UC Santa Cruz Arboretum

I return again to be dumbfounded by the largest collection of Protaceae outside of Australia or South Africa.









I don't remember if I've ever seen a silver tree in bloom before (Leucadendron argenteum). You'd think I'd remember.



There is always a lot to take in here.











I feel like the restios have all grown ten feet since the last time I was here.



Massive things.





Some of the leucodendrons seemed uncommonly massive to me as well.



I saw an alligator lizard in the grevillea.







If you visit the Arboretum (and you should--the nursery alone is worth the trip), just down the hill, right at the corner of Mission and Bay, is Donnelly Chocolates. FYI.

Return to the UCSC Arboretum

I'm sure you will not be surprised to learn that I also stopped at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum yesterday during my somewhat spontaneous daytrip south. I was here just last month and bought Banksia baxteri in a 1-gallon pot. I haven't planted it yet, and really there is no room. But we might move, and if it doesn't grow too fast, I could pot it up until then... Oh, who am I kidding. I'm hoarding! I buy plants because I'm a plant hoarder. I can't help it. Anyway, I bought three more Banksiae, all different species. Maybe I'll plant one of them. We'll see. In the meantime...















The proteas bloom in winter, but there are always a few flowers.



The jury is still out whether this is a flower, or a bird.





Fabulous bud.



Here are the banksias. Aren't they great?











The seed capsules are amazing. They look like something from an alien world on Star Trek.












 Many banksias have great foliage too.



Of all plants in the Protaceae, I'd guess the genus Grevillea has made the biggest inroads in American horticulture, although leucadendrons are popular too. The plants in this family get so big, I would guess a lot of people don't have room for them. Some of the banksias are tree-like but many of them, and all of the proteas, are just big shrubs. They're too big to even be called shrubs really, but they're not tree-like. What do you call a plant like that?





Anyway, if these plants are all a little too weird for you, you might enjoy the entry garden.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

I caught a wild hare this morning and ended up in Santa Cruz. It's the end of the season. Most of California's children went back to school a couple weeks ago. But the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz is open at least through Labor Day. You will have the place substantially to yourself if you go now during the week. None of the rides had any lines.



The arcade is full of vintage games and pinball machines, but you can play some of the new stuff too. Your camera flash will put the whole shooting arcade in motion for 3 seconds. It's kinda awesome.










































There was a time in college when a friend of mine was hanging out a lot with Jello Biafra. I was hanging out with them one night and Jello told me about taking Diamanda Galas on the bumper cars here. I don't know if any of that means anything to you, but it's a pretty good story if you know who those people are.







I have never had garlic fries or funnel cake. My favorite food at the Boardwalk is Hotdog-On-A-Stick where I get a corndog. Or two. I did not have a corndog today tho' because I had two pieces of pizza downtown and couple day-olds from the Pacific Cookie Company.

















The Boardwalk is most famous for the Giant Dipper, a classic wooden roller coaster. I did not get any good pictures of it.



I have only two bits of Boardwalk-related horticulture to share with you...

Number 1: Garden writer and blogger Amy Stewart writes about planting her very first garden in the neighborhood across the trestle from the Boardwalk in her fine book, From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden. It's a good book!



Number 2: These very root-bound, container-dwarfed specimens of Philodendron selloum.
I think they're amazing!







However it occurs to me that you might not feel the same way about these grotesquely cramped plants, and I don't want to send you away on a down note. So let's go to the beach.