, cucumber beetles, and earwigs. I’m trying to catch up, but this season the dahlias aren’t lasting as long in bloom as they have in the past. We also had to deal with a gopher, which David took care of in quick order. We had dug up all the dahlias from the ground the winter of 2017, but nearly four years later, we will have to dig them up again and separate them and then put them back in the ground. This is no small feat, but we need to take care of our beauties.
A magenta dahlia. Hopefully I will be better about taking care of my favorite flower early in the season so they are hardier and longer lasting.
At the corner of the side yard of dahlias, three clay and metal versions of the sun watch over the delphiniums, ginger, and dahlias in pots.
From our front porch, you can look down into the dahlia side yard garden. A hint of what’s to come.
David captured a hummingbird in our alquilegia in the patio.
My favorite blue hydrangea greets me when I step out of our utility room into the patio area of the garden.
If you come around the other side of the backyard garden, you’ll see the patio.
What’s new this year? I had David and Jacob tear out the bushes in the planter in the patio that our landscape architect planted to hide the view of our neighbor house. But I wanted to see color and not bushes when I look out the kitchen and family room windows. I wanted the sweet smell of sweet peas when I sit in the patio.
So back in February, after the fall when David and Jacob painted the ugly red fence a more neutral stone color, I planted about seven varieties of sweet peas (too many for a small stretch!). One were from the seeds of my one vibrant bi-color blue and purple sweet peas from last year.
Originally I was going to put garden art across the top of the fence, but the sweet peas just kept growing higher and higher. David had to tie the vines to the fence and posts. They were so heavy and thick.
I can cut sweet peas for hours one day and then cut the same amount 3-4 days later. They are so abundant and prolific. I love it. I just wish I had more room.
Our fairy with a broken wing that we bought before we even got married, now resides with the sweet peas and the aquilegia.
Our little bird on a glass globe also watches over the sweet peas.
Delphinium and guillardia.
Our landscape architect didn’t prune the alstroemeria this season, so we had them in abundance this year in our backyard. And not only a lot of them, but Amazonian-size orange and pink alstroemeria. They made wonderful jumbo bouquets this season.
Miniature dahlias in a pot at the edge of our patio.
Violet scabiosa in a stone container by the edge of the patio.
I have red, white, pink and orange gerberas that come up reliably every year since I planted them four years ago.
One of my favorite flowers is the scabiosa – in all different colors and varieties. I have planted them in the front, side, and backyards, and I never get very many blooms. This year I am planting a variety of them in one of the planter boxes. We’ll see if I’m able to get a good crop.
Our garden attracts birds, bees, and butterflies. Isabella took a picture of this little guy enjoying the view from our fence. Thanks for taking a tour of this year’s garden. See you next year!

The joy of Spring bouquets

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In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.
― Okakura Kakuzo, Japanese scholar, from The Book of Tea

It’s already June and I’m late with my spring bouquets blog. That said, time has been flying for some years now and this, to say the least, has been an unusual year. We are certainly living in interesting times – unprecedented times for our generation. Sheltered in place since March 16th, we are coming upon the end of our third month. One thing that the novel coronavirus has not canceled is the arrival of spring, the arrival of spring flowers in our yard.

Now that I no longer deliver weekly bouquets for the middle school auction, I have the freedom to make the bouquets whenever and each week to ask a local friend if she would like some flowers to enjoy. So without further ado, here are this spring’s bounty to share. One new addition to the garden has been different varieties of sweet peas, and while I’ll post them here, I will blog separately about my new favorite flower. So here we go!

I didn’t cut very many tulips this year. I was so busy with writing and work that I didn’t have time, but I also, for some reason, was reluctant to cut them because they were so beautiful and plentiful in the side yard this spring. So this is a rare bouquet that I made in late March. I dedicated this bouquet and the next to my cousin Annie Esperanza, who passed away untimely after a failed heart transplant. I gave the bouquet to Birthe, who always won the middle school auction year and after, because I knew she would appreciate them. I really enjoyed pairing the yellow butterfly-like columbines with the lipstick-red tulips.
Here is another view of the same bouquet. In addition to the two different types of tulip, I also added the flighty yellow columbines and the sturdy gerberas.
Here are my favorite calla lilies paired with deep magenta tulips and a new flower in our garden, pink ranunculus. I saw pictures of ballet-pink ranunculus, and I loved the tight layers of petals, almost like an old-fashioned tulle skirt.
Here’s a close-up up the pink ranunculus and the pollen-covered calla lily.
I spy two other tulips with their feather-like petals and a magenta ranunculus beside another pink ranunculus with even tighter petals (these look like streamers before you unspool them.
Birthe was the recipient of this trio of spring bouquets.
Calla lilies, white and blue scabiosas, red dianthus, and new flowers from a spring mix I got at Costco.
More on this beauty in a later blog, but here are four different varieties of the ever-fragrant sweet peas that I planted in the planter box in the patio.
I also thought gerberas were annuals, but one year I left them in the planter box in the backyard after the season, and to my surprise, they came up the following spring. They last through summer and are hardy and are coming up with taller stems. So red and pink gerberas, lavender and blue scabiosas, and red dianthus, with a little fern.
So our once-a-year gardener/landscaper usually thins out our alstroemeria very late winter. This year they didn’t, and I’m glad they didn’t. We had a ton of them, and a ton of Amazonian-size blooms. I could have made three or even four bouquets out of the flowers that I stuffed into this vase, but I guess I was seeing how many stems I could fit into the vase. The great thing about alstroemeria is that they are long lasting in a vase. A post-birthday and belated Mother’s Day arrangement for Kelly.
Here is another alstroemeria bouquet. With each one I started getting better about shaping them (not this one, though) and making sure the blooms were all over. For my friend Raissa.
Using a vase that one of the kids made in a summer camp years ago, I created this little beauty – my favorite Chomley Farran bi-colored dianthus and also red dianthus, white gerbera, small magenta dahlias, and blue and lavender scabiosas.
A close-up of the Chomley-Farran dianthus, pink dahlia, and blue scabiosas.
Lone calla lily, scabiosas, a few white columbines, and different varieties of dahlias.
This next batch of flowers were for my friend Susie. Here is a top view of six different varieties of sweet peas. Too bad you can scratch and sniff. The sweetness is intoxicating, wafting through the room when you walk by.
This vase had five different “pockets” to put flowers in, which suited the different varieties of sweet peas like a hand in a glove.
More alstroemeria!
I love this little bouquet: red and bi-colored Chomley-Farran dianthus, red and pink gerbera, tiny magenta dahlias, and miniature white roses.
This mostly dahlias bouquet with lone calla lily features miniature white roses and a few blue scabiosas. In honor of our friend Dan’s graduation and birthday!
My favorite sweet peas. The way this beauty grows out, most of its stems are curved, which makes it quite easy to make interesting miniature bouquets with it.
These next and last bouquets were delivered to my friend Karen. I’m finally sort of getting it right in terms of shaping the alstroemeria.
The usual sweet small bouquet that I’ve added love-in-a-mist flowers, which are now turning into beautiful seed pods and thus make a great addition to bouquets.
My favorite deep-blue hydrangea from our patio is the centerpiece for this small bouquet of white dianthus, miniature magenta dahlias, lavender and two blue scabiosas, and the seed pods of love-in-a-mist flowers.
A close-up portrait in monochrome.
Highlighting the delicate and beautiful annual orlaya grandiflora, “Minoan Lace.”
The all-dahlia bouquet.
Close-up of dahlia blooms.
And the sweet pea that reminds me of Japanese art.

Honoring our Filipino Veterans of WWII – especially my father

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Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
– Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist

Please see my post on my author website on the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring the Filipino veterans of WWII. You can read it here. Below is a photograph from the event.

Receiving the bronze replica of the Congressional Medal of Honor on behalf of my father, Henry Empleo Enrado, by Major General Eldon P. Regua, U.S. Army (retired) (photo courtesy of Sean Santos).

Sharing my bouquets: the last late autumn flowers

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Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
– Albert Camus, French philosopher, author, and journalist

Even though we planted more flowers on the other side of our house this season, I can’t extend my bouquets through Thanksgiving. But it was close. Before Thanksgiving, I’ll be cutting down the dry dahlia stalks and the rest of the dried flowers and putting them in our green bucket that is filling up with the fallen leaves of our maple tree and our twin magnolia trees.

So here are the last bouquets of the season, from early October to the first of November.

An October 2nd bouquet.

Another view of the October 2nd bouquet.

October 7th bouquet.

A close-up of deep pink zinnias and a creamy gerbera daisy.

Another close-up of zinnias and rudbeckia.

October 13th bouquet.

Another side of the bouquet, including hydrangea.

More zinnias – lime green, orange, and pink.

Another view of the bouquet.

Another close-up with a Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherry Brandy’ and scabiosa caucasica ‘Fama Blue’ “Pincushion Flower.”

October 20th bouquet.

Another view of the bouquet.

Another October 20th bouquet, with a lone small dahlia and blue bachelor’s button.

Another view of the second October 20th bouquet.

And yet another view of the second October 20th bouquet.

October 29th bouquet, with a white straw flower.

The October 29th bouquet.

Another view of the October 29th bouquet.

Another view of the October 29th bouquet, with a surprise hydrangea bloom.

The final bouquet for a November 10th dinner.

Evening light softens the November 10th bouquet. The first calla lily of the late autumn, early winter season.

The last close-up of this bouquet. Soft yellow light with a backdrop of an oil painting by Gary Stutler. The dianthus are showing a third bloom of the season, with my favorite dianthus caryophyllus “Chomley Farran.”

Sharing my bouquets: Autumn flowers

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Everything is mended by the soil.
― Andrew Crofts, ghostwriter and author, from Secrets of the Italian Gardener

The calendar turns its page from September to October. We are still in our Indian Summer here, but the light is changing, its angle, its slant, it rise and fall. our dahlias are going dormant. I likely cut the last dahlia bloom from the garden on the last day of September. How apt. Here now are the autumn bouquets. Enjoy.

Labor Day Weekend seems so long ago. Here’s a bouquet I made for my cousin Janet and her husband Tim from a bucket full of flowers that we brought down to Terra Bella for our annual Labor Day Weekend visit. Looks beautiful on their dining room sideboard.

Close-up of this bouquet with the lone cream-colored gerbera daisy. This particular plant is a hardy producer and still going strong.

Here’s the other bouquet that I made, featuring the big red dahlia that started producing later in the summer.

Another view of the second bouquet full of zinnias, scabiosa, dahlias, and rudbeckias.

Close-up of the second bouquet, featuring my favorite deep-blue scabiosa.

The first gerbera daisy that hasn’t been hit by powdery mildew, early in the season or even now. With purple bee balm in the background.

A nice pairing – blue scabiosa and yellow rudbeckia.

Last view of the second bouquet – pulled back to include zinnias, baby’s breath, a different kind of scabiosa, and dahlias.

A compact September 6th bouquet for Joann.

Close-up of the September 6th bouquet.

A vibrant mix of pinks, blues, limes, and yellows in this close-up.

This zinnia is a favorite of mine. It stands out in this bouquet.

Looking down on the second September 6th bouquet, featuring rudbeckia hirta “Chim Chiminee,” dahlias, Helipterum roseum “Pierrot,” pale yellow and delicate scabiosa ochroleuca, and pink alstroemeria,

Dahlias are still going strong in early September.

Focus on the orange dahlia.

Another view of this September 6th bouquet.

September 11th bouquet. Remembering this date with light and life.

This is a surprise pink zinnia that sprouted this season, surrounded by cornflower blue bachelor’s button, baby’s breath, rudbeckia saraha, and rudbeckia hirta “Cherry Brandy.”

The second September 11th bouquet, topped by asparagus greenery.

Another view of the second September 11th bouquet for Joann.

The first of seven – I know, I need to be better about curating, but it’s near the end of the season! – close-ups of the second September 11th bouquet.

I love the intricate petals of this lime-colored zinnia.

Another close-up of the second September 11th bouquet.

One of my favorite dahlias still producing in September.

The bright and delightful rudbeckia hirta “Chim Chiminee.”

Rudbeckias (including rudbeckia hirta “Prairie Sun” to the left) and zinnias signal fall.

Last close-up of the second September 11th bouquet. It feels like fall in the garden. Still going strong, but different flowers shining in autumn.

I almost dug up this Scabiosa caucasica “Perfecta Alba,” which was planted last season but did not bloom. It’s now blooming like crazy. I’m glad I waited.

September 16th bouquet.

Close-up of the September 16th bouquet. The alstroemeria are still blooming. Imagine what a little regular watering will do.

Another side of the September 16th bouquet. The blue Scabiosa atropurpurea
“Florist’s Blue” is blooming like it’s the thick of summer.

Last view of the September 16th bouquet. With orange alstroemeria.

September 20th bouquet for Joann.

Close-up of blues and yellows. And a peek of the Helichrysum bracteatum 
“Double White” “Strawflower.”

Another view of the September 20th bouquet.

Close-up of the September 20th bouquet.

Last view of the September 20th bouquet.

September 28th bouquet for Joann. Lots of fall colors.

Another view of the September 28th bouquet.

Close-up of the prolific Scabiosa caucasica
“Perfecta Alba.”

Top view of the September 28th bouquet.

Last bouquet of the month, September 30th, featuring scabiosa caucasica “Perfecta Alba.”

Full view of the September 30th bouquet.

Close-up of the September 30th bouquet. A red dahlia to the left, and a white dahlia to the right.

One last look at the September 30th bouquet with the last dahlias of the season.

Sharing my bouquets: Spring bouquets

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My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.
– Claude Monet, founder of French impressionist painting

In my fervor over working on my novel-in-progress, I let go of many things. One of them was blogging. And as my garden came to life in the spring and I began making and delivering my bouquets to give away as my donation to the annual Korematsu Middle School auction, I racked up a lot of bouquets and pictures, but no blogs. So even though spring is a distant memory and we are more than half-way through with summer, forgive me if I revisit my bouquets and share them with you.

White calla lilies, daffodils, and euphorbia characias for a March 11th bouquet for Korematsu.

Miniature bouquet of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Close up of bouquet of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Another view of dianthus, African daisies (venedio arctotis), straw flower, and rudbeckia, March 11th.

Tulips, March 18th.

More white calla lilies, daffodils, orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), and euphorbia characias, March 18th.

Tulips, March 25th.

African daisies (venedio arctotis), dianthus, and scabiosa, March 25th.

This academic school year, I agreed to donate two separate auction bouquet winners – 10 weeks of a weekly bouquet. I was pleased to hear that each auction winner donated $500 to the middle school, for a total of $1,000. One winning bid ended up being a gift to a parent’s mother-in-law, which was sweet. The only problem was that her mother-in-law lives off of Grizzly Peak in Berkeley, meaning up, up in the hills. The other auction winner lived, ironically, next door to Berthe, who has won the auction bouquets the last few years. This is also up in the hills, but straight up from me.

White calla lilies, tulips, and daffodils, March 25th.

Another view of calla lilies and tulips, but in the dining room, March 25th.

Close-up of the beautiful lines of the calla lily and tulips, March 25th.

For my second Korematsu auction winner, a backyard mix of straw flower, African daisies (venedio arctotis), scabiosa, and orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), April 1st.

Close-up, April 1st bouquet.

I love scabiosa, and they have been growing in abundance this season, April 1st.

Close-up of burgundy and pink African daisies (venedio arctotis), April 1st.

White calla lilies and red tulips, April 1st.

Watsonias and pittosporum “silver magic,” April 1st.

Watsonias, April 8th.

Though I really enjoy putting the bouquets together – my Zen time – I added up the hours (harvesting, stripping the flowers individually, making the bouquets, and delivery) and the exercise began to become more onerous to me than bring me joy. Don’t get me wrong: When the auction winners let me know that they loved the bouquets and really appreciated them, I was over-the-moon happy – sharing bouquets brings much joy. But as I start shifting my focus to doing the things that I need to do for my writing and for my family and friends, time becomes an issue. Plus, I want to start giving bouquets to my family, friends, and neighbors. So I made the decision this spring to retire from donating bouquets to the middle school auction.

African daisies (venedio arctotis), dianthus, alstroemeria, scabiosa, and orlaya grandiflora (Minoan Lace), April 8th.

Close-up of watsonias, April 8th.

On April 8th, Isabella and I went to a bouquet tutorial at Annie’s Annuals with Riz Reyes, a horticulturist from Seattle. And he is a Pinoy!

I learned some great tips on making bouquets at an Annie’s Annuals tutorial with Riz Reyes from Seattle.

Riz Reyes and me at Annie’s Annuals, Richmond, April 8th. You can reach him at his business, rhrhorticulture, here.

Watsonias, scabiosa, dianthus, straw flowers, African daisies, (venedio arctotis), and some greenery, April 14th. A bouquet for my friend Soizic’s dinner party.

Watsonias, scabiosa, dianthus, straw flowers, African daisies, (venedio arctotis), and some alstroemeria greenery, April 15th.

Just watsonias and pittosporum “silver sheen,” April 15th.

I will still make the bouquets, but when I want to and not on demand. And I’ll continue to share them with you all here. I may have learned a few things from horticulturist Riz Reyes, who gave a tutorial at Annie’s Annuals in the spring, and from the beautiful floral arrangements at Château de Chenonceau in Chenonceaux, France. At any rate, here are my spring to early summer bouquets. Enjoy!

Tulips, calla lilies, scabiosa, and alstroemeria, April 22nd.

Geum, gerbera daisy, straw flower, scabiosa, and dianthus, April 22nd.

Close-up of April 22nd bouquet.

The other side of the April 22nd bouquet.

Watsonias, April 22nd.