Contrail

Coyote Hills

A view of Coyote Hills in Fullerton, California, 27 December 2008. Photo by travisk at Wikipedia.  Note the abundance of nopales (Opuntia)!

Christmas cactus

The Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii, also found as S. buckleyi and Zygocactus truncatus, has arched, drooping branches of curiously flattened and jointed sections, growing as much as 3 ft. across (1 m), with long tubular and many-petalled blooms of purplish-red, red, pink, white, and even yellow, depending on the variety.  It can be grown outdoors in Sunset zones 16-17, and 21-24 in half-shade, or indoors in a cool but bright spot out of direct light.

I hesitate to jinx my luck by saying so, but I do almost nothing to this plant -- I don't feed it, I don't keep it in a dark spot in November to set its blooms for December, and I usually forget to water it regularly -- and yet it still rewards me with scores of blushed-white blooms in early December, and even here and there at other times of the year.  It is also absurdly easy to root new plants -- pinch off a section of stem and put it in water for a few weeks, or plant directly into a pot.

This photo was taken from underneath the plant, which sits on top of a bookcase near a north-west facing window.

December clouds

Greens

This bed under my living-room window has long been a trouble spot, being very narrow and sandwiched between the foundation of the house and a concrete path, both of which are apparently notorious for leeching acid into the soil.  These three plants are almost completely trouble-free and are attractive year-round.  The Sanseveria is so slow-growing that I have not yet had to cut it back.  The aspidistra needs some dead leaves cut away now and then, but the fern is the only rampant grower of the bunch and needs regular (every few months or so) cutting back or it tends to flop over the path.

At left, Sansevieria trifasciata.  This is a common house and garden plant in Southern California.  It has thick, almost plastic-like leaves that grow in sharp, unrelenting blades -- hence the unkind common name of "mother-in-law tongue".  It grows upright from 1 to 4 ft. (0.3 to 1.2 m), in various patterns of green and cream shades.  I chose this one because it did not have the usual cream edges; I tend not to like variegated leaves much.

At right, sword fern, probably Polystichum munitum.  This easy-to-grow fern is native to the western United States.  Its yellow-green fronds grow from 2 to 4 ft. (0.6 to 1.2 m), depending on soil and moisture conditions. 

At the bottom can be seen a single leaf of Aspidistra eliator, or cast-iron plant.  This evergreen perennial certainly lives up to its name: it can apparently survive in some of the worst planting conditions possible, indoors or out.  Glossy dark-green leaves are 1 to 2 1/2 feet long and 3 to 4 inches wide on a 6 to 8-inch leafstalk. The aspidistra has been very popular as a house-plant for decades -- almost every Victorian parlor had one.

Stinging nettle

A seedling (about 3 in./8 cm) of stinging nettle.

Stinging nettle, or Urtica dioica, bears on its leaves and stems a haze of tiny hair-like trichomes which act like hypodermic needles to inject histamines into the skin of humans and animals that touch it, producing a stinging sensation.  It has for centuries been used as a medicinal plant and a food source.

Stinging nettle can grow up to 3 to 7 ft. tall (1 to 2 m) in summer, and dies back in winter.  It grows in shady, damp areas -- it seems to come up more quickly here after a period of rain -- and spreads through rhizomes

The sting doesn't seem to be as intense when the plant is still small, so pull it up early if you can; otherwise, be sure to wear gloves!

Fox squirrel

We have for a number of years had a colony of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) living in this pine tree.

Fox squirrels range in size from 17.5 to 27.5 inches (45 to 70 cm) -- nearly half of that tail -- and weigh 1 to 2 lbs. (500 to 1,000 g), although apparently here in the western United States they are on the smaller end of the scale. Females can live up to 12 years, and males 8. Their nests, called dreys, are either platforms of sticks up in the tree branches in summer, or dens hollowed out from tree trunks in the winter.

I don't see them in the camphor trees much, despite the generous number of berries there at times, so it seems that they prefer the pines in the neighborhood, and possibly the magnolias.  The ground under this tree is littered at the moment with eaten cones and the hard scales that the squirrels have torn off to get at the seeds.

They are very playful, and sometimes three or four can be seen chasing each other up and down the trunk of the tree.  They also dash easily from tree to tree around the neighborhood, and use the phone and electricity wires as a kind of squirrely highway.

Rosa "Duchess de Brabant"

The tea rose "Duchess de Brabant" was introduced in 1857 by H.B. Bernède of Bordeaux.  It is nearly continuously in bloom, covered with flowers even now in mid-November.

The flowers are light pink, small and round with a light tea-rose scent, on a compact bush growing to about 6 ft tall x 4ft.  It is generally very healthy and trouble-free in my garden.

This rose is said to have been one of Theodore Roosevelt's favorites, often chosen by him for a buttonhole.  In my garden, it is very droopy, and probably not suitable for that use at least, but it has a very pretty scent.

November sky

October sky

Fullerton, California

Fullerton, California was founded by the Amerige brothers, George and Edward, in 1887 and named for George H. Fullerton, then-president of Pacific Land and Improvement Co., a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad. The city was for many years noted for its groves of Valencia oranges and other citrus crops. Fullerton packing houses are said to have shipped $15 million in citrus crops in banner years, although less than fifty acres of groves now remain in the city.

Fullerton lies on a border between Sunset climate zones 22 and 23 (USDA zone 8),

"Areas falling in Zone 22," Sunset writes, "have a coastal climate (they are influenced by the ocean approximately 85 percent of the time).... [The] winters are so mild here that lows seldom fall below freezing. Extreme lows (the coldest temperature you can expect in 20 years) average 28 to 25°F (–2 to –4°C).... The lack of a pronounced chilling period during the winter limits the use of such deciduous woody plants as flowering cherry and lilac. Many herbaceous perennials from colder regions fail here because the winters are too warm for them to go dormant."

Zone 23 is very similar: "One of the most favored areas in North America for growing subtropical plants, Zone 23 has always been Southern California’s best zone for avocados. Frosts don’t amount to much here, because 85 percent of the time, Pacific Ocean weather dominates; interior air rules only 15 percent of the time. A notorious portion of this 15 percent consists of those days when hot, Santa Ana winds blow. Zone 23 lacks either the summer heat or the winter cold necessary to grow pears, most apples, and most peaches. But it enjoys considerably more heat than Zone 24 -- enough to put the sweetness in ‘Valencia’ oranges, but not enough for 'Washington' naval oranges, which are grown farther inland. Temperatures are mild here, but severe winters descend at times. Average lows range from 43 to 48°F (6 to 9°C), while extreme lows average from 34 to 27°F (1 to –3°C)."