Do you like my shot of dew on a puya? This is a flower worth seeking at Quail Botanical Gardens and at the Huntington. It’s hard to resist touching the sapphire-blue petals to make sure they’re not plastic. Tall (4-ft) bloom spikes emerge from a clump of leaf clusters that resemble spiny starfish. Each leaf is sharply serrated, which is probably why more people don’t grow Puya alpestris. Amazingly rabbits find it a delicacy. How do they do it? Jump-and-chew, jump-and-chew?
After a misty morning at Quail, I noticed how dew adds a lovely dimension to plants in my own garden. So, cue the violins and see what I discovered—all in one morning, before the summer sun blasted the magic away.
Doesn’t this ‘Perfect Moment’ rose look sugared? ‘Perfect Moment’ not only blends several hot colors, which I love, it also lasts a long time. (See my bouquet of ‘Perfect Moment’ roses in an earlier posting.)
This is ‘Barbara Bush’ —a lovely rose with a name that makes me smile.
These dew drops are fat and fragile, moments from tumbling off.
I’ll bet this cactus is loving this. It’s in a part of the garden that doesn’t get watered.
Nasturtium leaves repel water. It sits on the surface and turns silver when light shines through it.
Centranthus ruber (Jupiter’s beard, red valerian) reseeds prolifically in my garden. I’d better deadhead this one soon. (Walking around with a camera is a great excuse to delay garden chores.)
Cotelydon orbiculata is one of many succulents I grow. Here, dew ornaments the blooms like tiny holiday lights.
Agave americana ‘Marginata’…
…and another succulent, a green echeveria.
It’s too early in the year for the big webs of orb weavers, but the trap door spiders have been busy. Here, they’ve veiled a variegated juniper.
And finally, a photo of a rhinestone that fell into a spider web. What are rhinestones doing in my garden? Stay tuned ;+)
P.S. Want more info on Puya alpestris? See Santa Barbara garden guru Billy Goodnick’s blog for Fine Gardening.
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