San Jose Trip - Part 1: Carmel

12 years ago

I just got back from a week in San Jose with the hubby - some friends got married, and hubby's always looking for an excuse to visit the Bay area. Whilst up there, I took a few [hundred] pictures of some of the gorgeous succulents on display in Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. (I would have taken a ton more, but timing didn't work in my favor - after dark, camera battery died when I did have time, hubby was getting really irritated and impatient with all my shot-snapping, etc. I'll have to go back another time. Perhaps on my own...)

I'm dividing up my photo collection by city, so that the post isn't ridiculously long. Here's the first batch:

Carmel-by-the-Sea

A lovely planter outside a jewelry store.

{{gwi:656080}}

What is this little jewel?

{{gwi:656082}}

A lovely Aeonium. What might the species name be?

{{gwi:656088}}

Echeveria "Topsy Turvey" - a lovely specemine!

{{gwi:656094}}

What is this glowing little beauty? Is it some sort of Aeonium? I had a few of these a while back (minus the variegations) and they ultimately died...

{{gwi:656103}}

Is this the same as the one above?

{{gwi:656105}}

A modest and quaint row of Crassula.

{{gwi:656110}}

THIS is more like the one I had (that Aeonium-looking thing). What is it?

{{gwi:656112}}

On to Part 2: Monterey...

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Comments (9)

chicagardens
12 years ago
I love carmel! Fantastic pics! They make me want to revisit...with new eyes. I am new to gardening and succulents. Look fwd to the rest of your posts.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years ago
Thank you for posting your tour, CG!

I haven't been down to Monterey for a year or so, and I look forward to the pics.
When I visited, there were massive clumps of blooming Aloe arborescens right on the coast...
and there were hedges of Crassula ovata 'Hummel's Sunset' on sidewalks in front yards.
I think there were coastal carpets of purple and magenta flowers, too.

Josh
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
12 years ago
CG,

Great set of photos - you can see them everywhere now, can't you? I'll look forward to the next set. That's a lovely area of CA - I went to language school in Monterey once upon a time, but naturally I didn't know (nor wanted to) anything about succulents.

Taking some guesses, I've looked at them several times and that second and third photo still looks like Portulaca molokiniensis.

The Aeonium may be A. arboreum v. atropurpureum (or a hybrid/cultivar of that).

The variegated beauty is another Aeonium.
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Cactus,

Yes, now that I'm becoming more familiar with the myriad array of succulents, I'm seeing them EVERYWHERE! :) It's quite fun. I'm still working on putting Part 2 together - I think I'm going to divide that up further to make a Part 3: Cannery Row (proper), because there's just too many still for one post.

And I'm still itching to go back and take more! There were plants outside the hotel we stayed at that I didn't get to shoot because my battery died; and I had wanted to take pics at that State Park halfway between the hotel and Cannery Row. (It's only about 600 miles from where I live... I can make that drive in a few days, camp out in my car, live off of granola bars for a while...) *teehee*

Interesting you say Portulaca, because I can totally see the Portulaca in it now. :)

I'm jealous - I've always wanted to go to the DLI; my husband was pondering it while we were up there, too. I don't know that I could settle on one single language, though. I've always wanted to learn Russian; but my Mandarin needs a lot of work (hubby's side of the family is Chinese, and I want to be able to converse with his dad & stepmother); Japanese is a beautiful language; but my side of the family is Arabic (at least in part), and I've always wanted to be able to speak with my grandmother in her native tongue. Oh, choices! (All of which are moot, since I'm not attending the school.)

Ok, back to work on Part 2!

CG
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
12 years ago
There's a 'Kiwi' Aeonium there, and I think the E. runyonii 'Topsy Turvy' is actually Graptoveria 'Fred Ives'. The big dark Aeonium might be 'Cyclops'.

Lovely photos! Must have been a fun trip.
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Hoovb, how can you tell the difference between Topsy Turvey and Fred Ives?
postpunkgirl
12 years ago
What beautiful photography! I love the purple and green Aeonium! And the 7th macro picture with the amazing depth of field and blurry lights in the background is my favorite! Very artistic! Can't wait for Part 2. :)
Cheers
~Sara
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Sara,

Thanks so much! I've been having a lot of fun playing around with my camera and discovering what it can (and can't) do. I give most of the credit to the folks at Sony for designing it the way they have. My pictures would be very ho-hum otherwise. ;)

Isn't the dark Aeonium gorgeous? It's like it's literally glowing from the center! I can't wait to get the Cannery Row shots uploaded, you're going to LOVE some of those. Here's a hint: What's the biggest Aeonium you've ever seen? *GRIN*

CG
ilovetogrow z9 Jax Florida
12 years ago
I had been stationed at Fort Ord for a while back in the early 80,s. There was this C&S nursery in Carmel that was fantastic. It had everything. I loved going there. I wish I could now. Great plants. And yes I did get some. Many times. I am enjoying your posts. Headed to Monterey now. I can smell the wharf already. Paula

San Jose Trip - Part 1: Carmel

Comments (9)

chicagardens

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a

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San Jose Trip - Part 1: Carmel

Comments (9)

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