Photos
Towering Tithonia
Tithonia diversifolia in autumn The Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) grew 20 feet tall over the summer, but now that autumn is here, all but the uppermost leaves have died back. Standing below, the effect is kind of Dr Seussian, a forest of towering sticks with a few green feathers sticking out the top.
October Tomatoes
The summer veggie garden is now down to the hot peppers, a few bell peppers, and a bunch of raggedy, but hanging in there, tomato plants. Chief among them is the Costolutos, which took a hard hit about a month ago but rebounded to flower and fruit for a third round in this growing year. A great tomato by any measure, it's interesting that the first bunch back in June were really deeply lobed, but they've gotten progressively smoother since. It's now mid-October and the ones currently ripening only hint at lobes with some coloring. Otherwise, they're nearly as smooth [keep reading...]
Guava Season
I bought a couple of guava (Psidium cattleyanum) seedlings, one red/strawberry and one yellow/lemon, about 15 years ago and planted them at opposites ends of what is now the tropical garden. Both grew to be big shrubs that flowered once in a while and produced a bunch of pellet-sized bitter fruit that tasted nothing like strawberry or lemon. In the winter they froze easily, loose all their leaves and spend the better part of four months looking like dead brush on the hillside. I was not impressed with guava and if I were more ambitious, would have chopped them down [keep reading...]
End of a Praying Mantis
I was trying to water a few plants with my watering can, but the spigot was blocked. I flipped to shake whatever loose and a dead praying mantis fell out. Bad day for her.
Gasteria Nigracanus
Gasteria nigracanus,, like all gasterias, is from South Africa and loves the hot, dry weather. When the plant is happy, it sprouts thick, flashy leaves in pink, green and gold.
Little Succulent, Big Flower
This little baby tiger doesn't look like much during the day, but just before sunset, it throws out a very impressive flower. Use the before and after slider to see how it changes
Harvest Moonset
A photo of the harvest moon in the western sky taken 1-1/2 hours before sunrise. It's so bright you can see the spider web on the weather station 30 feet away.
Hanging Garden at Night
Just for giggles I strung a couple of cheap solar-power light strands in the hanging gourd garden and this is the result. Sometimes I surprise even myself.
Orange Marmalade Aloe
Currently my favorite aloe is this guy, Orange Marmalade. In the winter he's a blue-green, but in the full summer sun he turns orange. Very cool.
Pumpkin or Tomato?
Well it is a tomato, but it's a squash-sized tomato doing its best to *look* like a pumpkin.