UCLA Botanical Garden: Stream

The UCLA Botanical Garden was established in 1929 along a gulch.  Recirculating (? I think it must be recirculating) water forms a waterfall at the top of the gulch,

then a stream,

then a pond with Western Pond Turtles (Clemmys marmorata),

and then a stream again.

Blooming Now in my Neighborhood

Lavender Trumpet Vine (Clytostoma callistegioides)

Plumbago and Lantana

Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)

Golden Dewdrop (Duranta repens)

Snail Vine (Vigna caracalla)

Hermerocallis

New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri)

Blue

More Birds

Every spring a pair of Northern Mockingbirds (Minus polyglottos) nest in my garden. From early spring until August the male sings through most of the night.

The Mockingbirds build a nest in the bougainvillea, in this mass of twigs and thorns.

On the opposite side of the garden, a pair of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) have a nest.

They return every year to about the same place.  By mid-August the nests are empty.

A flock (10? 12?) of House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) have been in my garden recently,  foraging in the grass.  I don't see them here often, they are just passing through.

Hibiscus

Lemon Verbena

I started the Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora) in my garden from cuttings.  Every winter I prune it to the ground and by summer it has grown six feet. The plant is native to western South America.

I use it to make summer drinks (left to right): lemon verbena lemonade, lemon verbena iced tea, and lemon verbena and black tea mixed.

I crush the leaves and mix them in batter to make a lemon cake.

Gazanias

Allen's Hummingbird

The Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) is easier to identify from a distance than most other hummingbirds because the male and female both have a reddish body.

I have seen them feeding on Hoya,

lemon blossoms,

 Midnight Blue Agapanthus,

and Fuchsia Thalia.