A couple of photos for you :)

11 years ago

Hello guys and gals :)

I don't post often anymore, although I do check in almost daily to get my palm fix hehe. I just wanted to share a couple of photos with youguys. We had a really strong wind storm that picked up TONS of dust two days ago, followed by a downpour, which is very uncommon for this time of year. I took advantage of the brown haze to take photos. I don't have too much going on in the palm section anymore, but here are some photos of what I do have: Hope you enjoy!

This is a view from our house. The ground is so dry at this time of year that the strong wind just picked all the dust up in no time!

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You can see all the trees in the neighborhood leaning over!

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And here's Chico running for cover!

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And these are photos from a bit before the dust storm began:

This is the front yard. I removed the lawn almost two years ago, and because I planted small plants, the queen palms suffered from having the lawn around them removed and having the ground around them exposed. Now that the ground is mostly covered again, and they have a good measure of mulch around them, they're making a good comeback! See if you can spot the recovering majesty palm as well (damaged by freeze)

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This is probably on of my favorite plants! Anigozanthos serves basically the same purpose as a daylily in desert climates. This is one of four I have in a row, but this one is the one that has grown the fastest.

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Lastly, this is the latest section of lawn that was replaced with drought tolerant plantings. It's taken about a year and a half for the plants to fill in because they were started from either cuttings or seeds. The two phoenix canariensis here were volunteer seedlings that sprouted in my yard and I moved here, courtesy of local birds haha.

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Comments (8)

californiamike
11 years ago
Very nice pics. Where in california do you live? That looks like some storm and as you said, not normal for June. You have a good night. Mike
tropicalzone7
11 years ago
Great pics! Love all the awesome drought tolerant landscaping! Looks much nicer than grass and also proves that Cali can have lush landscapes despite the dry weather.
Looks like you had a pretty nasty dust storm. We had a lot of windy weather here too a few days ago. There were 3 days in a row that I had to pick up my potted plants from the ground and clean up plant debris around the yard. We defintiely have too much rain and trees here for a dust storm though (minus the great dust storms of the Dust Bowl!).

Thanks for sharing!
-Alex
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denninmi
11 years ago
Love the Kangaroo Paws. Wish I could grow them here.
Central_Cali369
Original Author
11 years ago
Mike, I'm in Chowchilla, north of Fresno at the base of the Sierra Foothills. We've been having cool coastal winds blowing in lately over Pacheco Pass (a low pass in the coastal range) which have brought cooler temperatures and, that one day, a lot of dust and clouds.

Alex, Thank you! As you can see from the second photo, not everyone embraces the lawn-less look haha. Only one other of my neighbors has gone lawn-less, but it is definitely a growing trend. And the wind is crazy! We have grown accustomed to earthquakes and tremors that we don't even notice them at times, but I don't think I could ever grow used to tornados and hurricanes! Youguys are champs! haha

Denninmi, They are such great plants! Plant and forget them! The local nurseries are bringing in more and more exotic drought tolerant selections, these started showing up in huge numbers a few years ago.
californiamike
11 years ago
Thanks, I have never been to central california, only southern and northern.....i guess no matter where we live, we get crazy weather
Central_Cali369
Original Author
11 years ago
Mike, Where in California have you been to? We're right smack in the middle between San Francisco and Los Angeles. If you ever do come to Central CA, I would recommend visiting in the fall time (November). And a visit to Central California wouldn't be complete without a stop in Yosemite (in which case, you should visit in late May or early June for the best waterfall show.
californiamike
11 years ago
Mostly to the Los Angeles and San Francisco area...usually go in january to get away from the NY cold
Central_Cali369
Original Author
11 years ago
Gotcha. You might find it interesting to check out the Central Coast. Monterey and Santa Cruz are great spots to find exotic landscaping and exciting gardens in homes and such.