I am not expert on palm trees although I am responsible for quite a few of them in at our SJC home, but I do know an anomaly when I see one! I don't know what type of palm this is, but it is definitely sporting a mutation known as a crest or fasciation. Basically what this means is the plant cells that normally grow up at the growing tip of the plant, start to grow sideways instead, creating a crest at the top of the plant. It is most often seen in succulents and cactus, but can happen in almost any plant that grows from the top. Scientists are not sure why this occurs, but suspect it may be the result of a virus or insect infestation. It doesn't really hurt the plant and this palm one seems very healthy. Just different!
There is nothing like a good rain to clean off the spider webs, dust and dirt and show the garden at it's best. The greens seem a little more saturated and the colors of the fall flowers pop. There is new growth on the summer perennials that were cut back last month and everything is looking lush and sparkling in the Flying Rabbit Island planter bed.
These banana trees in our SJC backyard are quite happy with the unusually wet weather we've been having lately. Although they will tolerate drier conditions, being tropical, they thrive in the wet, mild weather. The deep soaking they are getting from a week of rain will leach out the salt accumulation from the soil which will be good for them. They stop growing if the temperatures go over 80 degrees or under 55 degrees, so they are suited quite well to our climate that has temperatures in that range most of the time. Our trees in the Laguna garden gave us bunches of fruit every year and I'm looking forward to these little ones eventually producing too.
Although they are getting few and far between, we still have a few roses blooming in the rain. This is one of my favorites that does well in both my gardens, 'Sentimental'. I'm hoping it will bloom through the holidays because I think it would make a nice flower for Christmas arrangements because it reminds me of peppermint candy!
To say the weather here has been gray the past few rainy days is an understatement! It has been the kind of days that require the lights to be on inside all day long. That's why I am so glad that the first thing you see when you step outside the front door is this very brightly colored garden. The chartreuse, purple and green color scheme is lively all summer long, but especially appreciated when those bright greenish-yellow mums bloom in the fall. The purple comes from the last of the tall ageratum and the reblooming 'Frequent Violet' iris. The pale green shrub on the right is helichrysum and the bursts of chartreuse grasses near the front are Japanese ribbon grass. Although it is not really a 'fall' color inspired garden this time of year, I am just happy to have any color at all to brighten these gray days!
It has been quite the day for weather here in Southern California! We have had rare thunder and lightening storms all day with lots of rain. I can't even remember the last time we had storms like this, it has been that long. We need the rain and I am not complaining. Our many trees with their deep roots will be happy for a long time to come. The salts that accumulate in the soil from the alkaline tap water will be flushed out and the natural balance will be restored. On days like this it is a nice to enjoy the garden - from inside!
This is the first year that the grape vines have actually grown enough to create a tunnel effect in the Moonlight Garden in SJC. They create a shady drive through over the "tricycle track" that surrounds the yard. In the fall grape vines lose their beautiful leaves and go dormant. It will be interesting to see how the mood changes in this part of the garden, although there are a number of other vines mixed in on these trellises that do not lose their leaves so we'll see how much sun hits the trail in another month or so when all the grape leaves are gone. We did get some grape clusters this year, but as usual, the birds got them before we did!
My white dahlias were a bit of a disappointment this first year. The foliage was molted and sparse and the stems were weak. The flowers, however, were beautiful! All the energy must have gone into the blooms. I am worried that the Moonlight Garden doesn't get enough sun for some of these summer flowers to flourish. Even though I use lots of compost and mulch as a top dressing, I also know that I didn't spend enough time amending the soil out there and it is still pretty weak after years of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used by the previous owners. I will give them a good dose of organic fertilizer and we'll wait and see what next year brings.
There are some plants I grow to use as fillers, both in the garden and in cut arrangements. The rice flower shrub (ozothamnus) is one of those plants. It does well in both the sun and partial shade, although it tends to get a bit scraggly in shady areas and needs to be cut back to maintain a full look.
I have grown it for years and I like the way it looks light and airy in the garden beds when mixed with other plants.
The pink one has a tendency to fade in too much sun. It holds it's flowers for a long time and blooms almost all spring and summer in our area.
It also lasts a long time when cut and dries nicely too. The books say it has a pleasant fragrance although I must admit I've never noticed. Now I know someone is going to ask if this is the plant that rice comes from and the answer is no!
