 Blue-Eyed Grass  Lupine  Monkey Flowers, mimulus  Douglas Iris  Quaking Grass The walk up to the West Point Inn in the spring will reward you with an abundance of wildflower sightings. And once you get to the top the view is spectacular! 
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Drought Tolerant, Bee Highrise, GorgeousIf you have some space, the Pride of Madeira is an excellent choice for spring blooms in the most amazing blues and purples, and check out the contrasting pink stamens! This lady doesn't mind some color! The bees will flock (?) to it and thank you for all the nectar in these veritable high-rise nectar factories.
When I helped start a garden at my son's school, we plastered quotes around the campus with garden quotes to get students and staff intrigued about the opening. I used my images and some wise words. Enjoy!  When kids grow beans, kids eat beans! -A Wise Man  Gardening is not a rational act. -Margaret Atwood  Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson  A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. -Doug Larson  Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. Pearl S Buck Southwest Asia What if flowers and plants could be representatives of their country or region?
I have a vision of these images printed on fabric hanging as a flag would, with honor and pride. This particular plant would represent Southwest Asia, although I surmise it is now a world citizen.  A redbud leaf shaped just like an apple. Fall twice!  The process that leaves go through losing their color.  I made this design just so I could say eucalypti! This one is a mixture of two different types of eucalyptus tree parts.
In the 1850s, Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians during the California Gold Rush and became America's Largest Weed. Eucalyptus corymbia ficifolia or Red Flowering Gum makes up the center circle in the spectacularly colored buds, and the leaves and partially opened buds are like the clanger of the bell shape. The quite common leaves and small blossoms of Eucalyptus Globulus or Blue Gum Tree grace the corner frames.  This one is made just from 2 parts. The leaves and the amazing orange flowers.
About Aloe arborescens (krantz aloe, candelabra aloe) Over 500 species are accepted in the genus Aloe, and I think I have properly named this one. It is endemic to the south eastern part of Southern Africa.
Medicinal Uses In a lab study conducted by Jia et al., wounds were induced in rat and rabbit test subjects and pulp from Aloe arborescens was applied to the wounds.[7] Results showed that healing rates were improved in wounds addressed with Aloe arborescens. Source Wikipedia Tulip Magnolia Petals  This is the same petal photographed each way. The petal is still folded over as if to reveal yet another beauty secret. Speaking of beauty secret, here's yet another.  About MagnoliasMagnolia liliiflora (variously known by many names, including Mulan magnolia, Purple magnolia, Red magnolia, Lily magnolia, Tulip magnolia, Jane magnolia and Woody-orchid) is a small tree native to southwest China, but cultivated for centuries elsewhere in China and also Japan. It was first introduced to English-speaking countries from cultivated Japanese origins, and is thus also sometimes called Japanese magnolia, though it is not native to Japan. source Wikipedia
 About Erythrina crista-galli Flowers, leaves and stems found on a Palo Alto tree.
Often known as the cockspur coral tree, native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, notably in California. source Wikipedia.  Working with plants singularly gives me an opportunity to appreciate the life cycles. I also like to bring this lens of life cycle to my own life and consider where I am. A mother of a young child, in mid life. I feel like I am just beginning to bloom in so many areas! Where would you place yourself in your life cycle and how does this inform your experience?
 I've found this true. I'm in transition. My only child is going to kindergarten in the fall and my husband is embarking on a career he loves. I can get behind that.
But gone is the steady paycheck and I enter the world of having to step up in a bigger way. I've decided to look for a job. I've spoken with a number of mothers who reentered the 'workforce' after a significant absence and they all echoed my feelings of hitting walls within. This quote is so apt. I've gained an amazing array of skills, honed my talents, worked and earned income as an artist, delved inside to discover who I am and what I stand for. And yet, when it comes to really feel that accomplishment in my bones, there's a nagging voice that says its just not good enough! So begins the process of restructuring the self from the inside out. Of acceptance. Of starting where you are. Of getting the support you need to inch forward. And most importantly being kind to oneself. What battles have you waged within? What helped you through? Cow Itch? Hummingbird? Yes!  Campsis radicans trumpet vine or trumpet creeper, also known in North America as cow itch vine or hummingbird vine, is a species of flowering plant of the family Bignoniaceae, native to the eastern United States and naturalized in parts of the western United States as well as in Ontario, parts of Europe, and scattered locations in Latin America.Growing to 10 m (33 ft), it is a vigorous, deciduous woody vine, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It inhabits woodlands and riverbanks, and is also a popular garden subject. Source Wikipedia  Finding unusual plants makes my day. This one is stange...the image below is the pollen covered stamens taken out of a flower plucked from a large tree. The tree is called the Devil's, monkey's or Mexican hand tree or the hand-flower in English Source Wikipedia   |
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