Winter garden thoughts and things

 Again with not much happening in my garden so pictures and notes from other things in our complex. I suppose I should take a long walk down to the house with the rose bushes and get pictures but it's a Saturday and don't trust the neighborhood. My garden is sad and pathetic still.  No recent incursions from rodents so far that I can tell but have a full bag of potato peels and some other veggie scraps to take down to the compost later.

Christmas decorations in the planter behind the bench and the Debutante camellia is in bud. Only one sadly but that is due to being in total shade all the time. And since we don't have holly we do have Nandina for red berries this time of year.

There is a native 'holly' in California that gets berries this time of year. It is the bush/tree that Hollywood is named after actually and is botanically Heteromeles arbutifolia aka 'Toyon'. 

I grew up with one of these at the edge of the canyon in our backyard. I didn't know what it was called until I was an adult but it feels like I've known the name forever. It is one of the many shrubs that is in the same family as apples... the Rosaceae family which, you see that, is all under the Rosa family. That's right, apples, Pyracantha, Toyon, crabapples and dozens of other bushes are all related.

This one can be found in coastal scrub areas and canyons which is why a city was named after it as it covered the hills surrounding Los Angeles when the city was just a stage stop on the way to other places. The second name arbutifolia refers to the leaves resembling another plant, the arbutus which is a native aka madrone and includes manzanitas. 

Talk about a branching family tree! 

Even though we had one of those trees we never really cut any of it to use for decorations. It could very well have been cut down when the paths for our backyard was made but I think the landscaper and my dad left it alone for a natural edge. Wish I had pictures of that yard because it was a great blend of native trees and bushes and landscaped areas with pathways weaving through.

Anyway, it's sunny and clear but cold inside because of the breeze. Very cold.. need to get my jacket and close the window a bit.

More plant talk later!