It's been awhile

But I went back to my alma mater (GO TRITONS!) during this last pass through Southern California and was excited to see all the additions (and that they have left Camp Snoopi alone) that I had only ever seen the drawings for during my tenure in the Planning Office. By far the coolest thing was the Boulder Teddy Bear in the Engineering Quad for the Stewart Art Collection, the campus' installations of awesome randomness.

Have a rockin' weekend!

N is for Nerium

....Oleander that is but I am being slightly snobby and trying to adhere to the botanical names. Trying.

So I have many ideas of what Oleanders look like in my mind. As stated before in a previous post, I grew up driving 99 and am familiar with the scrubbinous of those Oleanders, but also the well established and stately ladies lining the road to my grandfather's house.  All are poisonous (do you remember the book or the Michelle Pfeiffer movie?) but tolerant of extreme conditions like drought, heat and intense sun.  Despite some drawbacks I think these are beautiful specimens either ignored or pampered.

L is for...

lame?

I didn't manage to set up a post for today but I will have a very cool "L" plant for you soon. Until then, a cool succulent design with rusty bits.

Summer Fun

Who's ready?

I have been on the looking for a croquet set for a very, very long time. I grew up playing an extremely competitive version with my family and I missed those games. My search started last summer while I was still in New York, I had dreams of picnics and croquet tournaments (everyone must wear white) in Central or McCarren Parks, but I never found the right set. Fast forward a little over a year and my stepmother surprised me with this set. I am totally excited to finally have my picnic and croquet. This is what summer is to me.

K is for Kerria

Happy Bastille Day!

To celebrate, a plant from Japan? I know, but at least the blooms kind of resemble fireworks.

Kerria is an airy prostrate shrub of attractive habit. Once mature, the shrub will take more of an arching form.  It is deciduous, but comes back in Spring with these gorgeous little yellow blooms of about two inches in diameter.

How can you not be happy when looking at this little flower?

J is for Juncus

Juncus effusus

also known as Soft Rush or Corkscrew Grass. I was first introduced to this by my stepmother who planted it in an urn at the center of a pond. It was/is such a novel sculptural specimen.

Juncus is kind of a really cool genus, with species that thrive with wet feet and brackish water. They were definitely a plant of choice for my Ecological Restoration class. J. patens is a native to California and Oregon and is more drought tolerant than other species...it just doesn't get the crazy spiral stems.

Buddha in the Garden

In my continuing documentation of the lovely and novel garden ornamentation people put in their yards, I bring you the Buddha of Red Hook.

Found a few years ago in Brooklyn while traipsing around for some site analysis, I came across this Buddha in a side yard. I was impressed with the curation of the view through the outside gate, not sure if it was purposeful or not, but it provided a good picture.