Raindrops and Red & White Quilt 01-04-22

Our first rain storms have moved on after giving us about 6", but more than that in snow on our local San Gabriel/San Bernardino Mountains.   The average rain fall in Orange County over the last 100+ years is about 14".  So, we continue to do our rain dances and conserve what water we can.  

Succulents grow well with little water, but they seem to really perk up in a good rain. 

Raindrops on grey/green.

This is a full image of the red/white quilt I purchased at the Surfside Quilt Guild live auction in November.  I just showed a corner here the other day.  It was pieced by Sue Butsko and quilted by Cathie Opila and is 42"W X 48"L.  I have it hanging in the family room as my sole Christmas decoration.  Except for the wreath on the door that I think I put up just for the mail guy.   I know that Sue went into her fabric library to find all the red/white fabrics and I recognize most of them from what is in my own fabric library, some from several decades ago.  

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Flowers 04-09-21

Lots of flowers blooming, lots of pollen in the air!  Some yards have the "old fashioned" flowers such as iris, roses, ranunculus, etc.  But many of the newer yard scapes are desert or native plants.  These are planted in the strip between the street and sidewalk and last year they looked almost dead.  But now they have come into their own and are blooming heavily. 

It is a succulent, but I don't know what kind.  Maybe a Crassula.

This shows the flat leaves that are 10 to 14 inches long and lay almost flat on the ground. And the seed pods buried under the flowers.  

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Computer in the hospital! 03-21-21

Sorry to say my laptop died on me and is in the shop at Micro Center until (hopefully) Wednesday.  I took it to Geek Squad, but they didn't have the necessary battery, so I tried a few other places and finally drove down to Tustin to Micro Center.  I have had good luck with them before.  It was packed!  I wonder if that is due to Fry's closing.  Anyway, my friend Dick brought me a little laptop he can spare for a few days and helped me set it up.  I find that most computer stuff is beyond me these days.  Hope sending my blog this way will work.  

 I have been watching this succulent blooming in a neighbor's yard. 

 

The buds started to show color on March 2nd.

Last week the color showed more. 

Today they are brightly colored - like candleabra.

 

I have completed squaring up the 303 HST.  Now to decide what to do with them. 

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Plants in the neighborhood 06-11-20

As my memory wanders away from me I try to remember plant names by repeating them to myself when I see them as we walk.  Some just don't come back, or maybe I didn't even know them in the first place! 

This liquidamber pod fell from the tree onto a hedge of morning glory vines.  Odd, but pleasing combination. 

A just opening agapanthus flower. The outer sheath peels back and out pop all the individual florets of the full bloom. 

This resembles the silver sword of Hawaii, maybe the same family, but I can't find the id.   It is quite a large plant, probably spreads to 30" wide.  Flower stalks are about 36" high and the new flowers bloom at the top as the previous ones dry up. 

Here is just one flower blooming on top of the dried out blooms. 

This is one of the aloes, but not aloe vera, the most familiar of some hundreds of varieties.   The flower stalks grow up to seven or eight feet tall.  The spiky leaves are rough and hairy on the edges.  We see this everywhere these days; in yards, along roadsides, parking lots, street medians, it is a very popular landscape plant.  The flower stalks and flowers are more red than in this picture.  The seed pods are large and many form along the flower stalks.  

I tried the new Blogger, but couldn't figure out how to write a post!!  There is nothing that I can see that says "new post".  Anyone have any advice?

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Succulents in the neighborhood 06-05-20

1. With the promise of continuing drought many people are redoing their yards to make them more drought resistant.  And in m this area that requently means planting succulents.   Some designs are more successful than others, but many of the plants are quite attractive.   Here are a few that are in prime season right now.

Looking straight down on this lovely rosette which is about 14" diameter.

This is a side view of the rosette, about a foot tall. 

A flowering stalk, about 30 inches tall and shaped like a perfect Christmas tree. 

Close up of the flowers on the stalk.

This is the base of the flowering stalk. 

In the sun the red is very vivid. 

This is a view from the top of the plant. 

And here it is from the side.  There is the remains of a flower stalk - the straight beige sticking up in the middle of the image. 

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