Before leaving Palm Springs, I spent a few hours in the desert oasis of Andreas Canyon on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. There’s spectacular geology, and a permanent creek bordered by dense California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), the only palm species native to the southwestern United States. Pretty velvety goldenrod was flourishing in the dappled shade. Such a gorgeous place to ‘forest bathe’ before the long drive home.
Lovely nature journal club meetup today. We had five new people come, which is always awesome. I love our regulars, but it’s great to welcome new folks too.
What’s going on here? A little research results in the guess that this is Agave celsii ‘Nova’, allegedly “rather famous for performing unusual bloom tricks” (ref).
I made this page over a week ago; yesterday I saw that the remainder of the plant had disappeared, before I got a chance to dig it up and cage the roots.
I want to plant a lot more natives in the front yard, so I’m going to have to come up with a tactic to protect them while they get established.
Our neighbour invited me over to peruse her garden for seeds and cuttings. I came home with Queen Anne’s Lace seeds (Daucus carota) along with ferns, tillandsia, and various other pretty things. So I made her a thank you card and dropped it in her mailbox.
I bought myself a sinuous air plant. It makes me happy 😊
Have you ever stroked a wisteria seed pod?
I love checking out people’s gardens when I walk around the town, and I’m particularly attracted to riotous native shrubbery. If the owners are out working in the yard, I call out my compliments and stop to chat if they’re amenable. Today I met Elaine and Chet; they were really friendly and even dug up some comfrey for me to take home and plant. I’ve been wanting to grow it, but I never see it in nurseries, so when I spied their abundance, I wasn’t shy about asking for some.
Later in the afternoon our next-door-neighbour came over with more apricots from her tree. It’s starting to feel like we live here 😊
Another day, another medical waiting room. But this time, the plant is real!
hashiworks 