Urban Jungle
With a small deck and backyard garden, Dave and I have a limited amount of green space in our San Francisco apartment. We make up for lack of square footage with plant density, and in our mild climate, there’s always something growing and blooming. But our urban jungle really comes alive in summer. Among this season’s blooms, we have a rich red Abutilon, an intricate yellow St. John’s Wort flower, and colorful succulent blossoms.
Anna’s Hummingbirds have nested in the back garden for years. This female paused on our roof long enough for Dave to take her picture. Orange grains of pollen scattered around a purple African Daisy implicate a sloppy insect visitor. In the next photo, Dave captured an unidentified bug in the folds of a flower, possibly guilty of munching a petal.
Bugs and birds aren’t the only ones who can find a meal in our jungle. Nasturtium leaves have a peppery taste, but we grow them for their flowers. Dave harvests our mint to make a heavenly mint syrup, a perfect sweetener for any summer beverage. Violet petals are delicious as a traditional French candy, and violet syrup is a tasty addition to desserts and cocktails.
Among the orchids in our urban jungle, this Zygo flowers several times a year, and the Epipactis still has blooms holding on. Finally, this (non-orchid) variegated Hebe has colorful foliage all year. Maybe its purple flowers gild the lily, but in a dense urban jungle, it helps to stand out.
Explore posts in the same categories: General Gardening, Photos
Subscribe to the About Orchids Blog:
July 10th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Fantastic photos! You two have done great work. I was in the Bay Area earlier in the summer and it reminded of all the botanical diversity to be found outside of Zone 5. And I was a little jealous…
July 12th, 2010 at 11:05 am
nice post thanks!
July 25th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Really nice photos! Thanks.
July 29th, 2010 at 5:09 am
I’ve never seen a humming bird sit still for long!
August 8th, 2010 at 10:04 am
lavender syrup in cocktails? maybe you should post some recipes (its just scientific curiousity, I promise!)