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Six on Saturday: Foliar Closeups

All six here this week are foliar, without flowers. I suppose that floral subjects would be more appropriate for June; so, perhaps next week.

1. Ilex aquifolium, English holly certainly looks vicious up close. It grows wild from seed in the landscapes. I canned several as if we might find a use for them, which is unlikely.

2. Abies grandis, grand fir was collected from the wild near Smith River. A few are now canned here, although we have no idea what to do with them. They are such grand trees.

3. Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce came with the grand fir from near Smith River. It is also difficult or impossible to accommodate in the landscapes here. Collection is a bad habit.

4. Heliconia psittacorum, parakeet flower is considerably more useful than the previous three. For now, though, it remains canned on a silly shelf outside my bedroom window.

5. Saccharum officinarum ‘Pele’s Smoke’ sugarcane came with the parakeet flower from Brent’s garden in Los Angeles. It is almost too easy to propagate, so we have quite a few.

6. Saccharum officinarum ‘Purple Ribbon’ sugarcane is an old heirloom cultivar. It was acquired after ‘Pele’s Smoke’, but already has as much potential to propagate too easily.

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

Posted on by tonytomeo · 20 Comments

Six on Saturday: Exotic & Native

The first three were recently added. The second three were already here. That makes for Six on Saturday.

1. Opuntia, prickly pear, of an unidentified species, was collected from the wild near the original Bat Cave, which is really the Bronson Caves, in Los Angeles. It is overly prickly.

2. Echinocereus, hedgehog cactus, also of an unidentified species, was collected from the wild in Buckeye, near Phoenix, in Arizona. It is even more prickly than the prickly pear.

3. Agave filifera, thread agave was salvaged from a planter box outside a barber shop in downtown Felton. The planter box needed to be dismantled, so the agave came with me.

4. Salvia, sage, also of an unidentified species, is part of a pattern of unidentified species here this week. It is native, though, so was here prior to the arrival of the previous three.

5. Whatever this is, it is also unidentified and native. The flowers resemble onion flowers in blue. I think that it might be Triteleia laxa, Ithuriel’s spear, but I really have no idea.

6. Achillea millefolium, common yarrow is native here, but may be descendents of some that were seeded here nearly twenty years ago. I do not remember any prior to seeding.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 8 Comments

Six on Saturday: TIMBER!

Several large trees needed to be removed at work.

1. The steeple of the Mount Hermon Memorial Chapel (el Catedral de Santa Clara de Los Gatos) is now visible. It had been mostly obscured by a big Douglas fir and a big tan oak.

2. This new view of stately redwoods is also visible behind the Mount Hermon Memorial Chapel. It had previously been cluttered with tan oaks, bays and another big Douglas fir.

3. Logs were still strewn about when I took these pictures on Wednesday. Unfortunately, a few redwoods needed to be removed also. The largest trunks will be milled for lumber.

4. The stump to the lower right was cut last Monday or Tuesday. The stump to the upper left was cut when the redwoods were harvested, prior to 1906, more than 120 years ago.

5. Alyssum, wax begonia and zonal geranium should perform much better with so much more sunshine. (Stock will be removed for summer.) They had always been in the shade.

6. This rose, although irrelevant to the topic, is the token flower of my Six for this week. It is too colorful to omit. I have no idea what cultivar it is. It was red, then faded to pink.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 21 Comments

Six on Saturday: Surprise! III

Gardening is full of surprises. These are a few that I noticed last Thursday. I could have found more surprises, but that would have been more than six.

1. Jasminum humile, yellow jasmine is a real dud. It does not bloom nearly as profusely as I expected it to. Upon closer inspection, though, the flowers are surprisingly fragrant.

2. Lobelia erinus, lobelia self sowed and grew amongst weeds. However, no lobelia grew in the surrounding landscapes. The source of the seed is a mystery. What a nice surprise.

3. Digitalis purpurea, foxglove blooms either white or bright pink. Occasionally, lighter pink blooms are observed. This feral specimen, though, is surprisingly light peachy pink.

4. Aquilegia canadensis, columbine refuses to grow well where we plant it, but manages to bloom enough to toss seed to grow where it wants to. It should be no surprise but it is.

5. Dianthus caryophyllus, carnation was planted as a cool season annual a few years ago but has been retained, and surprisingly lives as a perennial as annuals change around it.

6. Camellia japonica, camellia bloomed well through winter, and then seemed to finish, just before surprising us with this last errant bloom. This is my favorite of the camellias.

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/