Category: flowers
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The Sacrificial Nasturtium
For ten years I’ve been growing nasturtiums, collecting the seed pods and giving them to friends to grow. I’m astounded by how these flowers have prospered at other yards. However, at home nasturtiums have been targeted by gophers as well as spittle bugs. Indeed, the bright green leaves of the nasturtium sacrifice themselves so that […]
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The Cosmos…
It is said the cosmos flower is the heart of a garden–that is certainly true for me. First, they come back every year, thanks to our moderate coastal temps. Secondly, they attract bees, hover flies and butterflies more than any other flower, save for English ivy in the fall. I took these shots over a […]
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Easy to Grow…
When I look at the succulents growing out of the rocks along Big Sur, I think back to all my plant failures at home due to drought and gophers. I now go with what works, succulents, for the most part. What changed me was standing in our front yard, watching a gopher pull six-feet of […]
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The Pinwheel Desert Rose
Nine years ago Anne’s mother brought over cuttings from succulents known as pinwheel desert roses which had yet to bloom. She stuck them in the dirt on one side of the driveway under an old oak tree. Today, on Easter, many of these plants have bloomed–they only do this once in a lifetime, dying afterwards. […]
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Winter Camellia
Sacramento is full of blooming camellias in the dead of winter–must be the reason why I see hummingbirds flitting about camellia trees despite the cold weather. Unfortunately, I don’t have any bird for this shot I took yesterday. Life is like that…falling short of perfection on a daily basis if, in fact, perfection is a […]
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Amazing Plants…
The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park is an amazing place to view tropical plants. Here are a few memorable shots from our last trip there. Not shown is the greenhouse humidity.
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Anemone Perspective
I leaned a wood ladder against the garage and forgot about it. A month later an anemone bloomed. Took these shots yesterday to capture the accidental art of a flower contrasted by hard surfaces (wood ladder, stucco garage).
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Sun Coloration
These flowers in the backyard appear to be affected by sunlight. The shaded petals sport yellow markings while the sun drenched ones don’t. I’ve currently misplaced the tags that tell me what flowers I planted in our knock-on-wood gopher-proof garden (raised bed with underground wiring). Any clues?
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Aloe Venus
Our eclectic front yard has an aloe Venus with spikey bright orange/ red blooms. The gopher has left it alone as have the rabbits and quail that move around it. I planted it fittingly as an after thought.
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