Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Green-wall and more, another post freeze follow-up...

Remember that green-wall I spotted last summer? I was excited it was nearby so I could keep an eye on how it performs over the seasons. Well I'd actually kind of forgot about it, until I drove by last week and there it was! Considering our recent cold snap it looks pretty good, although I'm not sure what the story is with that white bit of fabric in the upper left-hand corner.

And the plants towards the top, which were flowering blue in September, are crispy critters.

Still it's not all bad. I'll give it a "B-" for now...

Back in my own garden it's become obvious the Cordyline australis are indeed melting. That color, it's just not healthy...

And the one on the edge, the most exposed, has flopped. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.

I've also discovered a little tip die-back on the Callistemon pityoides 'Excellent'. Overall it looks healthy and I'm sure it will be fine, I needed a push to prune it anyway. But see that golden smudge in the background, just to the right of the dead tip? That would be my Banksia marginata, it's not looking good, it's that golden brown color all over.

There's also a small Trachycarpus that's not looking good (several brown leaves), the Chondropetalum elephantinum has turned black, and my (fairly recently purchased and not yet planted) Drimys winteri var. chiloense is loosing its leaves. But heck if we're going by the meteorological calendar there's only 2 months left of winter!!!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Buffalo Bill’s Exotic Cactus Ranch, again (yawn….)

During our mid-September trip to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, we stopped in at my fav, Buffalo Bill’s Exotic Cactus Ranch...

Or rather we stopped by twice. The first time they were closed due to the flooding

Flooding caused by monsoon rains, which made these ocotillo look wonderful with their lush green leaves...

The second time we stopped by, they were open! I think Andrew is pointing at that fabulous Pachypodium lamerei...

The *yawn* in the title of this post is making fun of Andrew who, when he saw me taking pictures, asked “You aren’t going to post about this place again are you?”

The answer was yes, of course! Sure I posted about our visit last January but that was months ago...

Bad blurry picture but I had to include it if only to mention that I finally bought one, Kalanchoe tomentosa 'Chocolate Soldier'...

I bought a much smaller version of this Euphorbia trigona 'Ruby' when we visited in 2011, sadly it's dead now. It never really recovered from being shipped home.

This was my other purchase for this trip, Mammillaria gracilis var. fragilis...

Opuntia rufida minima monstrose (Mini Cinnamon Cactus)

The laminated sign in the center of this grouping reads "Landscape Outdoor Cacti," I think the owner is trying to inspire the locals to plant...

I used to not care for the woody base of old opuntia, but I've grown to admire them.

This amazing hot pink cactus (there were several) had no label. I tried to get a name from the owner but he was busy with a couple who were picking out curiosities to take home.

The female half of the couple later dumped her purchases on the ground as they were leaving. She managed to catch one of them with her hand, which was then covered in glochids, not a great introduction to cactus!

Echinopsis melanopotamica

There were so many things I wanted to take home with me!

But once again we were flying and had limited ability to return home with plant purchases.

Someday...

In the mean time I'll always have the pictures...

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Wandering a Bay Area neighborhood…

While I loved the excitement of three intense days spent touring gardens and nurseries with my fellow garden bloggers during the Fling, I finally hit the wall in Keeyla Meadows’ garden. Too much!!! I needed a little alone-time before we got back on the bus, so I wandered around her neighborhood a bit enjoying the silence.

Just for a bit though because I was soon joined by Scott, Peter and Alison. Seems they needed to get out too. I have fond memories of the four of us just wandering up and down the street. We even happened upon a house for sale and toured through it, oddly I didn’t take any photos. Maybe because I had gone photo-crazed on these trees just minutes before.

They were amazing...

A little Callistemon-ish...

But that bark!

The four of us were unable to come up with a name for my new obsession, but I later shared a bit of bark I'd picked up with KS of Gardenbook. And in fact she walked back down to look at them with me and came up with the name Melaeuca, part of the Myrtaceae family.

My research has been unable to get a definitive ID, the best I've come up with is Melaleuca quinquenervia (Punk Tree) or Melaleuca armillaris. Neither of those seem quite right though.

So beautiful!

I eventually tore myself away from the mystery Melaleuca and we wandered back down the street. That's Keeyla Meadows house again...

Whoa! That's a huge Eriobotrya japonica!

That tiny person in the lower left isn't a child it's Peter (the Outlaw)...

The homeowners even modified their fence to fit around the tree, love that.

And there was fruit!

Here's an interesting fence style.

A little too rustic for my garden, but I bet you could get some nice vines growing through there.

Finally it was time to get back on the party bus and continue the adventure (on another day)...

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.