These pretty little flowers are call vygie (sounds like jiggy).  It’s a blooming kind of succulent plant without thorns - unlike cactus. In California, I’ve seen them grown in rock gardens and also used as ground cover in parking lots.

These were my vygies from last summer.  They have survived the cold weather, but no blossoms yet. Probably in spring or summer. They are completely easy to grow and propagate too.  And best of all they are drought tolerant plants so require very little water.  The bright colorful flowers are the best part of this plant.

There are 1700 species of this plant and a large percentage of them are found in South Africa.  I like the colorful type with bright flowers.

Oscularia species The plant flowers en masse in Fall & the blooms nearly obscure the foliage! Grows in less than perfect soil with minimal water & always looks great! - Annie’s

Annie’s Annuals and Perrenials, a seed and plant nursery in Richmond, California has many type of vygie available for sale.  Many of them look like ice plants with  many bright blossoms.

I love the little description they give of the plants too.  If I am ever in the area, I will have to stop by and pick out some nice plants - especially the vygies!

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The Japanese have been using buckwheat pillow for centuries.  Buckwheat hull pillow provide firm and even support for your neck and back.   It has the ability to perfectly conform to the contours of our head.  Thus resulting in better and sound sleep.

Buckwheat pillows can be expensive.  So I decided to make my own using buckwheat hull and some linen fabrics.  Having a zipper is also helpful as you can adjust the amount of hull for personal comfort.  And with zipper openings, you can remove all the hulls before washing the pillow case.

The list of benefits for using buckwheat hull as pillow filling includes:

grown without pesticides as they are naturally pest resistant

biodegradable (can be composted and even used as mulch)

naturally hypoallergenic (for those allergic to feathers)

odorless, pest and fungus resistant

I used 100 % linen fabric and filled it with 1 lb of buckwheat hull.  The hull is very light but feels substantial once stuffed inside the pillow. It may be a small pillow for most, but it works fine for me.  Maybe it’s more of a travel pillow.

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It’s October and the fragrant Butterfly ginger has bloomed in my mom’s garden.  She planted these back in May of this year.  For our northern California climate, these plant enjoy being in pots.

It’s got an interesting way of blooming.  Notice how they shoot up from individual pockets.  I didn’t catch them when they look like spears.

The fragrance is really the best part of this flower.  It reminded me of Gardenia, but with a lighter scent.  The ants and bees like it too.

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The more I look into the Purslane family the more interesting it gets.  There is the Portulaca Grandiflora that includes the Moss Rose, Samba Rose, Rio Rose, and Yubi.

The only Portulaca I saw at my local nursery was what looks like Moss Rose but was labeled as “Portulaca Oleracea”.  Which is really the scientific name of the edible Purslane.  I think it may have been mislabeled someone just put the wrong label on it.

This is the plant I brought home.  When I first had it, there were many bright flowering colors, but now there aren’t as much anymore.  The petals are like gift wrapping tissue paper.  Some say it looks like a carnation.

Even if it’s part of the Purslane family, I would be a bit sketchy about eating the leaves of these guys.

Photo from Martin Group of Illinois.  This is what they refer to as “Moss Ross”, it is in the Potulaca family.

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I think having a sunroom is a really neat addition to a house.  But I don’t usually see them in California, it’s probably because it doesn’t get too cold here.   But I think they are popular in England since their home magazine are always filled with sunroom retailers.  They are called conservatories over there.

This is my dream conservatory. I like the tall trees in the background, gives it more privacy. I think conservatories are also great for growing tropical plants and also to protect your other plants from the winter freeze.  This style here is a wooden interior Victorian style conservatory.  Photo from Four Seasons.

Sunroom Features:

Pre-finished aluminum exterior
Northern White Pine laminated interior beams
Energy efficient construction

* Thermally broken frames
* High performance CONSERVAGLASS PLUS™

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Having a small yard does not mean you can’t have a nice garden.  With some interesting layout and careful selections of plants and trees, you too can have a beautiful garden.

Christopher J. Cohan of This Old House recommends dividing a small yard into several areas of interest, including a pond.  This makes the landscape seem bigger than it is.  For his own yard, he divided the front and backyard with different types of plants and landscaping. 

Cohan uses ornamental border along the street to adds curb appeal and make it feel more inviting. Then an entry garden with a lamp post lights the way for visitors. And there’s even a private patio for dining and a woodsy backyard for relaxing in your lounge-chair. 

You can view more photos of Cohan’s garden here.

Photo from This Old House.

As you can see from the picture of the front yard, the house has a dogwood tree that is scaled to the house.  This provides the front-yard with a focal point. I really like this idea. But the only thing I wonder about Cohan’s yard is how much care and maintenance this yard will need.  And also if they plants are drought tolerant, since we are having water shortages in many part of the U.S..  But overall, despite having a smaller home and yard, Cohan was able to create a magical and inviting place.

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