Springing

It's really hard to believe that it's only March 19th. The weather has been unabashedly indifferent to the fact winter has not officially ended. Still... Santa Barbara has been in the high 70's and 80+ ranges of the thermometer this week. The garden thinks purely that we are mid dance with spring and pushes out new growth and flowers daily!

Through the writings of Billy Goodnick, (garden coach, landscape architect, garden wise guy) I discovered the amazing Australian nursery owned and run by Jo O'Connell. Australian Native Plants Nursery is tucked into the foothills halfway between Ventura and Ojai in Casitas Springs. What a treasure to visit this oasis, filled with luminous specimens from Australia, New Zealand and South African. It was beyond pleasure to visit and pick out something to grace my studio steps.

One of the picks was this fantastic variety of Leucospermum called Sunrise. It's like watching fire works in slow motion each day I walk out to the studio. Nature always manages to take my breath away.