Visiting the garden of John Bleck, part one

Today we head back to Santa Barbara and another garden we visited during the Bromeliad Summit. This was the one "normal" garden on our itinerary; normal meaning it was on a standard-ish residential lot, rather than an estate.

The plants within the garden were anything but normal however. They were the crème de la crème, lots of choice things (many of which I won't be able to give you an exact name on). This beauty may be Leucospermum conocarpodendron.

On the right, above the blue agave (A. parryi?); the cone says cycad, the leaves say, well, I don't know what they say. Palm? Palm and cycad mashup?

Agave 'Kissho Kan'

This collection is on the other side of the driveway (the side you can't see in the intro photo). We were headed towards the back garden but paused to appreciate these beauties.

I asked John the name of this one, and he told me. Sadly I can't remember.

The way this loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) has been pruned makes me want to really go after mine (put that on my "to do" list).

Sadly I won't be able to get away with a large cycad planted at the base of my loquat.

Oh! Pachystegia insignis, I've got one of these. Mine looks rather sad after last winter.

We're in the back garden now and wow. Just wow. Aeonium tabuliforme tucked into the rock wall like it's no big deal. Because of course in Santa Barbara it really is no big deal.

Sonchus palmensis

The blooming black aeonium and dark dyckia (I think that's what the red flower spikes belong to) are pretty fabulous, but check out the large mound of Deuterocohnia brevifolia behind them.

There were flowers!

Perfect little Agave victoriae-reginae.

Wowsa! A much larger, but even more perfect, Agave victoriae-reginae.

It looked like you could pick it up and toss it like a ball.

I didn't try.

The lot ended with a steep hillside...

Blooming puya, I think.

The blooms were quite colorful.

Standing at the base of the hillside and looking back at the house.

I spotted a mashup of bromelaids under a tree. I must say they looked rather unloved.

Walking closer to the house and looking back at the hillside, and another house looming above.

I'd seen a few other people climb to the top of the hillside, along that fence on the left. I decided to give it a try. (did I mention I 'm a klutz and wasn't wearing appropriate footwear?)

To my right as I started my climb.

There were several hidden plant vignettes along the climb.

The view from the top. I made it up, and back down, without incident!

Back on the garden level I resumed agave appreciation. Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'

I have no idea what this cutie is. There's definitely some victoriae-reginae in there.

I should know, the shape is so familiar. Love the variegation.

Agave attenuata, maybe 'Kara's Stripes'.

Crassula rupestris subsp. marnieriana (I believe).

OMG!!! Aloe erinacea

So beautiful.

Oh hey! Seeing lizards in a garden is good luck...or so I believe.

I had a little more time before we left, so I walked back around to front garden and to the opposite side of the house from the driveway. I was rewarded with this beauty.

There was a great little garden along the side of the house.

The main plant died and a baby grew from the side?

The echium blooms were being loved up real well by the bees.

Come back tomorrow and we'll look at the lath structures in the center of the back garden and an AMAZING tillandsia collection.

Weather Diary, May 5: Hi 76, Low 51/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A second opportunity to enjoy the color artistry of Keeyla Meadows

I first visited the garden of artist Keeyla Meadows during the 2013 Bay Area Garden Bloggers Fling (and wrote about it here).

A friend warned me the garden wasn't likely to be my "thing," since she knew I wasn't a big fan of art in the garden. But she was wrong. I loved how personal the space was, everywhere I turned there was something original and colorful. And of course there were fabulous plants, like this Yucca desmetiana 'Blue Boy' (syn. Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea') currently in the hellstrip.

That first visit was in July and the exuberant plantings tamed the art a little bit. My most recent visit was last December. With many of the plants gone dormant for the season, or maybe just bloomed out, the art was front and center everywhere you looked.

The lower angle of the sun made capturing parts of the garden difficult, but I still shot over a hundred images. Don't worry, I greatly pared them down for this post.

That Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' was huge.

If you click back to my 2013 post (here) it was in the same spot, only much smaller. I assumed it was the same plant, but I really should have asked.

Some type of kalanchoe, I think. Cotyledon orbiculata, thanks Anon!

Looking back toward Keeyla's house, and that epic banana.

Notice the outdoor shower on the right.

I have a couple of dried brugmansia blossoms hanging above my desk, these felt very similar, but of course can stand up to the elements.

Abutilon 'Red Tiger'

Lupinus albifrons

I'm sure Keeyla arranged the carpet of ginkgo leaves just for our visit.

Did you spot the daffodils (above, and below)? Do you remember my saying I was there in December? Ya, I don't know what's up with that.

The kniphofia were a nice color match as well.

And this! (whose name I just can't remember...) Cobaea scandens...thanks Alison and KS!

Last time I was here we walked through the studio at the back of the property.

But it wasn't a pass-through space this time so we turned around and retraced our steps.

Papyrus! In December...

Isn't Keeyla's garden magical?

And that banana! Of course in December, when I was here, my red banana at home was still looking great—that was before our "winter-in-February." I had dreams of a plant, if not this size, at least half as huge. Sadly that wasn't to be the case.

Weather Diary, May 2: Hi 66, Low 46/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Lawn no, garden yes! Garden no, lawn yes! Lawn no, garden yes! It's a cycle...

We've lived in this neighborhood several years now, gosh, fourteen to be exact. During that time I've watched neighbors tear out their lawn and plant a garden, then put their house on the market and move. The new owners tear out the garden and lay down turf. Then a few years go by and they tear out the turf and plant a garden. Around and around they go.

This new vegetable garden is on a corner property which once housed a very creative raised veggie garden. This is now...

And this was then, photo from a 2011 blog post (more here).


In between the two vegetable gardens there was lawn. Years of lawn, just a green carpet. A beautiful green carpet that was managed by a service that would show up and mow, blow, and fertilize. The vegetable versions are so much more interesting and feed nature as well as the owners.

See those tiny sprouts between the lettuce and the wood, they're peas. This makes me wonder if there isn't something else going in between the bamboo and the wood. Something for the peas to climb.

Also I should mention the lawn wasn't removed, just built upon. Gotta love that.

The blueberry bushes, and raspberries just starting to come up behind them, are the one constant. Even when there was lawn the berries were allowed to stay. Everyone loves berries...

I look around and wonder which patch of lawn is the next to go, and will it be replaced by veggies or ornamentals? I don't like to think about the opposing part of the cycle, when plants are torn out and replaced by a green carpet.

Weather Diary, May 1: Hi 70, Low 41/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Wednesday Vignette, sometimes you get no answers

I'll admit I am one who likes to get answers. I have a lot of "why" questions and I want to find something that explains it. I spotted this opuntia at St Francis Ranch. From afar the pattern on the lower pad looked like the interior structure of a cactus pad, what's revealed once all the meaty bits have dried up. Up close I see that's not the case.

Instead the outer layer looks like the earth, soil baked by the sun and cracking from dryness. There was fire here, the estate is in the hills above Santa Barbara. Could the pads have burned? If so why are others untouched?

In this case I do not believe the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...

Weather Diary, April 30: Hi 71, Low 45/ Precip 0

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.