Still on the down side but plant trivia continues!

 Just got the email I didn't get a job I was more than qualified for. My personal garden blog continues because that's what I like to do. I talk about how to take care of plants, my plant successes, plant trivia, what people do to plants that should be criminal and so much more. 

And then there's this:

Euphorbia canariensis

 Took another trip to Balboa Park for other reasons and walked through the Desert Garden near the rose garden. This looks so twisted and horrid it's wonderful. The Euphorbia family is one of the largest and most diverse family of plants. This twisted tree is a cousin to... the poinsettia, yes it is. Poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima and there are so many other plants, the common spurge, weed in garden and more is also a euphorbia. Wild and crazy plants right?

 

Brachychiton rupestris?

Back side.

This is another crazy plant native to Africa, the Bottle Tree. Several of the different varieties go by that and I think this was a recent transplant due to the caution tape around it and the roots being exposed. Absolutely amazing tree that can survive being almost completely hollow (more on that reason later). 

Don't ask me about cactus, I could look it up but just thought these were wonderful shapes and colors. It was hot and had to go find some shade. Believe it or not this area is right across the road from the Natural History Museum and where I learned the names of drought tolerant plants almost twenty years ago. A large stand of ocatillo was missing sadly or I didn't go far enough along the path. It was huge and I suspect the time difference it's entirely possible they either moved it, it got sick or they just removed it.  Plant trivia: ocatillo stems can be cut off and stuck in the ground without any prep whatever and it will grow again. That's how in Arizona there are sometimes living fences of the plant. It grows tall and straight stems incredibly long so why the heck not cut it down and use it as a fence?

Dragonflies have been flitting about outside, guess it's a summer thing. Closest large body of water is twenty minutes away. A drainage canal is down the block with some water in it so I suspect that may be where they are coming from.

Euphorbia pulcherrima

 

Yes indeed... there is a poinsettia growing in one of the beds where I live. Lord knows how long it's been there but it's plugging along and 'flowering' at it's correct time. It's only about three feet tall if that and those red 'petal's are actually colored leaves. What we think is the flower are modified leaves surrounding a very tiny flower that is insignificant. Through hybridizing and cultivation and cuttings we get the Christmas plant everyone recognizes. It didn't always look like that though but not going into that topic now. Short topics for today, hands are a bit cranky (too many dill pickle chips) and need to get something to eat, but not before checking on the garden to see if I need to water. Hoping for some female flower buds on my zucchini. 🤞

Edit: Went out with water pistol because I knew they would need it and discovered the pepper plant had been pushed over. Tomato was fine but it was like someone had stepped on it or just pushed it over. It was on the wilted side so I put it back upright and packed the soil around it better.

One small pepper broke off so that means something had to have pushed it hard. Stems weren't broken just like something sat on it and shoved it over. I picked one of the larger peppers anyway just because I'm impatient. 

 

Pepper looking sad.

One small pepper broke off so that means something had to have pushed it hard. Stems weren't broken just like something sat on it and shoved it over. I picked one of the larger peppers anyway just because I'm impatient.

 Then I saw the zucchini plant(s):

 

I'm a plant person and should know they grow quickly but I haven't been able to grow anything successfully for years. Still astonishing and gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I swear it's doubled in size from three days ago! It's a happy plant! Still no visible female flowers though but everyone got a good watering at least and that reminds me I wanted to take a soil sample of that bed too. Oh well. This is approaching the 2x2 foot size and it's not even three weeks!  

Hope the pepper doesn't die.