Damaged Sweetgum Tree in January

This sweetgum tree has lost a lot of bark. The lichen have also made themselves at home. We would almost think the tree is dead were it not for the newer shoots branching out.

Damaged Sweetgum Tree in January, © B. Radisavljevic

 I liked the way the colorful leaves still clinging to those small branches contrasted with the rosemary's pale blue flowers and green needle-like leaves. Winter needs all the color it can get.

Which plants brighten your winter?

Pyracantha in Bloom

At least I believe this is a pyracantha, commonly known as firethorn, even though I'd always thought it was a cotoneaster. I looked up cotoneaster in my Sunset Western Garden Book tonight and there was no mention of  thorns.  This plant you see in the photo has dangerous thorns, and only the pyracantha description mentions thorns. Both plants can grow tall like this and both have colorful orange or red berries. Both plants can grow in poor soil and are drought resistant. The fruits appears in July or August and last long enough to provide winter color.

This is the same shrub in bloom in May. The bees love the flowers. I can hear the tree buzzing as I approach it when the tree is in bloom. Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

This is a close-up of the pyracantha flowers.

I love my Sunset Western Garden Book as a General reference for finding out more about the plants in my garden and selecting plants for special situations or with certain characteristics. In this case, I looked up plants with colorful berries to see what else this might have been, if not cotoneaster. It's a book no western gardener should be without. 

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