I thought that when I collected seeds from Paeonia plants during a hike in SLO California, I originally thought they were Paeonia brownii. Recently I have come to believe that I made a mistake and the plants were actually Paeonia californica.
This is an image of the seeds I collected.
I went to the Jepson Herbarium to check it out.
Currently there are a couple of Paeonia seedlings growing in my succulent garden.
California Native Plant Society
Echeveria nodulosa
These were found in the pot of the above plant.
I potted them up.
Echeveria runyonii topsy turvy
Purchased two succulents for my new rock/succulent garden from the Cal Poly students at the Farmers’ Market.
The small pots nicely in the car’s cup holders.
New Succulents on Drive Home.
Crassula capitella Red Pagoda
Echeveria Black Knight
Waiting for New Home
Ants on a Pandorea jasminoides Flower
Noticed a few pods, so I snagged them.
Previous posts on Pandorea jasminoides pods use as an art material–
I visited a friend’s garden on November 1, 2016 to look at his milkweed plants covered with Monarch caterpillars.
While there I collected milkweed seed pods.
On November 3, 2016, I popped some of the seed in soil and today two of the plants are blooming.
Curious why there are ants. Need to take a better look. It doesn’t appear that there is some other insect activity which is often the case. Ants are known for herding aphids for their honeydew.
My hope is that the milkweed can help the Monarch population. Recently I saw a sign posted at a local nursery that stated the exotic milkweed should be cut to the ground in the fall to prevent protozoan infection by Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE).
To read about the possibility of attempting to do something good that could have unwanted consequences, check out the Monarch Joint Venture site.
Post Written on Day of Planting
I am in the process of making a trellis for the courtyard wall. It will be similar to the trellis on the wall that wraps around the corner. I needed a piece of 1″ fence to use as a support for the vertical bamboo pieces.
I found a piece of fence that was to have been used in a project with cotton twine. The cut bits are sharp unless they are ground down, so the edge was taped until a border was attached.
When I flipped the piece of fence over, I noticed casemaking moths attached to the tape. For insects that are supposed to be particularly fond of animal fiber, they sure seem to show up on loads of surfaces.
Not sure if they are alive. Seeing them did remind me to try placing items that may have been exposed to casemaking moths in the trunk of the car. An entomologist that I met while hiking, mentioned exposing the casemaking moths to the heat in the car over a period of a couple of weeks. He seemed to think the exposure should kill all forms of the casemaking cycle.
I do not like killing anything, but the casemaking moths can’t seem to stay outside, away from my studio work and sweaters. Frustrating, but not the bane of my existence.
June 20th last year we rescued a lovebird, who came to be known as Bob.
The first week Bob was rescued, she escaped from her room.
Until a few weeks ago we thought Bob was a boy. Now it has been confirmed, she is a girl.
Bob began dancing for The Bird, the cockatiel who lives with us.
Then she began shredding everything shreddable which wasn’t unusual. But what was unusual was how much time she spent in her room and how quiet she became. No longer was she the 5:45 am bird alarm.
Because Bob loved to shred and dig around, we put several cracker boxes in the bottom of her room. She made a tunnel through them, and apparently this nest–
that she wasn’t using.
And this space hidden under the boxes that she was using–
Apparently she even shredded two baskets.
How large are lovebird eggs?
We decided to remove the eggs and all shreddable materials from her space. She seems okay. We will watch to make sure she really is okay. A friend who raised lovebirds, mentioned egg binding. That would be bad.
Today she seems to be her cheerful self.
Now what to do with the eggs. I was thinking about burying them in the garden.
When we moved into our house, there was an acacia in the backyard. Unfortunately, it did not survive. I have wanted to replace it for 20 years. Last year a friend gave me a start, it was a volunteer of one of his acacias. It did not survive. I took a cutting from one of his acacias, it was doing well, then suddenly died. Apparently, I was doing something wrong.
When I went to the San Luis Botanical Garden sale, I purchased an Acacia iteaphylla. It is a beautiful plant. Similar, but not the same as the original acacia.
Monday when I was walking from the Hoover Herbarium to my car, I noticed a small acacia at the corner of the parking lot.
It may be Acacia podalyriifolia. It had a slew of seed pods, some already empty. With the help of Peggy, a fellow Herbarium volunteer, we snagged a handful of pods and I brought them home.
I researched how best to have planting success and every source seemed to consistently recommend placing the seeds in a container and to pour nearly boiling water over them. Then allowing the seeds to soak overnight.
I placed the remaining seeds in an envelope and may use the seed pods in a piece.
After a night of soaking there is a huge difference in the size of the seeds.
Comparison–Top Seed Soak for 24 Hours
Bottom Seed Has Not Been Soaked
I planted the soaked seeds in a nine cell, in cactus mix. Placed the nine cell in the greenhouse. Now, I wait.
Update July 13
In 8 of the 9 cells there are sprouts.
Update July 18
Update September 2
The extreme heat yesterday took a tole on the 4 remaining Acacia seedlings. The temperature was 106º which is unusual for the California Central Coast.
Only 4 seedlings survived before the extreme heat. One of the seedlings may not make it. It is time to transplant the remaining seedlings into at least 4″ pots.
Australian National Botanic Gardens
The following information is from the Australian National Botanic Gardens–
“The genus Acacia belongs to the family Mimosaceae. There are some 1350 species of Acacia found throughout the world and close to 1000 of these are to be found in Australia. Commonly known as Wattle, Acacia is the largest genus of vascular plants in Australia.”
I started the Tecoma stans seeds the first week of November.
The plants were small, but popped them in the garden a few weeks ago.
I noticed that when the squirrel dug up my garden, for the umpteenth time,
this little plant was broken. Part of the stem was still attached.
I aligned the stem and taped it with cloth tape.
Used a skewer as a splint.
Then a small piece of bamboo as a stake to support the lot.
That was ten days ago.
Update…
Mended Plant in New Garden Location a Few Weeks After Mending
My irrigation system needs updating. I am waiting until I get all of the plants transplanted before I update the system. Currently I water the bed by hand. That is a good thing to monitor all of the new plantings. Soon most of the drought tolerant plants and the succulent garden will require only a few waterings per week.
While visiting my brother-in-law and his very cool wife, I checked out their room divider fish tank.
Unfortunately, I only had my old iPod with me. So, photos are lacking. The colors are so vibrant and the movement was mesmerizing.
A bit like watching succulents in movement… Yep, I have succulents on my mind.
Plan to go back to take photos.
Noticed the Cassia tree is blooming.
This is a photo I took of the same Cassia tree one evening in December, 2014. The tree is larger and the branches are full of buds and blooms that are nearly covering the bird of paradise.
Detail of beautiful pods from the Cassia tree I collected in 2014.
Also noticed the Tecoma stans was in bloom.
Snagged another handful of seedpods.