Agave 'Vanzie'
From the "Well, duh!" department: what I was given as "Tuberose" bulbs sprouted at the wrong time of year for Tuberoses. Hmm. After some weeks of growth, judging by the foliage, they appear to be not Tuberose, but rather two Freesias and multiple Daffodils or Narcissus.
Well, duh!
Also in Well Duhs, I was irked for years that Sedum morganianum always looked pathetic in the patio's hanging baskets. Re-reading an old California Gardening book recently, I chanced upon the comment that this Sedum "should be kept slightly moist". Oops. I was watering them maybe once a month--or once every two months. Or...maybe not that often. Regular watering has produced a dramatic improvement.
Well, duh!
Carrot seedling update since the last blog post: something ate them all--a slug, maybe--without disturbing the hardware cloth tent at all. I'll try again, in a container. Every critter loves carrots. Well, duh!
Also in the last post I mentioned some problematic neighbors. These are not them. These nest in the dead Eucalyptus at the bend in the road:
They often gather and chat with each other on the power pole:Acorn Woodpeckers, Melanerpes formicivorus. They are a joy to watch. It is a privilege to have them as neighbors, and to grow an Oak tree that feeds them.
Winter foliage...besides that 'Vanzie'...
Euphorbia 'Miners Merlot' has not died yet, and is re-developing the rich color it had when I bought it last winter:
Leucadendron 'Ebony' has cones and the tips are reddening--a most dramatic look:
Foliage emerging on Drimia maritima. We got a sprinkle of rain, maybe 0.06". I think we're up to 0.10" for the season.
I chopped down 'Comtesse de Provence' rose in preparation for moving it, since it is shaded out by the Oak tree now. The soil was very hard around the rose so I'm holding off. In the meantime the roses leafed out again.
And 'Wilson's Wonder' Leucadendron is coloring up.
Though nothing like this morning's sunrise, which was positively psychadelic.
Love the Leucadendron...and everything else! And what a fun post...I enjoyed the "Duh" focus. I certainly have plenty of those most weeks. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI have to remember to see, not just look!
DeleteOh No! Maybe I jinxed your hardware cloth with my comment last time! Yes, everything loves any vegetable that I plant for food. I spent $20 on lettuce seed one year just to get one small head of lettuce. I've decided veggie gardening isn't for me, though I am sure I will keep trying for it anyway, hoping to find the right combination of circumstances that will yield a bountiful reward. Veggie gardening is hard work. That sunrise is spectacular. Ours was a beautifully refreshing monochromatic gray. The acorn woodpecker neighbors look like a lot of fun to hang out with.
ReplyDeleteThere's a book called the $64 Tomato. We are not alone. Your veggie experience was speaking wisdom! I spent a lot of $$ encasing some free tomato plants and a grape vine in a cage of hardware cloth--but the satisfaction of outfoxing rodents and getting actual tomatoes and grapes was priceless.
DeleteThe woodpeckers are fascinating. Throughout the day they meet up in certain trees or on certain power poles and have a chat with each other--then they all go off again to peck something.
What a spectacular sunrise! I've yet to catch a nice one this season, despite Meeko's early morning wake-up calls. The marine layer has us socked in today and we've picked up 0.04/inch of precipitation so far - 4x the amount we received from the front that passed through on Christmas Eve.
ReplyDeleteI guess the "slightly moist" requirement is why I always do so poorly with Sedums ;) I'll have to take a walk down my back slope to see what the Drimias are doing now - they appeared to be in a state of virtual stasis for 6+ weeks when I last checked on them.
Maybe the best sunrise I've seen here. It was very brief, just a few minutes. Was lucky to glance up and see it--ran out with the camera.
DeleteThe "pork and beans"/"jelly bean" Sedum--rubrotinctum--seems not to need so much water--needs some, tho. Early childhood memory of S. morganianum--a neighbor had magnificent baskets of them on her patio, so I wanted to celebrate that memory. I finally can.
That is a sunrise! What a beauty. We get Nuttall's Woodpeckers here, they are fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt only lasted a few minutes. Lucky to have had my camera at hand.
DeleteWoodpeckers are a hoot (hope the owls don't mind me saying that)!
All those nesting holes in the dead Eucalyptus! Great fun to watch (and hear) woodpeckers.
ReplyDeleteThe colors of your Agave 'Vanzie' are mesmerizing. Wow.
Chavli
They have a funny call, too, besides the pecking. I read they make a new nest hole every year, so they've been around here a while. I think we see them more now because we planted an Oak. They made a cache tree out of a neighbor's trash palm. They tend their cache of acorns daily.
Delete'Vanzie' is truly gorgeous. I feared the gopher had killed it--maybe not, it's still looks great.
That is definitely a glorious sunrise. We have been unusually cloudy through December so we see a sliver of the sunrise then back into gloom. Love the 'Duh' focus. We have so many of those throughout the year. The Vanzie is very sexy. Love it's muscular lines. Wishing you the best in 2025.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could nudge some of our rain clouds your way. We've had 4 inches in December, and my plants need a break.
ReplyDeleteYour mystery daffodils or narcissus look exactly like the mystery plants I have coming up in a pot!
Acorn woodpecker is a delightful New to Me!
ReplyDelete