Lotusland, Santa Barbara, CA

Take that California Adventures List!  Brandon and I have been diligently going through our list the last six months.  Back in April, we celebrated our 10th anniversary in Santa Barbara.  It was beautiful.  We kicked it off with a tour of Lotusland.  So zany.  The docents at that place run a tight ship and were very knowledgeable.

Here we are at the start of the tour.

 It was cherry blossom season.

So zany!  Madame Walska collected all sorts of odd organic items to include in her garden,

The botanical collection at Lotusland is fairly significant, according to the docent.

Love this lemon arbor.

These roses are grown organically and were amazing.

Love the stonework.

One more California destination crossed off the list!

Ojai Valley Inn and Spa

One of our favorite weekend day trips is to Ojai.  We usually time it when we have a wine shipment to pick up from the Ojai Vineyard tasting room; we go for a long walk at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, grab a snack, and then pick up our wine.

The architecture is beautiful and so is the landscaping.

According to the resort's website, the whole property was converted to "Camp Oak" during World War II for use by the Army.  By 1944, it was turned over to the US Navy as a place for rest and relaxation for returning troops.  Can  you imagine?

Once again, it's midday and my photos are washed out.  The picture above is inspiration  for my yard in San Diego.

Again, not the greatest picture, but I love this oak tree with the lanterns hanging from its limbs.

I've got a thing for iceberg roses lately.

Beautiful trailing rosemary!

Salvia.

While I was taking pictures of flowers like a nerd, Paige and Jules were picking up leaves, seedpods, and twigs for their "collection."  I put some of the leaves in a jar when we came home.  We left happy, full of truffled homemade potato chips from one of the resorts restaurants.

Cambria Pines Lodge

After we left San Luis Obispo, we headed up the coast to attend a fantastic wedding at the Cambria Pines Lodge.  The wedding was beautiful and so were the gardens.

Love this garden bedroom.

And I want a patio like this...

Peaches!

Almost-ripe peaches from my backyard tree. I pruned and fertilized according to R. Sanford Martin and Ken Andersen's "How to Prune Fruit Trees and Roses" and Pat Welsh's "Southern California Organic Gardening." The tree has some peach leaf curl, which is a disease, so this winter I will treat the tree with Bordeaux mixture. My aunt gave me some while I was visiting her in Oregon, so I'm ready!

Apricot

Our apricot tree only produced one fruit this year and we ate it tonight. It was the largest apricot I've ever seen. Not surprising I guess since the tree put all its energy into one fruit. It was delicious - soft and sweet and orange. Maybe next year there will be more fruit.