Dahlia | Gardens For Goldens

Beckoning Fall’s Glory

September 17, 2017 by Ogee

The Delta Breeze finally blew in off the Bay, bringing an end to the stifling heat and still air while providing welcome relief to the parched garden. The days are still warm, but the cool nights provide a long-awaited respite after the months long scorching summer sun. The ground holds its drink better; the wind breathes life back into exhausted plants. Fall is my favorite season. Here, it is a second spring extending our flowering season from September through Thanksgiving. […]

Categories: Gardening, Nature Photography, Photography • Tags: Asters, blue sage, Dahlia, Delta Breeze Sacramento, Fall aseason, Fall Garden, Flowering Onion, Frog in Rose Petal, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Russian Sage

Late Summer’s Tiny Gems

August 13, 2017 by Ogee

After a blazing hot summer, the garden is in that in-between moment when the summer riot turns tiny and quiet until the fall steps forward in all its glory. You have to look closely in a sea of green for the garden’s little gems. Hummingbird-loving Cuphea ignea. Butterfly favorites Jupiter’s Beard, Lantana, and Butterfly Bush. The purples and pinks of Pentas, Penstemon, Chives, And Cosmos bespeckle the beds – their large drifts long gone. Dainty Veronica tries to stand tall, […]

Categories: Gardening, Nature, Nature Photography, Puppies • Tags: Cuphea ignea, Dahlia, Gardens Golden Retriever, Golden Retriever Puppy, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Jupiter's Beard, Late Summer Garden, Monarch Butterflies, Pentas, Puppy, Rudbeckia

To Rule A Garden…Or More

August 6, 2017 by Ogee

“Anybody who wants to rule the world should try to rule a garden first.” ~ Author Unknown I found this unattributed quote and it struck me as true. Nothing humbles like a garden – a tiny microcosm of the world where distinct forces work best in harmony, but are sometimes pushed into doing battle for survival and the chance to ensure future generations. I’m not really sure that anyone ever rules the garden; to assume so would tempt Mother Nature’s […]

Categories: Gardening, Humanity, Nature Photography, Thought • Tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Dahlia, Dragonfly, Gardener Traits, gardening, Monarch Butterfly, Praying Mantis, Swallowtail Butterfly, Tiny Frogs

If only for a season

August 10, 2014 by Ogee

At the rescue, people and dogs pass through our lives. Some we know only for an instant; others stay on for years. Each makes a special impression – often in often unforeseen ways. I was touched and honored this week when a woman reached out to request a copy of a “going home” day photo I took earlier this year. I remember the day so clearly. The woman was 80; the dog she chose was also in her sunset years. […]

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Annual, Dahlia, Garden Photography, Gardens, Golden retrievers, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Perennial, Ritu Ghatourey, Sunflowers, Volunteering

Wordless Wednesday: Unfolding

September 18, 2013 by Ogee

Categories: Gardening • Tags: Butterfly, Dahlia, Flower Photography, Monarch Butterfly, Unfolding Dahlia

November Notes From The Garden

November 4, 2012 by Ogee

Maria and some other Homeward Bound volunteers traveled to Tahoe today to join in the search for Murphy – a Golden on the run since a family camping trip in early October. So I was holding down the fort alone in the Memorial Garden today. A large shipment of newly arrived commemorative bricks were lined up and ready to be installed. The messages are so touching. It truly is a great way to honor our departed pups. Maria’s sunflowers have […]

Categories: Gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Dahlia, dog rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, Mums, Nature, Pets, Photography, Sunflowers

Medicine to the Soul

October 29, 2012 by Ogee

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful: they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.” ~ Luther Burbank Details from the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden in late October.

Categories: Gardening • Tags: Aster, Dahlia, Garden, gardening, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, Iris, Nature, Photography, Rose, Snapdragon

Garden Party

August 26, 2012 by Ogee

“You may go down to the garden.”…(Peter Rabbit’s mother) Beatrix Potter I confess that I did not have to make two trips to the Memorial Garden this weekend. The temperatures are beginning to cool, which means the need for extra watering is diminishing, and even the weeds are growing a little slower. But I’ll be taking a little break for some ocean camping, and our blooming days are growing shorter. I want to enjoy summer’s last blooms as long as […]

Categories: Gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Dahlia, dog rescue, Garden, Golden Retriever, Homeward Bound Garden, Nature, Obedient Plant, Photography, Rose, Summer

Perennial Progression

August 4, 2012 by Ogee

Here is another in the series of garden bed transformations at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. When we read about the need for volunteer gardeners in the Homeward Bound Newsletter last Fall, a group of us showed up to see and select “beds” that we would assume responsibility for. It was a little hard to find the beds! This is how the Perennial Garden began. The (very loose) vision. We wanted a palette of intense color, breaking every garden design […]

Categories: Gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Bee Balm, Coneflower, Dahlia, gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Perennial Garden