Thursday Challenge - Green - March 24, 2011

Gunnera tinctoria at the San Francisco Botanical Garden

According to Wikipedia, there are forty to fifty species of this herbaceous flowering

plant, with leaves varying in size.  The stalks of the plant shown above, grown in

Chile and Argentina, are edible.

I am participating in Thursday Challenge, a photography meme that has a different theme

every week.  Check out the site and join in the fun!



Shadow Shot Sunday - San Francisco Botanical Garden Shadows - September 5, 2010

Shadow Shot Sunday - San Francisco Botanical Garden Shadows - September 5, 2010

My visit to San Francisco's wonderful Botanical Garden two weeks ago has been a 

wonderful source of photos for several recent posts.  I even got some nice shadow shots

that day.

 

Tree shadows

Squirrel tail shadows

Fence shadows

Chair shadows

Camera Critters #126 - I'm Feeling Squirrely - September 4, 2010

Camera Critters #126 - I'm Feeling Squirrely - September 4, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend, Joanne Olivieri who has a fantastic blog,

Poetic Shutterbug, took me to her regular haunt, the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

We spent several hours there taking pictures of the flowers, bees, ducks, Canadian

geese squirrels and other creatures that passed our way.

The squirrels were in rare form, following us fearlessly for handouts.  There were a
couple that, I truly believe, kept up with us until we finally put our cameras away and
headed home. 

I'm posting a few of the pictures I took and am dedicating this post to my friend, Ratty
( he chose to call himself this ) who has a wonderful nature blog called, The Everyday Adventurer.  I think he really is a squirrel whisperer.  He gets the most fantastic
squirrel photographs and, somehow, in his part of the country, he seems to get
different varieties of squirrels - black ones, fox squirrels, as well as eastern gray
squirrels which are the ones in my photographs.

Am I posing nicely?

This is yummy!

See, I'm not afraid of that lady at all!

Look at all the plants!  This is the Botanical Garden, after all.

I think this is my better side.

I have to make sure those other guys keep away from the food!


I'm taking part in Camera Critters - check it out and join in the fun!

Mellow Yellow Monday - Flowers from Botannical Gardens, San Francisco - August 30, 2010

Monday - Flowers from Botannical Gardens, San Francisco - August 30, 2010

 I am taking part in Mellow Yellow Monday - come join in the fun!

Camera Critters - Potty Detail Needed - August 28, 2010

Camera Critters - Potty Detail Needed - August 28, 2010

They left Canada for San Francisco,

And roam contentedly for all to see,

They like our Botannical Gardens,

Where they're well feed, you must agree!

They're larger than most other birds,

And they don't mind staking their claim,

And if sparrows and finches are hungry,

Well, isn't that just such a shame!

Folks, who visit the gardens,

Must picnic with a bit of care,

For the places they lay their blankets,

May have goose droppings everywhere!

Carmen Henesy

Copyright (c) 2010 by Carmen Henesy


All rights reserved

I am participating in Camera Critters - come on along and take part!!

Mellow Yellow Monday - California Matilija Poppy - August 23, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday - California Matilija Poppy - August 23, 2010

The California Matilija Poppy is a striking flower, of the genus, Romnyea.  They

are also called tree poppies and are native to northern Mexico and California.  They

are perinneals with wooden stems, which may grow to a height of 8 feet, with flowers

that may reach 5 inches across.  According to Wikipedia, they may be difficult to

grow but, once established, they are hard to remove.

I love the flowers, with their huge yellow centers and crepe paper petals which blow in

the breeze.  Bees seem to like them as well!  I saw them, for the first time, this year -

where have they been for the other sixty-four years of my life?

These shots are from the San Francisco Botannical Gardens.

I am taking part in Mellow Yellow Monday - join in the fun!

Gunnera

Sixteen years ago, in January 1994, I boarded a United Airlines flight for Sydney, Australia and a wonderful 12- day cruise which visited Melbourne and Hobart, Tasmania before crossing the Tasman Sea, and sailing through the fiords of New Zealand.  After seeing spectacular Mitre Peak, we spent a day each in the New Zealand ports of Dunedin, Wellington and Christchurch before disembarking in Auckland where I spent two days before heading home to San Francisco.  

In Christchurch, I visited Mona Vale Gardens, a spectacular showplace of beautiful plants and flowers.  I saw the most amazing plant there, with gigantic leaves that towered over my friend and myself like a giant umbrella.  I never got the name of it and, in a computer crash several years ago, I lost all pictures I had of this interesting plant.

This past week, I went out with my good friend, Joanne Olivieri ( aka Poetic Shutterbug ) to San Francisco's Botannical Gardens and, as we were walking back to the car after a morning of photography, there was the plant - actually, a whole row of the same plants - right in front of us.
These specimens looked like something from outer space ( well, I've never traveled to that destination but it's what I imagine you  might find on another planet ).  I did get quite a few pictures of this gunnera tinctoria plant which was tagged as originating in Chile.

According to Wikipedia, there are 40 to 50 species of this plant, of varying leaf sizes.  The plant is often called a "giant rhubarb" or "dinosaur" plant.  They can be started from seeds, bulbs or plants and need consistently moist soil, rich in humus but well draining.  They like sun but full sun can blister their leaves.  They will need a large amount of growing space as the plants can grow to 12 feet wide!

The young leaf stalks of gunnera tinctoria ( they can grow to five feet long ) can be cooked as a vegetable or eaten raw.  The roots are used to make a black dye.

Here are my pictures from the San Francisco Botannical Gardens.

San Francisco Botannical Gardens, Gunnera tinctoria, Chile

Unfurling leave of gunnera tinctoria

Prickly stem of gunnera

Gunnera tinctoria flower