Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Poison and Peppers

Part of my continuing series on our October trip to California…As we drove south from Santa Barbara toward Fillmore I kept noticing these plants along side the road. I swore they were Castor Bean, but how could that be? After all the Castor Bean is poisonous right? Wouldn’t it be a tad odd for them to be growing along the highway? Finally I got to take a closer look. They sure look like Castor Bean. Huge beautiful plants! Look at those leaves! Nearby I also spied one of my favorites, Pepper Berry! I fell in love with this beauty as a cut flower at the florists and remember first seeing a tree growing in Los Angeles years ago. I’m sure it’s probably a messy tree but I would love to have one growing in my garden. It’s like a weeping willow with a berry bonus. The slightest wind was rustling the branches and leaves, that’s why these pictures are all blurry; I couldn’t get the tree to hold still for its close up!The countryside outside Fillmore… Tomorrow, more of the sights of downtown Fillmore. Trust me, it’s very dangerous! (very danger garden that is)….

10 comments:

  1. Hi Loree~~ I've heard that Rhododendrons are poisonous and they're ubiquitous so why not castor bean? They're way cooler than rhodies anyway. I LOVE the pepper tree too. I researched it years ago, hoping it could handle our winters. It's a no go. Major disappointment. Despite the wind, your photos are delightful. As the only human that has never set foot in the state of California [dare I admit that?] I enjoy seeing what the landscape is like. I find it odd that so few trees grow on the hills. They have their own beauty but, as you know, Oregon is synonymous with trees and my eyes are trained for them. I'm looking forward to your next installment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm laughing at your title. I didn't get it until now. Very clever. I thought it was a hint that your post was going to be about peppers in the blender, then the spray bottle to spray on the bugs to kill them. Wonder what Freud would think.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have taken me back to my childhood with this post: We had Brazilian pepper trees all around us while I was growing up in Southern California. I loved them, too. At one time we moved into a house with a castor bean plant, and I remember my mom warning us about its dangerous fruit. I think it must have been another kind because I definitely would have remembered those amazing flower spikes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love those castor beans! I don't have enough light in my yard to grow them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The pepper trees in California are pretty - I love the pretty berries. But those berries make a mess and sprout easily. The tree might be on the invasive list for CA? So it's probably good for us to enjoy them via vacations and pictures instead of in our gardens!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Grace! Never in California? But you live right next door! If you were say back East then I could kind of understand. Are you planning to ever visit? I think Freud is very entertained by your associations!

    Jane, oh lucky you! I just bought some Castor Bean seeds for planting this summer. I have WAY more than I will use if you would like some they are yours!

    How it Grows, yes this will be a bit of a dilemma for me. Ideally I would plant them in an area that I'm afraid might not get enough light. Going to have to watch that.

    VW, I was afraid of that. Some things are too good to be true!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I must be dumber than Grace (duh, of course I am), I don't get the title. Like "Crimson & Clover"?? Someone's going to have to spell it out for me, I guess! Castor Bean plants scare the bejesus out of me. I just think of some kid wandering by, thinking the berries look tasty... shudder. I know, so many plants are poisonous, but not all are this toxic, right? I think I saw a pepper tree in CA when I was there in the summer, no berries but the foliage looks familiar. I'll have to find my pic and compare. Thanks, great posts from your trip!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The texture is great on the Pepper Berries, you don't often see that on trees. People shopping at the garden center are constantly asking me if the plants they are interested in are poisonous. If they only had safe plants in their yards it would be boring or a vegetable patch. Watch your toddlers and teach them not to eat the landscape.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen, I was just having fun with the language. I was trying to think of a name for this post and Poison & Peppers just popped into my head. I liked the way it sounded, yep, like Crimson & Clover. But now you've got me wondering if all this time I was missing something in the meaning of that song title. Perhaps I'm the dumbest of all?

    Les, agreed. My beloved Euphorbia are pretty darn dangerous but that doesn't stop me, or half of Portland, from growing them. I can't wait to experiment with Castor Beans this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love seeing all of these photos - especially after spending my entire life in California and having no clue where Fillmore is!! Had to look it up on a map! We have so many pepper trees where I live - they're definitely beautiful, but boy do they dominate! NOTHING will grow underneath them and our dastardly Oak Root Fungus just LOVES to kill these trees (sometimes within a month!)....But yes...they're quite lovely to look at!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!