
Okay, so I felt slightly guilty about not posting anything of any horticultural interest today. Okay, perhaps a bit more than slightly. Okay, perhaps guilty enough to post a few pretty flowery pictures . . . and the last one, which some might find objectionable.

I will not put much effort into this. I did not even take these pictures for any particular article. I am only sharing them here and now because I have no use for them, but did not want to just file them away unseen forever. Hey, these flowers work hard to bloom!

Actually though, except for the last picture, all are about a month old. The last picture is half as old, and the bloom that is shows continues. Otherwise, the other blooms are already finished. Although colorful, none are particularly remarkable or interesting.
This odd camellia seemed to grow from the base of a bigger and older specimen, as if it is a sucker from understock. However, there is no indication that the original specimen is grafted. Nor is there any reason why a Camellia japonica should be grafted. The odd camellia could have grown from seed. It is rare but not impossible for Camellia japonica to produce seed here. It is not crowding anything, so remains.

I really should eradicate this pampas grass. However, it has been here for many years without becoming aggressively invasive. We have observed no seedlings nearby. Besides, even if we did eradicate it, there are herds of more just over the ridge. I can not explain why it is not migrating inward, but I am not complaining. I happen to like the bloom.

These pictures are, of course, not nearly as awesome as the pictures of Rhody that posted earlier. They just happen to be more relevant to what should be a horticultural blog.
Alas, people have imported pampas grass into New Zealand even though that country has its own native species.
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That grass never works out well. My colleague grows a sterile dwarf cultivar in his garden, but it is in Mid City Los Angeles, where it can not escape into the wild. Both Cortaderia jubata and Cortaderia selloana, as well as all their hybrids, have naturalized around Los Angeles anyway.
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I love that muppet show camellia
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That is mostly why it stays. Everyone likes it, and it is nice and low where it is visible. The main shrubs are quite tall, with their bloom out of view. I can not prune them lower because there is nothing to prune them back to. Besides, they are a nice hedge.
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Reblogged this on Tony Tomeo and commented:
Well, . . . this recycled article is no more of a rant than the previously recycled article this morning, but at least it is horticultural.
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