The native bush sunflowers (Encelia californica) are just about done for the year. The invasive fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) is still going strong 😩
pink and yellow
Author: Hashi
topanga
Four mile hike with V at Topanga — the wildflowers are changing week by week.
eating the rainbow
Checking to see if I’m eating the rainbow. I did pretty well yesterday.
pirate flag
We’re unsure what the message is here.
tiny lemons
Maybe next year we’ll make lemonade.
tagetes
I used to think Tagetes lemmonii was so-called because it smells citrusy. But it’s actually named after John Gill Lemmon (1832-1908), who, with his wife Sara Allen Plummer Lemmon (1836-1923), collected plants throughout the American West.
Since first discovering it decades ago at Huntington Gardens, I’ve planted it at every place I’ve lived.
yucca not yuca
The native yucca (short u, yuh-ka) is starting to flower. This beautiful and useful plant is often confused with the similarly-named yuca (long u, yoo-ka). It’s not helped by our local supermarkets mis-labelling the yuca roots in the produce department.
If you’re looking to eat the roots, you’ll want yuca (also known as cassava). If you want to make soap from the roots, you’ll need the completely unrelated yucca.
missing k
K’s been away for a few days, and Bodie is moping.
santa monica view
litter-picker-upper
Yesterday was my birthday. Inspired by Yvea Moore and others in the nature journalling community, I invited some friends to help me celebrate by picking up litter on Venice Beach. It’s a tradition I hope goes viral. (Let’s see … on any given day, about 11,000 people in Los Angeles are celebrating their birthday. Imagine if they all took a couple of friends and picked up litter for an hour on this one day per year. It could really make a difference, right?)
hashiworks 