Not my street. Our parkways are a hodge-podge of palms and jacarandas, magnolias, overgrown oleanders and scheffleras.
The City recently sent out crews to work on our street trees, and the snarl of power tools and episodic rise and fall of cherry picker machines in the sky like so many feeding brontosauri was a fact of life for a few weeks. No tree was overlooked, and they tackled palms 10-stories high, finishing right before the much-anticipated rainfall event last Sunday, which to me seemed like a non-event. One-quarter inch of rain? Seriously? The real story was the wind. No prediction for wind was given, no warning to secure top-heavy pots. Blackouts dotted the power grid across LA County, as winds up to 60 mph roared down the streets, veering tightly down narrow patios to upend pots and generally cause windy havoc. High winds are my least favorite weather event, but Marty always greets them with a cheery sailor’s welcome and becomes energized by their arrival, so there was nothing for me to do but make soup and wait them out. And pick up the breakage, pots and plants, on Monday. But our street trees were ready this time, by Jove, so the timing there was serendipitous. After a wind event like that, our street is usually littered with branches, but not this time. And there will be much less jacaranda litter on the agaves in the front garden this year. Huzzah!
This is the one I was really worried about Sunday night. Though this pot may have that battered look that comes from toppling in high wind, its weight outmatched the wind, so it was untouched. I actually bought it in that decrepit state from an everything-must-go sale at the old Hotel Figueroa, where it was esconced on a pillar near the pool. The Euphorbia canariensis was too nice to pass up. After the winds abated, I did move it to a more sheltered position against the east fence. Each move brings off more paint and stucco, and a couple more will cause total disintegration
Speaking of the snarl (and bite) of power tools, we’ve gained new appreciation for their indifference to cutting wood for attic beams or the tip off an index finger. It’s all the same to power tools. Marty has been healing up the past couple weeks and was busy yesterday stablizing one of the Monterey cypresses that developed an alarming list after those ferocious winds on Sunday. And I now realize that I missed out on a successful career as an ambulance driver. The overwhelming mood around here the past week is thankfulness that it wasn’t much worse.
And since those fierce winds on Sunday, watching the trees bend and sway and emerge victorious, we’ve also gained new-found appreciation for our trees.
I love the idea behind this piece in The Atlantic’s CityLab “When You Give A Tree An Email Address.”
If I sent my trees love letters, a valentine to my Fernleaf Acacia just coming into bloom would look something like this:
“Dear young Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’:
I didn’t think your beauty could be improved upon, but now that you’re adding this subtle wash of yellow to those blue and purple tints, I see I was wrong. Superb!
P.S. Sorry about all that wind. I must say you’ve shown incredible resilience!”
Jacaranda flowers and Agave geminiflora, May 2013
Ouch! Poor Marty. Power tools scare me for just that reason.
Gosh, that clipping of these blue flowering trees is just absolutely stunning! Are those mature Jacaranda trees? I have never seen one that big!
Yeah, our storm on Sunday (I garden in San Diego) was quite something, wasn’t it? Could really have done without, even though I have no good reason to complain, since I had very little damage in my garden.
Your planter with the mature cactus looks amazing! I am so glad that nothing happened to both of them.
I love your photo of the acacia, you have quite a way with the camera! I really admire your photography skills and your artistic eye.
The jacaranda flower on the agave look nice, but probably only for a day ;-), after that it is a pain in the neck to pick them all off. I assume you had to do it by hand.
All in all a great post! Thanks!
Christina
So sorry to hear about Marty, and yes, happy you can be thankful it wasn’t worse. Peace.
That piece on love letters to trees was wonderful! The range of your reading and intellectual curiosity always impresses me. In a perverse way, I guess I have my tree-hating neighbor up the street to thank for the minimal damage inflicted by the recent winds. I had almost all of my trees trimmed in mid-December to keep her off my back and, voilà, no tree-related damage. My best wishes for Marty’s speedy recovery. (I feel a little bit of terror every time my husband picks up the power tools too.)
Fierce winds can be frightening for anybody, but more so for gardeners I think. Hope the injuries (to plants and humans both!) heal quickly and well!
In 2006 I came home from some errand to find the two deck builders looking around on the ground. “Looking for a tool?” I asked. “No, his finger tip” was the reply. If I remember correctly the injured builder was from California originally — the reason I have the sturdiest deck in the neighborhood (different building requirements).
Since I don’t have to deal with the mess I find that last photo quite beautiful. Fast healing wishes to Marty, hope his other fingers are okay for iPhone unlocking.
Yikes. Sorry to hear Marty had an injury–best wishes for fast and complete healing. I Felcoed a fingertip last year–Not Fun. Super-cool pot there, perfect plant, and a bit of LA history as well.
@RD, they scare me too. Marty’s has this particular table saw for 20 years and admits he got careless.
@Christina, as soon as the winds started whipping up Sunday afternoon, sirens in the city started blaring. It sounded like a blitzkrieg had started! Good to hear you were spared damage. I’m always impressed by the result when a street plants all the same trees — stunning results from monoculture in that instance!
@Laura, Marty has been so stoic through it all. And ironically enough, I was “mandolining” sweet potatoes last night and ran it over a finger — so I’m bandaged up today, the day Marty got his stitches out. Our fingers are having a bit of back luck this new year!
@Kris, I liked that too. Yes, I supposed there’s an upside to your crabby, tree-hating neighbor!
@Alan, you certainly know your way around power tools. But still I have to say, be so careful!
@Loree, I know the styrax in your parkway drive you crazy too. I think we just hate the fact that somebody planted something besides ourselves! Luckily, it’s his left hand, so he’ll have no serious impairment.
@Hovv, I remember when you did that! Our poor frail bodies…(hope your eye is much better!)
Aiii-yi-yi, I have the shivers thinking about a power saw injury. I’m glad he’s healing up and glad your garden is no worse for the windstorm. I love jacarandas, probably because they don’t grow here, and can only imagine the beauty of those purple petals strewn around my garden. Easy for me to say, I know — I don’t have to pick them out of my agaves!