I’ll probably try to do this as a long running series and hope to fill it with new plants I learn about or just plants that I love.

The first is Crotalaria agatiflora. I spotted this Chartreuse beauty at the Kula Botanical Garden on Maui (well worth a visit if you are ever in Maui). Both Annie's and San Marcos Growers have sold this plant in the past and no longer do. I don't know if that means it is difficult to grow or just not very garden worthy but I want one. I NEED one!

Sticking with a Chartreuse flower theme for a moment the next plant on my list is Puya chilensis. This is a plant I first learned about from one of my gardening mentors, Lily Ricardi, at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. The only one I saw at that time was already finished blooming but I never forgot Lily's description of the vivid green blooms. Remember when I went to England last May but then didn't share many pictures with you because I suck at blogging? Well I'll try to remedy that with future blog posts and this is the first of them. I was very excited when I visited St. Michael's Mount near Penzance and got to see this impressive specimen in full bloom. I had seen photos of course but nothing beats seeing a plant in real life. I'm not sure if I will grow this in my new garden as it a huge plant (this one must have been at least 20 feet across) and is rather prickly (it is believed that Puya's may be carnivorous because animals get trapped inside the prickly tangle of leaves) but it is on my "some day" list.

This plant was so big that this was the closest I could get to capturing a photo of the blooms.

And now for something a little less rare but still spectacular. I grew Lupins in my first garden in the mountains (OK hills) of northern New Jersey. There is something about the way the leaves push up out of the soil in late winter and early spring that is magical. They look like dewy green fingers. And then the flowers are these wonderful phallic spires of pillowy bi-colored pea flowers! My first plants were all seed grown Russel Hybrids so it was always exciting to see what interesting color and bi-color combinations you would get. Once my garden moved to my father's place I could no longer grow them as they prefer cooler summers, but California has many native Lupines, and the cool climate of Los Osos should be perfect for them. This picture was taken at Hidcote where they had an entire border filled with Lupins.

Isoplexis is a foxglove relative endemic to the Canary Islands and Madeira. They are very common growing under glass in English gardens but in coastal California they should be quite happy growing in the yard. This one was growing in the glasshouse at Hidcote.

The spectacular spiral leaved Aloe polyphylla, coveted by many, but tricky to grow. It grows at a high altitude in its home in South Africa so doesn't do well with heat and humidity. Luckily the central coast of California seems to have the perfect growing conditions and it is quite common there. I have even seen a row of them planted in a hell strip in San Luis Obispo!

Quite by accident the next plant I chose was another with the polyphyll specific epithet (it means "many leaves"). This one is Tropaeolum polyphyllum. Regular garden Tropaeolum or Nasturtium has escaped into the wild and is a fairly common weed here in California but there are also many unusual species in the genus. Many of them are tuberous or climbers and most are somewhat tricky to grow (especially compared to Nasturtiums). I feel like the cool coastal climate may be just what they want so I am going to give a few of them a try. This tuberous blue leaved beauty was growing at Beth Chatto's garden.

As I have said in earlier posts I am eager to learn more about the Protea family and definitely want to grow some in my new garden. But there are so many. Which ones should I grow? I don't even know where to start! Luckily I saw this beauty while driving in Maui and stopped to take some pictures. It is Leucospermum reflexum. This impressive silver leaved bush is growing along the road that leads to Haleakala Crater and the Kula Botanical Garden so I'm sure I'm not the only person who has stopped to take pictures.

The flowers of Leucospermum reflexum start out with the usual pincushiony greatness! I think this one looks like a phoenix.

Then the petals all bend back on themselves and the look changes to a fiery shuttlecock. Very cool. I NEED one.

The last plant on my list today is one I am not likely to ever grow but I was just excited I got to see them in person. It is the Haleakalā silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum) a rare and endangered plant endemic to Maui (two other endangered species of silversword grow on the big island of Hawaii). All the ones I saw were basically planted in the parking lots at the top of Haleakala Crater. It was so cold, foggy, and rainy that we didn't go hiking about looking for them out in the wild (in fact my father and brother stayed in the car when I got out to photograph these). On a nice day the views from the top of the crater must be spectacular but all we could see was a wall of grey. But it was worth the cold, and rain, and my father crying in the back seat, as we drove up the crazy 18 mile windy road to the summit 10,000 feet above sea level (he is terrified of heights and complained the entire time that he had not given informed consent when he agreed to take the trip with us to the top).

Sadly the flowers were all finished on this silversword (they are purple!). But the spent inflorescence is still cool. The plants can live up to 50 years but they are monocarpic. Once they bloom and set seed they die. So this guy won't be around much longer.

That’s it for this installment of Plants I NEED.  Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

The next day of the tour was a lot more impressive. First, we went to a former city that had been destroyed by an avalanche hundreds of years prior, and then we traveled on to Llaganuco- one of the prettiest lakes I have ever seen. I decided to take a boat ride on it for 5 soles ( I will make sure to add pictures soon). Most of the lakes in this region are bright blue like the water in Hawaii, though much, much colder. It was sprinkling as we paddled out among the mountains. This just added to the effect of how beautiful the place truly was.

My last day in Huaraz was definitely my favorite. We drove out to Pastoruri on the tour bus, and what I saw there I never expected. I felt really sick from the altitude since I had not had any mate de coca (coca leaf tea), and we were driving up at about 5,500 kilometers. This is around 17,000-18,000 feet. It’s pretty hard to breathe at altitudes this high if you have never experienced it for yourself. Anyways, I got out of the bus once we arrived, though I had been considering just staying behind since I felt dizzy and light-headed. I decided that I was going to at least hike part way up the mountain, and luckily I found a lady selling coca tea after the bus dropped us off. I felt better almost immediately after chugging the small plastic cup of hot tea, so I headed up the trail, having no idea what would await me at the top. It started lightly snowing about half way up, but luckily I had brought my rain jacket which was perfect for staying dry. When I got to the top, I was shocked to see a glacier surrounded by two lakes. I don’t think I have ever seen anything so beautiful in my life. The glaciers had cave-like openings that shimmered a bright aqua blue- it was like something out of a movie.

If you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend seeing Pastoruri before it is gone. Unfortunately, this natural wonder won’t be around much longer. It has been slowly melting for the past several decades and will continue to do so until it completely disappears.

I’ll be adding a new post about the Amazon soon… Stay tuned.

În 2004, scurta carieră a formației Verso era pe sfârșite (noi nu știam asta), iar împreună cu Cristi Beiu tocmai începeam să construiesc agenția care astăzi se numește Sublime România. Mayer (a.k.a. Pepino în acea perioadă) era un soi de mâna noastră dreaptă sau de Mr.Wolf din Pulp Fiction – rezolva lucruri. Cristi Ochiu, împreună cu Dorian Enache (primul director muzical al Atomic TV și actualul manager al artiștilor mai sus menționați) începeau ceea ce, după multe suișuri și coborâșuri, a ajus astăzi Music Expert.

Produceam atunci un spectacol la Cora Pantelimon, prilejuit de aniversarea de un an a hypermarketului; cum stăteam de dimineață până seara acolo, băieții au luat ceva de la fast-food și mâncam în spatele scenei. N-am crezut atunci că voi ține minte, dar fix înainte să fac poza de mai sus am spus “Asta să nu uitați de unde ați plecat. Când o să o luați razna, o să scot poza asta și vă dau la ziar” (abia aveam internet pe vremea aia, de facebook și bloguri nu auzisem ). N-au luat-o razna, dar am publicat poza din nostalgie.

Cred că succesul fiecăruia dintre noi are legătură cu ce a fost atunci. Pentru că, real vorbind, niciunul dintre noi nu a uitat vreodată de unde a plecat. În 2 octombrie 2004, eram extrem de pasionați, ne bucuram de fiecare client pe care-l agățam și de fiecare eveniment care ne ieșea. Nu prea aveam noi cine știe ce bani, dar atunci când îi aveam, totuși, parcă știam să ne bucurăm mai mult de ei. Îmi amintesc 2 chestiuni legate de ziua aceea: tocmai cunoscusem o fată care urma să aibă un rol foarte important în viața mea și fix în acea seară, am instaurat o mică cutumă a grupului. A fost prima oară când am mers împreună la restaurantul “La Mama” din Ștefan cel Mare, cel care urma să fie gazda multor seri cu mult “Lacrima lui Ovidiu“. Lipsește din poză și, implicit din poveste, Simona Ionașcu, care pendula între agenția noastră și cea a lui Ochiu și Dorian. Ea era ceva mai oficială în perioada aceea, își lua jobul în serios, spre deosebire de mine și Beiu care eram niște “handicapați, idioți și imbecili” puși pe distracție (știu ca pare greu de crezut, dar la un eveniment pe care l-am produs pentru Coca-Cola chiar am purtat amândoi câte un tricou pe care erau aceste 3 cuvinte cu care ne-a descris la nervi Simona).

În ultimii 7 ani, toți am avut zile groaznice, perioade în care ne întrebam dacă o mai scoatem la capăt, dar am continuat și pare-se că ne-a ieșit. Este greu de povestit sau de explicat în cuvinte ce mă leagă de oamenii ăștia. Cu fiecare în parte am o groază de amintiri, cu fiecare dintre ei m-am certat de nu știu câte ori, fiecare dintre ei au fost în câte-un moment alături de mine, măcar cu un cuvânt dacă nu cu mai mult.

Au trecut fix 7 ani și o lună, am îmbătrânit și m-am senilizat atât de tare încât am devenit nostalgic .

I understand that everyone needs to make money. So, these “new” artists need to make something the masses will like. However, it becomes boring after a while. You almost feel like they are mocking the hell out of their audience. Like we are all simpletons (and some of us ARE). Strangely, I used to hunt down some old Jazz tunes just to calm this zombie mentality. Instruments and chords and written soul on paper.

So, my search has now turned to YouTube for some original works. I have to sort through the Top 40 list to find something worthwhile. There is an abundance of great electronic and dance music out there. Where are the original rock bands? When I try to search YouTube, it gives me latino artists. Why? Well, I listen to old school merengue and salsa. It’s always refreshing and new to me. I’ve even found a metal band called Puya from Puerto Rico that was great.

What bothers me is why are these songs not getting played on the mainstream. Some of the music that I listen to has Top 40 written all over it. What’s the deal? Who’s dick do they need to suck to get airplay? I’m not going to stop my search and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I’m open to anything that is not played on the radio. I need to listen to some talented people. Hell, even semi-talented would do.

Now, are you wondering, right now, why I don’t go out to see bands. Well, I don’t exactly live in an area where music is breed. There are exceptions of course. South of this county there are some great places and great talent. However, I can’t drive 60 miles round trip to catch it. I really wish there was a place here, but there isn’t. Unless there a band called Old Folks Home, I’m screwed.

Sad and lonely are my ears. My short attention span doesn’t exactly help matters. I’m already bored with the Youtube searches. I spend more time looking for 1 song that I want to. My time is incredibly valuable. Please help the music radio sucks foundation and throw me a bone people.

Sisu feat. Puya & Yolo – Ai Vrea Sa Ai HD

• Screenshot:
  

• General Info:
• File size : 53.6 MiB
• Format : Matroska
• Overal BitRate : 1921 Kbps
• PlayTime : 3mn 54s

• Video:
• Codec : MPEG-4 AVC
• Info : MPEG4 ISO advanced profile
• Bit rate : 1918 Kbps
• Width : 704
• Height : 400
• Aspect ratio : 16/9
• Frame rate : 25 fps
• (Pixel*Frame) : 0.272

• Audio:
• Codec : MPEG1/2 L3
• Info : MPEG1 or 2 Audio Layer 3
• Channel(s) : 2 channels
• Sampling rate : 44 KHz

• Download link: http://www.fileserve.com/file/yPGcMzv
• Mirror link: http://www.filesonic.com/file/506237034

California poppies! One of my favorite flowers.

Giant coreopsis (who knew?!), a California native

Giant blue-eyed grass?!

More awesome and amazing! I had never seen anything like this before. I had to take a lot of pictures. It is a puya.

Look at that crazy shade of blue!

And closer

And on the ground

What is this? I don’t know. I did a bunch of unsuccessful Googling. The flowers look a bit like lapageria but it definitely isn’t.

Bambooooooo

An interesting tree

Bridge

Another plant I don’t know

A panorama of the South African section of the garden

Further adventures in California soon to come . . .

Trăieşte evoluţia muzicii româneşti.

Sub acest slogan se desfăşoară anul acesta URSUS Evolution Tour, fiind un festival de muzică românească cu oameni foarte indrăgiţi de noi. În spoturile de promovare îi putem vedea pe  GRASU XXL, Guess Who,IRIS , Puya, Cargo etc. care sunt puşi pe caterincă.

Pe lângă cei menţionaţi mai sus, mai avem Şuie Paparude, Paraziţii, Zdob si Zdub.

Turneul are premierea la Cluj pe 25 Iunie, continuând la Iaşi 9-10 Iulie, Braşov 23-24 Iulie şi terminând cu Mamaia12-13 August.

Les persones interesáes ena puya pueden percanciar tola información y presentar les correspondientes ufiertes nel Ayuntamientu mientres los próximos 15 díes arteros. De salida establecióse, como tipu económicu mínimu, la cantidá de 6.112 euros (IVA non incluyíu).

La finca en cuestión presenta una superficie de 2.445 metros cuadraos. Tratar d’una parcela qu’atiesta:

· al Norte, carretera de Bustiu a Villanueva

· al Sur, Ángel Gutiérrez y más del Ayuntamientu

· al Este, Francisco Huertas

· al Oeste, carretera de Bustiu a Villanueva

En total son 34 árees y 48 centiárees. Ta clasificada pol Plan General de Ordenación del Conceyu de Ribedeva como suelo non urbanizable d’Interés Forestal, estableciéndose pa esa categoría de suelu una valoración pol métodu de comparanza col mercáu, teniendo amás en cuenta les sos condiciones de localización, accesos y proximidá al núcleu urbanu de 2,50 euros/m².