Ron Sullivan says that this might be a Cordyline australis. I am psyched if this is the case! The photo above is a closer shot. While our leaves seem a little fatter than most of the examples I've seen on the web, everything else matches perfectly. How awesome. I read that the leaves are edible, but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to try them.
While we're here, take a look at some other flora on our property:
Is it possible that we shouldn't shape those boxey trees? They were like this when we bought the house (there are two more in the front) and we just kept them trimmed. Is this bad karma we're investing in?
I used to know the name of this plant/flower, but I've forgotten. I know it is common, and I think that this variety is the fat leaf kind. Seriously, my wife and I would love to fly Rurality into town and have her create labels for all our plants. 
These are a few of the plums that have appeared this week. We are psyched because they may be ripe during my sister and niece's visit next week.
Thanks to everyone who reads my blog! You are all awesome!!
The Gift
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[Christmas, 1965 or thereabout]
The boy was very young; perhaps 7 or 8 years old. He loved everything about
Christmas - the lights, the music, Santa ...
4 months ago
11 Comments:
You're welcome! The pink thing is hydrangea. You can turn next season's flowers blue by fertilizing with aluminum sulphate, which is easy to find. At least in some varieties, and that looks like one of them.
Yeah, I'd prune those trees a lot differently myself, and you can get them into a better form by working on them slowly over a few years. More "naturalistic" shapes are generally better for the plant, as they let more light and air into the center branches and don't make a dark dead mass that fosters bugs and disease. I might have suggestions if I knew what species they were -- I can't quite tell from the pix.
It's really not hard to make a big improvement in these. First, invest in a pair of Felco pruners -- try some on till you find the model that feels natural in your hand. Your fruit tree(s?) will appreciate it too -- it's a good investment. Every part is replaceable.
Yeah, I confess I'm a crusader on these matters. I'm even a member of Plant Amnesty, q.v.
Ron,
First, thanks for the contribution to my knowledge. I don't know aluminum sulphate from ambergris.
Second, I think we're going to stick with the color we have, as it adds a different temperature to that face of the house.
Third, speaking of color, our roses are awesome, just not ready for pictures, as they are past their prime for this season. Next year I will take detailed shots, as they are really magical.
Fourth, I understand that pruning should occur, but that's all I know. I try to prune every once in a while, but without a tutor, I am just too afraid.
Fifth, I've got some pruning shears, and they're fine. They're not Felco, and maybe, if I learn enough to become a steady pruner, then I may buy a set of Felcos, which look very cool.
Sixth, please, crusade away. I want to treat our flora like I treat our fauna.
Stu:
Just an opinion from someone who has trouble growing weeds, and whose artistic talents were best expressed with finger paints, but those square trees are extremely weird.
Yeah, ok, I'm gonna blog about the square trees. Let me take some photos and come up with some funny lines about being an anal-retentive bonsai trainer.
Know what? The best thing you could do for all your trees is go here (don't know if I can link in your comments, so cut'n'paste)
http://www.plantamnesty.org/goods_services/gs_book.htm
and buy Cass Turnbull's pruning book. She's a natural teacher and assumes no knowledge to start with.
Oh -- and if you don't have one, buy yourself a small Japanese pruning saw -- Silky brand is what I like. Small, because you'll be working in tight spaces in those square trees, and a saw because I bet you have some limbs in that mass that are morer than finger-thick.
If you're very lucky, those boxes will turn out to be podocarps, aka African fern pine... hah, when I Googled just now on that phase, something I wrote about them was the second thing on the list. Anyway, they're tough. You can screw up and they'll survive it. Excellent learning material.
Cruise that Plant Amnesty site for information, too. And yeah, post pix, and let me know when you do so I'll see them right away. ron@faultline.org will do it.
Ron,
I didn't get the link, as the comments column is too narrow. However, here's how to put a url into comments: Create a hotlink. type <a href = "blahblahblah.html">Title Of URL</a> into the comment and it should become a clickable link. Cool?
Thanks!
Oh, so I can make a link in the comments. There ya go.
You can highlight a URL, copy, and paste it to your browser's URL window too, of course. But it's a good thing to know that the "some HTML tags" in the Blogger comment window instructions includes that -- actually, you've made my life a bit easier.
Oh -- the hottest tip I can ever give you: Garden and tree people loooovvvve to show off. Go to a nursery and ask questions! I promise, whatever you ask won't be the dumbest question they've heard all day. I've seen your questions here and I've heard other questions from clients and... trust me, you're a few steps ahead.
Yeah, on my browser, your link was cut off. I'd blogger to add a help link to that advisement about HTML tags, so someone can view them all.
I shop at Armstrong, and the staff there is really excellent about answering my questions. Really, though, what I'd like is to have a horticulturally sound person walk through my flora with me, as I take notes.
Hey, if I'm ever going down your way, I'll get in touch first. It's been a while, but now that we have a car with A/C I'm not even afraid of I-5. Or maybe someone here or someone you meet at some nursery (visit as many as you can; they're fun) would trade, oh, dinner at your place or some such for a couple hours' expertise. I've done that myself.
Got a local community college with a landscape horticulture department? That's where I picked up what I know, and where I met my tree teacher.
Right on, very cool. I make a mean pan-seared, oven baked filet mignon.
Keep up the good work. thnx!
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