"Green Scene" Visit

A local CSU Botanic Garden (CS Fullerton) celebrates Spring with a plant fair.  There is almost invariably a heat wave on the event weekend, so we rarely attend.  Saturday was indeed very hot, but Sunday was more moderate so we managed to get there.   Most all the vendors were sold out of anything interesting.  

 The SCHS had a fabulous display.

 Wow, wow, wow, but lots of water involved. 

 There was a carnivorous plant booth.  These were interesting...

 ...but outside of my range of interests (and climate)

What was left was mostly lots of very small, common succulents and tomato plants.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  
It is just no longer an interest.
Next four photos by Beloved:

Good prices!

We focused instead on enjoying the garden, which was an interesting mix of farmhouse flower meadows,  desert gardens, fruit trees, and California native plants.

Opuntia basilaris, grown hard. 

 There were some fabulous Austin roses I didn't recognize.  They were grown with lavish water and fertilizer by the looks of them.  Very happy.

 Some interesting hedges with undulating tops a la Oudolf, with roses mixed in. 

Photo by Beloved.  I think the hedge is a Teucrium?  I spy a blue flower or two.
Photo by Beloved

 

Oooh that's pretty.

 There's a historic farmhouse on the property.  I think that's a Carpenteria blooming. 

 In areas around the farmhouse masses of spring bloomers like Columbine

 Looked lovely.  All browned and died out come summer. 

 Blogger's sweetie in habitat

 Here's the blogger taking the photo of her sweetie

Very evocative of Southern California's orchard era--numerous Avocado trees with a blanket of nasturtiums below.  

What life must have been like in California in the 1920's.  Can you imagine? 

 The Wisteria covering this large pergola was bloomed out, but the shade was welcome.  It was fairly warm on Sunday.

 Abrupt change to a Mojave-type landscape.  Young Bismarkia noblis 

 Ocotillo

Just adjacent to a more chapparal landscape

 I recognized Aloe suzannae.  Mine is getting a lot more water (well relatively) and doing fine.  Our largely warm dry winter probably helped.  The poultry wire was probably protection from rabbits and visitors. 

 This was an amazing amazing amazing tree-trunked beast. 

 By the look of the flowers, a Euphorbia.  I'm not familiar with this one.  Probably E. stenoclada.  (Thanks, Denise!)

 Very happy Alluadia proceras from Madagascar

 Turn your head and you get California again.

 Turn it back and there's Alluadia dumosa.  It photosynthesizes with its stems;  it has no leaves.   Mine which is far smaller was looking bad, but its sprouted new stems recently. 

 Alluadia procera again.  Really happy. 

 And a few steps later, a Bourbon rose, heavily perfumed.  Hmmm...roses and desert plants.  Seems...familiar. 

 This was apparently a studen project to develop robotic gardening machines.   Apparently robots want to grow weeds.

 Who knows what happened.  I removed the student and professor names...I'd be embarrassed if my robot gardened like this, but the facts are unknown.   

 Past a lot of tomato plants.  Not that tomato plants are bad. 

 This was a nice area near the exit. 

 Aloe cryptopoda in bloom.  Cool.

 At the exit and just about the last sales booth, someone was selling Bromeliads for $4!  Unexpected score!  This came home with us.