The weather has turned warm and balmy and it's hard not to want to be outside every second. Never mind the laundry piling up and the cobwebs draping the ceiling corners.



Yesterday I drove into San Luis to service my seed account at Farm Supply. Steve, one of the staff and a dedicated plantsman, encouraged me to stop by this weekend's Cactus and Succulent Show & Sale at the Santa Rosa St Senior Center, so I did.



What a treat! Lots of local experts and growers from all over the state. At the sale, beautiful and affordable (as well as more spendy and collectable) specimens filled tables which covered the basketball court. Additional backstock waited in flats unerneath the tables, though I'm sure all the really rare items were gone within minutes of the doors opening. The show itself had some real stunners in size, age, and rarity. It was especially nice to be able to talk to the growers in the casual setting, and to ask cultural advice of the Central Coast Cactus & Succulent Society members who were acting as salespeople. I was really happy to see the show in a building with such great natural light.


Since collecting my first succulent in the early 70's, the geometric forms and patterns continue to fascinate me. How neatly the rows of leaves or dimples fit into each other, growing larger slowly and manageably. Flowers are a short-lived bonus, often beautifully contrasting the plant in form, shape, or color. With lineal curving and swaying stems, they act as dramatic counterpoints to the regular rythmic presentation of folial parts. Easy to grow and manage and living for years in tidy containers or slowly increasing in the permanent landscape, succulents supply both modest dependability and geometric punctuation in the frost-free garden.









I came away with a small flatful of succulents along with a small pot for a new kalanchoe, K. rhombopilosa. The dark chocolate brown clay of the stoneware will pick up the flecks of brown in the blue-grey leaf. It's supposed to be of compact habit, so hopefully will stay in the new pot for a few more years.


Leaving the show, a quick stop at nearby El Taco de Mexico netted some great $2 tacos, and I headed out Highway 1 to the 'Art In The Park' show in Morro Bay. Held by the Morro Bay Art Association for many decades now, it occurs every Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend. Some vendors have returned for 10 or 15 years and tell me it's their favorite art show venue. It's fun to check in with artists, watching their styles mature or change as the case may be. As always, it was a pleasure to experience the wit and charm of Joann Page, and marvel at her beautifully-detailed cowhide and lambskin handbags. Diana Gabriel was there with her delicate and lovely handknotted and strung bead jewelry. I love Diana's subtle colorways and use of repetition and balance of materials.


I met a new (to me)vendor, Unique Lapidary Designs. Fred and his wife have beautiful turquoise and jasper earrings, pendants and cabachons (undrilled polished pieces suitable for setting or wire-wrapping). Some was American turquoise but what caught my eye were the dramatically-colored stones from Tibet. The blue turquoise appears in seams with other minerals, creating a mottled effect of blue/brown/green/black. Fred leaves most of the stones unset; he cuts, polishes and drills them for pendants or earrings and leaves some in a cabachon shape. His emphasis is to allow the simple shapes and natural coloring of the stones to make the statement.






example of Tibetan turquoise coloring


I added a few bits to my jewelery trove and ended the day with a stop at one of my favorite Central Coast sitting spots: outside the Back Bay Inn in Baywood park. There's a convenient wooden boardwalk that runs a short distance along the bay from the pier to the end of the BBI property, with a good view of the bay and dunes on one side and the interesting and ever-changing gardens of the Inn on the other. Add a few benches and you have Contentment, realized.