Salvia apiana
Tag: king gillette ranch
if a tree falls
Platanus racemosa
Oenothera elata
Oenothera elata (Tall/Hooker’s/Hairy/Western/Marsh Evening Primrose) is a tall biennial native to much of western and central North America, with one or more upright stems bearing a profusion of large bright yellow flowers, 3 in (7 cm) across. I was intrigued to see a bee burrowing deep into the flower’s throat, rather than gathering pollen from the prominent stamens and pistil.
Heuchera sp.
California native Heucheras, commonly referred to as Coral Bells or Alum Root, consist of about 15 different species and sub-species that grow naturally in a variety of habitats in elevations from less than 500 feet up to 10,000 feet. I’m not sure of the exact species growing in the King Gillette Ranch native garden, but it sure is pretty.
urban sketching at king gillette ranch
I was back at King Gillette Ranch yesterday with the LA Urban Sketchers, very happy they chose to meet in my neck of the woods this month.
how green was my valley
King Gillette Ranch houses the visitor center and joint headquarters for California State Parks and the National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s named for millionaire businessman King C. Gillette (inventor of the disposable razor blade) who owned the property from 1926 to 1939 and built some of the structures on the 360 acre property. There are easy hiking trails and lots of places to picnic (and sketch).
The hills are green from last month’s rain, though they won’t stay that way for long. A few wildflowers are flourishing—we saw California Buttercups (Ranunculus californicus), Golden Currants (Ribes aureum), and Wild Peonies (Paeonia californica). There is no rain in the forecast, so I think it’s going to be a short spring.
When we settled down to sketch, S told me that the movie How Green Was My Valley (1941) was filmed in the valley ahead, which is, ironically, rarely green; but the movie was filmed in black and white so I guess that didn’t matter. The old water tank we could see on a distant knoll was erected to provide the Welsh rain. Ah, movie magic.
hashiworks 