After the rain

Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Blue stucco [swoons]. My new favorite photo, by Darin on Flickr.

Oh my god, the colors in that photo. Nothing to do with our rain, but had to share it. I have two Caesalpinia gilliesii, also beautiful, that had flowers last summer and are bare as could be right now. Dormant, not dead, I hope. Another photo by Darin:

Toumeyana bella, by Darin on Flickr.

I picked up an Agave toumeyana bella at the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens Fall Plant Sale in November. The online plant lists don't include smaller succulents, so I was incredibly happy to find an Agave toumeyana bella, a variegated Agave isthmensis, and an Aloe erinacea sitting next to each other on the same table. How cool was that? The aloe was too rich for my blood, but I brought the others home. Here's the isthmensis after Saturday's nice rain:

And here are a few more rainy shots. First, an Agave 'Kissho Kan' (still showing some hail damage from earlier in the year). Found this little guy at a nursery in Pasadena. He was buried in leaf litter in an unmarked, disintegrating plastic pot, so I got him for cheap. Burkard's, we hardly knew ye :~(

Echeveria nodulosa, from fave nursery Gloria's, in Riverside:

And Ceanothus 'Dark Star' (with rosemary and a wee santolina). Rode out the snowstorm like a boss -- yay for natives (though 'Dark Star' has a rep for not lasting long. We'll see):

Birdy: The colors on backyard birds may mean more than we think. Backyard Birds at Chickadee Gardens. What is it about hummingbirds? Birder/naturalist/author/artist Julie Zickefoose on The Best Thing I've Ever Bought, and on Plants, Resilient Plants. Wait, no birds in that last link. But oh, that hibiscus...! And Chet. And an agave :~)