5/2/12 Finding Flowers

Thanks to our lovely new landscape plants, Katrina and I have developed a new habit together. Every day when I get her and Julian home after school (Gabriel has walked home or to his friend's house by then), she and I go investigating the plants to see what's bloomed today. I think she does this moreso because of my enthusiasm and joy about it, but she picks up on it, I think because she likes to see me so happy about something like flowers. So delightful to have a young person carry on my own little quirks!

Yesterday we discovered a Stickey Monkey plant had bloomed with scarlet flowers.

And another Sticky Monkey bloomed with apricot flowers!

We learned from our new landscaper that sticky monkey leaves are called that because the undersides are sticky -- enough that Native Indians used them as organic band-aids. Katrina demonstrates the concept of a Spongebob-free wound protector (the undersides of the leaves are a little sticky).

A few weeks ago, I planted my own native irises, with small (1cm) purple flowers. So pretty, and featured on the cover of my new favorite book, California Native Plants for the Garden

Turns out, we have some of these irises!!! They hadn't bloomed yet, so I didn't recognize their grassy leaves. But their little purple flowers are unmistakeable.

This week I'm in a training class again, which means it's best done from home, which means during our short breaks I de-fry my brain by walking around outside and musing at what to do to my garden. That's the best break there is! But it's even more fun sharing it with my enthusiastic daughter when she gets home.

We sure are having a fun spring together finding flowers!

5/2/12