ruth

I've been away to California this past week. It rained almost the whole time I was there. Except the last day. Travel as usual for me. Something I was greatly looking forward to was a visit to the Ruth Bancroft garden in Walnut Creek. If you don't know the Ruth Bancroft garden, do yourself a favor and do some web research. I had an afternoon free in Walnut Creek, so I used my very annoying GPS unit to find the garden, drove into the parking lot, changed out of my suit in the parking lot (IN the car, thank you), ran out to the entrance, to find:

IT. WAS. CLOSED. Not just closed for the day, mind you, but closed for the entire time, and almost exactly the days that I was in the area. Except I arrived after they closed and would leave before they opened. Grr. Not that I begrudge them a week of closure. But grr.



I did have a great time looking at all the luscious looking plants in the parking lot and on the street side. Sigh. I'll have to make another trip.

These brightened up the parking area:

Dendromecon, the bush poppy was looking glorious.

And the Hardenbergia was a solid wall of purple.

I've always had a soft spot for Ceanothus (no surpise, it's blue).

The plants in the streetside plantings seemed to say "I'm so happy to be here" they were so plump and cute (as opposed to...ahem...some harsher climate plantings).

Is this Echeverria 'Afterglow'?

This Dykia couldn't look any happier.

And the light on this cactus made them glow.

This is a scene that you see in many photos of the Ruth Bancroft garden.

Although I do have to say that the Yucca rostrata in New Mexico look just as good if not better, and don't need support. They are native to New Mexico, after all, not the Bay Area of California.