Garden Update

My sister-in-law Jessica suggested we plant artichokes, which really should have occurred to us, given that we live about 30 miles from the "Artichoke Capital of the World" (the city of Castroville). Steve went out and got one small artichoke plant as a sort of experiment. It was our understanding that they normally don't produce until the second or third year, so we weren't expecting much. But just today, I noticed...


... way down inside...


... the beginnings of a delicious flower.

We had a bougainvillea that we had presumed dead. It was a sad stack of sticks in a pot. My parents suggested that we set it aside and ignore it. So, we did, and...


... it's alive!

I also got this interesting succulent called "living rock." It spreads by splitting down the center. Mine had split three times when I bought it.


And it appears a fourth split is occurring.