Cistus Nursery, blinded by the light tour

For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to visit Cistus Nursery right after an eye exam, one in which my eyes were dilated. Sometimes my determination can be blinding (ba dah boom!).

Taking pictures was like the days of old film photography where you were never quite sure what the photos were going look like when you picked them up (you young’nes just have to trust me on this…there used to be a day when every single picture you took had to be developed and printed. You never knew if your images would be in focus, or if your brother was blinking, until days after the photo had been taken).

Don’t worry; driving wasn’t difficult mainly because I didn’t need to read any signs to know where I was going. But when I pointed the camera at something I found interesting I couldn’t see the image on the screen…was I even pointing it at the right angle? And forget reading plant tags, not possible AT ALL, so there won’t be any names here unless it’s something I already knew.

The wealth of Opuntia photos is because I ran into Sean in the parking lot and he pulled me over to make sure I saw the hordes of flowering cactus in the greenhouses. Pretty impressive yes?

They turned out pretty good (the photos I mean).

Hairy and not so hairy.

Spiky!

And purple...

Moving into the gardens that surround the nursery...

I was awe-struck by this bamboo...

And this Yucca glowed, even to my eyes.

Every time I visit the nursery this time of year this grass stops me, Stipa barbata I believe?

Entering the nursery...

New signage, I like it!

Look a wagon just waiting for me to come a long and fill it up...

Spikes!

Happy leaves...

And baby palms.

I ducked back out into the garden only to be face to face with a lovely Schefflera or two...

S. delavayi I believe?

Schefflera taiwaniana

And Epimedium wushanense...

Back in the nursery...

Things are really looking different these days, new tables, new plant groupings. Change is good and I'm enjoying it...

Time to head into The Big Top where I was happy to find Alberta, our new Yucca rostrata.

This is where our visit ends...every trip to Cistus is special but this one was extra so because I experienced a slightly distorted version in person and then could finally see the finer details when when looking through these photos. It was like two visits instead of just one!

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.