The Plants Of Legoland (Part 2)

The spiders grow big down San Diego way...

Non-Lego bugs were normal-sized:

Not all that many succulents--perhaps for safety reasons.  An Agave geminiflora in bloom.  A. geminiflora is so named because the flowers are paired.  Look closely to see the twinned flowers:

Bathroom humor:

Is that Cycas horribly chlorotic?  It looks great with the Bromillead.

Plumerias, unfortunately not close enough to sniff.
 
Aloe barbarae--no frost problems in Carlsbad.

A weeping conifer of some sort.  

Foliage in soothing but not boring combinations
 


A young Podocarpus gracilior in all its billowy glory.  I love these trees, but they get very, very large.  

Yes, of course a group of 'Iceberg' roses.

The faces cut into these rocks were charming.  Somewhere a speaker was softly playing "We Will Rock You". 



Happy Fuchsia:



Dipladenia in a basket with Sedum 'Angelina':

One of the eateries had a vertical herb garden made from 4" pipe slowly zig-zagging downwards. 

A pump sent hydroponic fluid up to the top of the pipe structure and gravity returned the fluid to the pump box.

Lifting out a pot showed a small stream of fluid flowing down the pipe.  The plant's roots were long and trailed in the fluid. 

Basil and Chives.

Begonias do so well in the San Diego area:

Against a backdrop of Podocarpus, Yucca, Dracaena draco, and red Pennisetum grass:

A Restio here and there.

Owl family, Lego version:
 
Butterfly, Mother Nature's version:

Duranta erecta:

I think this was the dwarf Ginkgo, 'Jade Butterflies'.  It lacked the grace of the full-sized version--was that the plant's true habit, or the way it was pruned?
 
The color still looked good on Cercis 'Forest Pansy' even in mid-August.

Buddleia of some sort. 

Winston Churchill, for some reason.  He was better rendered in Lego than Beethovan, who was across the path. 

I love the fine texture of a sheared Italian Cypress, though I'm not about to shear mine. 

Alstroemeria:

Another beautiful weeping conifer I don't know:

The sea monster from Star Wars Episode I:

Agapanthus still blooming.  Those in our neighborhood were done six weeks ago.

On the other hand, the Abelias here are about in the same state as my own:
 
Legoland San Francisco has a different backdrop than the real version:

Dwarfed Chinese Elm as street-tree:

A group of gardeners were pulling spotted Spurge out of the Irish Moss.  I complemented them on their work.

A Cotoneaster sheared into an undulating edge for the miniature Lego cities. 

In the very early morning, the place must be alive with birds.

Zephyranthes (candida?):

Hibiscus:

What I particularly enjoyed was the level of care the landscape plants were getting.  Almost every plant appeared to be thriving, and those that were pruned were correctly pruned, not hacked or butchered.  It was a pleasure to see.  Legoland is not an inexpensive place to visit--at least some of the money is going to maintain what is truly a fine garden.