Tag: garden

everything all at once

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One of my favourite sit spots is under the silky oak tree, on the edge of the driveway. There’s a big Tagetes lemmonii bush (a fan favourite around here) right next to it. The species is named for John Gill Lemmon, husband of American botanist, artist and intellectual Sara Plummer Lemmon (1836 – 1923).

Sara was responsible for the California poppy being designated as our state flower. She established Santa Barbara’s first lending library, where she also sold art and music supplies and hosted cultural gatherings. She sounds like a really interesting woman — I’d like to know more about her.

hummingbird update

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One of the two eggs hatched several days ago, but I can’t tell if the baby is actually alive. I haven’t heard it cheep, and whenever I peek it appears to be sleeping in this same position. The mama is either away from the nest, or sitting on it; I haven’t observed her bringing food to the hatchling. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a successful outcome here, but I’m not feeling very optimistic.

micranthocereus sp.

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One of our “small-flowered candle” cacti is suffering from a little erectile dysfunction. Its aggressive spines have prohibited a close examination of the problem, so I can only guess at the cause.

(I got bored with drawing spines, so some of the cacti appear bald, but in reality they are all covered in a very sharp dense fuzz.)

Cornu aspersum

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Click to enbiggen.

We have a LOT of snails at the moment; they especially love the citrus. As I picked them off the trees this morning, I checked the whorl orientation, and yep, they were all dextral. It would be fun to see a sinistral snail! The idea makes the daily removal somewhat more interesting.

Allium schoenoprasum

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I am admiring the vase of pretty purple chive flowers here on my table, and feeling inspired by the botanical illustrations of Swedish botanist Carl Lindman (1856-1928). There is so much to learn from artists like him.

Chives are widespread in nature across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds. As well as producing edible flowers, leaves and bulbs, chives have pest-repelling properties that make them a great companion plant for most other vegetables and herbs. The plant also provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. Gotta love ’em!

Salvia apiana

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Carrying ladybug larvae to an ailing plant then watching them crawl all over the leaves is a very satisfying way to spend half an hour. Just sayin’. But then I decided it would be best to plant the sage in the ground. Hopefully it will soon bounce back to good health, with or without the help of ladybugs.