Seeing The Light
Flower stem emerging from Aloe petricola; Leucospermum 'Tango' first flowers color up No gardening today. The wind is ripping branches, leaves, and flowers from shrubs and trees today. At least it's a cold Santa Ana this time, not hot, and a strange one, because the sky is grey with clouds instead of the usual tannish with blowing dust. A low pressure system from the south and a high pressure system from the north are meeting to squeeze Great Basin air, sending it roaring through our neighborhood. The neighbor's dead Eucalyptus rocks stiffly, like Frankenstein's Monster walking; the live Eucs, with considerable grace, sway. An occasional leaf blown hard, hits window glass with a plunk. Birds are absent. Indoors, I look at garden photos and consider light. Late afternoon light: Midday light: Late afternoon: Midday: Advantage, late afternoon. Overcast morning: Sunny morning: Advantage overcast. Late afternoon, really too late, but with the sun behind
Your walled garden looks totally amazing! I can imagine very well that it took years to get it to this point, but what a wonderful success it is now. Love both of your clematis' and the white Lisianthus, too!
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
Christina
Thanks, Christina. It was a long learning experience. I think this winter's rain did miracles--so maybe it was just the rain, not the education.
DeleteOh those Echeveria are lovely. If I could I would plant seas of them.
ReplyDeleteMatter of fact I am thinking hard on where I can have an all-Echeveria planting bed. The way I treat potted plants, they are so much happier in the ground. Echeverias are the sweetest!
DeleteHey, your Eustoma is blooming before mine! Honestly, I think they may have liked last year's nasty, hot, dry conditions better than the wetter, cooler weather we've enjoyed here thus far this year. I do have some buds at last but no flowers for Bloom Day. I also featured Crassula radicans in my post - that's one energetic plant. Your panoramic views are wonderful. Oh, to have roses like that, not to speak of the clematis...
ReplyDeleteThen a rabbit came and bit off one, and left it there--didn't even eat it. Grrr! Did you get new plants this year? The plants are still pretty tiny, maybe 8 or 10". I had no idea what they wanted so I planted them around with slightly different conditions. Thanks for the inspiration--I love them.
DeleteI'm wondering if I am going to have to take out some of that Crassula. It is spreading. But what shuts off the growth is no water. They stop growing and get intensely red. Summer will slow them way down.
Love panoramas, but it took me a while to see how the first three images flowed together. So much blooming! Let me know if white with lavender-blue really does cool us down, because I think I'm going to need a lot of that this summer!
ReplyDeleteYes, there was a better first photo that showed the connection to the rest, but it was taken at 7 in the morning and looked dark...maybe I should have posted that one instead.
DeleteWe are heading into a heat wave here, and I admit the white-blue thing was hopeful thinking.
Love the Echeveria flowers, they look so elegant. Here, the couple I have in pots bloom over the winter inside the greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteWinter, huh? Interesting. They are very elegant little plants, one my favorite genus.
DeleteYour walled garden is to die for! I love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Phillip. So do I!
Delete'Venosa violacea' is a gorgeous Clematis! I've never heard of Eustoma, but it's certainly a beauty as well.
ReplyDelete