Odds & ends. Bits & pieces. Rhythm & blues. That is all I got here. The latter might make sense with #4 below. It makes this no easier for me though. I have difficulty writing with characters such as “&”, and even “#”, although I do use “#” when necessary to describe a caption number or can size as for #6 below. Perhaps I should challenge my comfort zone a bit more, as I did when I tried using contractions a few months ago. Although I did not continue using them afterward, it was not nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. At least I now realize that I could do so if I choose to. I simply choose to not do so. In other simpler words, I could, but I don’t.
1. Carson, Rhody’s Roady, posed for this thumbnail illustration for a recent article about how similar binomial botanical nomenclature is to traditional automotive nomenclature.
2. Purchases are almost against the rules in my garden. They can only involve items that I lack access to. This purchase that was delivered by mail apparently needed ventilation.
3. Someone who does not take compliments well diverted this one to me. No one knows what seed it contains, but I suppose that we will find out when it grows after next winter.
4. Salvia guaranitica ‘Rhythm & Blues’ came as a cutting in a red Solo cup with the pack of unidentified wildflower seed. This is why I abide by my rule that disallows purchases.
5. Saccharum officinarum ‘Pele’s Smoke’ sugarcane provided more cuttings than I knew what to do with. Fortunately, most succumbed to frost. I can accommodate these fifteen.
6. However, they are merely the fifteen best specimens that were big enough for #1 cans. At least as many smaller cuttings that got separated from them still need four inch pots.
A crosswalk connects a rose garden at work to a fancy perennial and annual bed across a narrow road. As much as I would like to maintain certain standards within both of these two distinct gardens, neither is perfect. Each is inhabited by something that should be of the other. One stays because of its justification for being there. The other stays because I can not easily separate it from the roots of what moved in over it, and because we sort of like it there now. Anyway, I added another picture from Arizona a month ago, and one of Brent’s useless pictures, just because they are too pretty to discard without sharing here.
1. Distictis riversii, royal trumpet vine demonstrates that, no matter how much he wants to get one of his pictures into his local Canyon News, Brent does not provide a good one.
2. Lantana camara, which is known simply as lantana, bloomed within the same garden as the orange cultivar of last Saturday; so this picture is from a month ago near Phoenix.
3. Rosa, which is an unidentified miniature rose, is designated as the lily rose because of its stubborn occupancy of a former lily colony within a garish perennial and annual bed.
4. Although pretty, it really should be in the rose garden across the road. I can not move it over there, because of its sentimental significance for the person who installed it here.
5. Lilium, which is an unidentified Oriental lily, is designated as the rose lily because of its stubborn occupancy of a former perennial and annual bed that is now a rose garden.
6. Although pretty in bloom, it really should be with this colony of abundant lilies, which I shared a picture of last Saturday, in a garish perennial and annual bed across the road.
This picture is all sorts of wrong! Brent sent it to me from Los Angeles. He has a habit of sending obnoxious pictures such as this.
Firstly, why would anyone install Italian cypress in such pointless situations?! The specimen to the left is centered on a prominent window. It is an unsightly obstruction to the window, and would be just as unsightly and obstructive to the window above if only it had not been so severely disfigured. Although the larger specimen is a bit farther from the window, it is just as unsightly, obstructive and pointless.
Secondly, why would anyone disfigure Italian cypress by topping them like this?! It would be more practical to remove them if their naturally upright form is undesirable for this particular situation. Then, some other preferable vegetation could be installed instead, or perhaps nothing at all.
Thirdly, why would anyone maintain these already disfigured Italian cypress like this?! Just remove them already! They are unsightly! Seriously, someone obviously puts quite a bit of effort into shearing them so systematically. Are they that important?! Does someone actually like these pathetic trees in this pathetic condition?! Am I missing something here?!
Finally, or fourthly, how could someone make this situation any worse by defacing the larger of these two Italian cypress with graffiti?! Seriously, that takes a bit of effort also. Cut the trees down already! Why do these trees not simply die of embarrassment?! Is this supposed to be some sort of conceptual or abstract art?! Is this here merely to see what sorts of reactions it gets?! Can anyone even read what that graffiti says?! Perhaps it translates to “PLEASE CUT THESE TREES DOWN!” This picture leaves me with way too many unanswered questions. Well, if nothing else, these sad Italian cypress were strangely entertaining.
Simply, these are six varieties of flowers. All but one bloomed last week. Half are hybrid cultivars of the same genus with two in the same picture. Six pictures of flowers with two varieties in one picture should include seven varieties of flowers. But of course, “mostly” indicates something that is not exclusive. Anyway, I should have gotten more pictures at work, since it was a rather fun week. Irrigation is getting more demanding, though, now that the weather is getting warmer. Because we need to delay renovation of a prominent landscape, we installed potted Canna onto the site. They are potted to facilitate removal when renovation resumes, but will be rad!
1. Lantana camara, which is known here simply as ‘lantana’, is too colorful to not share. Actually though, it is from three weeks ago, and west of Phoenix. Ours is more yellowish.
2. Rosa ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Burgundy Iceberg’ are grafted together on two old rose trees in the rose garden. I find multiple grafts to be annoying, but guests find them to be intriguing.
3. Rosa of an unidentified cultivar blooms better with better exposure, and also without the other cultivar that it was originally grafted with, but that was crowded out years ago.
4. Alstroemeria peruviana, Peruvian lily will not die. We removed large colonies at least twice from this location, but some always survive. They are yellow, orange, pink and red.
5. Lilium, which seems to be some sort of fancy Asiatic lily, was a gift from a neighbor. I did not expect them to perform so well, but after only four years, they should be divided.
6. Rhody is the only one of these six who is not a flower, although another type of flower is named after him. Morgan, his F250 who identifies as a Mercury, wants to get washed.
My vacation was in two halves of two weeks each, with two weeks in between. It seemed to be six weeks collectively. Quite a bit happens within the landscapes during that much time at this time of year. The first of my Six is from Arizona, and happens to be the State Flower of Arizona. The others are some of what I returned to, including the State Flower of Colorado, and a relative of the State Flower of Hawaii. One is German from Monterey. One is Algerian from the Canary Islands. One is European from Washington. Oh, this is all such confusing nonsense and false trivia. California poppy, which is the State Flower of California, is blooming, but I got no pictures of it for this week.
1. Carnegiea gigantea, saguaro was a species that I should have gotten more pictures of before leaving Arizona. This is one of only two pictures. It is the State Flower of Arizona.
2. Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ snakeroot came from Tangly Cottage Gardening not too long ago, but is already blooming splendidly among watercress on the edge of the pond.
3. Hedera canariensis, Algerian ivy clings to the exteriors of several buildings at work if not pruned back frequently. This vine is getting even more aggressive by coming inside!
4. Aquilegia X hybrida, columbine refuses to grow where planted, but tosses seed before it dies. Its feral seed then grows in random situations. It is the State Flower of Colorado.
5. Iris X germanica, bearded iris bloom is finishing about now. I earlier mentioned that this cultivar seemed weirdly pale. It might be feral. However, it seems bright white now.
6. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, tropical hibiscus is blooming as vibrantly here as it was in Los Angeles and Phoenix. It is related to Hibiscus brackenridgei, the State Flower of Hawaii.
Blooms With a View Spring Garden Tour of View Park and Ladera Heights happened to be on the day after I arrived late in Los Angeles. That is why I stayed another day late to help exhibit one of Brent’s three landscapes that were featured in the Tour. I did nothing more than answer a few questions, discuss random horticultural trivia, and share copies of a list of some of the other easily visible neighborhood landscapes that Brent designed.
1. Phoenix canariensis, Canary Island date palm is, as its common name indicates, from the Canary Islands, rather than, as its botanical name suggests, from Phoenix in Arizona that I left only last Saturday. Years ago, it was the second most common palm in the Los Angeles regions. Now, in this garden, it was the second most popular topic of questions.
2. Solandra maxima, cup of gold vine was the third most popular topic of questions as a result of this single bloom. It was about six inches wide. I wanted to get a better picture. Eriobotrya japonica, loquat was the most popular topic of questions. I took no pictures.
3. Aeonium arboreum ‘Albovariegatum’, variegated common houseleek is precisely what it sounds like. Most cultivars of common houseleek are as different in form as in foliage.
4. Salvia longispicata X farinacea ‘Mystic Spires’ is like the heftier version of mealycup sage. It provides splendid blue color, and is more reliably perennial than mealycup sage.
5. Bougainvillea X buttiana ‘Barbara Karst’ frames this arched parlor window colorfully. Anigozanthos rufus ‘Big Red’ kangaroo paw below tries to not obscure the outside view.
6. After all, this view is why this is View Park. Los Angeles has certainly grown up since I first saw it in about 1986, and it has grown much more since the old residence was built.
Arizona will be in the rear view mirror shortly after this episode of Six on Saturday posts at midnight on Saturday morning. I got a few pictures this time though. They are not too colorful only because I found the diverse cacti to be more compelling than the abundant desert bloom. Palo verde, esperanza, ocotillo, caliandra, oleander, bougainvillea, lantana and a few other flowers that I did not identify were all in bloom. A few others will bloom soon. We should be in Los Angeles by about noon, and at the View Park Garden Tour on Sunday. This is not how I planned this excursion, but it is working out rather splendidly.
1. Wile E. Coyote, of whom I posted a picture last week, may have been requesting a ride to visit his old colleague, the Road Runner, here in Arizona. I neglected to consider that.
2. Cacti are obviously popular in Arizona, likely because they perform so reliably and are so striking. This and the next two are field grown nursery stock. I can not identify them.
3. This cactus developed a rather wide colony. Many impressively big cacti get relocated. However, I doubt that this entire colony can be relocated intact. It will likely be divided.
4. This unidentified lumpy cactus seems to be quite tame. The few that I have noticed in my neighborhood grow less than three feet high. They grow almost twenty feet tall here.
5. Hesperaloe parviflora, red yucca is difficult to get a good picture of. Its grassy texture and grayish color can look shabby. Its pink bloom is nice against a clear blue sky though.
6. Carnegiea gigantea, saguaro is the State Flower of Arizona, and what tourists like me expect to see in Arizona. I pulled over outside of town to take this picture from the road.
These coastal redwoods are very distinct from giant redwoods.
“Hidden giants: how the UK’s 500,000 redwoods put California in the shade” was published in the Guardian more than a month ago. It was amended to specify that it is about giant redwoods rather than all redwoods, as if that is a distinction that is easily omitted. Incidentally, it later mentions that, “For millions of years, the world’s tallest trees have graced California peaks and coastlines,” which is a reference to coastal redwoods, which are a different genus from giant redwoods.
What is worse is the claim that, “Researchers found that the Victorians brought so many seeds and saplings to Britain that experts say the giant redwoods now outnumber those in their US homeland.” More specifically, it continues to explain that, “The Victorians were so impressed that they brought seeds and seedlings from the US in such large numbers that there are now approximately 500,000 in Britain, according to a Forestry Commission estimate that includes coastal redwoods and dawn redwoods (a separate Chinese species) as well as the giant redwoods. Experts at Kew think most of the UK trees are giant sequoias, the official name for giant redwoods. California has about 80,000 giant redwoods, as well as also having coastal redwoods and a few ornamental dawn redwoods imported from China.”
Essentially, the article claims that this data demonstrates that there are more redwoods in the United Kingdom than there are here. Apparently, approximately half a million redwoods live there, and “experts” “think” that most are giant redwoods. Also apparently, only about eighty thousand giant redwoods live here.
Response to this is no easy task. It is a comparison of all redwoods in the United Kingdom to a very slim minority of redwoods here. About eighty thousand mature specimens of giant redwood live in the wild alone. Countless more immature specimens, including abundant seedlings that are only a few years old, live with them. Countless more giant redwoods have been installed into landscapes throughout areas of California that are collectively almost as large as all of Britain. Such trees have been getting planted here at least as long as they have been getting planted there. It is impossible to estimate how many giant redwoods are here, but there are many more than merely half a million. Furthermore, regardless of how the article was revised, the half a million redwoods of the United Kingdom includes coastal redwoods and dawn redwoods. There may be as many dawn redwoods here as there are there. More importantly, there are more than two million acres of wild coastal redwood forest here. In other words, for every redwood of any species there, there are at least four acres of wild coastal redwoods here. Many redwoods inhabit each acre of redwood forest. Also, many millions of coastal redwoods are planted into landscapes here.
Incidentally, the three species of redwood are actually three distinct genera, and the official name of giant redwood really is giant redwood. It is Sequoidendron, not Sequoia.
The article continues to say with complicated grammar, “Spurred by the climate crisis, devastating droughts and scorching temperatures have added new stressors for the redwood, particularly the famous giant sequoias, which now struggle to bounce back after big wildfires.” However, there is no climate crisis with devastating droughts or scorching temperatures here. Summers here are naturally dry and warm. That is simply how the climate here is. Most forests here burn at least every century or so. Therefore, redwoods that are thousands of years old have survived many fires. Now that some forests are allowed to burn as they naturally should, fires will not likely be so unusually lethal to younger redwoods in the future. Another claim that, “Vulnerable trees are also increasingly under attack from native bark beetles, insects that feed on their spongy red trunks until they topple.” is likewise inaccurate. Bark beetles rarely damage redwoods, and are no more likely to damage them now that they ever had been.
Six pictures can not represent all that is blooming now. I did not even try. Nor did I post six pictures of six different cultivars of the same species, as I typically do with camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, flowering cherries, roses, or other flowers that we grow several cultivars of. I posted three pictures of bearded iris, but I could have procured more than six if I wanted to. I likewise could have posted more than six pictures of different African daisy. I tried to mix it up a bit more than I typically do, as I did with the snakeroot here.
1. Persicaria bistorta, snakeroot and (likely) Iris ensata ‘Variegata’, variegated Japanese iris from Tangly Cottage Gardening are happy on the edge of the pond. The Japanese iris is barely visible at the center. The rest of it is on the edge of another stream. Naturalized exotic Nasturtium officinale, watercress to the upper right shows how close the water is. I thought that there were two cultivars of snakeroot, but found three labels for ‘Superba’, ‘Firetail’ and ‘Dimity’. I can segregate their copies later, but will likely leave these mixed.
2. Clivia miniata ‘Variegata’, variegated Natal lily from Brent’s Jungalow tried to bloom, but this happened before I took a picture. Its cultivar is unidentified, but it is variegated.
3. Osteospermum ecklonis, African daisy blooms too generously for anyone to take all its flowers. About six cultivars inhabit this particular landscape with a few more in another.
4. Iris X germanica, bearded iris are blooming so tall that some should be staked. There are too many cultivars in the Iris Bed to take pictures of, so I will show only these three.
5. All cultivars of the primary Iris Bed are unidentified. At least three that were relocated from the forest are likely feral. One is pale white. This pale yellow looks like Tweety Bird.
6. All of the iris here, like the iris in my garden, have history. This iris is from the former home of an respected colleague. He brought it to me before the garden was demolished.
This is no simple hack job. Someone or a few someones put a great deal of effort into this very thorough hack job. This took significantly more effort than would have been needed to do it properly. Seriously, proper pruning would have been much easier, and much healthier to this victimized vegetation. In the future, this vegetation would have needed much less maintenance. Furthermore, this is more than visually unappealing. It is downright unsightly. Removal of such disfigured shrubbery would be an improvement, even without replacement. As the illustration below demonstrates, this is not merely a single specimen. It is an entire herd of brutally disfigured shrubs. How did someone determine that this was the right thing to do?!
This mangled shrubbery is vine maple, Acer circinatum, which is native to the Pacific Northwest where I got these pictures. I actually like this particular species because it can perform similarly to Japanese maple, but is not Japanese maple, which I am not at all keen on. Part of my dislike of Japanese maple is the result of working with so many that were ruined like these vine maples were. Vine maple is more tolerable to me because it is too rare here at home for me to encounter any that are ruined like these. This is a first for me. Perhaps that is why it was more difficult to ignore than the countless similarly ruined Japanese maples that I do not need to work with, but see around town.
I can not help but wonder what these vine maples would look like if they had developed somewhat natural form with only significant pruning for clearance above the adjacent pavement, perhaps with minor pruning to limit congestion within their canopies.. Would they resemble mature Japanese maples with extra trunks by now?
Tony Tomeo 