The Garden Had Something To Say
March 27, 2026
Good morning from a slightly cool, beautiful California spring morning! This morning I went on my morning coffee stroll through the garden, and while I didn't think I had a blog post in me this morning, the garden sort of told me that I did. I took pictures of the veggie garden and then I remembered we'd had a dinner party and some cute pictures of our new pup, and then my weekly blog post began to take shape!
First important update: doggie is doing fine and settling in so well. He has his issues as all rescue dogs surely do, but he is a gem of a dog and is doing better with each day. He is very much feeling at home in the house and garden. At first he didn't really care to go in the back yard, but now that he understands that he can be inside or outside as he chooses, he is spending more and more time outdoors. I think next week we'll introduce him to the doggie door.
We have named him Biscuit as one reader suggested. It fits him so well and was approved by all, most importantly approved by our grandson. We read and loved the Biscuit books when he was little so that was a factor, but also that his coloring is that of a tasty biscuit sealed it!
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| The pink dahlia bed. |
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| In the foreground are the gold straight zucchinis and the pole beans in the back are Emerates and Seychelles. |
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The cucumber bed has two varieties: "Cornichon" and "Pickle". Both are great to pick small or medium size, and both do equally well for fresh eating or pickling. |
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| Sweet peas in the pot and tomato bed #2 in the background. |
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| Main tomato bed. |
- Tomato varieties this year:
- REDS: Two each of Mortgage Lifter and Big Beef. One Whopping Red (new to us this year), one Better Boy.
- CHERRIES: One Sungold and one Black Cherry
- PINK: Two Brandywine, one Momotaro (new to us this year)
- YELLOW/ORANGE: Two Kellogs Breakfast, two Pineapple and one Momotaro Gold (new)
- BLACKS: Two Black Krim, One Cherokee Purple and one Black Zebra and one Carbon
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| Climbing New Dawn in bud. |
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| This is the teak table and chairs I found for free from the side of the road. It sits at the end of the garden, under the shade of the olive tree. |
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| At the back of the garden is the greenhouse that still needs a big spring clean. This sturdy teak bench is another freebie! Found around the corner with a free sign! |
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| Climbing First Prize--next week it will explode! |
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| Herbs grow in the brick planters surrounding the family room patio. |
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| The family room patio is the one we most frequently use. |
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| I like to keep flowers on the coffee table on the patio. This week it's the magnificent peonies! |
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| We think he is part jackrabbit. |
He’s part whippet, and I’ve since learned that the breed is known for being quiet, gentle, friendly, and wonderfully cuddly—often called a “velcro dog.” He’s also very intelligent and sensitive, so a little gentle correction once or twice and he gets it. Dogs love being part of a pack, and we are clearly Biscuit’s new pack. He seems to simply want to understand his place and the rules, and once he does, he’s perfectly content to follow along. What a good dog.
And as it turns out, we’re pretty smart too—it only took him a few days to train us what our laps are actually meant for.
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13 Comments
Your garden looks beautiful. The peonies are amazing and have such a lovely fragrence. Looks like Biscuit may have found a permanent home.
ReplyDeleteThank you friend! Yes, no surprise that we have formally adopted our gentle little fellow!
DeleteWell, I stand corrected. Biscuit is the perfect name for him! He’s beautiful. I think you will have a hard time giving him up! Also a big lover of your wisteria! Chloe
ReplyDeleteThank you! We were contacted by the shelter saying someone was interested in adopting him. We didn't answer for a day so we could mull it over. We then decided that we are keeping him. He adds so much to our lives and neither of us could imagine our days without him!
DeleteThank you for being a part of the rescue dog community! My daughter and I foster dogs often. I have lost count now, but it must be close to 30. Right now we have 2 older dogs who must be rehomed together so we may have them for awhile. Our goal is to give them lots of love and help them to learn their manners. These things will naturally build confidence and will make it much easier to find their forever home. I love knowing they are going to a loving home and that I had a small part in it. It sounds like you are enjoying the experience and I hope you get hooked!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I have since found that there is a huge foster community out there ready to help you with learning how to foster dogs. What a gift you are giving--showing love and teaching them manners to help them find their places in loving homes. I can see my little guy building confidence every day and I'm so proud of his progress. We are what they jokingly call a "foster fail". We have decided to adopt him because he is a true gem and we could not imagine our lives without him. He brings us so much joy and we know he truly loves living with us. When we are on our walks and outings, he is so happy to come home! He is also so gentle and affectionate, so nice for two seniors dog lovers. Bless you and your daughter for fostering dogs. It's not easy to give them up, but such a wonderful thing to do. Once Biscuit is fully settled, we might consider fostering another gentle dog, but that is way into the future.
DeleteLovely as always! Biscuit is such a cutie pie and the name is perfect. I’m looking forward to your garden diagrams. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have started the diagram by getting a picture off google maps. It's a start!
DeleteI love reading about your dinner parties. They send me in a panic when I’m planning one which isn’t very often. You have such great ideas.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I know so many panic at the though of having parties. The time I panic is 5 minutes before guests arrive! For a few minutes I think, "what on earth am I doing?" then the guests arrive and I love them all because they are my friends, then we have a glass of wine and the evening is fun!
DeleteFor me it's best if I keep it simple and plan ahead. I hope you like my Easter Menu. I will be having my dinner group of 14 here in May and already I've got my thinking cap on, thinking of a theme. I'll make sure I make a post of it.
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of that gorgeous pink peony?
Wouldn’t you like to make that sweet pup your own?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHello! I do not have the name of the peonies, but I do remember they were tree peonies.
DeleteYes, we made that sweet pup our own. He has captured our hearts and all three of us have fallen in love. He is such a great addition. He is gentle and affectionate, so nice for us. He loves the big garden, has learned not to go into the flower and veg beds. He doesn't dig either. He is gentle on his walks and is polite in the house and only jumps up on the sofa where I have placed his bed. He knows that is his ok spot, that and papa's lap. He also sits on the window seat in the hallway to watch us when we leave. I've heard that he whimpers a bit, but then settles down, and yesterday when I left to go shopping, the report was that he didn't whimper at all!
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