Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, March 5

Well, it's off to California first thing today, where 40 Miles North has had rosemary blooming for a while. Can you smell it?

The rosemary is in full bloom and the bees can't get enough of it. I was wondering what rosemary-based honey tasted like - apparently it was used for healing by the Romans. I might buy some to find out.

Now, we go a little further inland, where the oranges are blooming in Yucaipa. Can you smell them?

Can you smell them now?

Adventure

A special feature today by CaliGirl on the Reagan Ranch:

I have some pics of Reagan's ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains. On the way to the ranch on Refugio road. It's kind of scary and you have to honk the horn on the switchbacks. The person that drove us up there told us a story about when the Queen came to visit and we were in the middle of huge storms and they drove the Queen up the hill and through the creeks running across the road. Water came in the car they were driving the queen in and they asked her if she wanted to turn around, she did not. A little bit of water didn't scare her. I'm sure the Secret Service were unsure of what to do. I would not want to drive up that mountain during a huge storm.

View of the Pacific and the Channel Islands

Entrance to the ranch. They told us that Reagan built the fences with old telephone poles and he enjoyed working on his ranch.

This is Lake Lucky. I think they told us Ron and Nancy had a small boat he would take Nancy on the lake.

The adobe house. It was amazing how small it was. My husband and I had a tour maybe 10 years ago and it's hard to remember everything. The other thing I recall vividly is Ron and Nancy's bedroom. They had two twin beds pushed together and there is a stool at the foot of Ron's side because the bed was too short for him. When you see how small the house is I imagine Gorbachev was shocked that Reagan didn't have a huge ranch house.

Where the house is it sits in a bowl.

Top of the ranch where the helicopter would land.

View of the Santa Ynez Valley from the top of the ranch.

Wow.

Edible Gardening

Time to plant where you are? Might want to check with the Gardening by the Moon calendar.

Gardens of The Horde

From Ladyhobbit:

I really enjoyed the garden thread today! Speaking of early signs of spring, in my part of the world (western Pennsylvania) we don't have much in the way of flowers yet, though the daffodils and crocuses are showing some green, but the skunk cabbage is blooming! These pictures were taken on February 20. Skunk cabbage flowers create their own heat and can bloom even in the snow.

Fascinating.

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Include the nic by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ,
unless you want to remain a lurker.

posted by K.T. at 01:20 PM

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