Mixed bag

Today I went back to the same Mission alley as last week to pick up another bunch of plants from a Craigslist posting. This time what had been left on the street was an unidentified shrub* (apparently it has blue flowers?) and a trash bag full of bits of succulent. Hey OK, it was free!

I went home and pruned and planted the sad-looking shrub (good luck, mate!) and then went through the bag. It yielded 3-4 types of Aeonium, various Crassulas (including a "Gollum" and a Crassula falcata!) a Sedum, a Euphorbia cactus (I think) 2 Aloes and a variegated Agave! All tiny, but rooted and ready to rock. I poked them into various niches, admired several types of butterflies in the garden (above, Swallowtail with Buddleja - sorry for the low resolution; butterflies are twitchy), and went in to escape the sun.

Later this evening Matt and I watered everything thoroughly for the week, still a 2 hour job despite the efforts of Caltrans workers (who opened up the bubblers that all now leak rather impressively, effectively watering some areas....)

The smell of a lone Brugmasia bloom was perfuming the air, and our neighborhood mockingbird was warbling his head off in a quite melodious way. The first day of summer. Ahhh!

*This has gone on to reward my efforts to save it and grow some new leaves and a blue flower - it's a Lycianthes rantonnetii (Blue Potato Bush)!