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Six on Saturday: Degradation

These are a few less than glamorous pictures from work, featuring normal deterioration, insect infestation, and desiccation. It will all work out in the end.

1. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile is slowly finishing its bloom cycle. Its florets are shriveling as its seed pods are growing. Blooms might stay until they look about like this.

2. Passiflora coccinea, red passion flower vine rarely has much intact foliage on it. Fuzzy caterpillars defoliate it as fast as it can grow. The caterpillars are active most of the year.

3. Ceratonia siliqua, carob seedlings succumbed to a very brief lapse of irrigation during warm weather. Fortunately, there were already more than enough, and enough survived.

4. Hesperoyucca whipplei, our Lord’s candle generated hefty pups as its original rosette bloomed and died. The pups are now dead. Maybe this subspecies really is monocarpic.

5. Agave attenuata X ocahui ‘Blue Glow’ agave is demonstrating how it is done properly. Now that it is generating young pups, the original rosette will likely bloom and die soon.

6. Trachycarpus fortunei, windmill palm abandones an old leaf below for every new leaf that it extends above. I cut the old leaves off to keep it looking tidy. It is notably healthy.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 13 Comments

Six on Saturday: Auditorium Terrace & Overlook Deck

This will very soon be a rather significant construction project at work.

1. These plans do not represent the scale of this project well. The Auditorium Terrace is already present, but is in need of renovation. The Overlook Deck will be completely new.

2. In the process of renovation, four disfigured and deteriorating London plane trees will be replaced with specially grown high-branched red maples for the Auditorium Terrace.

3. Orange mesh designates where the new Overlook Deck will be. The top of the mesh is at the same level of the deck. The wire is where the rail will be. It is higher than it looks.

4. Stumps of the many trees that were cut down for this project are trying to regenerate, and will likely continue to do so for many years. Tanoak and bay trees do not die easily.

5. Our only palm here, a windmill palm, will be displaced by the project. Fortunately, we planned ahead, and nested it into the ground still within its big tub, rather than plant it.

6. Strangely, what we thought were three alders are now blooming with prominent white flowers. They are some sort of dogwood. They were in too much shade to bloom before.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 14 Comments

Six on Saturday: New Shears

Purchases are very rare in my garden. I acquire just about anything I want from friends and neighbors. However, I really wanted a particular brand and style of pruning shears.

1. Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’, bronze fennel is one of very few trendy plants in my garden. I dislike fads. It was infested with aphid earlier, but recovered enough to bloom.

2. Canna X generalis, canna is one of very few here that has not yet been featured on Six on Saturday. It is more of a vegetable than an ornamental, but its flowers are pretty also.

3. Canna X generalis ‘Alaska’ canna is a rare white canna, although it is really very pale yellow. I purchase almost nothing for my garden, but I coveted it enough to purchase it.

4. Amaryllis belladonna, naked lady is blooming splendidly, but not quite as abundantly as it did last year. I watch for white flowers so that I can relocate their bulbs after bloom.

5. New shears are the piece de resistance of my Six this week. They are not actually new, since I bought them used on eBay, in order to get the old style. Only their holster is new.

6. Rhody, who is as unimpressed as usual, has been absent from my Six on Saturdays for quite a while. Weekly, this really should be ‘Five and Rhody on Saturday’. Oh, priorities.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 14 Comments

Six on Saturday: Last Wednesday Again

Again, this Six on Saturday lacks a theme. These are six random pictures that I took last Wednesday morning.

1. Rain?! Well, actually, it was just drizzly fog. It certainly looked like rain, though, and it was enough to fill a few puddles, and be hazardous for commuter traffic on Highway 17.

2. Phlox paniculata, garden phlox that I got a picture of last week flopped forward from the weight of the drizzly fog. It stood more upright as the moisture dried later in the day.

3. Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’ Japanese black pine is generating new growth rather late. It probably should have done this in spring so its foliage would be matured by now.

4. Alocasia macrorrhiza, elephant ears is now blooming with its weird green spathe and spadix. This same blooming stem is already producing a new leaf, so is not monocarpic.

5. Hedychium gardnerianum, kahili ginger is beginning to bloom. It has not done much since its arrival a few years ago. Gophers typically ruin it before floral buds even appear.

6. Canna X generalis, canna bloomed with this strange orange and yellow combination, which we did not plant. It is a sport. Strelitzia nicolai, giant bird of Paradise is behind it.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: Not Closeups

This is what some of the flowers and foliage that are normally shown in closeup pictures look like within their respective landscapes. The first three landscapes need some work.

1. Citrus X latifolia ‘Bearss’ lime is almost surrounded by neighboring cape honeysuckle, so it is difficult to distinguish in this picture. Cape honeysuckle should be removed soon.

2. Musa acuminata X balbisiana ‘Blue Java’ banana on the left may be ‘Nam Wah’. The other on the right is unidentified. They moved into their landscape before the landscape.

3. Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ smokebush is a striking focal point for its somewhat abandoned garden. It draws attention away from the neglect. It gets pollarded in winter.

4. Pelargonium hortorum, zonal geranium looks as good within the White Garden as in closeups. This is at the Mount Hermon Memorial Chapel. Its cypress need straightening.

5. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile is congregated in a large triangular herd on the side of the main road through Mount Hermon. It is blooming quite well for the summer.

6. Phlox paniculata, garden phlox appeared in this garden a few years ago, and has since become one of the more prominent features here. We have no idea where it came from.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.