My pictures of Spring flowers

 

Scabiosa Atropurpurea (Pincushion flower)

Scabiosa Atropurpurea (Pincushion flower)

Spring has been pretty cold in Southern CA (or at least where I live), but anyway I had the joy of enjoying so many beautiful flowers. Before Summer is here (a few hours away), I'd like to share this post with pictures I have taken from the local Secret Garden, from Newcastle (Seattle, WA) and some from home. There are links to read more about the species. 

All pictures taken by Myriam Mahiques, from my personal archives. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Erythrostemon Gilliesii (Bird of Paradise bush)

Agapanthus (African Lily- Lily of the Nile)

Helianthus Maximiliani (Maximilian Sunflower)

Geranium. This one is from home

Eschscholzia Californica. California Poppies

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos)

In a colder weather, in Seattle, the front yards are stunning. Some of my pictures here:

Ceanothus Impressus (Santa Barbara Ceanothus)

Santa Barbara Ceanothus as seen in a beautiful front yard of Newcastle, Seattle, WA.

Rodhodendron Ponticum (Rodhodendron)

Cornus Florida (Flowering Dogwood) 

Flowering Dogwood against the house, see how beautiful it looks surrounded by the purple colors of Santa Barbara Cenothus, the yellow leaves bush and the red maple tree.

Adding some wildflowers from the local park:

Carpobrotus Rossii. This one is a succulent that I love to use for hillsides. Common name "Pig Face", "Sea Fig".

Pig Face or Sea Fig succulent looks beautiful along a path.

Oenothera Biennis. Evening Primrose

Aster (Genus). Not sure which Aster is this one...

Maya Lin's Manhattan Ghost Forest

 

Ghost Forest. Installation by Maya Lin. Photo credit: from the Guardian.com

Courtesy the artist and Madison Square Park Conservancy/ Andy Romer

I have to share this installation from a colleague, so powerful and mindblower it looks. 

From the article on The Guardian:

"In Manhattan’s bustling Flatiron District, 49 coastal Atlantic cedars – each around 40ft tall, leafless branches grasping at the sky – tower over Madison Square Park’s usually flat, grassy plain. The spectral forest, a new installation by the artist and architect Maya Lin, looms like a jarring holdout from winter – barren, save for smattering of lichen on each trunk, a stark contrast to the verdant six-acre park’s late-spring growth and the clean lines of the skyscrapers overhead. 

 The urban forest recalls the island’s pre-city past as a dense woodland teeming with birdsong and animals larger than rats, and stands as a sort of slow-rolling funeral – the 49 trees, all about 80 years old, are still technically alive but will die completely within about two years, the victim of saltwater tree rot from rising sea levels in New Jersey’s coastal Pine Barrens region.

 Lin’s Ghost Forest, hosted in the park until 14 November, takes it name from the ecological phenomenon in which large swaths of woodland are killed off at once by rapid environmental degradation, be it invasive species or saltwater inundation as sea levels rise. Coastal cedars such as the 49 Lin calls her “gentle giants” used to abound on the eastern seaboard, but habitat loss and climate change have hemmed the species into now just a mere 50,000 acres."

Keep on reading:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/may/13/maya-lin-manhattan-madison-square-park

This picture from: Madison Square Park.org 

Bottle Palm Tree (Beaucarnea Recurvata)

 

This is a group of Bottle Palm trees (Beaucarnea Recurvata) from the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, CA. I took this picture in July 2016, and I decided to filter it in black and white in order to appreciate their morphology.

I like these trees so much, small in plant pots or huge in a park. 

From Wikipedia:

Beaucarnea recurvata, the elephant's foot or ponytail palm, is a species of plant in the family Asparagaceae. The species was native to numerous states of eastern Mexico but is now confined to the state of Veracruz. Despite its common name, it is not closely related to the true palms (Arecaceae). It has become popular in Europe and worldwide as an ornamental plant. There are 350-year-old Beaucarneas registered in Mexico. 

It is an evergreen perennial growing to 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m) with a noticeable expanded caudex, for storing water. The single palm-like stem produces terminal tufts of strap-shaped, recurved leathery leaves, sometimes hair lock-shaped in the ends, and with occasional panicles of small white flowers once the plant reaches over 10 years of age. The only moderately swollen trunk at the base is slender over it and only slightly branched. The almost spherical caudex in the youth stage later becomes 4 to 6 meters long and reaches a diameter of up to 50 centimeters and more at the base. The bark is smooth. The green lineal, slightly rejuvenated and bent leaves are thin, flat or slightly ridged. They are 90 to 180 inches long and 15 to 20 millimeters wide.

Keep on reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaucarnea_recurvata

Arts incorporated to Landscape

 

Sometimes young artists feel free to create art in our local Central Park (Huntington Beach), but this time I was surprised to see the artist left the painting against a tree. Maybe as a way of promoting his art, or maybe to make us passers by to reflect about something. 

Regardless my opinion about the painting, I think this is an interesting idea, and I would encourage others to do the same. Of course then it has to be removed, but while the trees and plants are not damaged, it's a pacific way of communicating ideas.

Here's another artist who paints between trees, I could take pictures of him in action:

https://inbuiltlandscape.blogspot.com/2020/11/when-landscape-is-incorporated-to-arts.html

The Coast Coral Tree

 

This is one of my favorite trees, those deep red flowers look so absolutely powerful. I've read on line that some think this is the national flower in Argentina, but no. Ours is the Ceibo, which is red as well, but not so big and open. But I've learnt this is the flower that represents Los Angeles.

All these pictures belong to my own archives. The (huge) tree here is in our local park in Huntington Beach and I have seen a couple of them in Long Beach as well, currently in full bloom. 

From Wikipedia: "Erythrina caffra, the coast coral tree or African coral tree, is a tree native to southeastern Africa, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in California and India. All the 17 species of coral tree in the genus Erythrina are collectively considered the official tree of Los Angeles, California in the United States."

Obviously it's not a tree to have in a small garden, but at least we enjoy its beauty in the parks and urban streets.

The flowers of the Coast Coral tree. Picture by Myriam Mahiques. Canon 300mm. Personal archives.

The way the Coast Coral Tree looks in Summer. It is really splendid. Picture by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives.

Cereus or Queen of the Night propagation

 

I find a lot of joy in propagating plants, just for the pleasure of taking care of them and watching them grow. I have already posted how to propagate Photos or Potus, which I suppose (almost) everybody knows. 

But the propagation of the beautiful Night Blooming Cereus or Queen of the Night is not so popular. A friend of mine gave me a small cut with roots long years ago. She said I would have to wait a couple of years in order to see the blooms of splendid and fragrant flowers that last only one night. In the early morning, they die. I take pictures of the flowers every Summer and in a mild weather of Southern CA, I can see them blooming even in the early Autumn.

Queen of the Night bloom. Photo by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives.

The Night Blooming Cereus does not like the wind and-or shadow. It needs a big clay pot to keep on growing, protected by winds and exposed to the sun. I have two, against a fence and they catch the (partially filtered) morning and first afternoon hours of sun.

To propagate the Queen of the Night, my favorite method is to cut a healthy leaf just in the union with the stem, and put it in a jar with water. Then I wait, changing the water every four days, and in approximately 15 days, a tiny root is seen, like in the first picture.

Roots of Night Blooming Cereus. Photo by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives.

A month has passed and I haven't planted it in soil yet. The roots are incredibly grown and there is another leaf showing up inside the water. In a few days I will get my soil delivery and the young plant will be ready to enjoy the Spring.

Roots of Night Blooming Cereus. Photo by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives.

Swimming pool and hardscape project in Yucaipa

Design team: Arq. Luis R. Makianich- Arq. Myriam B. Mahiques

Swimming pool, jacuzzi and hardscape design in Yucaipa, California.

Construction Company: Napoles Landscaping.

Photos credit : Napoles Landscaping

Some partial plans (cross sections, floor plan, site plan) are shown below, they have been cropped to protect the owner's privacy. Soils report, topographic survey, grading plan, construction details and structural plans have been part of this documentation.

Vacant lot area at the time we went to the job site to take dimensions. The house is existing. Photo by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives.