Is it just me or do we all have the love/hate Bird of Paradise thing?
The reasons for loving the plant are many - for those of us who live in a climate to grow it, it is virtually indestructable... you plant it, and there it stays for the next fifty years. If you can't grow it, you can buy it at the corner florist and it will stay alive and firm and proud for ... well - forever, I guess. I've gotten bored with them in a vase before they've ever wilted or started to go mushy.

And maybe that's the problem. Boredom. Familiarity breeds contempt. I find that so unfair! The familiar and dependable should be cherished, shouldn't it?

Or maybe it's the overly dramatic look of the flower, which is fine for certain situations - but let's face it - is as gaudy as all get out.

Or maybe it's that sometimes this flower just plain pisses me off.

I KNOW everybody has an opinion on this plant/flower - it wins the Elysian Landscapes 'booby prize' for being the plant most requested by clients to not have in their gardens. But at the same time, I've been trying to see it with fresh eyes, and I don't know...

It might be starting to look 'right' again.

What is it about Bird of Paradise?

I'm not asleep on the job, my friends, I'll just be taking a tiny hiatus until later in the week... And I have an assignment for everyone. You can do all of the steps, you can do some of the steps, you can do none of the steps, just grade yourself accordingly.

#1 - If weather permits, lay down in the sun, or under a tree. See photo of Sadie if you need an example.

#2 - Wake up early so you can cook a yummy breakfast before work.

#3 - Smile for no apparent reason.

#4 - Spend at least ten minutes daydreaming.

#5 - Wink at someone.

Extra credit - Howl at the moon! I dare you!

20 points for each task accomplished.

I would never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't (or haven't) done!

Guess what friends? May 3rd is World Naked Gardening Day! World Naked Gardening Day has a website, but I'm not going to hotlink it because, well, you get a face full of nekkid folks when you get there, and Domino may not want me enabling the nudist lifestyle via my garden blog. So I'll let you paste it into your browser if you so choose :
http://wngd.org/
There.
Who-hahs and woo-woo's and taa-taas all over the place, all of them attached to people raking and watering ... some pretty unsafe business, if you ask me. I mean, what if your garden has plants like this in it:

I don't know if buck naked is the way one wants to approach the awesome sharpness of Agave franzonii!

Just for the record, I want it known that way back in the last century, in the year 1999, I wrote a little blurb in my garden club newsletter, completely tongue-in-cheek, asking the question "Why Not Garden Naked?" Well, dear readers, which red headed vixen of an LA area garden designer that I happen to work with actually did the deed?

Yes, it was Judy Kameon, who you can find in this month's issue of Domino, talking all manner of good garden sense. As her nudie adventure story goes, she was taking a dip (a skinny one, it would seem) in her pool, and wrapped herself in a sarong as she emerged, Venus-like, from the water. She then happened to notice that her Anigozanthus were in dire need of cutting, so she grabbed her Felco #5's and had at them... only to have her sarong snag on a nearby Cordyline and fall to the ground. That minx just kept right on gardening!

In the RAW!

So if you are planning to follow Judy's footsteps and garden in the buff, toss of your clothes on May 3rd and prune to your heart's content. And watch out for Agaves! And cops...

Do you know how crazy I am over Passionflower vines? I have several of them growing in my little garden, and the newest may be my favorite - although that isn't right... they are like children to me! How can I have a favorite? Suffice it to say that Passiflora sanguinolenta is one of my very favorites.
First, there are the leaves. Batwings. Yes - so cool and unusual - the wings are two lobes that fan out in opposite directions and look for all the world like they are going to start flapping and flying away. And then there are the flower buds, which stand straight on the flexible stems like little candles. So pretty! When the buds open, delicate pinky mauve daisies twinkle like stars during the daylight. I love this vine.

In the interest of full disclosure, this pretty thing languishd in the ground when I first planted her. Just when I thought I might lose her, she pepped right up and started putting on length - and when the buds formed, I was just knocked out.

As far as size goes, this passionflower is said to be great for small gardens, but I haven't any word on how long it will ultimately get. If you know passionflowers, that could be worrisome - but I am an adventurer of the plant kingdom. I have it planted on one of the poles that hold up my party lights, so I'm expecting it to grow along the wires.

Zone 9 Tropicals has the biggest collection of passifloras I've seen - 38, and all of them incredible. I swear, if I didn't live in a climate where I could grow passionflowers, I would build one of those huge glass greenhouses! I would!

The lovely and talented Katef has tagged me - which means you, my dear readers, are now going to read 7 Random Facts about moi.

Random Fact #1 - I Am a Hot Latina
Yes, Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayak and I are sistahs - I am half Puerto Rican, half Mexican. While I think it makes perfect sense, having been this all my life, it freaks many people out. Especially when I'm on an install site - clients go all 'WHAT?' when they see me jabbering away in Spanish to the crew. It's my super-fair skin that throws people off, but we come in all shades!

Random Fact #2 - I Am a Square
I LOVE to knit, but I only like knitting squares or rectangles (or tubes, if I'm using circular needles). This means I can only make scarves, shawls, rugs, blankets, or boat - necked sleeveless sweaters. Everyone I know has a scarf I have foisted upon them.

Random Fact #3 - I Am Tiger-Woman
From the ages of 7 - 12, I had a Marguay. What is a Marguay, you ask? Well, it is a beautiful, tiny wild cat from the jungles of South America. I know! Bad. As an adult, I would have protested taking this lovely animal from it's habitat, but as a child, I was simply in love. My stepfather (who was from Paraguay) gave her to me. I took her everywhere I could - she had a tiny spiked collar and a little leash... the principal of my elementary school called me 'Tiger-Woman', and I was very popular. On the down side, she was wild! Everyone I knew (including me) had scars inflicted by Camba (which means Little Lady my stepfather's language) Just say NO to wild animals as pets!

Random Fact #4 - I Am a Lip Balm-a-holic
Yes, I am crazy about lip balm. I have hundreds of brands all over the place, in every room and in all my purses, so there is always a lippy (my word for the best of the best lip balms) within easy reach. I like all kinds - glossy, waxy, matte, tinted - and I'm always searching for the best lippy of all time. Just don't give me any fruity flavor! For me, lippy is not child's play! My curent obsession - Jurlique Lip Care Balm.

Random Fact #5 - I Am Queen of Soup
I love soup. Soup is good food. I make a big pot of soup as often as I can, and I hear nice things about my soups from everyone who tastes them. My title as 'Queen of Soup' is not self-proclaimed, it was given to me by my dear Jan last Halloween, when I made a big pot of Potato/Smothered Onion soup and another big pot of Italian Wedding Soup for my annual Pumpkin Carving.

Random Fact #6 - I Am an Insomniac
I lurk around my house at night like a vampire or a nocturnal insect. I've done this since I was a child...

Random Fact #7 - I Am a Horror Fanatic
I can watch horror movies morning noon and night! Jan and I have the biggest collection of horror dvds and videos this side of Rob Zombie. My favorite movie is a tie - I can't decide between 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'The Exorcist'; my favorite tv series is 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. I'd rather watch old Val Lewton/Jacques Tourner films like 'Cat People' or 'Curse of the Demon' than do just about anything!

Ta -Daaaa! There you have it. And now, it is my duty to tag 3 more bloggers ... so give it to us, Chuck B, Wicked Gardener, and Andrea of Heavy Petal!

Have I rhapsodized about Aeonium 'Zwartkopf' yet? Just in case I haven't, here I go...

This dark beauty, the "Black Rose" of the succulent world, is also known as Aeonium 'Shwartzkopf' - but I just can't bring myself to call such a beautiful plant by that name, which translates to "blackhead"! Why does this elegant, broodingly mysterious plant deserve to be named after a clogged, inflamed pore! I won't participate! Instead, to me she is 'Zwartkopf', which might actually mean the same thing, but at least it has the 'Z' out there in front, which I think makes it a whole lot sexier. There's something about a "Z", right?

The family Aeonium is a large one, with lots of beauties, but this one is a standout ... the Kim Kardashian of the Aeonium bunch, if you will. When purchasing or getting cuttings of this succulent, it is tres important to choose the darkest of the darkest you can find, because there is a ton of variability in color here- from green with a flush of purple on the edges, all the way to an almost true glossy black. The plants grown in the sun tend to be darker than the ones grown in the shade, but if you have a Zwartkopf that won't color up strongly, you may have a seedling rather than a cutting (always a risk - go for the clone!) or a cutting from Aeonium arboreum purpureum.

Aeonium 'Zwartkopf' is a perfect foil for silvers and blues, as well as the chartreuses and golds on the other side of the spectrum. I use it all over my plantings at home, and it always looks right; it stands up to strong, broad leaves like cannas or large phormiums, it gives an edge to prim plants like floribunda roses and geraniums, and it holds its own among the tough succulents and salvias in a drought tolerant palette. I really think of Zwartkopf as a 'Best All Around" - I love her so much, I had a beautiful Zwartkopf rosette in my bridal bouquet!

On the down side, she is shockingly tender. Aeonium 'Zwartkopf' was one of the first succulents to be affected by the Los Angeles Freeze of 07 - the morning after I walked outside to see all the rosettes wilted; some were even melted. But this doesn't mean you can't enjoy them if you live in climates where freezing is an issue - luckily, Zwartkopf is amongst the easiest to propagate. Just cut off a few stems with the darkest color heads on them, pop them into small colorful pots, and keep them on a sunny windowsill until you are ready to get your garden groove on in the spring!

Come to the dark side...

My Aloe arborescens are blooming up a storm; their spikes stretching and sending the neighborhood hummingbirds into spasms of delight. There is the most beautiful hummer that has been getting totally drunk at my Aloe Bar this week - he has an almost fluorescent green back and a red throat and a yellow/ orange tummy. I have never seen one as colorful as this little guy. I assume he's male because we all know the most flamboyant colors always seem to be sported by the boys. Why is that? Especially with the birds ... the girly birds are usually so drab.

Anyway. I've been trying to get a shot of my little hummer boy, but he always spies me the minute I move for my camera- and off he flits. I think he's teasing me, because he's getting closer and closer to my kitchen door. Of course, I do have a very delectable looking spinning aloe blooming it's head off in a pot right next to the door, which I am sure is tempting him terribly... so maybe I'm teasing him. Poor little guy.

I am a little scared, because last year I remember posting about my fabulous aloe spikes, and all the sudden there was "The Freeze" - something that happens only once every twenty or so years in these parts - and all of my spikes curled up and died - along with about half of my succulents. It took me a long time to get over the sadness of it all.

So today I will brag about the incredible bloom spikes on my aloes, but I am knocking on wood, crossing my fingers, saying 'God Forbid', and stroking a rabbit's foot. I don't want to tempt fate, but these spikes are pretty cool...

I have to come clean on something that fills me with shame. I'm a total fraud.
Germinatrix? HA! More like Germi -NOT-trix...

It all started on my birthday -no, actually, before that. It starts with an egg.

An Eggling, actually. An adorable little porcelain egg that contains a seed starting medium, and comes with a packet of seeds. I saw one at a friend's house. It had a seedling growing out of it, looking strong, stretching to the sun. I was so charmed, and wanted one badly. Then I forgot about it...

So here comes by birthday - November 28 - and there it went ... I was sick as a dog. A few days later that same friend presented me with an eggling of my own, and showed me how to crack it gently, with a teaspoon, so that I could create an opening big enough to add water, and for the seed to get sunlight, and eventually grow strong and spunky. I was happy that I was given such a sweet present from a sweet friend, and I was also a little smug - I am a hot shot gardener. I am going to have the best eggling ever, and I will make my pal proud.

I guess the eggling hasn't read all the press about Elysian Landscapes, or the articles that I've written for garden publications, or this blog for that matter - because the eggling has refused to germinate for me. Since the end of November, I have been tending to the little egg, watering it carefully, setting it on my sunny kitchen windowsill, waiting for the first set of tiny pseudo-leaves to emerge.

They never came. I haven't given up - I still water and put it up on the windowsill (it has to be taken down whenever we open our windows- they swing inwards). I stare at it. I silently plead with it to grow, to not make me look like a fool, horticulturally feeble; a germinating fraud.

At a festive dinner party on Xmas Eve, another dear friend said she had 'the perfect present for me' - and I love presents! I unwrapped it with a big smile on my face, which I'm told disappeared the instant I saw that I was holding - yes - another Eggling. Surely I was being mocked.

My always wonderful husband says the first eggling was obviously a dud (see why I love him?), and I should just move on to number two and forget about the sprout-less little porcelain shell. But I can't. I was actually thinking about buying a random seedling and planting it in Eggling #1, but who would I be fooling?

The friend who gave me Eggling #2 (which I refuse to plant - I'm scared) says that her daughter's is growing so big it might need to be transplanted already. The daughter is four years old.

Such a promising career... undone by an egg...
Heavy sigh...