Two Wildflowers

Two Wildflowers

The first picture is some sort of Hypericum that was growing as a kind of a rangy large shrub. It was nice to see the yellow flowers against the blue green foliage. The second flower is from Torrey Pines State Reserve and was blooming on the side of a cliff. Not sure why the rest of the photo come out almost monochrome but it works well to show off the flower color, which was intense.


We are leaving San Diego today for the drive to Connecticut. That month sure went fast. I hope to make it home by Monday night. The forecast for CT is cold so we probably won’t be rushing. I think both of us are looking forward to going home, even though our time here has been wonderful.

I will try and update this site as we go as there are still a lot of flowers and plants that I photographed here that I want to talk about.

Golden St. John's Wort

Golden St. John's Wort
Hypericum calycinum 'Brigadoon'
(hy-PER-ee-kum) (ka-LEE-kin-um)
Clusiaceae

I haven’t grown this one before but have seen it a lot lately. It does have wonderful foliage color and I think it would good combined with some darker foliage plants. It is recommended for containers and as a groundcover. I will have to try some in the garden. It grows up to 16 inches tall and 2 feet wide, so the size is manageable. It really has a funky multicolored appearance. I have found my other adventures in to Hypericum cultivation to be satisfying and rewarding. A lot of bang for not too much maintenance.



Here is a plant that I don’t know anything about. It was for sale at a retail nursery and although the tag said hardy to 0 to -10 degrees F, I am not so sure. It is Korean Choice Evergreen Privet (aka the Wax or Japanese Privet). It really has a tropical or at least warmer climate look to it. I would have tried one except of the exorbitant price they were asking. I have been growing a variegated version of Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum) and it has been hardy on the cusp of Zones 6 and 7 but it is in a sheltered location.