Six on Saturday is about gardening. It should therefore feature flowery pictures. I do sometimes try to comply, but often neglect to include flowery pictures. I included one for this week, and two more horticulturally oriented pictures. Of course, the most important picture is of Rhody; because everyone loves Rhody. The other two pictures are neither horticulturally oriented, nor relevant to Rhody. I just found them appealing.

1. Rhody is who you came here for. I did not even bother saving the best for last this time. Do you really need to see the other five? I am sorry that he does not cooperate for better pictures.

2. Prunus bloom provides a flowery picture. This and the picture of Rhody are all my Six on Saturday needs. I do not know what species this is. It was understock of a tree that got cut down.

3. Daffodil bloom after other narcissus, so typically get thrashed less by wintry weather. Each year is unique though. Paperwhite narcissus bloomed before stormy weather started this year.

4. Palms do not dominate all of the landscapes of California. Although they are common near the Coast of Southern California, they are uncommon, and look weird, here among the redwoods.

5. Lichens are not exactly relevant to horticulture. I just happened to notice how uniformly these lichens cover this fence. If they were greener, they might resemble a squarely shorn hedge.

6. Bean Creek flowing from the top of the picture into Zayante Creek is irrelevant to horticulture as well. I just happened to like this picture of this bit of the forest. Bean Creek flows through the Farm just a few miles away. Ferndell Creek is barely visible where it flows into the middle of this picture from an unseen waterfall to the right. Miley Cyrus was filmed there for ‘Malibu’.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

39 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: (Two is Enough)”

  4. I couldn’t get used to Australian palms all seeming to grow in swamps. Didn’t seem right at all. That Prunus seems a weird thing to be used for an understock, quite likely better than the scion variety by the look of it.

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    1. Many of the swamps in Australia are dry for part of the year. The only species of palm that is native to California, Washingtonia filifera, lives in riparian situations, which is what gives Palm Springs its name. Some live right down next to the water. Some live where the water is right below the surface, but not visible from above.
      The Prunus is pretty only in bloom, and then makes weird hard apricots that only the rodents eat. The original tree was likely a purple leaf plum.

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  5. It was great fun to see Rhody this morning. He always brings a smile. The palm brought a smile, too. We have areas where native palmettos mix with deciduous hardwoods, and it always seems a little weird.

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    1. People who are not native to California believe that palms are everywhere here. Palms are really uncommon in most of the state. Only one species is actually native, and only to desert regions.

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    1. Yes; only one species of palm is native to California, and only out in the desert. It is actually one of the uncommon palms in landscape situations. Incidentally, only one genus of palm is native to Hawaii, although it includes a few species. The scrub palm lives in the southeastern corner of Oklahoma. Therefore, Oklahoma has as many native species of palm as California.

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    1. All pictures of Rhody are the best.
      The understock tree is not the greatest. It is sort of weedy and slightly thorny, with inferior structure. It produces weird apricot like fruits that only the rodents eat. I suspect that the original tree was a purple leaf plum.

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    1. There are no yew here. That is redwood foliage. It is always everywhere, but is even more abundant now because of the wind that came through. We are removing tons of debris.

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  12. Rhody is a cutie. And that Lichen! I’ve been fascinated with it since I was a child. Always love to see, it, where it grows, and how the color varies. I was also sad the tree that made those blooms got cut!

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    1. Oh, that tree is still there. It grew from the understock of a tree that was cut down several years ago. I believe that the original tree was a ‘Blieriana’ purple leaf plum, but I do not know.

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      3. It’s snowing here, today, our first in two years, and it pleases me. It’s also nice to know things are blooming like that in California. Ours won’t do that until later this month…Unfortunately, I’m locked out of Dumbarton Oaks because of the pandemic and can’t go check on the flowering quince…

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      4. All but one of the other (real) flowering cherries bloom a bit later, so are less likely to get battered by the weather. They tolerate (mild) frost, and they tolerate rain, but heavy cool rain that still happens this time of year is rather harsh on them. I do like our climate, but it can be confusing to plants that are accustomed to more of a chill.

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  13. Palms among the redwoods may look weird but it was very uplifting to see. I think it was the sunshine shining through that raised the spirits – promise of things to come. The prunus was also lovely. Rhody is though, without doubt the star!

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    1. People from other regions expect to see palms here, and do not mind that they look odd with redwoods. The Mexican fan palm, which is the common sort around Southern California and San Jose, was planted by someone from Oregon. He planted a queen palm, which became common in the late 1980s, nearby.
      I do not know what do to with the Prunus. It is not a pretty tree without bloom, but does not need to be cut down either. It may eventually subordinate to adjacent oaks and willows. (I know that nothing should be subordinated to willows, but these willows are keepers, and will be replaced with more willows as they deteriorate.)
      In the end neither palms nor Prunus are as excellent as Rhody.

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  14. That is one of the best photos of Rhody… he must have been too lazy at that moment to dart off to avoid the camera. Ha ha! He’s a sweet boy – I see it in his eyes. I didn’t know Oklahoma had a type of palm. I suppose since I don’t see it in the south central part of the state, I wasn’t aware of it.

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    1. Every picture of Rhody is the best! He does not try to get away from the camera. He just avoids looking good for it. He often puts his nose up, like for the second picture here: https://tonytomeo.com/2019/06/29/six-on-saturday-rhody-in-pictures/ .
      Sabal minor is native to only the very southeastern corner of Oklahoma, in McCurtain County. ‘McCurtain’ is a variety of the species that was obtained from McCurtain County, and is now marketed as the most tolerant of frost. Of course, that is unimportant here. I just wanted it because it is from Oklahoma, close to Latimer County. What I got was even better! It is seed from wild plants from McCurtain County, rather than a garden variety. They are not directly from wild plants, but were obtained directly from plants that were grown from seed that was collected from wild plants. So, they are second generation, which is good enough for me, and better than a garden variety.

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