Familiar but can’t quite place the plant.
And what are the bugs?
Is the poor focus a result of my vision, the age of the camera, or both?
I tossed the broken pod bits into my garden.
Category: Plants
First Harvested Palm Nuts
On January 25 I was given some palm cuttings. This is one of the small cuttings.
Over the weekend I harvested the first of the palm nuts.
So many possibilities. I could use them for coding. I could stitch them together. Have want to try using a water soluble stabilizer to hold bits together for stitching. Or I could use straight pins to attach them to a surface to make fabric.
Some Great Pods
While visiting family on Christmas, I scored some great pods.
Apparently the large pods are from a type of Cassia tree. It is also known as the Golden Medallion tree. It was nearly dark when I took the photo so difficult to tell what it really looks like.
This is an image from the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute site at Cal Poly.
Detail image of the pods–
The pods are beautiful! They have little woody shelves for the seeds. And according to the Urban Forest Ecoosystems the Cassia seeds are poisonous. That is so great. Another material to use in my work!
I snagged these Cassia pods during Thanksgiving. When I hung them in my studio they were green then, now they are not.
I also collected some pods from a vine that grows on the wall around the pool.
The flat interior piece brings to mind an African shield.
In the process of completing a series using these pods. “Change” is the working title of the series, but that could change.
Leaning toward constructing concrete structures for the pods to live in.
I have been making concrete tests to determine if that is the correct direction.
These are a few of the test results. I used concrete and hypertufa mixtures. Then cast them in silicone molds.
My hope is to find a nice concrete mix that works for me. Then to use some of my ceramic aggregates and oxides to add texture and color.
Also constructing mixed media panels that will be coated with concrete, then aged. If I find materials that work well with a concrete mix I will construct a structure for each of the pods.
This is just a fun thing that I noticed in my studio. I had been using wax to made fire starters and candles to give for gifts. A seed from the pool pods landed next to a drop of wax.
Black Bamboo and Other Finds
This morning I went to visit a friend who offered to let me take some cuttings of his black bamboo.
The cuttings are nearly 9′ long.
I found loads of cypress pods.
I found a piece of mesh that has pant parts growing through it.
And a piece of twisted wood.
I also found some cuttings from a cypress that sustained storm damage. I am thinking that it would be fun to shred the wood and bind it to the exterior of a box.
Then I noticed a cypress was weeping. It was sad, but lovely. And a bit sticky…
On the way home, stopped by to see the goats. They are working goats. They have been tasked with clearing a field near the airport. Apparently it was break time.
One of the goats wears a bell.
Today there was even a watch dog. He gave a long deep howl.
Now it is studio time.
A Nice Surprise–A New Addition to My Brugmansia Collection
I have been so busy working on the data base for our software company that I have not had much studio time or time for gardening.
Today we found a surprise in the yard. Our neighbor who is a garden designer, left some large Brugmansia cuttings. My neighbor knows that I collect Brugs. And I am sure knew how excited I would be to have a new addition to my collection.
This is an image of the flowers that were on the cuttings.
Many of my Brugs were grown from seed. When I started my collection it was sometimes difficult to find Brugs. Now it is not uncommon to find potted Brugs at neighborhood garden centers.
I love Brugs because they have large beautiful flowers that smell delicious in the morning and in the evening.
I also grow Datura. The flowers are lovely and smell equally delicious.
Both Brugs and Datura are poisonous and I use bits in my work. This is one of my poison goblets. All parts are made of poisonous plants. The bowl of the goblet was made by laying dampened flower petals in a wax mold.
Brugmansia Growers International
My favorite places to purchase Brugmansia and Datura seeds–
Change–Bound Pods
Been thinking about binding pods together to make a vessel. Gave it a go yesterday, but didn’t feel connected to the piece.
When I took the piece apart I started thinking about what pods mean. They are containers. The contents can become new plants. What about the pods? New containers for something else?
Change Front with 18 Pennies.
Change Back, Dots to be Drilled. Then to be Bound.
Some Ideas–
Pods, Containers, Protection, Secrete, Hide
Seeds, Source, Potential
Grow, Growth
Nature
Cycle, Pattern, Rhythm
Origin, Propagate
Change
Alter, Replace, Transform, Evolve, Mimic, Echo
Coins, Pennies, Nickels, Dimes
Change Code
Morse and Tap
c -.-. 1,3
h …. 2,3
a .- 1,1
n -. 3,3
g –. 2,2
e . 1,5
And then there are these beautiful bits. The seeds were on either side.
New Addition to My Garden
Calochortus or Mariposa Lily grows wild on the mountain behind our house. Now I have some growing in my garden.
Not From A Lack Of Water
Plant that was in my mother’s room.
Now is being cared for in my plant hospital.
When and if it becomes healthy I will transplant to one of my gardens.
Brugmansia Double White
First bloom on a two year old Brug cutting.
Detail of Brug double white flower.
Everyone Loves Brugmansia
I love Brugs. I became aware of them when we were living at the beach. We often would take walks to the beach in the evening. I kept noticing a lovely fragrance and found that it was Brugs. The plants were cut like trees and had large white bell flowers.
When we moved to SLO I decided to have a Brug garden. I bought one plant. I loved it so much, I started buying seeds of different varieties. At one point I had over 100 plants. And my gardens smelled great!
The Brug flowers are white, yellow, peach, white with a blush. Some are double flowers. They all are beautiful.
Then I realized I wasn’t the only one who loved Brugs. Everyone loves them. No matter how much I fertilize the Brugs and give them systemic, damage occurs.
This is damage typical of cucumber beetles. The beetle looks a bit like a green ladybug.
Today I found this wormy guy on one of my variegated potted plants.
You may not think he can eat much until you see this–
I think that Spider Mites are the worst of all bugs. They are difficult to see and an infestation can occur rather quickly.
Spider Mites on a Double White Brug.
This is an image of a Brug that was a cutting from a Brug that I grew from seed. It likes to grow tall, about 20 feet. We try to keep it pruned to about half that height, to allow for an easier removal of spent flowers.
When I prune my Brugs I always take cuttings. It is a superstition thing for me. I tend to be rather aggressive when pruning. The cuttings will be my back up plants just in case the parent dies. These are a few current cuttings that are ready to be planted–3 Brug varieties and Solandra Maxima.
The Solandra Maxima has large flowers with a lovely fragrance. I bought a plant from a fellow at the Saturday Farmers’ Market. He told me that it is a vine. Actually it does not behave so much like a vine. I have found that it is somewhat shrub-like. I took cuttings and have it growing in four different locations in my gardens.
This is the result of a cutting from my original Solandra Maxima plant. The plant is filling in a corner niche quite nicely.
Soon there should be flowers that look like this–
