Couldn't Find Volcano; Settled for T-Rex


A garden buddy and I went to look for the house with the brown concrete volcano in the front yard.  Drove all over;  couldn't find it.  

We did find a Miami-Vice style 80's house with palms and big red banana plants and frou-frou window treatments that also had some old west stuff out front.  Weird stylistic mismatch. 
 What's the deal with the rope?  Are they afraid the fence is going to run away?  Or is the fence wearing a rope bikini? 
Then there was the...uh...what style is this?  Hansel and Gretel Ranch?  Suburban Storybook?  
 Slate tiles installed with precise craftsmanship are not cheap.  The stone they used was pricey, too. 
There are irrigation stubs and a pile of drip lines waiting for installation, so they plan to have some sort of landscaping besides dirt and boulders.  What sort of plants will they select for this style of house?  We'll have to return and see.  
Another oddity at another house: a Pandanus species (P. utilis?)  They are uncommon here. They screened out the boat on the driveway quite well:
These plants have prop roots, to enable the plants to grow in loose sand. 

Interesting plants.  The same property had a beautiful young Bismarkia noblis.
 And a really large Agave bovicornuta:
 Decorative tile on the mailbox, with an Foxtail Fern (Asparagus densiflorus var. meyeri)
Across the street from the Pandanus, a nice use of one pot as a pedestal for another pot.  Not odd at all.
 Then there was the T-Rex.  A new remodel attracted our attention. 
Then we spotted the Tyrannosaurus rex!  As T. rex lawn ornaments go, tasteful.  T. didn't scare the lawn to death, though the iron eagle looks disturbed.  The lawn has not been irrigated since May, according to the mow-blow guys, who were cutting a row of Dietes iridioides into cubes.  Yes, you read that right.
 There was another eagle and a pelican on the other side of the walkway.  You could just discern a giraffe in the back yard.  Some nifty architecture there, and a fine arrangement of xeric plants, but the mow-blow guys maybe needed some advice on pruning, and the Dracaena draco (between the two windows on the right), typically growing 15-25' (4.5 - 7.5 m) wide, is planted within a foot (30 cm) of the structure.  It was leaning outwards.
Maybe we should have kept looking for the volcano.
I'll let you know when we find it, though after the T. rex, it might not impress. 

Comments

  1. Hmmm. I guess some kids never outgrow their fascination with dinosaurs.

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    1. We should talk--we still like to play in the dirt! ;^)

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  2. I never know what I'll see on your tours! Those pandanus roots are very cool. I am guilty of using a pot as a pedestal for another pot, but mine is a bird bath. I think because the lines on mine are straighter it's not (as) obvious that's what I've done.. Hehe

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    1. It's amazing what is out there, a 5 minute drive from home.

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  3. Seriously, how do you find these things!? Thanks for putting a few drool-worthy plants in the middle of a lot of oddities.

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    1. For both drool worthies and oddities, it's easy when you live in California.

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  4. It's always interesting to go with you watching frontgardens in the neighbourhood. Sometimes weird places, sometimes wonderful.
    The Pandanus species have such interesting and beautiful roots, but the Bismarkia noblis is a beauty too. The other gardens are not that impressive I think more a bit weird, who wants a T.rex on the grass, where is no grass at all?

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    1. The more we looked, the weirder it got.

      Desert plants look strange with a green, green lawn. With the lawn allowed to die and the dinosaur added, it was even more strange!

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  5. You do find the most amazing things on your little tours. Keep it up, won't you?

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  6. In Seattle we have a T-Rex house too! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SexyGCV13kU/TLeLgGKV0vI/AAAAAAAAAJs/W-tDIpC4UEc/s1600/580+c+ww+zoom100805+P1040431.jpg Another fun post--Suburban Storybook ;-P

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  7. The house with turret? Ugh. 'Nuff said.

    The metal T-rex and saguaro? Super cool.

    The pandanus? Love it. I'd grow it if I could. One of my favorite plants in Hawaii.

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    1. It's a well-crafted T-rex. The work was impressive. The turret house--much money was spent there, but it doesn't look quite right to me.

      I always thought the Pandanus was a Dracaena of some sort. I thought it would need warmer nights, but it's been thriving for many years, so cold-hardier than I expected.

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  8. Gotta love the T-rex! What a step up from pink flamingos. And he seems to be perfectly placed against that wall. As long as he remains the on one within a 100 miles, he's cool.

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    1. He's a great looking T. rex, you must admit, and the only one I've seen around here.

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