Citrus & Aloe

Citrus & Aloe
Originally uploaded by gardenwiseguy

This cluster of aloe flowers caught my eye while I was researching a garden for an article. I don't know the aloe species, but the background is a navel orange. Wonderful how these serendipitous moments arrive while I've got my camera and my wits about me.

Click the photo for more shots at my Flickr.com site.

State Street Islands

State Street Islands
Originally uploaded by gardenwiseguy

I designed this median about 18 years ago. It comprised 12 islands along 6 blocks of Santa Barbara's main street. Prior to this project, these were filled with turf and were hand mowed on a regular basis. Talk about unsustainable! A local organization called Santa Barbara Beautiful funded the rehab and this is what it looked like a year later.

Since that time the landscaping has severely declined and I find the project to be an embarassment; especially given its prominent location. It's filled with weeds, most of the important plants have died out without being replaced, and no one seems to care in my own Parks and Recreation Department. Short-sighted and short-funded. There don't seem to be any rabid landscape preservationists in our midst. No bitching / no moaning / no attention.

The plants in the foreground are Senecio mandraliscae (gray foliage) and Aloe striata. The background is Agave 'Nova' and Lantana montevidensis.

It NEVER rains in Southern California?

But it snows!



It’s almost Sunday and there’s supposed to be another “gully washer” on the way. So much for my prostheletizing about water conservation. When the local reservoirs are predicted to overflow with this next storm, everyone will forget that we live in a semi-desert for a few more years.

Not only did we receive almost 5 inches in 24 hours last week, but Momma Nature left a gorgeous dusting of snow on the Santa Ynez Mountains behind town. Unfortunately, the cloud level was pretty low and there wasn’t any direct sun, so this shot isn’t as spectacular as it could be.

But what I really love is seeing the juxtaposition of the snow on our native chaparral vegetation, the Spanish architecture of the Santa Barbara Mission, and a collection of palms, and South African aloes all in one view. Life’s beautiful.