Playing with Jack

Looking at a thistle that just showed up in the garden, I can appreciate the difference in it's form, and only try to convey what it is like to live in a harsh climate, where the landscapes that everyone has in their frontyards consist of about a dozen or so varieties, and that is the same dozen or so varieties that is in front yards for miles and miles, and repeated all across the valley. We don''t get to see a vast variety of form. My husband took me to Wisconsin to visit his family, and we stopped at a nursery and stayed there for about 3 hours, maybe not, but it was awesome, with some memory lane, mixed in with some pondering of new varients. (Is that...? Could that be...? That looks like...) I don't care to bother with the latin names, but it is fun to remember their common names from places I've lived over 26 years ago.

Which brings us to the plant sale that was held yesterday at Acacia Park. There were workshops to attend, and the plants that were available were selected because of their adaptability to the Mojave Desert.

Here is Mary's cache and these items will be planted in her backyard. These have "heat lovers" written all over them! This reminds me of Arizona.

Here's a gardening workshop that Don presented.

Here is Beth speaking about Backyard Habitats. She pointed out which plants to feed tortoise, and there were about 6 tortoise owners there. They are little gobblers too, btw. A fasinating note about tortoise, Don (in the previous picture), said that you cannot allow a tortoise to see outside of your yard, through a gate off in the distance, because they will afix out there, and that it will become an obsession and they will become exhausted by their attempts to escape, lured by the distance. Isn't that wild?

I came home with a couple of gems from the plant sale. Here is one, and they are like little clowns or something. Crazy little Jack in the Boxes.... (aren't Jack in the Boxes toys wacky? Remember those? Too funny!). Butterflies like these, so they might go in the sunning bed. It eludes me what this is called.

Another item is White Rain Lily. This is going under the Eucalytus so that it gets partial shade. I hope it spreads all over.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!