Crazy Melaleucas: Palisades Park

Anyone who has visited Santa Monica's Palisades Park will be familiar with these extraordinary,  trees- trees that don't grow vertical, as we expect trees to grow, but sprawl horizontally all over the grass.  They are Pink Melaleucas, or Western Tea Myrtles, natives of Australia and a member of the extensive Eucalyptus family- the Melaleucas themselves including over 100 species.

Apparently they get their name from the Greek words melas meaning black and leucas meaning white, because in the bush fires of Australia their trunks would be blackened while the upper branches remained white.  Needless to say, the Palisade's ones are neither black nor white but I find their strange, twisted bark incredibly sculptural:

Apart from the wonderful shapes these trees make, they also cause wonderful shadows:

The rhythmical, compex flow of their lines brings to (my) mind some of Leonardo's studies of the movement of water:

Now this one- contrary to what I said earlier- is quite black, but from age rather than fire I guess:

I am often surprized how trees with extra-tough looking bark can produce delicate flowers.  The Pink Melaleuka has a profusion of these charming little pink or lilac "pom-poms":

These result in strange cone-like clusters of seeds:

For those who don't know Palisades Park, it is high up on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, which often forms a backdrop for the trees:

If you are there around sunset, you can catch them with the reflective glow:

And then if you turn West towards the Ocean you will find the shapes of the Melaleucas making endless "windows" through which to see both sun and sea:

Hollywood Junipers Destroyed:

May 5th, and I still have a lot of catching up to do...

A month ago, on April 5th, Santa Monica City Council yet again sanctioned the destruction of healthy, useful trees for "design" purposes- this time 45 Hollywood Junipers- so named because they have been very popular and successful in the area.

When I first came to Santa Monica I was immediately attracted to photograph these crazy trees (described by one person as "Drama Queens"!), their dark green colour and mad misshapen, sculptural shapes making a great visual note in an urban setting.

These particular ones bordered Reed Park's tennis court on Wilshire Boulevard, between Lincoln and Seventh Street and I always enjoyed walking past them. However, the powers that be decided to re-design the park and this involved the removal of the trees, in spite of the fact that they are drought tolerant as well as environmentally invaluable- and have a life expectancy of 300 years! They were to be replaced by vines growing up the tennis court fence.

When Santa Monica's Treesavers learned of these plans they immediately took action, gaining the support of the local Wilmont Neighborhood Group as well as many individuals. City Hall's reaction was to say that these trees were a threat to pedestrians who found them "spooky", providing shelter for homeless people. Apparently, the trees obscured visibility of the tennis courts and area from the police- which seemed strange, as they were high upon a bank, with a clear view of the courts between their trunks...Next, it was decided that the Cities' own severe pruning had made them lose their structural integrity...



Although the battle was lost, at least the City climbed down in that it asked the Designers(!) if three trees could be incorporated in the design. This was a agreed, and 3 out of 48 trees were spared. Regardless that this was a nesting time for birds, the 45 Junipers were felled on April 5th...by Santa Monica, Tree City USA, in the Year of the Forest...

I just cannot get my head round this: every day we are made aware of the necessity of our tree canopy to fight global warming and yet every day City Councils all over the World- for no good reason- destroy them.



And who can seriously think that a few vines climbing up this fence will compensate for the loss of the Junipers?


First 4 photos taken by Cosmo Bua and 5th by Monica Mejia

Walking with Violet...

I have often written about how I love to walk with my camera, not only in the country but also round the streets of Santa Monica- always seeing something new and- to me!- stimulating.

Now that I am staying with my daughter's family in Los Angeles, when she has meetings to go to I often help her by looking after my baby Granddaughter, Violet. This entails driving with them both to the location of the meeting and then Violet and me exploring the back streets, which are always rewarding. Needless to say, like any baby, she is not ALWAYS peacefully sleeping or lying contentedly in her stroller- yes, sometimes she is SCREAMING and needing to be danced and sung to, which can be frustrating when one is trying to hold a steady camera...but the advantage is that I am constantly been fed with new experiences, apart from the joy of bonding with Violet!

So here are some of the images that caught my eye on a recent walk:

More Tree Discoveries...

And here are some more trees seen on my walks:

Evening Light

There is nothing so seductive as that last evening "glow" in which the low sun transforms the landscape into magic. Perhaps because it is so transitory and elusive- you can miss it so easily- it becomes even more exciting. I seem to have been chasing that moment for much of my life- racing up Scottish mountains, rushing round street corners- sometimes catching it, sometimes missing it. Here in Santa Monica I was blissfully happy walking round my local roads this evening.