Friday, July 20, 2012
Man Eating Jungle Cactus

Ok, well maybe not man eating, but if you see him in person you might think it's possible. This is one of my Epis, and although there is not much in this image for size reference the blossom is at least eight inches across. These beauties are more like orchids than cacti. They, or more specifically their non-hybridized ancestors, grow in the South African jungle canopy and in the wild they are polinated by bats. Nature never ceases to amaze!

Friday, September 26, 2008
Passion Flower

I was looking back through some older photos to get the botanic name for this beauty and I noticed something interesting. The first flower from this vine on the site is a lot more purple. I can only assume that is from the shady cool conditions we try to keep in the back yard. I'm sure he was in bright sunlight in the nursery and probably got just the right nutrients to bring out those beautiful colors. But I think I like the variegated look even more! And since I regularly have to untangle this guy from all of the other plants in the back yard I think he is pretty happy with the arrangement too.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sun Star Water Drops

Well it's officially fall. Can't believe it, but it's time to start to look for some good bulbs for the garden. This is one of my favorites, the Sun Star. It is a fairly new hybrid and I have not been able to find it as a bulb. But I'm going to keep looking!

Saturday, September 13, 2008
Honey Bee on the Horizon

We are always looking for more butterfly food. Our passion flowers are their favorites. After I was already working on framing this shot the bee buzzed in. I love it when that happens. She did not stay around long but it was a really nice addition to the photo!

Monday, August 25, 2008
Passion Tower

This was right down the aisle from my bee friend from yesterday. I took more pictures at the Nursery than anywhere the rest of the trip. My wife says this one looks like a cell phone tower, and I have to agree. Only a little prettier.

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Mexican Tulip poppy

This is a new friend that followed us home from a nice little nursury in Montecito. Nursuries are a dangerous place really, we only have a small backyard and it is getting pretty full.

Last week a similar thing happend with a Passion Flower vine and a dwarf Fingered Citron tree. Both of which will be featured on the Photo of the Day in the near future. Just as soon as their blossoms get a little further along.

Thursday, January 17, 2008
Iridescent Epi Blossom

One of our Orchid Cacti, blooming like crazy. It may look like a close macro shot, but it is actually THAT BIG! 'Bout 9" across. I have kind of gone wild with Orchid Cacti. We actually have about a hundred epis now. Most started from small cuttings.

Saturday, May 26, 2007
Salmon Epi

Another of our new Orchid Cacti cuttings is showing off. This one surprised me. The bud did not seem to grow when we first got it. And as a cutting, I did not expect it to. Unlike the Iridescence cutting that started opening the day we brought it home, this guy's bud was very small. Once we got it in the pot however it was a different story. The pad perked up and the bud got bigger and, as you can see, it is very happy now.

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Orange Centered Poppy

I found this guy the other day at the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens along with his friend. Unlike the dark one they actually had quite a few of these, but only one with a flower with this cool shape. This particular one caught my eye first through my camera lens as I was chasing a bee hovering by it!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Green Sun Star

Recently I got a new Ornithogalum (Snake flower [Ornithogalum dubium]) at a Cactus and Succulent show. It is a close relative of the Sun Star. Actually, it is the source of the orange color and size of the Sun Star.

There are three bulbs in the pot, as one of the inflorescences started to open I noticed it is a bit different. Supposedly there are over 80 Ornithogalums out there. (and some of them apparently, are considered weeds.) I couldn't figure out which one this is, but I really like it. (Weed or not!)

The orange in the background is the Snake flower.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Blooming Tiger

It was another good weekend to take pictures. But, as usual it was just too short. Fortunately I had enough time to get a shot of this cool Tiger Lily. This is actually a native Santa Barbara plant.

Saturday, May 19, 2007
Blooming Irridescense

Well Saturday has become Epiphyllum day apparently, so why break with tradition. :-D

This is the second blossom on the cutting from last week as it was about to open. The cuttings are all planted now and seem to be doing well. I used a combination of soil, peat moss, bark and coconut fibers.

I'm trying for better drainage than usual because from what we have read they will actually have a better root structure if they have to go looking for water and nourishment. (I usually just plant them in potting soil.)

Since they are a jungle canopy plant, the roots are supposed to be almost as impressive as the pads themselves, up to six feet! Now that's a root! I'd like to see that, but I don't know if I have the nerve to try to coax them into growing that long.

Saturday, May 12, 2007
Epiphyllum Irridescense

Last Sunday there was a Cactus and Succulent show here in Santa Barbara. We went looking for some new Epiphyllums, and specifically this one. I saw one the day before at a Nursery and had my fingers crossed they would have it at the show. We got this one as a single pad cutting. Of course that one pad is about two feet long and four inches wide, with two blossoms.

To get an idea of the scale, the petals are almost an inch across and about five long. The whole blossom is at least eight inches across.

I hope you like it, because there are more Epi photos to come. We got seven cuttings at the show of six different varieties! I think it is safe to say we have a jungle in our back yard now since I have long since lost count how many we have.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Mallow

A couple of years ago when we were in Monterey for my birthday The Hound walked me by this beautiful bush. When we got home my wife found one at Home Depot and we have it in the back yard now. Now that we are visiting Monterey again I had to see if my favorite spots were still there. As you can see it is still as happy as ever, even with the strange weather these days!

Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Rose Shadows

I particularly like the shadows of the stamen on the petal. The sun was cooperating very nicely on this one!

Thursday, July 20, 2006
Serendipity

It is really interesting to me to see the motion in this shot. The bee is actually leaning into the turn like a bike rider.

I was framing up the shot of the flower when the bee flew in from the left. She made a beautiful arc into the photo and I hit the shutter release as many times as I could!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Blooming Passon

Having more fun in the back yard. This is a great vine, it has come back from the brink with a vengeance. We should have lots of butterfly habitat this fall. :-D

Monday, June 5, 2006
Lemanderin Blossom

This is another blossom from our tree in the back yard.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Glowing Rose

I have been blessed with a good combination of skills that allow me to work from home most of the time. But, last week I was filling in for a friend who was on vacation. It is a difficult thing to get in the habit of going to an office when you don't normally do that, but there are rewards. This is an amazing climbing rose on the side of the building where I was working.

Thursday, May 4, 2006
Rangpur Blossom

This is a closeup of the same tree from a couple of days ago. The Blossoms are so beautiful I had to have a shot that focused on them too. Most of the blossoms are starting to dry and reveal their little limes inside.

Sunday, April 30, 2006
Nun Bee

The sun came out today!!! Not something that would normally be such a surprise in California, but this year you have to take it one day at a time.

In honor of our beautiful sunny day we decided to take a bit of a rose garden tour. We went to the Mission rose garden and the rose garden at Fess Parker's Resort on Cabrillo.

This was one of my favorite roses of the day. I was actually taking pictures of it before the bee flew into the picture. She was quite the ham! She hovered all around in front of the rose for me.

Saturday, April 29, 2006
Sun Star Blossom

My Sun Star just opened up a third stalk of flowers. I've only had it for a few weeks but it has been blooming like crazy. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, as I was playing with my lens reversed for a good closeup, I noticed it is being attacked by small bugs. So it is taking a dish-soap bath in the sink now.

Saturday, March 25, 2006
Sun Star

This is one of the other flowers that followed us home from the store yesterday.

These guys caught my eye as we were going into the store. I love taking pictures of flowers so something vibrant and different like this is almost certainly going to come home with me! Does not seem to be a lot of information online about it though.

You can find Sun Star care instructions here, and in the comments below. I'm glad to help your plants, but 95% of the questions posted to this page have already been answered..

Monday, February 6, 2006
Monterey Passion Flower

This is a beautiful hedge along a street in Monterey. I have taken pictures of it on more than one occasion. There are a wide variety of Passion Flowers, most of them are like something from another world! We have a quite different variety growing in our back yard.