Migrating Weather

It's certainly not uncommon for Southern California to have warm weather in November but they are a full 400 miles south of the Bay Area and so our recent warm weather here in Oakland and environs is a bit troubling. Chalk it up to climate change or just a shift in the currents and weather systems but it does seem like this late in the year almost-summer weather is here to stay. As a gardener (and sun lover), I find it hard to complain but we do still need the rain and personally I enjoy the crisp early mornings that Fall brings.
Which is all to say that the recent rains followed by the unseasonably warm weather has really spurred plants in my garden. The following photos are but a sample of what's in bloom. November tends to be a month of transition. We're done with summer and early fall but haven't hit winter. In fact, the September to December period here in Oakland feels like one very long transition period. So, I've decided to embrace the transition in all its multi-faceted glory.
And now the photos.

Camellia japonica 'Little Babe Variegated.' A camellia blooming in November? Yep. This camellia is always the first of my collection to bloom. As with many variegated flowers, each individual bloom is slightly different from the others.

Also early is my Rhododendron 'Sappho.' This rhodie will often preview bloom a bit in the fall before having its main season in the early spring. For some reason it reminds me of Black Raspberry Swirl ice cream.

Calylophus drummondianus. This cheerful little ground cover has performed beyond my expectations and is still going strong in November. 

Lepechinia hastata + Luculia pinceana. These are two of the most fragrant shrubs you'll ever have the pleasure to have in your garden. For the Lepechinia, it's the foliage that has a woodsy appealing scent. And the pink flowers of Luculia (background) offer an incredibly sweet, heady fragrance.

Tecoma x smithii. The huge umbels of peachy-orange flowers keep on coming, which is delighting the local bees and hummingbirds. The plant also produces curious seedpods that resemble a cross between beans (long pods) and Asclepias (cottony inner portions). 

"I seed, therefore I am." That's certainly the motto of nasturtiums, which have self-seeded prolifically around my bird bath. 

Notocactus magnificus. Doesn't this botanical name sound like a Harry Potter spell? This new addition to my succulent table is already a star. 

Faucaria sp. Faucarias, or Tiger Jaws as they're affectionately known, are one of the most readily blooming succulents. Like many a succulent, the flower seems especially large in proportion to the plant itself.

This is just a simple Viola but to me its home, a large blue tea cup, gives it that extra special pizzazz.

My Aloe striata (Coral aloe) continues to get bigger. The wonderful symmetry of its new leaves makes for an additional element of interest. It produced two spectacular bloom spikes this summer and now continues to establish itself.

Trachelospermum asiaticum. The variegated form of this star jasmine is a slow grower but has finally gotten established. It's making a mat of multi-colored leaves, which provide a pleasing contrast to the green-leaved plants around it.

Staghorn fern. Taken at a side angle (the only angle I had), it may be a bit difficult to see but my potted staghorn fern is coming along very nicely. This illustrates that though staghorns are mostly epiphytic, they can be grown in soil as well, as long as the drainage is good.

Just a simple mum but I love the color. There's something about chartreuse-colored plants - be that the leaves or flowers - that is unique and inviting.

Winter is also the season for Flowering Quince, aka Chaenomeles. This flower belongs to C. 'Cameo' and as you can see it's a gorgeous salmon color. Most flowering quince are red, pink or white but slowly other colors are appearing in the market (especially orange). Chaenomeles are incredibly hardy plants, to the point of almost being invasive. Hard to argue with the beauty of their flowers and their can-do spirit.

Nemesia. Nemesias are wonderful ways to add color to the garden during the summer and fall. Though they're a short-lived perennial, while they're blooming they're just so cheerful.

A Real Softie

Though the sense of sight and smell are the two main ways we interact with our gardens, the sense of touch is also a source of pleasure for many of us. One of those plants that is both surprising and exciting to the touch is Phylica plumosa. This South African shrub has perhaps the softest, most feathery 'leaves' of any plant you'll encounter. Known as Cape Myrtle it forms an upright shrub to five feet. It's drought tolerant once established and can thrive in poor soils as long as it has good drainage.
As a fun exercise, you might make a list of plants in your garden that offer a tactile pleasure.
Here are a few photos taken in my garden on the first day of November. The recent rains have not only spurred the early bulbs to pop up but have generally perked up plants in our gardens.

Here's my Phylica plumosa, showing off its unique, 'hairy' leaves. As mentioned, their texture and softness is such a wonderful tactile experience. I also find the plant lovely to look at, with its ocher colors and what look to me like fountains erupting. One of my favorite plants!

Begonia 'Wild Pony.' One might write a book on the undersides of leaves as its own interesting visual and tactile experience. Many begonias have little hairs on the undersides of their leaves and those are particularly pronounced on this begonia. The upper sides are also rough and textured, making this an interesting specimen plant.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Pacific Frost.' We're fast approaching the season for Hellebores and my specimen is already producing flower buds. This variety is named for the pronounced white spotting on its leaves. By the way, Hellebores don't mind some sun and may be more floriferous when getting some morning sun.

Despite the late date, my Dicentra scandens is producing a second crop of bright yellow flowers, after I hacked it back hard in July. For those unfamiliar with this Bleeding Heart, it not only has yellow flowers but it's a climber. It gets its species name from the term 'scandent,' which means 'to climb.'

This lovely stand of Kniphofia is from my neighbor's yard. Red Hot Pokers as they're called are mostly a winter blooming plant here in the Bay Area. They make an impressive stand when mature, as is evidenced here.

Plumbago auriculata. This aggressive shrub has taken over the median strip that it shares with other plants. It does have pretty robin's egg blue flowers and it is indeed great for filling in a large open area that won't get much water (they're often planted near freeways, in part because they absorb car pollution) but they do tend to get out of control.

Verbascum thapsi. My favorite verbascum and here there's still a bit of rain on the downy branches, left over from nighttime rains. Speaking of texture, these felty leaves are a true delight to touch.

Why we love Fall, part three. My Cornus florida has already begun to show that lovely fall color. My maples are soon to follow. We may not live in New England but there are many trees here in the Bay Area that display spectacular fall color. 

Echeveria peacockii. The subject of my next SF Chronicle column, this easy to grow succulent has shimmering slate-blue foliage and coral blooms. Here it's looking resplendent in dappled sun.

Though it seems late, I still have several begonias in bloom. That includes this B. Nonstop Deep Salmon. The colors seem to exhibit their own light here, glowing from within. 

Duranta 'Gold Mound.' It took awhile for this evergreen shrub to get a foothold but it's finally filling in. As you can see, this variety is well-named, offering bright golden foliage. It has yet to bloom but it will eventually produce pale purple flowers. 

As I continue to learn a bit more about photography and start opening up my eye beyond taking photos of just flowers, or more to the point fully opened flowers, I've felt more free to photograph plants at different stages. Here's a Passiflora 'Oaklandii' flower still in bud form. You can already see signs of its rich coral-red color. A promise about to be fulfilled.

Sedona pt 2 Wild Animal Park

As noted in last week's posting, my recent Sedona trip yielded three very distinct day trips. Last week I shared photos of a walk in Oak Creek Canyon. This week it was our day at the nearby wild animal park called Out of Africa. There were two areas. The first, only accessible by the park's buses, went into the spacious open area. Here there were giraffes, antelope, water buffalo, longhorn cattle, ostriches and more, all in one big open area. The first photos are from that area. My friend and I then took a separate bus around the perimeter for a meet and greet with animals that had their own (spacious) enclosures. Lots of tigers, lions, hyenas, Lemurs and more. Our driver/guide had food treats that coaxed many of the animals over to the fence, meaning we were only 20 feet from them. Amazing. The day ended with an experience of Tiger Splash. Here was a spontaneous interplay between humans and tigers that was engaging, real and extraordinary. The guide, who's written a book on wild animal psychology, kept up a running play by play, explaining the fine line between tiger instinct (hunting) and learned behavior (trusting their human friends).
Okay, here are the photos.

"You looking at me? You looking at me?" Wasn't that DeNiro? Ostriches are perhaps the oddest birds on the planet. That said, don't piss 'em off cause one good kick could knock you out.

Sable antelope. Just hanging out but I love those horns. Guide said that unlike some other horned animals, if their horn is lost it doesn't grow back.

Texas Hold 'Em? Nope, pardner. These are African Ankole longhorns. Those are some serious horns ...

Who knew giraffes loved celery but that's what the guide gave us to feed them and they gobbled the treats faster than you can say "How long IS that tongue exactly?"  That would be an amazing 20 inches.

Though this shot is a bit dark, this guy is an African gray parrot. He's an extremely smart bird, probably a few points higher on the IQ scale than certain GOP presidential candidates.

Not sure what this floriferous bush is but they were all over the park (and elsewhere in this part of AZ). Beautiful.

White bengal tiger. Just magnificently beautiful creatures!

Here he is doing the 'stretch,' a new perspective of just how lean and muscled they are.

Hyenas get a bad rap for being scavengers. They're actually very bright animals and tender with their family. But they're fearless and will often hunt much larger and more dangerous game, including lions!

Ringtail lemurs are always a favorite and it's easy to see why. First, those amazing tails, which are much larger than their bodies. Then those cute faces, like adorable bandits. And of course the antics and the amazing acrobatic moves while in the canopy.

Here are two photos from the Tiger Splash event. Above, the white bengal has been lured into jumping into the pool (tigers are excellent swimmers and don't hesitate in getting in the water). Then below he's used those powerful hind legs to vault out of the water at a moving target (hunting mode).

Pythons. Sleeping of course. Two very different species.

Finally, two regrettably poor shots (through the wire cage of course) of one of my favorite smaller wild cats, the Serval. They are found throughout Africa, in the savanna regions. A few interesting facts. They weigh 30-40# yet have the longest legs relative to their size of any cat. They can jump an amazing 10' in the air. They can live 20 years in captivity. It is the only species in the Leptailurus genus. Servals are amazing acrobats and are comfortable in trees.

Sedona's Beauty

I've just returned from a week in Sedona, visiting a friend. For those who have been lucky enough to visit this area, you know all about the famous red rock formations and the high desert beauty. We did three distinctive day trips that I will share here over three weeks' posts. I start today with our walk in Oak Creek Canyon, a National Parks area just north of Sedona. Here steep canyons have been carved out by Oak creek and where the creek hosts a great variety of riparian trees and other plants. This creek and the nearby Verde river are the only year round water sources in this area and because of the desert-like conditions elsewhere, they are particularly refreshing habitats to visit. So, here are a few photos of that walk. Please excuse the quality of the photos. My point and shoot camera has trouble focusing when viewing a visually complex scene.

Our particular hiking path takes one first through an open meadow, filled with abandoned apple trees. The photos above and below give two views of this area, the second showing the ever present cliffs.

As mentioned above, the source of water encourages the growth of a variety of colorful deciduous trees. The day of this walk, October 24th, we encountered quite a bit of fall color. They covered the complete spectrum - golds, oranges and reds. Conifers still covered areas further away from the water, especially pine trees.

The canyon cliffs are never far away. This photo gives you an idea of how steep they can be. It's a testament to the tenacious nature of conifers that they can gain a foothold in such craggy conditions. 

If one goes deep enough into the canyon the trail eventually skirts these over-arching red rock walls. Very striking and geologically curious. The next five photos show different locations along this one stretch. I was able to gain a foothold on the rock, in order to get these closeups, and still stay dry!

Finally, I used the full extent of my zoom to catch a closeup of a far off rock formation, perched on a nearby hilltop. It almost looks like a human structure, a cairn of sorts, but in fact it's a natural formation.