Garden Activities: September 15, 2026
Tuesday was a day for a tough job. The weather was cool, and there was a solid cohort of the Tuesday Crew which consisted of Krystyna Bacik, Dale Harshberger, Beverly Kemmerling, Susanna Mac, Katie Shank, Daryl Stutley, Marna Wensil, and Ann Wright. I was off visiting a succulent and orchid grower in Carpenteria. The group tackled one of the ‘thorniest’ jobs at the garden, the removing of dead leaves and flower stalks from succulents in the Desert Garden. Particularly dead parts of the Hesperoyucca whipplei and various agaves. Being careful not to jab themselves, they created an impressive pile of debris for later pickup.
It’s always fun to speculate about what is going on in a particular picture.
The rest of the images of the work day focus more on the work at hand.
A couple of plants at opposite stages of their life cycles:
The crepe myrtle which is a native of tropical Asia and northern Australia. They seem to do well in Southern California, but they are particularly identified in the U.S. with the southeastern states where they often represent a mysterious or romantic atmosphere in literature.
And at the other side of the blooming cycle:
The native Californian giant coreopsis which is native to the Channel Islands and coastal canyons in SoCal. They have evolved to be very successful in their limited ecological niche by going summer deciduous leaving dark trunks and dead leaves and flower heads. The plant has been given the monicker of Dr. Seuss plant due to the large tufts of green foliage and sprays of yellow flowers which emerge on the tops of the bare stems in the spring.
Many thanks to Beverly, Susanna, and Marna for their images.
Enjoy the garden….KMM
