Saturday, March 3, 2012

habitat ~ 03/03/12 ~ Monterey City

garden flax
Linum grandiflorum

Linaceae
(ID thanks to Neil of microecos and Oryctology)

This is going to be an unusual post for Nature ID. The numerous photos and unidentified garden flowers are not what I prefer for my blog. However, I want to show why I love living here in Pacific Grove, an easily walkable 2 miles to downtown Monterey along the Monterey Bay Rec Trail. I thoroughly enjoy the beautiful historical Secret Gardens in Monterey. It was gloriously warm weather this first weekend of March (70-80°F/22-27°C) from downtown Monterey, to Jacks Peak, to Del Monte Forest (posts forthcoming). If you can help me ID some of the blooms, I'd greatly appreciate it!

grape hyacinth
Muscari sp.
Asparagaceae
(Darn crappy photos from the point-and-shoot!)

hyacinth
Hyacinthus sp.
Asparagaceae
(Sadly, it took me until 03/09/12 farmers' market to recall that this is a white version of the dark blue/purple version that looks like a solid column of flowers. The Greek mythology of Hyacinthus and Apollo is tragic.)

Larkin House gardens

This is the epitome of what I consider a secret garden, like that book by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett. There seems to be blooms here of some sort all year-round.


Technically these are not part of the State Park historical secret gardens, but they're part of Monterey City's Colton Hall historical landmark, which is just across the street from the Larkin House. The flowers in the garden are showy, but I don't know if they're native plantings or not.


Norfolk island pine
Araucaria heterophylla
Araucariaceae

euphorbia
Euphorbia martinii
Euphorbiaceae
(ID thanks to Megan of Far Out Flora)

Monterey Institute of International Studies
Our Green Thumb Project

I've somehow watched the progress of this abandoned lot that was filled with weeds several years ago to being turned into something very useful and valuable for the students. I love it. Andy particularly liked trying out their two swings in the back of the lot near the compost bins.


4 comments:

Neil said...

The top one is scarlet flax Linum grandifolium. The cluster of white bell-shaped flowers reminds me of an Arbutus though that is just a guess. The orange flowers are very familiar, but I cannot quite remember what they are ... if I ever knew. You are on you're own with the bulbs, the upper one seems kind of "lily"-ey.

cheers

Neil said...

Sorry, make that Linum grandiflorum.

Hugh Griffith said...

The bell-shaped ones look like Pieris japonica. The star-shaped one may be white star, Ipheion uniflorum.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Thank you, Neil and Hugh! I've made corrections to the post and linked to your blogs. Neil, you were close with the Arbutus as it's in the same Ericaceae family with manzanitas.