The Jacaranda Tree

There is only one thing bloggers love more than French sailor shirts: peonies (see, §4.8 Approved Flora and Fauna).  For the last two weeks, I have seen one post after another of what is, undoubtedly, a beautiful, ruffly, heady scented flower.  Shrub?  Bush?  I have no idea.  The closest I can come to a peony in my part of southern California is to pay $5.00 at Trader Joe’s for five brown-spotted pink heads that rarely open.

As lovely as a peony is, might I direct the attention of the blogosphere to the other side of the United States and its friend, the Jacaranda tree?  Okay, Florida has them, too.  So does South Africa and Australia.  But, until a blogger from another state or country jumps in with me, I’m claiming them for my own.

As well I should. They line our streets.

And shade our homes.

Some better than others.

They dot the horizon.

And drip from the sky.

The are very, very beautiful, especially en masse as they are where I live. They come in various shapes and sizes, but almost everyone agrees on one thing. The best Jacaranda tree has to be the one in your neighbor’s yard.

Because, truthfully? They shed like mofos.

Sandbox No More

Remember this picture of our poor flower bed taken over by boys and Beagles?

The Mister and I bought some plants this weekend in hopes of beautifying the area and repelling all creatures under 50 pounds. It does still look a little bare, with everything so young and all, but I still think it looks absolutely fantastic!

That’s our office in the backyard.  (Note the chalk on the walls, courtesy of Nico Van Gogh.)  From left to right we have a Night Blooming Jasmine Dwarf Tree (Yes, a tree. Those rascally bioengineers!), Nemesia, clover ground cover, our original Gardenia bush, more clover, and Indian Hawthorne. In the empty space between tree and Nemesia is the other Gardenia bush we planted last year: one sad twig of Gardenia bush with nary a leaf in sight. But, it’s alive, and we are hoping with peace and quite the poor fellow will rise from the mulch in fragrant glory, so we left plenty of breathing room for him.

Between the plants and mulch, we are confident this will keep the boys and Beagles out of the beds. Wait a minute.  Seriously?!  That poor Gardenia twig!

Oh, well. They can sit if they promise not to dig.  In the meantime, the Mister and I need to think of what we are going to do with the remaining 2,000,000 yards of flower bed in the back yard.

And because I know someone will ask, that tree really is in our backyard and really is that big!  In fact, that is the next project in the garden.  The roots are close to the ground, and the earth around the tree compact.  Does anyone have any plant suggestions?

California Fall

Fall has embraced most of the country, provided the many pictures of turning leaves on all my favorite blogs are any indication. You know, it’s fall here in on the west coast, too. Really! I imagine most people think the only thing that really changes around here is the time during daylight savings. True, if the leaves on my neighbor’s tree drops, it’s because the Santa Ana winds are blowing. But we, too, have seasonal colors, and they were in full force yesterday in my garden.