Thursday, November 26, 2015

Fall color at the Huntington

Having become a member of the Huntington and having a willing driver in my friend Jim, it is great to be able to visit regularly and see this beautiful garden at various seasons. This last trip was an attempt to see some fall color but apart from some beautiful ginkgos in the Japanese garden, there was little. Foliage of plants such as maples seemed to have just dried up without coloring. Despite this there was much to see in the garden and in particular some colorful aloes starting to flower in the desert garden. For those that want to know and see more of this garden, check out my earlier blogs in March 2012 and May 2015. As I've described the gardens in those earlier pieces, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves this time. Increasingly I find myself captivated by the desert garden and all the curious and wonderful plants that thrive there.




Agave americana Variegata - common but I love the way the leaves twist

Agave multifilifera 'Chahuiqui'

Aloe ramosissima


Echevaria agavoides x E. olorata - love this but it just burns up in Palm Springs heat

Barrel cactus - lovely to see so many


What is this? An Agave? Update - Ananas comosus 'Variegatus'  - the variegated pineapple - thanks Chad.

Opuntia littoralis var austrocalifornica

Opuntia microdasys

Stapelia - species?

After the desert garden (and a very nice lunch)  we headed off through the jungle and subtropical gardens and then briefly visited the Japanese and Chinese gardens.

Grevillea - love it but couldn't find a label. Chad thinks maybe 'Moonlight'

Chorisia insignis

A small palm but what is it? Chad suggests Chamaedorea microspadix - thanks!


Love the reflections - I feel a painting coming on!

Love the sun hitting these and the Iresine below



Delighted to find a Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed, particularly as I have just planted some in my little yard. I now know what to expect.



The beautiful Chinese Garden
Sapium sebiferum -  Chinese tallow tree - at last some fall color!

Camellia sasanqua flowering in various areas

Wonderful cones on these cycads

What is this pretty butterfly?


And finally Ginkgo biloba in fall finery!


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2 comments:

  1. Good morning Ian,
    I think the ‘What is this? An Agave?’ is Ananas comosus 'Variegatus' –the variegated pineapple; they don’t always grow the leaves from the top of the spike.
    ‘A small palm but what is it?’ is a Chamaedorea and C. microspadix is the most likely, but it isn’t a genus I know well.
    There are a host of possible Grevillea with pale flowers. Is it likely to be a species? Or the more commonly grown hybrid ‘Moonlight’?
    Thanks for posting plants again. In the UK the gales have stripped the garden here for winter. No frost yet though.
    Chad.

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  2. Thanks again Chad for your comments and ID's. I did wonder about variegated pineapple but it just didn't look right. The Grevillea was part of a general landscape scheme so could be anything. Winter is coming here too - relative - nights down to 40's F. Need to watch for the occasional frost. We get a lot of wind where we are and its strips the flowers off everything but they come back again!

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