I think I was supposed to do something today, but I can’t remember what it was, if it really was anything. This is bad for a person with an eidetic memory, but never mind that; probably just a sign of getting older. I took the opportunity to take some more pictures, even though there was too much sun, again.
Someone once asked Gertrude Stein why she collected paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, etc., back when the artists were relatively or completely unknown, and her response was typically Steinian: “I like to look at them”.
I like to look at plants, especially in winter when not much is going on. Here are some; these will look this way until next spring, unless they get eaten, that is.
Daphne jasminea, a form supposedly from the cliffs overlooking the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
Astragalus creticus. Not much too look at, I admit, but I like it anyway. Attempts at removing the leaves in the center of the plant reveal that all those white things are not twigs, but spines.
Erysimum kotschyanum, with nice purple buds waiting for spring.
Geranium macrorrhizum. I love this plant; remains evergreen, tolerates life under the Wasatch maples, and smells great, too (that spicy, musky smell is the essence of gardening). I think this is the regular species, though ‘Ingwersen’s Variety’ and ‘Bevan’s Variety’ are here, too.
Phlomis fruticosa ‘Miss Grace’. I never met a phlomis I didn’t have to have. A pity so many are tender, or at least so their labels claim.
Salvia cyanescens, ex an Archilbald collection from years ago. Sows itself all over the place, which is nice.
Penstemon grinnellii var. scrophularioides. From southern California, but it likes me just fine.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus. I saw some clumps of this at a nursery, through the rear-view mirror, as I was driving out, and had to go back. There were several clumps, each with about 60 stems, selling for $20. They had been dug up from someone’s property (some weird cactus hater) and, not being completely insane, I bought a clump.
The inside of the clump started to rot a few years later, and I thought the whole thing was going, but the rot stopped, and this is one of the clumps that remain.
The diamond cholla, Cylindropuntia ramosissima. Not many plants look this nondescript in winter, which is why I have several forms, all wilty and tangly just like this one.
A miniature form of Opuntia microdasys. New at the zoo this year. The regular sized form will overwinter here in the perfect location, but this little one is so adorable I bought a second pot of it, and keep it upstairs just in case.
Primula marginata ‘Amethyst’. I like the way this looks in winter; I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just the weirdness of it.
Primula marginata and allionii are about the only two primulas that find the conditions in my garden even barely tolerable.
Globularia stygia. Unlike in humans, plants turning purple is a good sign.
the miserable gardener 