The grounds of the estate where we played
were immense …
 
Arizona Cypress ‘Blue Ice’
…long, moon-cast shadows would stretch
across the expansive lawn areas
as if it were late afternoon, and It would be
eerily quiet
At least, until the games would begin.
It was also bitterly cold.
  
until the running started, causing the blood to coarse faster through the veins.
 
Mass Artemisia and California Poppy planting. Silver Sedum
The scout master (the “Beast”, an ex-army major) used to run around like a teenager
re-administering “lives” (bandages tied tightly around the bicep) to scouts that
would get their bandages ripped off in some Doc-Martin swinging skirmish…
he did this adorning a kilt!
Now THAT would have been cold!
“Ach! ESP, All ye need is a kilt, see,
ye can just throw a wee part of it over
yer shoulder, like this, if yer cauld.
If that doesnae work, ye can….”
Aargh…shut your pie-hole William.
Frosty Santolina.
Although Texas is a long way from Scotland
and just a tad warmer. These frosty plants at least
TRY to trick the brain into thinking it is frosty,
when it is in fact 90 degrees in the moonlight.
I will take every illusion I can get!
Staying on this warmer note…
“Is he making fun of us?”
My cone-heads seem to be as fashionably late in developing as usual,
still, who’s complaining,
 
when you get flowers within flowers.
These warm embers seem to develop as fast as little nimble fingers can pick them.
 
Barbados Cherry Malpighia punicifolia, still going strong.
And some finalsizzle from a dwarf papyrus sparkler,
catching the final rays of the…
Moving on to my “International plant of mystery”…
I picked up this small plant immediately I saw the words
“mystery plant” written on the side of the container,
at the Natural Gardener.
  
At that point in time it looked like a small pride of barbados,
with very similar foliage. I planted it up against the back of our
house where it has continued to grow. The first couple of years
it pretty much died back to the base, so I just treated it like I did
my pride of barbados -and whacked it back to the ground. Then
as it got bigger it started to make it through the winter, and it
continued to get larger. The multi-limbed shrub has small thorns
on its branches and blooms like a pride of barbados (at least
most years).Speaking of which…
  
I really like the pre-blooming display the pride of barbados gives, very chemistry model-esque.
 
Nope, you don’t want to be barefoot in my back garden!
These barrel cacti seem to be handling their transplant into the ground well
although I probably just cursed them…Don’t even think about it Helena! …like I cursed this poor transplanted bog cyprus
some posts back. I have been drip feeding this tree for about a week now to
try to turn it’s demise around. In a sick way I do like the way it looks against the
burnt orange of the canna lily.
It is like having fall in the spring!
The canna thinks it has died
and gone to heaven with all the
new water it is vicariously receiving.
There are still a handful of green
leaves on the cypress, you can see
them if you look really closely.
There is still a glimmer of hope.
The ice plant (front left) has gone ballistic to the point that I am now having to keep it in check.
And the most recent addition to the ESP (courtesy of my moving neighbors)…
 
is this Spruce Cone Cholla, or aptly named Pine Cone Cactus
Tephrocactus articulatus.
This one was picked up in Arizona, though they originate from Argentina.
Apparently it is difficult to get this cacti to flowering size, as the stem
segments break off with very little effort. You can see how thin the
segments get. An interesting little plant and just what the middle bed
needed in terms of scale and form.
 
On a recent expedition through my bamboo grove, I happened to
once again bump into another member of the shy and rarely
encountered “Nabooboo” tribe. This female warrior was adorning
her traditional “Naboo” face mask indicating that she was on a peaceful
hunting andgathering mission. When she turned to leave I did notice
that she was carrying a woven reed basket that was full of what
looked like small unripe satsumas?
I carried on walking on the trail and shortly happened on the tree that the warrior must have picked from. 
What is the right policy here? 
“To thin or not to thin…that is the question”.Other observations in the Patch this week…
The inner glow of Madame Ganna Walska
 
always brightens up a pond. You should check out her life story!
An emerging Brown-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta.
 
New succulent blooms… 
new cacti blooms. 
And a gnarly old “trunk” (ahem) of an Elephant Ear.
First shady blooms on my Thryallis,
Golden Thryallis
Galphimia gracilis
 
First sunny blooms on a wisteria.
 
Some greens and purples.
And Finally…
There is nothing better after returning
from a hot bamboo grove expedition than
putting your feet up, turning on the misters
and getting blasted.
(I mean from the misters)
Of course some people’s
work is never done…
Sun sets on the patch..
Stay Tuned For:
“Creatures of the Deep“
All material © 2009 for east_side_patch. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Inspirational image of the week.
 
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