Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Giant autumnal blooms.
A bit of googling, and I have discovered it’s a Brugmansia spp.
Brugmansia, WikiPee says, is no ordinary, ho-hum showy landscaping plant.
Native to South America. Words in the entry include alkaloids, hallucinogen, and poisonous.
They’re in the Solanaceae family, and so related to Datura, nightshade (belladonna), tobacco, and mandrake. Geeze.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Before the wind really kicked up, we walked to the library, taking a longer loop homeward. I was glad to find flowers here and there.
Wind over the next while will damage them, surely.
Um. Wind. Trees. Sleeping may be a bit of a trick….
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
My fault (maybe).
I need to get these pansies planted (for winter color).
Meanwhile, I’m feeding those greedy b-tard squirrels.
The petals! The petals! The pretty parts!
The tomatoes no longer are sweetening and ripening, so….
…new target: unplanted pansies.
However, will the squirrels back off if they’re not in 6-packs?
Realistically, probably not….
Sigh.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
What?!! No insects! So often I find an insect when I examine a flower/plant-photo like this on the big screen….
I found the sunlight in southern France quite compelling, although the last two days here I have found the light equally fantastic.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Gingerly,* we’re returning to customary patterns. Exhaustion permitting. Today we made an afternoon run to the BotGarden, enjoying a low-key stroll. We found this conservatory steamy-hot, with the artificial fog enduring.
* Note that the yellow ginger was in full bloom in scattered spots around the garden, with blooms scented very like honeysuckle. Delightful.
Friday, 21 September 2012
We saw a pair of cargo haulers on the Seine, running together one behind the other, with Bora Bora in the lead and Borneo behind.
Name for a band—Wait for Bora Bora????*
I know, given what we saw, Wait for Borneo makes more sense. Such is creativity.
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Knock me over with a feather. Boy, was I surprised to find that the plant with this lovely fall color that we discovered at the BotGarden is devil’s walkingstick. Also known as Aralia spinosa and native to southeastern North America, this is not a species you want to make casual contact with when lumbering through the forest. The spines are what you want to avoid—they’re on the trunk and even on softer tissues near the leaves. Several people have told me that if your skin is punctured by a spine, small flecks of the plant’s tissue will flake off into the wound, leading to a nasty infection.
But at the BotGarden—here I can keep my distance!
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Quintessential here refers to the raggedy shape and yellowing of this late-summer leaf. Everything about it says late summer, in this case with an embroidery of raindrops.
Indeed, in the five minutes since I took this picture, while I was photostreaming and prepping, the rain arrived with force. I’m glad I was out in the first few drops, and I’m glad I’m inside as the heavier stuff descends.
