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Ring Around the Marigold
10 or so years ago my youngest daughter brought home a packet of marigold seeds called "Little Tiger" (or something close to that) she'd won in a drawing at school. The first year we grew them they were, in fact, striped orange and yellow like a tiger. Each year we saved some seeds and planted them again. But as time went the stripes faded and a new pattern emerged with an orange flower ringed by a yellow band. Perhaps a tiger no more, but still a sunny little flower in a pot.
Blackberry Season
Blackberries are ripe and ready for pies, jams and other good stuff. Now it's just a race between me, the squirrels and the birds to see who gets more.
Almost Corn Time
My father-in-law, born and raised on an Iowa corn farm is fond of say that corn should be "knee-high by the Fourth of July." It's only early June and we're well past knee-high with the sweet corn. By the Fourth we'll be eating it!
Peppermint Twist Rose
A floribunda rose I picked up nearly 20 years ago from a little nursery tucked back in the hills of Fallbrook. The lady said it was called "Peppermint Twist" because the red and white spirals of the flower resembled a peppermint candy. When the flower is still a bud it does really look like a peppermint, but as it opens it un-swirls to reveal red and white streaked flowers. Not really heavy on the fragrance, but it does bloom almost continuously from April through November.
Mexican Sunflower
This is a Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia). Native to tropical regions of Mexico, it grows and reproduces quite easily here in San Diego County. This particular plant is nearly 20 feet tall and produces a profusion of yellow flowers from May through September. After the bloom, I chop it back to about 3 feet tall and it spends the winter and early Spring re-growing.
Hydrangeas
I didn't always like these plants and even went so far to chop this one all the way to the ground. When it grew back it came back as two plants. One produces pink blooms, the other blue. Kinda neat.
Sunflowers know summer is here
Summer unofficially begins this weekend and as if on cue, Mother Nature is delivering warm weather and clear skies. The sunflowers, which have been languishing all spring, seem to know this and are responding accordingly. It's almost as if this Kong sunflower is lifting its face and drinking the sunshine in today.
Field of Chamomile
Years ago I got a seed packet of German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) which I planted because my wife thought it'd be neat to have some for herbal tea. Since then it's nativized itself in section of the yard and so every spring I have a field of chamomile in which our ducks nest and plenty of critters hide. Even though it's kind of a pest, the flowers and sweet smell are kind of nice. There are worse weeds.
Getting The Eye
Found this little guy staring at me from an empty flower pot as I was walking up from the orchard. He did some scary lizard push-ups to show me who was boss, so I snapped his picture and moved on before he charged me.
Eucalyptus up close
Last winter during high winds and rain one of three enormous eucalyptus trees (about 60 feet) by the pond tipped over. Half the tree's roots remained in the ground, so the tree continues grow on the side facing the sky. I stood on the trunk, pointed my camera down and took this shot.
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