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Tag Archives: Plants

Tickled Pink . .

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Beauty, Change, Contentment, Gardening, God, Gratitude, Growing, Happiness, Hope, Joy, Life, Nature, Surprise

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creation, Gardening, God, Nature, Plants

I bought a small 4″ aloe a couple of weeks ago, just to fill an empty pot on my back patio. This particular aloe stood out for its coloring and unique appearance. Named, Pickled Pink, it has distinctive pink edging on the fleshy leaves and a mottled appearance which suggests pickling. This aloe is small yet beautiful, but what it is currently doing is the most rewarding surprise of all! The wee Pickled Pink aloe is sending out a future bloom shoot which has now surpassed the plant’s own height at least thrice over and I am tickled pink by this Pickled Pink! Yes, that little beauty has a bloom shooting up nearly four times higher than the mother plant.

  

Now, for a gardener, there is nothing quite as exciting as a plant thriving and developing from the original version we purchased or found! It’s the developmental stages of a plant, meeting and exceeding expectations as well as hopes which give a gardener and plant collector like me unbridled joy! Since this little aloe seemed to jump out at me with such unique beauty and a catchy name, from a rack of numerous cacti and succulents, purchasing it was inevitable. But I never had any expectation for such a rapid developmental change like this! I await the bloom now, as many aloes have utterly spectacular and colorful flowers on the inflorescence they produce. Some are known and named for their blooming habits or those magnificent flower stalks produced normally in Spring, a bit earlier than this, the first days of June! So, my surprise at it producing a bloom after my purchase is surpassed only by my expectation as to how the bloom will look! 

If I could, I would probably never limit my plant collection! I am an avid collector and have yet to meet a plant I don’t like! Even weeds in the mind of a gardener are merely unwanted plants. Everything was created for a place and a purpose. Some plants provide food sources for animals and humans, others are medicinal resources for living creatures, and others provide intricate assistance to the overall well-being of the planet as a whole – producing seeds and substances or by replenishing the soil and air with specific essential chemical elements! Plants are important, just as is every other creative matter! And so, my appreciation for plants and for gardening is linked to bringing things to life, to support a natural and intricate ecosystem of my own making, with God’s guiding hand!  

I’m so looking forward to this bloom shoot coming to fruition on this tiny aloe clump of mine! It’s always exciting to see the endless ebb and flow of life in a garden, particularly a desert garden! My appreciation for this purchase is increasing exponentially with each passing day, as it’s developing and changing right before my eyes! There is never any real disappointment in a garden, even when experiencing a loss, for a garden exemplifies the best qualities of God’s amazing creation and design for this world. It is ever-changing, ever-developing and we are ever-learning in turn!   

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My Version of Paradise . .

09 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Beauty, Celebration, Exploration, Gratitude, Happiness, Nature, Uncategorized

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Beauty, Exploration, Gardens, Nature, Plants

I am reeling from a few days in my version of paradise! I have to say, if there is a favorite activity on vacation, it’s visiting private or public gardens in the city or place in which I find myself. I have visited a lot of famous ones, and lesser known ones which I discovered by accident, including those on the road to Hana on Maui. There is even one called the Garden of Eden on that slightly treacherous descent, which made for a suitable and beautiful pause in my action-packed drive to Hana. No matter where I go, I look for gardens or plant centers to buy a suitable plant souvenir. And those with whom I frequently travel know this is my passion!  

So recently, as I visited my sibling in Los Angeles, I was treated to two separate trips to the Huntington in San Marino, near Pasadena. It’s one of my favorite public gardens on the planet, covering over 150 acres of themed gardens. The grounds of the once private estate have been routinely filmed in movies, commercials and used for various concerts and gatherings. You’ll recognize numerous locations from decades of filming! And I personally have taken thousands of photos of plants, animals, nature, and the artwork which is housed on the property in various buildings in the numerous visits I have made to the Huntington over several decades now!

The first visit of my recent travels fell upon the day set aside for free admission. We had no idea we had timed our visit accordingly. The crowds and the heat made for a rather brief visit that day, as both considerations made our visit more complicated. We did our best to enjoy it though, and lingered mostly in the Rose Garden, as the roses were at the height of their blooming season seemingly that very day! It was lovely to behold the hundreds of varieties, new and old, in full and glorious bloom! I took as many pictures as I could around the crowds wandering along the rows of beautiful blossoms. Unfortunately, we all ran out of steam early on in the day because of the heat and humidity which prevailed. So we left and promised a return if possible on the weekend, even though rain and the significantly cooler weather was forecast. After all, this day’s visit hadn’t cost us a thing!   

By Sunday the weather had turned enough to allow us to revisit the Huntington again. This day was about 30 degrees cooler and rain threatened from the dark clouds hovering nearby. Determined not to let the threat stop us, we walked around the much emptier garden pathways, taking in all we hadn’t been able to on the prior visit just a few days earlier. We were greeted by families of geese, protecting their young, and we reveled in the glorious lighting provided by the puffy clouds moving overhead. There was a gentleness which hadn’t been there just a few days prior, as the weather and the number of other visitors were less frenetic! I again took hundreds of photos, which is my normal behavior given so much perceivable beauty all around me!

We visited the Rose Garden anew, although the heat from a few days earlier had taken some of their strength and beauty away. They were past their prime in many regards, but still lovely. The Huntington is so rich with beauty that no matter what is blooming and when you visit there is always something glorious to behold! And so I was in heaven for having had two visits in a long weekend visit to California. The final grandeur came with a day trip to Santa Barbara in between the Huntington visit days, on which I was able to buy a souvenir plant to bring back home! It’s an absolutely beautiful Bambino Bluey Bougainvillea, bursting with bluish-lavender bracts and bright green leaves. It’s a new cultivar and will make a great addition to the varieties I already have growing in my desert garden. And so, I happily accept the weather highs and lows, the plan “B” mentality we had to adopt and the explorational flexibility which came accordingly. Every day is different in a garden, every moment varies by what is blooming and what nature has to offer at that particular moment! And I love every single minute of it all!

 

Oh, the Joy! My Soul Is Restored . .

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Happiness, Joy, Love, Nature, Passion

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Beauty, Botanical Gardens, Joy, Nature, Passion, Plants

Oh, the joy! For a gardener who is also a plant specimen collector like me, there is nothing like the joy of a plant sale at a botanical garden. And just coincidentally, there was one at a favorite botanical garden on a visit I recently made to Los Angeles, California. To my delight, I approached the ticket window to find parking signs for plant sale purchase loading. I could scarcely wait to enter not only the garden, as it is truly one of my favorite destinations while visiting my sister in Los Angeles, but now I was so eager to first shop the plants! And shop the plants first I did!  

Now those who accompany me to any public or private garden collection like this one or the Huntington in San Marino, which we had just done two days prior this visit, are themselves eager to stroll garden pathways and to experience the ever-changing seasonal nature of the various planting collections. There is always something in bloom, always something exotic or unique to see in the way of plant specimens. At the Huntington Library and Botanical Garden, there is even a Carrion Flower,(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrion_flower), the plant which smells like a rotting carcass upon blooming. I believe it bloomed a few years ago, a rare experience which draws numerous visitors just for the sake of seeing it. Although I missed that, I have visited the Huntington and other botanical gardens I favor in Los Angeles and elsewhere as often as I can each year! Usually, those family and friends who accompany me to botanical gardens know my passion for plants, so they accept any foray to such places, as well as the coincidentally timed plant sales we precipitously discover!   

At this particular garden and plant sale, I decided to browse the sale prior to walking through the garden. The plants are limited in quantity which encourages me to shop early to have a better selection. And conveniently, the staff at the sale were able to accommodate browsers by holding plants in a secure room for a later time that same day. So we walked around the room with all the plants, large and small, and I found four plants in rather quick fashion which I believed would do well here in the desert! I study plants, having read a lot of books on them, and know botanical names. I am well-prepared because of my passion for plants, reading and learning about plants, as well as collecting unique specimens which I cannot find at my local nurseries or garden centers. I shopped rather quickly, and then we walked the garden pathways for several hours in the lovely Spring weather that particular day!

Because I live in a desert, most plants I am able to purchase locally are drought-tolerant and specifically known to grow here with our extreme conditions. That makes sense! But I want to discover plants from other origins which I might be able to grow here too! And so I collect plants specimens, I take chances and I push the parameters of what will grow in my desert garden. I do so without a built-in watering system, and with the limitations of weather and sun exposure found in a desert location. But I have gotten many plants I purchased in other states to work here where they aren’t found naturally in our desert or readily available for purchase! Botanical garden plant sales are a fabulous opportunity to discover yet unknown or hard to find plants. They often have plants which haven’t made it to the commercial nurseries because they aren’t yet as requested by customers. And for a visitor from another state, they offer a chance to try something completely new!  

Shopping for plants at the Southcoast Botanical Garden just a few miles from the Pacific is in itself a risk because it is in such a mild climate compared to mine, but I found four lovely one-gallon specimens to buy. I am taking a chance, but the unique nature of the plants, some familiar, some not, are the biggest thrill for someone who collects! Two of the four are known to me, I have their plant relatives in my garden. They are cultivars with distinction and unique features, though. Of the remaining two, one is an unknown entity, and I will plant it in a protected location for now. I bought it based on its description and appearance, only to discover it will have beautiful scented blue flowers one day! The other is a member of the bulb family, so I know from experience that it can be divided and regrown year after year. It will make a great potted plant because it flowers intensely for a brief period. 

For a plant nerd, aka collector, like me, a botanical garden is a place of great beauty and wonderful discovery! It can also be a place of wondrous reward when offering up a bounty of beauty to members and guests through annual or bi-annual plant sales. If you enjoy plants as much as I do, I encourage you to frequent your local botanical gardens and to visit those in other areas to which you travel. Because I am often in Los Angeles to see family and friends, I frequently visit several lovely gardens there. The experiences for me have been rich and rewarding, varying by the season and the nature of plant growth during seasonal influences. I get lost in those gardens, I am inspired by those gardens and my soul is restored in those gardens! And I love a good sale, especially when it comes to plants!   

 

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