Warm weather is bringing flower blossoms and sprouting bulbs here in Los Angeles. Here are a few pretty baubles blessing my garden right now: Lavender is blooming all over. We’ve has a few bouts of rain lately and the lavender is putting on an extra fragrant show. This one is in my ‘back 40’; an Read More…
theGardenPages Gardening Blog
Hot Pink Bromeliad Flowers of Aechmea or Urn Plant
I’m late for my Friday Floral, so I’m making this weeks floral photo a doozy. This is an Aechmea, or Urn Plant or Pitcher Plant. It is happily growing at my mother’s house and she reports that these flowers have been blooming since the summer! Unique Aechmea Urn Plant pink bromeliad flower These are native Read More…
#FloralFriday: Gollum Jade is Flowering and Looking Like Sea Coral
OK, this is the late night, almost full moon edition of Friday Floral. Here is a flowering Crassula Portulacea, commonly called Horseshoe or Spoon Jade. Or more lately Gollum Jade and now Shrek Fingers. I’m sure it will have a new nickname when another movie comes out. Anyway, this has typical crassula-type flowers, almost exactly Read More…
Rain, rain – yippeeeeeee!!! So Cal needs a few sprinkles
The other night, late at night, when I was reading a creepy book in bed I kept hearing this strange tapping noise. What the heck? It seemed to be coming from outside… all over outside. It took me a while to realize it was rain. Oh yeah, I remember that sound. That’s when we got Read More…
Wisteria Pods Popping Over My Patio, It Must Be Fall
Here’s a beautiful photo of my wisteria in bloom. I need it to remind me why I love that vine on my patio. After the flowers set seed they turn into giant seed pods. Right about now is when the seed pods dry out and start popping. They explode, sending out four or five seed Read More…
Blue Flowering Sage Herb Plants for #FloralFriday
The sage is blooming now, it is so pretty I just had to share it with you.This is regular culinary sage. I must say I am very impressed with how drought tolerant it is! It is growing with some lavender and artemis plants. Both plants are known to be drought tolerant bloomers, but I was Read More…
Yellow Flowering Cactus Pear Blooming
My cactus pear is flowering! I can’t wait for the pears. Here’s a little piece I wrote for my main garden website: Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) are useful in the landscape for dramatic impact, adding a southwestern feel to any landscape. Opuntia cactus also have edible pads and provide the red cactus pears of Read More…
Plant Profile: Crassula Tetragona Easy Succulent Plants for Dry Gardens
Crassula tetragona are drought tolerant succulent plants that look like pine branches with fat needles sticking out the sides, or perhaps a green bottle brush flower. These unique crassula are often used in bonsai containers to look like pine trees. In the ground, they grow up to 4 feet tall. The plants will branch at Read More…
Pomegranate Trees and Pests
Pomegranates are good choices for drought tolerant gardens. They can take regular garden watering, but will grow in drought conditions once established. These deciduous trees can grow up to 20 feet tall and across, forming a large round shrub. They can also be trimmed and formed into multi-trunk trees. But sometimes there can be trouble Read More…
Acacia tree is blooming
Here are a few photos of my acacia. Acacia trees can grow up to 20 feet tall. I planted mine because it is drought tolerant, will cover the back fence (and my neighbor) and they bloom! Beautiful giant yellow flowers. I have heavy clay, alkaline soil and no water. So I was looking for something Read More…