Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento

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

Rescue is Only The Start

April 9, 2017 by Ogee

When we set out to save this Memorial Garden from returning to the earth, we had no idea where the journey would lead. It was a mission of rescue, re-creation, and re-envisioning. Today – it is this. But a garden is a living, breathing thing. It changes over time; plants grow and morph; and once-happy companions need to find new homes. Like our Dahlias – recently relocated – because their once-full-sun setting… has been cloaked in shade. Or this graceful […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Climbing Rose, Dahlias, dog rescue, garden redesign, Gardens Golden Retrievers, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Labrador Retriever Rescue

Of Gardens and Rescue Dogs

March 5, 2017 by Ogee

What a garden needs is time, patience, love, nurturing, hope, and room to grow. What a rescue dog needs… time, patience, nurturing, hope, and room to grow. “One of the greatest virtues of gardening is this perpetual renewal of youth and spring, of promise of flower and fruit that can always be read in the open book of the garden, by those with an eye to see, and a mind to understand.” ~ E.A. Bowles The greatest virtues of rescue […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Animal Rescue, Gardens Golden Retrievers, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Photography, Spring Garden, Tulips

In Its Season

December 4, 2016 by Ogee

I have reclaimed my refrigerator. As any West Coast gardener knows – this is not about household tips. It’s about spring bulb planting. Daffodil bulbs can safely go into the ground in November at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. Many even return when left to “over-summer.” But tulips, hyacinths, and others require special treatment. In our warm Valley, there is no such thing as cold storage. So the bulbs are lifted in very late spring and stored in the refrigerator […]

Categories: Gardening, Nature Photography • Tags: Fall Garden, Gardens Golden Retrievers, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Spring bulb planting

Finally Fall

October 16, 2016 by Ogee

The rain came – and with it fall. Finally, fall. Signaled by merry frogs, and colored by asters, sage, and Maria’s festive decorations. We caught the tail end of the horrible storm wrecking havoc in the Pacific Northwest. The best part. Even the poppies are reborn with cooler weather and a fresh drink. I’ve been hard at work on the creation of a new bed: an extension of our entry way gardens to replace a section of weedy grass and […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Gardening, Nature • Tags: CNM Labrador Retriever, dog rescue, Fall Garden, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Megaesophagus

October Surprise

October 5, 2016 by Ogee

October began with an incredible surprise: rain! Something we have not seen in a very, very long time. And absolutely no one seemed to mind. 🙂

Categories: Nature, Photography • Tags: Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Nature Photography, Tiny Frog in flower

Wind in the Willow

July 24, 2016 by Ogee

The Willow garden bed has always been a magical place. In the heat of summer, light north breezes blow in off the rice fields and into its deep shade, creating an outsize cool and dark refuge in an otherwise blazing landscape. Countless secrets have passed between dog and human on its bench, and a myriad of “going homes” celebrated under its canopy. Over the past few years, its mighty branches spread beyond their natural border, blocking the light and turning […]

Categories: Gardening • Tags: Belladonna Lily, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Wadsworth Trees, Willow Tree

Double Dog Dare You

May 8, 2016 by Ogee

Some said we could never tame this once-wild acre of thistle and weeds into a garden. Apparently, we like a challenge. Some things are their own reward. But when the gauntlet is thrown down, and the impossible is achieved – victory is that much more gratifying. So it was this week with some of our “Going Homes.” Jet (now Jasper) had a file as thick as an encyclopedia. He had been bounced around like a ping-pong ball for his one […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: dog rescue, Gardens Golden Retrievers, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Korea Dog Meat Farm Rescue, Photography, Puppies

Learning to Dance in the Rain

April 10, 2016 by Ogee

“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts. We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us.” ~ Henry David Thoreau By accident, fate, or by design – life took some interesting twists and turns in the last few weeks. Some sad, some scary. But one thing I’ve learned: life just happens. When the storms come – […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: April Rain, Garden in Rain, Gardens Golden Retrievers, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, Photography, Spring Garden, Thoreau Rain Quote