An Avocado Grove and some other plants.

They've got just about everything there. Love the shetland pony Stan.

Interesting pics. Beautiful yellow tree ...
Look at those hillsides, they're like here !

Love the pony :)

Anpther interesting set of pics Stan. I love the Acacia too.
We can't grow many of those things except the pony...

You can grow the flowering Pears,and maybe that Acacia (A.dealbata) if not to that size. Nice fluffy foliage Ster.
The Iris in February is early. This has been a record warm winter so far.
Thorn,Hywel, Nice to see a happy horse. Well taken care of and mellowing out!

I do like to see what is going on in your area Stan, lovely photo's, do hope your local clergy are not having too much of the juice, I had a mental image of them dancing in the vineyard ....Hope you said hello to your little friend..

It was kind of funny to read a few years ago they had done that. This was the first I spotted it. I read they actually do bottle that wine..and the order or Priests use it for mass and "celebrations"..wink.

Lovely sunshine !

Its been that Diane. Just not a typical February.

The weather patterns are all strange over here it seems.
They did say why, I cant remember what the reason was.
Sunny today anyway, so mustnt grumble.

Irises already! sigh.

Thanks Lori!. I have to post more temperate plants that are outstanding around here.

Stan,

Great photos! It looks like Acacia baileyana. I do miss when they're in flower up there in winter. There's some here, also. I though it was Peltophorum dubium (Yellow Poinciana), it doesn't bloom until summer, though.

I cant say for sure. I know my aunt had A.baileyana and it had a big brown trunk on it. This tree is more slender trunked..multi also.
They have naturalized all over this part of Hayward- downtown,- Castro Valley...then no more. None over the grade near Pleasanton. Before the grade? They are there on the bay side.
I think its the extra hot and dry summers that do the wild plants in. They grow Andy,in bands along creeks or low hills. Its interesting to see.

Acacia baileyana is the most widely naturalized Acacia tree in northern California. It will grow slender then fill out in time. You can see that tree by the millions in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's beautiful when they all bloom.

Acacia melanoxylon that naturalizes there, also. It become a very big tree.

Hmm. Now I wonder if my ID is right.
They look great around the low hills of downtown Hayward- like where the big Catholic church is. I dont see them even one block south of my area...too much construction and then its farmland.
The best photos would be from the freeway!.They are then in a more wild setting with Oaks and Bay tree's. So,no chance for that.

There is one area..by a creek where I see these- and Citrus tree's growing wild. Eucs,and its just a hodge podge of naturalized plants. Hard to get too also. Steep and not many openings. Im not even sure if its safe..some dangerous people camp near that!

I think most of those Acacia trees growing around the Hayward hills are A. baileyana (from what I remember).

It's amazing what can grow up there when the trees, plants have access to permanent water. It's the same here in some canyons.

Good thing I caught them...I see they are all now past peak bloom.
I escaped frost this year..nice for a change. All the soft leaved plants- Iochroma-banana-Brugmansia-Wigandia..fine.
I hope it stays this way forever...well,with rains!

Is there any threat of frost there tonight?
I saw the low temps my friend sent from the Bay Area this morning...many areas were freezing or close to it. Wow! I saw most of Hayward was around freezing. That's super cold for this time of year. Yikes!

NWS says the low was 34f. It just wasn't long enough to do show damage. Last night was upper 30's.
So,Brugs are still blooming,Mango in flower and banana leafs tired of winter,but green.
The 34f tied a record.
I think I was a couple of degree's warmer. Because..even the sensitive red banana is still perfect. I've seen that get sort of melted at 34f...or its February and a 34f doesnt pack the punch this time of year.
I still claim a 10b...my temps at the foothills tend to be milder then over the 880- so 35f seems a safe bet. City warming. Just like in summer it can be much warmer then at HAYX right on the bay.
I still wish I could up and move to a balmier climate..my next lifetime.

That's great none of your plants were damaged by the cold weather! Hopefully, it will warm up there for you soon.

My Croton 'Mammy' looks horrible now...not because the cold. It's because the tree next door was cut to the trunk (a month ago) and all the hot weather over the last month has burned all the top leaves off the right side of the plant. All the leaves which were shaded from other plants are fine. I'm so upset because it was looking so terrific! It was growing so many new leaves, even through this winter. When that tree was cut back it actually burned one leaf on my Clusia and one leaf on my little mango tree, also.

Mammy will sprout new leaves if we ever get out of this chill. 3 weeks of far above average- looks like followed by at least 3 weeks of far below average. I never saw that coming.
The saving grace is its stayed above frost levels. Subtropicals not happy..but alive and in leaf.
I post some pics of today's plants. I have to water..its windy too today and the possible rains wont be enough for potted plants. In ground wont need watering..still moist enough.

I know it will leaf out again. I just didn't think the hot, dry weather would affect it in winter so badly. Obviously, it was getting just enough sun and shaded at the peak hours when the sun is at its hottest. I still have it in the same place; however, I think I may have to move it until my neighbor's tree grows out again. That whole area gets so much more sun now, it's amazing how bright it is!

It has been pretty chilly here the last three days. Nothing is showing any cold-stress, though. It's 60 during the daytime and 40's at night. My plants were so used to the low in the mid-to-upper 50's and those scorching highs in the mid-to-high 80's! It's suppose to warm up Friday through Tuesday mid-to-upper 60's, then back down into the lows 60's for mid-next week and maybe with rain. We did have some showers today. Yay!

I'm about to water now. Funny that I looked up last year..and February ended cold also then. Milder didn't start until March 8th back then.
That warm streak was so long,I was hoping we were now the bay area Cabo.
No plants have perished or died back. I have to happy for that.

I know about watering. I haven't stopped watering since summer.

It was cold and windy here today...and it's going to be a cold night, another 40 degree low expected for tomorrow morning. Wow!

Yes, it was certainly feeling like Cabo here the last three months. Now, winter has arrived! lol! Perfect timing, when all the mango trees are in full bloom. Yikes!