Floral abundance in Northern California.
The President of the United States is visiting Northern California this week and frankly, I don't blame him. If I lived in Washington D.C. and had a private jet at my disposal, this is where I would visit as Easter approaches.
Everywhere I look, the landscape is bursting with color. It's spring and California is really dressed up.
I stopped by the local shopping center on Sunday afternoon and it looked like the set for an MGM musical.
Palo Alto Stanford Shopping Center has its own horticulturalist, known for her botanical displays.
Then, a friend from my grammar school days took me to see the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in Palo Alto.
Ms. Gamble was one of the heirs to the Procter & Gamble fortune. When she died in 1985, she donated her home, built in 1902, and its surrounding 2.5 acres to the City of Palo Alto.
Old gardens have a beauty all their own. This wisteria at the Gamble Garden has branches as thick as your arm and blooms that cover more than one trellis.
The gardeners there have espaliered at least two apple trees; one that winds along a fence, and one that travels along a wall. Can't imagine how one gets an apple tree to do that.
Espaliered apple tree number one ...
Espaliered apple tree number two, both at the Elizabeth F. Gable Garden in Palo Alto, California.
And yet, even in this Garden of Eden, an evil creature lurks, threatening to strike. And I'm not talking about POTUS. He's welcome to visit.
No. It is that California bird I mentioned last week. The California Thrasher has been at my lawn again.
I guess it is Mr. Thrasher's version enjoying Spring Break. What with the Yard Bunny eating my lettuce and the thrasher trashing my lawn in his hunt for grubs, sometimes I feel as if my yard is just one giant salad, nurtured by me for the benefit of the local fauna.
I guess that's okay. I just hope the president doesn't notice the holes in my lawn when he flies over in Marine One. They are definitely big enough to spot from the air.
The Yard Bunny celebrates Easter at the free buffet at Robin's house. Mr. Thrasher must be lurking just around the corner of the flower bed.
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