Winter Escape: Booked

The secret is out: Mr. C and I are heading to Puerto Rico for the first week of January! I am a very bad secret holder when it comes to gifts, I get very excited and just want to share, so it has been a challenge the last few weeks. He will have to suffer through leaving wintery San Francisco for a sunny Caribbean island. Though I won't be having my passport stamped, my travel urge will be satisfied and I will get to see part of a region I have never visited.

Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. Greg Johnson for Lonely Planet

I am already dreaming of laying in a hammock under a palm tree on a beach with a good book and sketchpad.

B is for Berberis thunbergii

I cannot tell a lie, the sole reason I picked this species is because I think the names is kind of funny. Yes, I am mature.

Photos: Uncredited Mississippi State University Arboretum and gardensandplants.com

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpea', commonly Red Leaf Japanese Barberry, is as the name suggests, a hybrid from Japan. Included in many invasive species and Do Not Plant lists, particularly those from the Eastern United States, it is still commonly used as an ornamental on the West Coast where it does not appear to be as successfully dominant. As with many plants, if you decide to include this in a planting plan or garden, just be aware of its potential and keep an eye on it.

I love the wording Sunset uses to describe the shrub: "a graceful habit with slender, arching, spiny branches." It is suggested for use as an informal barrier hedge or specimen shrub for a pop of color. It is tolerant of environmental extremes for those difficult planting areas.

Roar 2

It seems like everything these days has a sequel.

Found in a walk over the weekend, our favorite Ocean Beach T-Rex now has a companion in Bernal Heights.

Have a Roaring Weekend!

A is for Acanthus

Plant Alphabet: It's been done before but never with a collection of my favorite plants. This is my plant alphabet.

My first subject is Acanthus mollis (Bear's Breach)

Especially of interest at this moment as it is in bloom all over the Bay Area. It is a large, shade tolerant shrub, with attractive foliage and very cool spikes of white and dark purplish coloring. The shrub itself can get up to 4' tall and 6' wide, with the flowering stalks growing up to 8' tall.

I like the Acanthus, not only for its lovely structural value (and yes, that does sound pompous to me too), but it also fills a much needed void for large leafed, shady shrubs that are not Ferns, Rhodies or Hydrangeas. It is also Evergreen/Semi-Deciduous depending on where it is making its home.

Interesting trivia note for all you Architecture nerds: the Acanthus leaves can be found on the Corinthian Column.

Alien Flower

I don't know about you, but I saw this on a walk the other day and definitely thought aloud that this specimen could not be from this planet. A gift from Mars perhaps? Maybe Saturn? All I know is that this photo does not do justice to how incredibly blue the stamens were.

Alas, it is a Clematis but that is as far as I could find in my brief internet search. Anyone know the name of this one?

Wish I Was There

It being Monday and with this working on the project in South India, I really want to be on a bicycle riding down a dirt road through a grove of palm trees on my way to a cool mango lassi. Just saying, it sounds like a lovely way to spend an afternoon especially when it is unseasonably drizzly here in the Bay Area. It has been far too long since my passport has been stamped and I am definitely feeling the itch to travel.

So now I must reminisce to past trips and one in particular comes to mind. Right before my last semester of school we took a fieldtrip to India, tough life. Southern India, this is Tamil Nadu, has amazing food and atmosphere and culture and beaches and I could continue this list on and on. Our class had a great time despite some long bus rides and to be expected travel challenges. We started in Chennai and went down to Mamallapuram, Pondicherry and Auroville then West through Gingee Fort and Thiruvannamalai. Definitely a destination to put on your To Go List.

El Camino Real

So awhile ago I wrote a paper on Cultural Landscapes (comparing the Biosphere Regions of the Southern Appalachians and the Spreewald in Germany) and it is a really cool topic. A cultural landscape is a landscape that has been shaped by many years, if not centuries, of human use. So when I was driving the 101 from LA to SF, poor Mr. C had to listen to me nerd out about this and the whole Mission topic and how I think they are really beautiful landscapes (not that I condone massacring a whole indigenous people) rooted deeply in California history.

The Bells came about as a way of recognizing the route that was Alta California's Camino Real. The Bells were hung on "Franciscan Walking Sticks" in recognition of the missionaries path up the states of California. Can you tell I really liked California State History and the Mission Project in 4th Grade?

Back to the idea of the Cultural Landscape, one huge issue is indicating to people the significance of the landscape in which they find themselves. Signage is well and good in certain circumstances but can become a bit dominant in the landscape while also being a little too reductive in the history of the place. I like these bells because they are discreet, a little glimpse of significance while not trying to communicate every little detail about this place but just enough information to peek one's interest. They are a nice gesture in the landscape and a successful form of signage, something important to all cultural landscapes to ensure they are understood and maintained.





Some of the more amusing attempts at getting a picture while going *65 mph.