Hi all, Palo Alto, California is just about what is considered the Northern end of Silicon Valley on the Peninsula side of SF Bay. Real Estate along Page Mill Road has the distinction of having once been the most expensive in the entire United States, topping Manhattan for a brief time toward the end of the 90s, just before the economic tech boom came to an end. For gardeners, the area has some wonderful places to go. The Elizabeth F. Gamble Home and Garden is located in the City of Palo Alto, at the corner of Embarcadero and Waverly. It is a working garden as there are several beds which are planted with a large variety of plants. The home itself is apparently a museum and the folks at Gamble provide classes on Gardening. The Gamble Gardens are a nice way for folks to see those flowers that bloom in Winter ( now ) and later, in the other seasons. The photos here should help to answer some of those questions about which plants flower right now, like this Iris ... Here's a shot of the Gamble Home, 'The Carriage House' ... Also in Palo Alto, is prestegious Stanford University which has a sprawling well landscaped campus and ... The Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The Canter Center hosts an Auguste Rodin Sculpture Garden, a Garden of Stone. Often, one of the things that makes or breaks a garden is not the plants, but the trappings, walls, figurines, a trellis, etc. While touring the garden spots in the Palo Alto and Woodside area, choose to visit the Rodin Sculpture Gardens and Stanford's excellent Visual Arts Museum. It's a treat. And inside the Cantor Arts Center ... And now for a formal garden ... The Filoli Center in Woodside, located just of the 280 and sitting for all intents, right on top of the San Andreas fault, is a huge estate which is a California Landmark. Like the Hearst Castle, the grounds and mansion are open to the public. Filoli has special events throughout the year when they feature floral and garden displays that must really be something to take part in. Inside the mansion ... Back outside again ... Well after that, I feel like Italian food. There's a place in San Jose called Santana Row. It's new and is right across the street from the famous Winchester Mystery House. I saw this place recently and had to try it ... A street scene from Santana Row is included and notice how happy the staff from Maggiano's is to see me? Ciao! BTW: Did you see the Humming Bird in the Filoli Garden pictures? Little guys are hard to photograph, but I froze one in time. The Gamble Gardens are a nice way for folks to see those flowers that bloom in Winter ( now ) and later, in the other seasons. The photos here should help to answer some of those questions about which plants flower right now, like this Iris ... Here's a shot of the Gamble Home, 'The Carriage House' ... Also in Palo Alto, is prestegious Stanford University which has a sprawling well landscaped campus and ... The Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The Canter Center hosts an Auguste Rodin Sculpture Garden, a Garden of Stone. Often, one of the things that makes or breaks a garden is not the plants, but the trappings, walls, figurines, a trellis, etc. While touring the garden spots in the Palo Alto and Woodside area, choose to visit the Rodin Sculpture Gardens and Stanford's excellent Visual Arts Museum. It's a treat. And inside the Cantor Arts Center ... And now for a formal garden ... The Filoli Center in Woodside, located just of the 280 and sitting for all intents, right on top of the San Andreas fault, is a huge estate which is a California Landmark. Like the Hearst Castle, the grounds and mansion are open to the public. Filoli has special events throughout the year when they feature floral and garden displays that must really be something to take part in. Inside the mansion ... Back outside again ... Well after that, I feel like Italian food. There's a place in San Jose called Santana Row. It's new and is right across the street from the famous Winchester Mystery House. I saw this place recently and had to try it ... A street scene from Santana Row is included and notice how happy the staff from Maggiano's is to see me? Ciao! BTW: Did you see the Humming Bird in the Filoli Garden pictures? Little guys are hard to photograph, but I froze one in time.

Here is a link Here is a link that might be useful: master gardeners garden tour

Hi Miriam,... ...just to answer your last questions... where I live a lot of the homes are made of wood construction, not brick... so wooden sheds are considered a fire risk... people put their freezers, fridges and electric lawn mowers in there, power tools... and with electric connected it presents a risk... mind you, my metal shed gets so hot in the summer I have to open the door... there is no ventilation as such, although it's not totally airless.. but I get concerned about something combusting on very hot days... probably worrying about nothing.. ...most gardens in UK have wooden sheds, usually a small one about 8 x 6 foot with a window and felt roof, which is inclined to leak before very long... ...we can also have brick sheds and plastic sheds... not sure what they're made of, something like UPVC... maintenance free, they look quite smart... I could have either of these if I wanted but I think they're more expensive... people also use their garages as garden sheds... I used to in a previous house... parking the vehicle outside and using the garage for gardening purposes... did all my shredding in there, had a big shredding machine too... only moving the car back in on occasions... ...some of the pictures above on this thread we would probably call 'outhouses' or 'summer houses' even, as they look good enough to spend some time in, sleep in even... we have those here but tend to see them in large gardens where the owners have spent time and money on landscaping...

Perhaps I am overloading you all and this thread with images, but this summer is the first summer I can simply enjoy the rose collections that I am very fortunate to have access to curate and share. Yesterday was hot, even by Okanagan Valley Standards, 37 degrees C, or about 98 F. But we have only had one extremely hot day so far this summer. So when I went out on the back deck this morning, I was not really expecting the lovely surprises that greeted me. The roses in this post are all from my own home. Mostly young plants that I am babying and growing on. That is the greatest privilege/blessing I have from my long association with John, Jason and the Summerland Gardens. I have access to and the joy of curating and propagating from a superb collection of roses. This one is my plant of Allux Symphony, from a mother plant from California, now growing at Summerland Gardens with a second plant from the mother next to her. This is Gabriel Oak, I lost the mother plant which came from David Austin Roses to the polar vortex two years ago, but luckily had a one baby safe in the greenhouse at Fraser Valley Rose Farm. This is one of the newer ones in the collection, but a very good rose, healthy, vigorous and floriferous. The image is not great, as this particular salmon pink colour is very hard to capture accurately in an image. The real bloom is far more beautiful. Sorry. William Shakespeare 2000. this is from a 2nd year plant grown from a cutting imported from John's Garden in 2023. Creeping still in its second year, hopefully leaping next year. And this is Spirit of Freedom, another cutting grown plant from California. She was not happy in the wet cool weather two weeks ago, a bit of reluctance to open and some damage to outer petals. But a few days of sun and yesterday's heat have perked her right up. The first flush is now finished. Lots of deadheading and summer pruning going on right now. I have also stuck about 65 cuttings beginning in mid June, all from out of patent or un-pattented cultivars in the various collections. They are in propagating cloches in the Former Superintendent's House, sitting on tables in the north facing sun room. Fingers crossed for a good rooting result. A few will go into the various rose gardens. The majority will go for sale at our spring plant sale in May. The roses are a particular favourite at the spring sale and sell out quickly. So I am trying to up production to meet demand. We make a large portion of our funding for the Friends of the Summerland Ornamental Gardensfrom our two yearly plant sales. So it is a job well worth the effort. Plus it helps me replace any varieties that are lost in the gardens for any reason. Pocket Gophers, polar extreme winters, or sadly we have even had a theft or two. I hope I am not boring you all with this thread. I am enjoying sharing the ongoing saga and the beautiful roses I am privileged to take care off. Cheers, Rick