Monday, January 17, 2011

What a Sweet Place

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This is always what I say when I visit the town of Mendocino, about three hours north of San Francisco, a beautiful community on sheer cliffsides, fronting the blue Pacific ocean. I visited during New Year with some friends to enjoy a different New Years celebration and it was a treat to be here during non-peak season and enjoy the town without the hordes of tourists.



What I didn’t expect to see during this cold, damp winter season was some actual gardens still presenting some beautiful blooms especially considering the cold artic front that has been approaching from the last few days in the New Year.



I happened across many beautiful homes and gardens hidden behind grand picket fences with Victorian facades. This one is a garden leading to a local bakery/eatery with an outside dining terrace.



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A sweet gate welcomes you into the garden and up to the terraced area.



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I spotted this still blooming abutilon by the stairway, it was such a nice greeting especially for such a cold and windy morning.



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 -  isn’t this just the type of bench you would love to have in your garden, or at least sit on to enjoy the entire garden unfolding before you?



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I’ve never seen these bright fushia colored gazanias before, really intense hot pinks and orange throats, very cheery on such a drab morning.



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The last blooms of this hybrid rose before the eminent artic blast coming that night along with I’m guessing is some type of milkweed or viburnum shrub in the background.



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Can’t avoid that sweet bench again in the corner….



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This is a nice combination of borage and a pink flower I couldn’t identify, they look like sweet primroses.



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The hebe in the border was flush with purple blooms and the last of the roses starting to bud were still putting on a show. To the right the last few blooms of these yellow alstroemerias, boy these are hardier than I thought.

One more garden I happened on in town while I was visiting and it was a favorite, I'll show it to you on the next post.

11 comments:

NatureFootstep said...

lovely shots. I recognice a lot of the plants. One of them was in my home when I was a child. :)

Andrea said...

Hi Noel, I see you had a wonderful holiday again in SF. If i were you i will not be able to also resist the temptation of taking photos of things inside those fences, and probably i will also peep. The plants are so inviting.

fer said...

Very beautiful! It must have been great to enjoy the day there and see the blooms

Bonnie said...

It may have been a cold, wet morning while you were taking these shots but it looks like heaven to me. It was 4 degrees here yesterday. I need some sun and flowers!

NanaK said...

That was a beautiful walk in Mendocino. Thanks for taking me along with you. The cold damp air made for some terrific photographs. Especially loved that single rose against the flowering shrub.

One said...

I like the rocky pathway with bushes around it. The purple blooms in the last photo is just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

Carolyn ♥ said...

Like stepping back in time... lovely.

Eliza @ Appalachian Feet said...

Wow! It's amazing to me to see flowers growing so well this time of year. I have never seen those gazanias before, either.

Kimberly said...

Lovely small town charm! Beautiful and serene!

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

Thank you for the colourful tour. The blue bench is so pretty.

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

I love those gazanias. Mendocino is a lovely place, must be great out of season, only every visited when it was wall-to-wall with tourists.

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