Puppy snuggle with every workday*

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by the garden to say hello at the last workday - but a special snuggly thanks - to Zinny and her owner William! The workday was just getting started and they came by; who can resist a a puppy pug? We can not, as the photos tell the tale.

Also a big shout out to all of our volunteers: Chris, Aditi, Conor, Danielle, and Nate. We got a ton of work done at the garden and a puppy snuggle in. Oh, and Danielle found $20 in a shrub and donated it to the garden. This just might have been the best garden workday ever!

As for work done, numerous good things were accomplished. Compost was turned, much weeding of the left front bed and middle bed, Agapanthus dead-headed, and Chris took on the arduous task of managing the tangle of Agaves at the front entrance. It was looking pretty scary, but is now much more clean and elegant looking, ready for Annie or Matt to work their magic on the area with new plants.
*We can not guarantee puppies at every workday, but you are always welcome to bring your own. BYOP!

Stranger danger!

Where did that come from?

We had a couple (three, four) volunteer trees of the same type pop up at PRG a while back and I pondered them cautiously as saplings, then grew somewhat alarmed as they quickly increased in size. Um, what are you and where did you come from?

When Friends of the Urban Forest were out for their final tree trimming jaunt I mentioned the new-tree sized things and while they didn't ID them they agreed to raise the canopies on the two larger ones to prevent that annoying disease Stick In My Eye which you get from walking past a tree that pokes into a pathway. 

Stop trying to hide.
I can see you.

Two of them are in actually OK spots but there a new baby and one that's too close to an extant tree, and another that's got pretty big behind an Acacia baileyana so they will need to go.

But what are they? Today I used Urban Tree Key to determine that they're probably Red-eyed wattle (Acacia cyclops) and basically the devil incarnate. Invasive beasts!

Leafy though...

It is TBD what their fate is... on the one hand they are invasive. Then again, what do we care about invasive species - we're in the middle of a city! (I kid.) On the other hand, how much do these trees love PRG with its zero water and hot, hot sun? They love it a lot. In fact they look better than the handful of tragic Tristaniopsis laurina "Elegant" (Small-Leafed Tristania) along the street which are not exactly thrilled with PRG life. So maybe we want them...

No surprise they are happy considering the other two Acacia species at PRG (A. baileyana and A. stenophylla) are also looking stunning and growing well.

Stylish bird

You can just about see him in this bad photo flitting around the Agave americana flower. A lovely yellow and black colored male hooded oriole. Sharp looking bird!