On the left, that's oregano. Walt planted some years ago, both in planter boxes and in the ground. In both places, it keeps spreading. And not only is it beautifully green, but you can eat it! Dry bunches of the leaves in the food dehydrator in the spring and keep oregano all year in jars in the pantry and kitchen. In the summer, it sends up attractive purple flowers. Walt mows around it so it keeps spreading.
I really enjoy taking photos like these and working with them in Photoshop on my computer. On the right is a lichen that grows everywhere around the vineyard here. In Wikipedia, I see this description: "A lichen
is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living
among filaments of multiple fungi in a symbiotic relationship. The
combined lichen has properties different from those of its component organisms. Lichens come in many colours, sizes, and forms." These lichens proliferate on certain trees around here. They're not parasitic.
I started growing jade plants in California, where we lived from 1986 until 2003. In San Francisco, jades could stay outdoors year-round, because the temperature there hardly ever goes down to freezing. Here in Saint-Aignan, the jades like the one on the left have to be brought inside to over-winter. They are very easy to propagate from leaves or branch cuttings. I must have nearly a dozen pots of jade in the house, on the front porch, and in the greenhouse. The one on the left has grown into something like a bonsai.
I haven't had the greatest luck with growing aucuba plants like the one on the right, which lives in a pot on the front terrace. Right now, it's flowering (you have to click on the image to enlarge it if you want to see the tiny purple flowers) and sending up a whole new set of fresh leaves. I have some aucuba planted out in the yard too, and it's growing but slowly. I wish it would grow and spread faster.
The little white daisies on the left are called pâquerettes in French because they flower around Pâques, which means Easter. In English they're called lawn daisies, and the flowers are about an inch across. They grow everywhere around the vineyard and in our back yard. When mowing season starts, as it has now, they don't last long, but they always come back.
The aucuba on the deck looks very healthy. Maybe it's a slow growing plant? That seems to be my recollection.
ReplyDeleteBe prepared for chilly weather when you get to Paris next week. I have had to put my sweat pants and a shirt on, instead of enjoying being in shorts and a T-shirt. It's definitely chilly again now.
DeleteAbout the aucuba, the one in the pot on the terrace is doing better, I think, than the ones I have planted in the ground. I'm not sure aucuba plants like our soil.
Aucubas grow quickly around here, so they must prefer acidic soil. I don't remember seeing many of them in KY growing up either. I'm going to root one from my old house soon.
DeleteYes, I'm prepared. I'll put the heat on as soon I get there to get rid of the humidity.
DeleteI certainly prefer not having to fuss with plants, too. But, I do enjoy looking at them as different ones bloom at different times.
ReplyDeleteI think going with plants that like your climate and soil is the best plan. Fussing with plants that are inherently unhappy with local conditions is not worth the trouble. In the vegetable garden, we gave up on eggplant and okra years ago, because they just aren't happy with the weather we have here. It's too chilly. Tomatoes do fine most years, green beans are happy, and greens like chard, collards, and kale thrive. Both summer and winter squashes do well too. With houseplants, there's nothing worse than having sad, sickly ones all around you. Healthy, robust plants are a pleasure to look at.
DeleteD'accord, Ken!
DeleteMy sister in law had / has the biggest Jade plant I have ever seen, not counting the few I saw growing outdoors in Argentina.
ReplyDeleteI love those plants, they seem to grow regardless of ignoring them :)
I had a huge jade plant in San Francisco — not especially tall, but big an bushy in a huge pot. I've been looking for a picture of it, but haven't found one yet. The pot stood at the front gate of our house, and stayed happily outdoors for years there. I sold the pot and jade for probably $5 to neighbors down the street who wanted it. They put it next to their front door, visible from the street. I'd bet it's still there.
DeleteThe oregano is attractive and looks lush. Interesting about lichens. I never knew their biology. I rather like the color of the one you've posted in the second photo.
ReplyDeleteA lot of trees around here have branches just covered in that kind of lichen. It doesn't seem to harm the trees.
DeleteLovely oregano.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw a jade plant was in San Jose, growing as a hedge chest-high and probably 30 feet long. I was smitten. But, alas, I have a totally brown thumb in trying to grow them as house plants.
The way to keep jades going is to water them only sparingly. When Walt and I moved down to the San José area (Sunnyvale), 50 miles south of SF, I found a dozen or so jade plants growing hidden under a hedge near the front door of the house down there. I dug them out, potted them up, and set them out on the patio on the other side of the house, where we could enjoy seeing them. Well, it turned out that winter temperatures were colder down there than in SF, where we lived closer to the ocean. The jades I had put in pots suffered frost damage. I had to move them to a more protected location. I wonder what kind of jade that hedge you saw in San José was. Could it have been an elephant bush (Portulacaria afra). Those are more resistant to frost than the jade (Crassula ovata) in my photo.
DeleteNo idea what kind of jade it was, and it was long, long ago. No way to check now.
DeleteIt was between a couple of houses, so that might have protected it. I do remember it as jade, though.