Posted on by tonytomeo · 19 Comments

Six on Saturday: Big League

 

Again, my six pictures are not from my own garden, which incidentally, is not at all interesting. Instead, these pictures are from the biggest site I work at. It is many acres, with some very big features.
1. Big lawns are acres of turf. The kid in front of the building in the distance shows how big the building and lawn is. This is the biggest of three big lawns.P80217
2. Big trees are very common here. These are coastal redwoods. There are also big Douglas firs and ponderosa pines.P80217+
3. Big water features are not constructed backyard fountains or koi ponds. This is Bean Creek, which flows into Zayante Creek less than half a mile away. It is more than a hundred feet below where the picture was taken.P80217++
4. Big shovels are necessary for working in such big gardens.P80217+++
5. Big garden sheds and big garden carts made by Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet are also very important.P80217++++
6. Big insects are quite at home in such big gardens.P80217+++++
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: Weeds of Felton Covered Bridge Park

 

Although it is not my own garden, I have obtained some of my plants here, and have planted a few here too. I write about or mention Felton Covered Bridge Park too often to bother posting links to other posts about it. #1 and #2 are not exactly weeds, but were not planted here either. They were likely taken by the San Lorenzo River from gardens upstream, and deposited here.

1. Snowdrop! It seems that everyone else has been posting pictures of theirs, and I had nothing to brag about. I did not know they were here. However, these are Leucojum aestivum rather than a species of Galanthus.

P80210
2. Daffodil foliage emerges annually, but gets cut down by the ‘gardeners’ with their weed whackers. This is only the second time they have bloomed.P80210+
3. Periwinkle is a prolific weed throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains.P80210++
4. English daisy is a prolific weed in lawns in mild climates. Most if not all of the lawns in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco are infested with it; but it is too pretty to dislike.P80210+++
5. Dandelion is another prolific lawn weed that is easier to dislike.P80210++++
6. Dandelion seed is very abundant and very easily blown about.P80210+++++
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 · 17 Comments

Six on Saturday: Town Tree and Town Flower for the Kitty City

P80124I just can not resist; although I do not intend to make a habit of this.

I know I am sending this late, and that it is already Sunday east of India. It is still before noon on Saturday here. These pictures are not mine, but were used as illustrations for the selection of a town tree and a town flower for Los Gatos. There were more, but these are my six favorites; four trees and three flowers. I know that sounds like seven instead of six, but that is only because apricot can be either the town tree ‘or’ the town flower. Selection is limited to specie that are either native, or of cultural significance. The three trees besides apricot are native here, where the Santa Cruz Mountains meet the Santa Clara Valley, and the Los Gatos Creek forms a small alluvial plain. Apricot trees, which bloom with apricot ‘flowers’ were the main orchard crop here longer than anyone can remember, until only a few decades ago. Arroyo lupine is native on the alluvial plain of the Los Gatos Creek; and cat tails are native to the marsh surrounding Los Gatos Creek.

1 – California sycamorePLATANUSRACEMOSA

2 – valley oakQUERCUSLOBATA

3 – coast live oakQUERCUSAGRIFOLIA

4 – apricotPRUNUSARMENIACA

5 – arroyo lupineLUPINUSSUCCULENTUS

6 – cat tailTYPHALATIFOLIA

Cat tail would be my favorite choice for the town flower because this is the town of the Cats. Apricot would be my second favorite flower, only because cat tail is so appropriate, and also because apricot is my favorite for the town tree (and we can not have it do double duty). coast live oak is my second favorite for the town tree because it is native to both the Santa Clara Valley ‘and’ the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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 · 19 Comments

Six on Saturday: Cat Walk in the Kitty City

P801201. What have we here?

P80120+
2. Oh, directions.

P80120++
3. Oh my! What is THAT!

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4. Another one!

P80120++++
5. Meet the parents.

P80120+++++
6. These must be their litter boxes.

The Cat Walk is a rather ingenious exhibit of several concrete cat sculptures displayed in various street trees on the two main streets of downtown. The locations of these sculptures are cited on a map available to anyone who wants one. Most of us prefer a light duty challenge of trying to find all of the sculptures without the map. Some are hidden better than others, but all are easily visible from the sidewalk. What a fun way to utilize our otherwise unremarkable downtown street trees! Unfortunately, some of the sculptures have been dislodged from their original positions, which is why the two pictured here in opposite sides of the same holly oak seem to be be out of sorts. I am sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, especially #4.

The parents are not sculptures of the Cat Walk, but are modern reproductions of the famous and historical ‘Cats’ flanking the driveway of the old Wood Residence. No one knows which one is Leo and which one is Leona. The only difference between the two is that one has his or her eyes closed, and the other has his or her eyes open. They flank the driveway of a shopping center just north of Highway 9 on North Santa Cruz Avenue.

The sixth picture of the grassy ‘litter boxes’ is included as an almost funny example of really bad landscaping. They are in the same parking lot as the Leo and Leona sculptures, and formerly contained Italian cypress trees like the the one in the foreground and the two in the distance.

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 · 31 Comments

Six on Saturday: My Downtown Planter Box – again and up close this time.

1

At the northwest corner of Nicholson Avenue and North Santa Cruz Avenue, in front of Mike’s Bikes, is my little downtown planter box. ( https://tonytomeo.wordpress.com/2017/11/04/my-tiny-downtown-garden/ ) That little brass plaque in front has my name on it. Everything is starting to recover from summer, and will look even better when the nasturtiums come back later in winter.

2

Most of the main plants were grown from cuttings taken from the home of a friend’s mother as we were emptying it out after she passed away. She lived in Monterey, and was a direct descendant of the first Spanish people to arrive in Monterey! Of the plants pictured here, only the dusty miller in the last picture is not from those cuttings. There are two of these big common housleeks, and a few of their babies.

3

This bronze houseleek is as old as the two big green ones but always gets broken off and stolen whenever it tries to grow big enough to get noticed. I really should grow more cuttings of it when I can, just in case the entire plant gets stolen.

4

I refer to this one as an aeonium (or houseleek) as well; but it is really something else. I just do not know what it is.

5

I do not know what this aloe is either. The foliage is pretty cool, but I think that the bloom will be even better!

6

This dusty miller was added to contrast with so much pale green foliage. I love the housleeks and the nasturtiums that will grow later, but so much foliage of the same color looks rather bland. I also planted ‘Australia’ canna with dark bronze foliage.

This is my first ‘Six on Saturday’. I do not intend to make a habit of it, and would not get enough pictures anyway, but I might try it again once in a while.

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/