One of my very favorite things to do is to walk a new neighborhood. Be it in my own city or one I’m visiting only briefly. There are always things to discover and they’re easier to see when you’re on foot…
I am attracted to dark houses, they seem more grounded in the landscape. Of course the fact they emphasize the plantings is a bonus.
A nice clean-lined fence does wonders too. I’m sure there will be more plants here soon. If not I may resort to planting under the cover of night…
Occasionally I happen upon a house that makes me forget I’m in the city.
This is less than a mile from my very urban 45’ x 111’ lot, but miles and miles away in spirit.
Okay just one (two) more house photos. Don’t they look like they’re embarrassed to have a small pot-o-opuntia? “Herald if we put around the side of the house in between those two shrubs maybe nobody will notice it”…the poor opuntia looks kind of embarrassed too.
Whereas these folks are proud and hoping they grow into a mammoth mountain.
A fence can be built to keep out prying eyes, this one…not so much.
Enough with the non-plant talk. Let’s get serious. This is the perfect stage for an Araucaria araucana. Not so tall that it’s gangly and not so small that it’s got no shape.
That is a lot of black mondo grass! (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). It’s so thick!
Looks like perhaps there’s a monster gunnera sleeping in the middle of this bunch of mondo.
I do love a colored up sedum in the wintertime. I think this is Sedum palmeri.
I wanted to call this one Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’ because this is about what mine looks like right now, but to be honest I’m not so sure.
That’s a snowy hellstrip!
It’s all verbascum, maybe V. Ver? Of course I only guess that because it’s my favorite.
I end this post with two requests (pleas) for identification.
I love the small white leaves, but I think I love the gnarly trunk even more.
What am I?
Like the plant above I think this might be a case of discovering something at it’s best. What is this?
And will it always be so silver?
