I had no idea what Xeriscape was until I saw this coloring page. Apparently Xeriscape is a type of drought-tolerant landscaping using plants native to the area requiring little or no watering or maintenance. For a state like California, that is very important.
Once I knew what it was, I started looking for it and it was showing up in all different parts of the city. In Dolores Park, near the Esmeralda Slide, on Lombard Street and by the Hidden Garden Steps.
There was some by the 16th Avenue steps as well and I’m pretty sure I read that the Salesforce Tower Garden was designed that way too.
I have even seen some examples of it in my own neighborhood and it makes perfect sense for a non-gardener like me. Lots of cacti of different sizes and shapes sound perfect.
For my second “X” I’m taking the easy way out and going with X-tras. These are a bunch of random things that I’ve seen during my excursions that I wanted to use but they didn’t fit well with any other topic.
City hall looks so cool at night.
The painted wall outside the Van Gogh Exhibition and other wall art. These are just a couple examples. I found it amusing that the Hotel des Arts had a mural on the front.
Miscellaneous statues that are all over the city:
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This one shows the scooter rentals which, along with bikes and vespas are scattered through the city too.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, home to the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Looks like a Bishop’s Mitre. They even named a new hill, Cathedral Hill, for it.
Sutro Tower, the 3-legged TV and radio antennae and all the muni wires that made taking pictures sometimes incredibly difficult.
Bill’s Place where we stopped to have lunch on two of our sight seeing expeditions. This is funny because my husband’s name is Bill. Apparently we are not the only ones that enjoy the food. Chris Isaak, Sharon Stone and Robin Williams dined there as well!
A couple more really neat looking buildings and the home of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last but not least, this sign in a store front window that made me chuckle.
As we get down to the last two letters I must admit I’m going to miss the exploring I’ve been doing in this city. I think I’m going to have to bribe my hubby with lunch at Bill’s Place so he’ll take me back to some of my favorite spots. Think it will work? See you tomorrow with “Y.”
Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring and took the pictures.
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Hi, Janet!
ReplyDeleteHappy X-day, dear friend!
Yessum, I am very familiar with xeriscaping, Like California, it is an important way to converse water in chronically drought stricken Florida. I have seen many properties covered mostly with mulch, shells, gravel, pebbles, decorative stones and large beds filled with hardy, drought resistant species of cacti and succulents. Large expanses of grass lawns in residential areas are a rare sight here. It's nice to see that xeriscaping is being widely practiced in the San Francisco area. Yessum, I might have told you at I used to have a collection of cacti and succulents that at one time numbered 150. Although mine were containerized, both indoors and outdoors, they were very easy to grow. The same would be true if they are planted in the ground around your property in soil that offers good drainage.
I see you are going for X-tra credit in this post. :) I can't believe how striking City Hall looks at night bathed in colors of magenta, green and red. I admire the examples of wall art around the city. The large murals add character and charm, but I can understand how some of the buildings with smaller, graffiti type markings might be considered unattractive by some. You also offered more proof that SF is a city with many statues, sculpture and other types art proudly displayed, a city that boasts skyscrapers and other architectural wonders and a city with an abundance of quaint and comfy eateries.
Clearly a lot of X-tra effort went into this post, dear friend Janet. Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be back tomorrow for your Y-day report!
Thanks so much my friend. I think I do remember you telling me about the cacti collection you had. I am amazed at all the different types there are out there. I really think they will make their way into our backyard when we get around to fixing it up. Y should interest you as well, I hope.
DeleteI like that word... xeriscape. I'm surprised I wasn't familiar with the term... I live in Arizona and most of the homes in our neighborhood have a desert landscape.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to see your eXtras! So many interesting sights! City Hall is beautiful at night. And I love the murals.
Yes, Trudy, I'll bet Arizona is full of xeriscapes! Some of the murals around town are just gorgeous.
ReplyDelete