Roses in October

I can remember many past October days of near 100 degree heat with hot dry wind, sitting (standing, yelling) for my son's soccer team. Not this year. At least so far. Maybe last January's heat wave balances out our very cool, overcast autumn. The roses are once again happy. This David Austin rose Molineux Yellow is planted in a fairly smallish pot (for a rose) in the front of Casa Grande. And boy, does it hate the heat. During this summer's massive three week record breaking heat wave I pruned it back to nothing to give it and the other potted roses a rest. It's once again five feet tall and popping out these eye popping blooms. Bring on the rain! (I reserve the right to take back that last statement if we have another January like '05.)

Hostess with the Mostest

Red passion flower vine, passiflora coccinea, covers a six foot wide arbor at the front of Casa Grande near the driveway. This time of year it becomes a management problem. But cutting it back is fraught with guilt. It's the host plant for a butterfly I see frequently in my garden, the Gulf Fritillary, pictured here.
After close inspection, turns out butterflies are not the only thing being hosted.

This nest of paper wasps is under the arbor nestled in with some dead leaves. The thicket of leaves above is excellent protection from wind, rain and predators. The arbor is so densely entwined, it is sure to blow over with the first big Santa Ana blow.
Last year when the arbor blew over, I cut back the passion flower to it's main stem, about three feet tall. I feared it would not grow back. Boy, was I wrong.

Art + Garden = Monet

"My Garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." Claude Monet

I have a photo of Claude Monet on my desk. You can't think about art and gardening without referencing Monet. He nearly went bankrupt trying to support his garden. Spent so much time watering it ( most of it needed to be done by hand, carting the water from the creek that fed the Japanese Garden.) he didn't have time to paint. I can relate. He prioritized, and the garden came first. He also loved to cook. When I visited his home in Giverny in 1992 it was like a spiritual quest. I felt a deep connection to him.
As I toured through his home I was excited to see that Claude had collected at least one of the same Japanese woodblock prints I have.

Oddly enough, I once dated a guy named Larry who looks just like Monet. He was an artist, a photographer. These crazy sort of connections are fascinating, like what happens when writing your thesis. Once you get going, all these little coincidences and factoids start falling in your lap to support your thesis statement. I used to frequent a gallery in Union Square in San Francisco that featured Japanese Woodblock prints. One time, after making some purchases at the end of the gallery's business hours I was out front waiting for a cab. The owner came out to strike up a conversation. He asked me which artists I collected, besides Yoshitoshi, whose work I had just purchased. I told him about a Japanese contemporary artist named Masami Teraoka. The gallery owner said, "Very interesting. Masami Teraoka also buys prints from me. He also collects Yoshitoshi." Another connection. I wonder if Masami likes Monet, gardening and cooking?

Purple Haze

In southern CA where I live, purple haze not only refers to the Jimmy Hendrix classic but to the annual May-June blooming of the Jacarandas.

There are several streets in my neighborhood planted with these lovely (but stinky!) trees. It's fun to walk or drive down these streets during the May/June bloom to feel the serenity of being enveloped in the lavendar glow. The presence of purple in one's aura is transitory and indicates the presence of spiritual thoughts. When I walk through the blooming Jacarandas I feel the presence of the hand of Mother Earth.

But those blooms last only a month at best, and they leave a lingering odor not unlike the smell of cat pee. During the rest of the year my purple haze of choice is Mexican Salvia (salvia leucantha above) which suffices nicely with no after odor, just a nice sagey smell.

I love the fuzzy color spikes. I have some planted under my kitchen window. Hummingbirds come to feed all day long. Today a goldfinch spent some time looking for tiny bugs on one of the spikes.


Give them lots of sun for big tall strong growth. The ones under my window are six ft. tall. They will survive in some shade but will be a little skimpy and leggy as they reach for the sun. Drought tolerant, good with cactus and succulents, they are the perfect Mediterranean planting scheme. Here is a helpful link. Best in zones 8 to 10. They are so prolific, you can cut some, guilt free, to bring inside for flamboyant bouquets.