Well, here we go. It’s nearly dinnertime and I’m just now sitting down to do the daily post. I’m going to admit that I wish the blog would write itself today, and maybe tomorrow too. We’ll see what I can do about that tonight.
First I want to let you know that I ended up making those shrimp bun bowls for dinner last night (mentioned in yesterday’s post) and they were incredible! We made a quick visit to GrantStone Market last night and stocked up on some essentials like rice noodles, sesame oil, and a huge amount of basil (for 99 cents). I forgot how much I love shopping at Asian markets. Have any good sources for Vietnamese or Thai recipes that you’d care to share?
Left to right:
Yellow Hesperaloe
While our streetscapes here in Tucson are filled with red hesperaloe, my favorite is the yellow. Perhaps that’s merely because it’s less ubiquitous? I guess it’s easy to tire of the plants that dominate our commercial spaces (Texas rangers, yellow lantana, feathery senna), but maybe they deserve a bit more consideration based on their ability to tough it out in harsh conditions. Both the red and yellow hesperaloes are looking great right now, and after they’re done blooming they continue to add interesting structure to outdoor spaces. Over time the plant reproduces and what was once a singular plant turns into a wide clump, which you can then divide and share with friends (or other parts of your yard).
Yellow Bird of Paradise
I don’t normally give the scientific name for the plants I talk about since I figure you can find out for yourself with the Google machine. But this one is a bit tricky because a variety of images appear when you look up “yellow bird of paradise.” So the real deal name is Caesalpinia gilliesii. Of the B.O.P.’s, this is my favorite (there’s also the “red” B.O.P. and “Mexican” B.O.P., and then of course the tropical B.O.P. that is not related at all to what we typically see around town). I love the yellow petals with the red stamens, and they attract those huge black bees that are so fun (I don’t think they sting). I think I’d like to add three or four more of these to the yard in the next week or so for some splashy summer color. Bonus, if you’re wallet is hurting, they are pretty easy to grow from seed!
