A Luddite's Last Stand

I once had a cell phone several years ago (long story but I got it by default, not by choice.)  but so seldom used it that I had it disconnected.  Really, why pay a monthly fee for nothing?  Instead, I was proud of my Luddite status and looked disparagingly on those whose heads were constantly buried in their hand-held virtual world while oblivious to the beauty in the real one  all around them.  Those who speak aloud to the air while shopping at the grocery store who don't take time to smile at the workers or nod to fellow shoppers seem to be missing out on a lot of human interaction.   Perhaps it was cheating when I made use of the navigation capability on someone else's phone or had them look things up for me at nurseries.  Anyway, I was perfectly happy being disconnected from things most of the time.  It seems like the person whose phone I'd use, or rather had him use because I was clueless about the whole thing, must have gotten tired of  my habit of depending on his phone because he gave me one of my own.  Yes it's true,  the last person on the planet without a Borg implant in his hand, now has a cellular device.   Resistance was futile.

To see how this thing works, it went with me on a recent visit to Jungle Fever.  Here then are my first ever pictures taken with a phone.  Next we'll learn how to open cans with a coffee pot.

You can read posts about Jungle Fever here, here,  and here.  On this trip, because the parking lot was full,  we parked by the house and were walking by the back yard towards the nursery when Jerry, the owner of Jungle Fever,  greeted us from his personal garden and invited us to come in.  I'd been in Jerry's garden before and seen his brugmansia sanguinea which has come back for him and bloomed each year.  It's in a very sheltered spot but I'm still amazed at its hardiness, even during the phormium killing winters.   Also very interesting was his variegated Trachycarpus fortunei.  Did I think to photograph either of those?  Of course not.  Here are some  other cool things in Jerry's garden though.

 

The bark of this eucalyptus is so attractive!

Cacti thriving in a raised bed with excellent drainage. 

Who wouldn't love this gorgeous bark?  The cell phone wasn't wanting to focus on the small branches with the bark peeling off in little curls.  Oh well.

While the front of the garden is full of xeric plants, the side garden transitions to the oasis in the back garden.  There are many palms, thick bamboo a loquat, and lots of other wonderful evergreen plants that surround this area. While it may not look like it, most of what you're seeing is a huge pond.  right now, the plants are so full and lush, and what surface that might have been visible is covered with floating plants.  The sound of gently cascading water and  adds to the tranquil feeling of the space.

I was shocked to see this citrus tree in the ground happily producing fruit.  The tree was quite large and has obviously been there for years.  Jerry told me what this is but I didn't make a note of it on the fancy phone. I'm encouraged to try growing one myself  for the fragrance of the blooms if nothing else. Surprisingly, the interweb says that  some citrus are hardy to 10 degrees. 

Grevillea victoriae getting ready to bloom all winter.  What's not to love about this plant?

 Puya.

Finally, here are some shots of sarracenias at the nursery.  Carniverious plants are an interesting bunch and these are looking especially beautiful.  I've a large pot of them that thrives atop my compost bin.

Yum!

Because there are already a lot of these in my garden, I resisted the temptation to get more.  Somehow  Mitraria coccinea,  Carex 'Rekohu Sunrise', Acacia dealbata, and Callistemon pallidus 'Eleanor' found their way into my car. 

I'm still learning things about the new gadget but it's pretty amazing what it can do.  While I still don't quite understand twitter, I've got an account where my blog feeds so with this post, I'll have tweeted thrice. You may also notice that there's a gadget which will allow you to follow me on twitter, whatever that means.  What is the world coming to?