Flower Power

Dreaming of Daylilies 

Yesterday we took another daycation back to the Shenandoha Valley here in California, and yes once more, wine tasting was on the mind as part of the day, but more so than that was visiting the Amador Flower Farm on Shenandoha School Road in Plymouth. It was the 18th annual Daylily Days..something that an avid lover of nature, flowers and gardening, I did not want to miss. It had never worked out in previous years to actually visit this visual feast for the eyes, but as luck would have it everything fell into place and nothing was stopping us. With a picnic lunch in the thermal bag, a full gas tank and the address punched into the GPS, we were on our way. The familiar drive to the Sierra Foothills, was pleasant and relaxing as always and before we knew it, we arrived, found a parking place and were ready to soak it all in. 

Myself, my hubby and our middle daughter were excited to walk along the gravel pathways, enjoy seeing all the unimaginable variety of shades that the star of the day came in, and chat about our future plans for our back yard here at Muse Cottage and the inclusion of  the easy to grow and care for plant. There was not only hundreds but MILLIONS of Daylilies surrounding us, but also the distant sounds of what I would term "spa music", chirping of birds, buzzing of bees and the chatter from other delighted visitors, bubbling fountains and a near by waterfall. As we strolled about the Daylillies, we also enjoyed all the complimentary flowering plants, shrubs and trees and were careful to keep an eye out for Rattlesnakes.  We took a break from walking by taking the tram that would drive us through the same pathways we had just walked, snacked on free pop corn, and once we finished with the tram ride, stopped to watch the giant Koi fish, small Turtles, Ducks and Dragonflies in shades of red, blue, green flitting about. I feel I could have just sat and soaked in the views all day long. The Flower Farm is opened year around, and celebrates the changing seasons by bringing in Pumpkins in the Fall and Christmas trees in the Winter, and by having various special events. I have a feeling we will be visiting again, not just when we are ready to make a purchase, but as a wonderful place to sit a spell and just relax over a picnic lunch. You can learn all about the Amador Flower Farm by clicking the link HERE.

A variety of flower shrubs, trees and plants line meandering paths along with the Daylilies.

Of course I stopped for a fashion shot moment.
My fans/friends on my FB page love seeing them,
I am happy to oblige. 

Taking a moment to soak it all in. 

A peaceful moment.

Hydrangea Magic

I did not take photos of all the other variety of flowers, as I wanted this post to be about the Daylilies, but I could not help myself when we spotted these beautiful Hydrangeas lining a dirt path on the edge of the other gardens. 

Rebecca in Wonderland... all she kept saying is that the blooms " are as big as my head".... Indeed she is right, and bigger! 

Now I did mention wine tasting. We did indeed go wine tasting after we departed from the flower farm. Not wishing to take away from this post and it's main theme,  but still wanting to let you know where we went, I have decided to just give you the links to the wineries that we visited. I recommend them both. Each had some stand outs and something for every taste profile. 

Cheers! 

Cooper Vineyards 

Plymouth Ca 

Wildrotter Vineyard 

Plymouth Ca 

Spring has arrived at Muse Cottage...

Spring has arrived here at Muse Cottage once again. Upon quick inspection of all that I planted last Spring only one plant did not survive, a tender Lavender that had delicate leaves, quite unlike all the rest. I shall re-plant one as soon as I find another, but it may take till next season, as I have not had the chance to go in search and my surgery date, April 17th is quickly approaching. Other plants I chose to pull up... a few geraniums that just did not seem to wish to 100% spring back as they had been before and made the garden look un-kept. There are many plants that are thriving and have spread to fill in some blanks, and others have matured to grow taller or have a new leaves just about ready to do the same... although, of course I shall never full let all the blank areas fill in, one must leave room for the faeries to dance.  

The roses are all growing and have dozens of buds, sadly they also have what seems like thousands of GIANT aphids! We had a very warm Winter and they seemed to decide it was an open invitation to move in and take over. I have tried to hose them off, soap water only seemed to make my porch a skating rink of sorts as I tried to spray my climbing roses. I trimmed off infected stems, even those of my climbing roses.. nothing has worked! I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that will not harm the good and beneficial bugs that reside here within the garden, and hope that they will work, for if they do not, I am very afraid I may be replacing quite a few plants come this time next year. The Roses however, at this moment are fighting and I read that they have a natural way to defend themselves... so there is hope. 

You can see those nasty little creatures are practically swallowing
all the new buds on my roses.  Truly heart breaking! 

Despite the aphids, the Cecile Bruner is still growing and spoken. 

Our little Italian Pine "George" is quite happy with his own pot surrounded
by cheerful Viola's that have continued to bloom from when I planted them in
November. 

... The David Austin Rose "Graham Thomas", is quite happy with his sunny patch on the porch.
This rose, a gift from my Mother, is my most favorite rose of all time. The scent is divine,
and though it gets a bit of mildew on the leaves from time to time, little else seems to bother it.

The fairy garden is filling in, ground cover is spreading, flowers blooming....

...and the fairies are playing among the blooms.... if you look very carefully,
you can even spot them. 

Cuthbert still resides over the now expanding Verbena... at least I think that is what it is...
always get them confused with Lantana's .... *sigh* The Lemon Balm is also coming back and
should make for some lovely tea later this season. 

The Fox Gloves behind the faerie's house are blooming once again! Normally a bi-annual, it was delightful to see them blooming a second season in a row, and now the faeries will have
hats to wear when the Summer heat arrives. 

The snap dragons near the Gnome's home, have never stopped blooming, giving me
color and smile for the entire year! 

Pin Cushion flowers have grown by leaps and bounds to fill in nicely
their little corner across the way in the next flower bed. 

Columbine, on of my husband's favorites survived a transplant, a very hot Summer, and
a week of bad freezing temps to produce three times as many blooms as last season. 

Lavender, one of my favorite flowers is bursting with blooms in every corner of the garden.

Honeysuckle, thought to be a goner, having lost all it's leaves due to mildew,
came back and is growing and climbing up the supports and has already
produced a few heavenly scented blooms.

Carnations, which used to be three very small plants last Spring,
have expanded and spread and are already bursting with cinnamon scented blooms. 

"Barbara Streisand" is blooming once again, and despite the aphids has produced beautiful and
fragrant blooms.  

One of the antique roses bought a year ago January survived it's first year and is producing lovely pale pink blooms.

The Daisies never did stop blooming, just slowed down and now
are back to speed. 

The Sweet Broom fills the air with intoxicating scent.

Hope you enjoyed the early Spring tour at Muse Cottage

Pleasurable Gifts of the Earth ~ A Daycation Post

Hubby and I enjoy the day in and around Daffodil
Hill in the Volcano Ca. area.

As it would seem that my health and the weather are both cooperating at the moment, hubby and I have been making a point of getting out and enjoying ourselves and taking little daycations again. This past Sunday we choose to explore the pleasurable gifts that Earth and Sutter Creek/ Amadore County have to offer. Always a favorite area it explore, with much of it that we have yet to do so, it was decided that we would seek out a couple of landmarks that we have been meaning to visit since moving back to California several years back. Our first stop was to be one of the few Caverns open to the public, Black Chasm, located in Volcano California. 

After an enjoyable drive from Sacramento, heading out highway 16, then to highway 49 and later to a few twisty country roads, we finally found our destination and arrived just as the 11:00 a.m. tour was taking off. It was my husband's first visit's to a cavern and one of many visits, most of mine made on girl trips to other states. Both of us were excited and eager to see what treasures this particular cavern had to hold for us... what pleasurable gifts of the Earth was beyond the iron gate at it's entrance.  "The 50-minute Landmark Walk Tour follows a series of environmentally friendly platforms, stairs and walkways, designed to give the best views of the cave without compromising the naturally pristine environment. This beautiful tour shows off some world class formations, including vast arrays of rare helictite formations. Currently, the cave tour culminates in a visit to the Landmark Room, the location of the greatest collections of sparkling helictite crystals."  Lucky for you I was able to stop and snap a few photos to share with you, as light and time allowed.

After a couple short flights of stairs from the
gift shop and one more down to the
gate, we entered a magical world.

The first sites we saw...quickly
emerging us into a different environment
than that of what we had been in just
moments before.

The Stalactite "draperies" in the far left, upper
corner of this photo are so delicate in appearance,
but have survived over a million years. 

The Black Chasm Caverns is one of four
in the entire U.S. to have these straw like
formations known as helictite. 

The stairs within the Cavern go down, then
up and then down again as it
carries you deeper and deeper down. 

Once our tour was over, and we had I had a chance to change into new clothing more suited for explorations above ground, we were on the road to our next destination.... Daffodil Hill. Also located on the outskirts of Volcano California, lies the ranch owned by the McLaughlin family since 1887, open to the public each Spring so that thousands of visitors might enjoy the next pleasurable gift the Earth has to offer, Daffodils!! There are approximately 16,000 bulbs planted each year and over 300,000 in bloom at any given time during the season that visitors are allowed to stroll through the many meandering paths that are part of the ranch.  There is only a short period of time that Daffodil Hill is open. Most years it is open in the spring, usually from mid-March, as it was this year, through the first weeks of April. Soon after that, it becomes a working ranch once again, and is not open for visitors.  Of course, Mother Nature determines the length of the blooming season each year. Of course being someone into gardening and in love with flowers of all varieties it has been on my bucket list to visit and you know I can not help but share it with you.

Just taking a moment to enjoy the view and take it all in. 

Having found two pleasures of the Earth to discover and explore and of course enjoy, we decided, after a quick picnic lunch to go explore a familiar one to both ourselves and of course you the reader.... WINE! A short back track on the roads we took to reach the previous two destinations, we headed into to Sutter Creek California, a place I have shared with you all on a few occasions via this blog.  Sutter Creek is an easy drive from Muse Cottage and always an enjoyable one, with each mile we drive and get closer to Main Street, the more relaxed we become and a smile starts to emerge upon our faces. 

Our first place we popped into on Main Street there in Sutter Creek was the new tasting room for Sierra Ridge Winery, who specialize in Italian varietals including, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Aglianico, Freisa & Barbera and in the more classic Bordeaux varieties produced are Merlot, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. All the wines from Sutter Ridge are estate grown. The tasting room is within one of the historic old buildings that line Main Street and is a combo gift shop and wine bar. The tastings are free and the conversation is free flowing... both are highly enjoyable.  We walked away with a Dolcetto , as well as two jars of Earth and Vine Jam  ..... both treats for the pallet. 

Our next stop is a regular one for us, CINQUE. "CINQUE-which means five in Italian, is a family owned and operated wine tasting room nested on the north end of Sutter Creek." Two wineries offer tastings out of this one quaint buidling/tasting room, Sera Fina Cellars, and Scotto Family Wines. Again, like Sierra Ridge, the wines are made in the Italian tradition with the Scotto family history dating back to the 1800's  in Italy..... you can read more about CINQUE and the history behind the Scotto family and both wineries... HERE.  We always have a wonderful time, great wine and great conversation when we visit, and it is a not to be missed destination when in Sutter Creek. As is our habit, of course we left with two bottles of wine ( this time the Rare Red, always a favorite and the Night Fall Petite Sirah ) and a smile upon our face and our hearts warmed. Tasting is free.

The very last stop on our mini wine tour was a new one to us Yorba Wines. "Yorba Wines are the result of tradition, experience and passion combining to produce outstanding wines, each one unique, but all with a strong connection to the land on which they’re grown.  Four distinct varietals – Barbera, Zinfandel, Syrah and Tempranillo – are joined with our vineyard blend, Shake Ridge, which is an expression of the ranch. " . Located in a small house just off the corner of Main and on Hanford Street in Sutter Creek, is a contemporary tasting room, where you may stand at the counter, or sit at the large communal table and get to know fellow wine enthusiasts, and Yorba wines also comes complete with a patio out back that one may also taste wine as well as artisan cheese platters, antipasto platter or the weekly Spice Box Special. and enjoy warm Spring days and on Hot Summer days you can sit on the stone patio. One with greeted with a smile and a glass, there is a 5.00 tasting fee per person, but one persons fee is refundable with purchase and I challenge you to not do so. Each glass of wine seduces and draws you into the wonderful world of Yorba Wines and as you go down the line of offerings it draws you in deeper and deeper and I for one, is hooked. We left with a Barbera, as always, I shall not give you tasting notes, as taste is individual, but you can visit the web site to learn more ( see link in first line of this paragraph). If you ever get a chance to visit Yorba, I just know that you will linger and leave with at least one, if not more bottles of wine. 

Full circle moment.... Stone, Daffodils and then Wine.... all pleasurable
gifts from the Earth.