Santa Fe Chronicles - More Flora (sans Hollyhocks)

Aspens are one of the true delights of high-altitude climates. The interesting bark, beautiful leaves and intensely gold fall color make it one of my favorite trees.

Aromatic juniper is a wonderful evergreen mainstay; it thrives in high desert conditions.

Crabapples also give a long season of beauty, from lush spring bloom to soft green leaves to shiny fruits in late summer, in a conveniently compact size tree!

I love this beautiful, large grass; can't figure out what it is...

Maples by the river...

A large Campsis vine happily strangling a Blue Atlas Cedar.

View from where I'm staying...

And another! Santa Fe has gotten a lot of rainfall this summer; everything is quite lush.

Focus fail makes for an interesting picture anyway; think I'll keep it!

That's better; not sure what these red berries are; maybe Viburnum?

An adopted median with lush plantings of Russian Sage (Perovskia) and Hummingbird Mint (Agastache).

This apricot Agastache is just gorgeous...

A perky, pink penstemon!

Ha, figured this one out: Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) love the silky seed heads

More Crabapples...

And we wrap up with a really sexy line of agaves in a raised bed between the sidewalk and an adobe wall.

My Mother's Garden...

Right on schedule, here come my August garden doldrums. The miracle of spring has passed, I'm not expecting company, and my mind is on projects and vacations and eating home-grown tomatoes every day, not primping and photographing.

But that doesn't mean I'm not susceptible to a pretty face, and I saw several of them this week, while visiting my parents. So here's what's blooming at the old homestead.

The first pic is a charming little dahlia on the front porch, who hangs around with this open-blooming snapdragon and some severe pink vinca.

I'm not sure why I say severe, except, look at it. This is one uptight flower; it looks like it could shoot laser beams or something...

The complicated coloring of a red Japanese maple. A seasonal shift from redness to greenness to redness again.

Crape myrtles are at their peak right now; this watermelon pink is my favorite.

Not sure which barberry this is, but love the colors and patterns in the small leaves.

Love the perfect little blue flowers of Lithodora; I need to remember to use this more...

Agapanthus is so ubiquitous around here as a commercial planting that it is often passed over by designers for home gardens. Once established it is almost indestructible, and like Junipers it just persists and multiplies, (while providing a favorite hiding place for snails). But I know it is a coveted exotic to many, and upon looking closer, was surprised to realize that most of them are striped like this. Pretty...

Late summer hydrangeas. Our soil quite alkaline, can you tell? That's it, all I've got for now. I head to Santa Fe this week, and will be doing Bloom Day from Canyon Road, so y'all come back now, ya hear?

Up Close & Personal at the Ruth Bancroft Garden

Last week I attended a horticulture and design seminar presented by
The Garden Conservancy and The Ruth Bancroft Garden. Entitled 'Make Room for Succulents in Your Garden' it was a day packed with information, plants, gardens, plants and more plants!

During lunch we paid a quick visit to the Ruth Bancroft Garden, and even though it was high noon and 90 degrees, I managed to get some nice shots. This is a garden to be experience in several seasons, so I will definitely be back! I don't know all of the names, so will just hush up now and let you see what I saw. Enjoy! (Click any photo to enlarge).