Seems like there are more groups of kids taking guided tours of the garden these days. Steve Davis was on hand this morning taking a walk though the garden in preparation for he and Jim Allyn’s tour guide duties tomorrow for a group of 2nd graders. In anticipation of that, Steve asked the group to tidy up the main entrance which, due to the recent rains, was muddy, and people had scraped their muddy boots on the edges of the steps. Monica Barton and Beverly Kemmerling went down first, later joined by Nancy Taylor Walker, Jessica Zhao and Daryl Stutley.
In the meantime, Janet and I peeled off and worked in the Chilean Garden removing giant thistles which seemed to have grown like Jack’s bean stalk practically overnight. We then made our way up the service road removing weeds along the way. Below Janet holding a thistle in one hand and her root slayer in the other.
The rest of the group took the long way up the hill turning left at the first 4-corners. Below, Jessica holding the fruits of her labor just beyond the base of the herb garden.
Below, Daryl removing a mustard along the path just above the western edge to the Trail of Trees.
Nancy and Jessica below in front of the red-blooming coral tree.
Monica and Beverly crouching down behind a drift of Encelia californica (brittle bush, or coast sunflower). Though you can’t distinguish it in this image there is some Encelia farinosa, a closely related species, contributing to the sea of yellow on Sage Hill. It’s worth a trip to observe the differences in the species. Where E. cal. has shiny green leaves, E. far. has dusty gray leaves. There are also subtle differences in the flowers. As Jim Cyr pointed out to me when I was new to the garden, the two species freely cross pollinate and produce plants with intermediate leaf colors and flower forms. This is a great time of year to visit Sage Hill!
Thanks to Nancy and Beverly for providing images for this update.
Enjoy the garden…KMM
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