I’m not sure if it’s midlife, or the fact that I’ve moved back to natural landscapes of my childhood, but I notice trees and plants far more than I used to. Each month here on Home Again I share a photo roundup of what’s growing around my home, neighborhood, and city. Glad you’re here!
If I had to pick a least-favorite month, it might be July. With apologies to all those who love it, I’ll paraphrase the wise Amy Poehler and say: good for them; not for me.
That said, these monthly flora roundups keep me noticing the natural world around me, snapping photos of leafy branches and tiny blooms, and looking up names for plants in my yard. On these criteria, July delivered colorfully!
Our plum tree bears all its fruit over about 4 weeks in midsummer, and I try to walk a very thin line between letting them ripen on the tree for as long as possible while also picking them before they fall. (Once they fall, the soft skin busts open on the mulch below and the birds immediately swoop in to help themselves.)
Behold, next summer’s avocados! The one pictured below is about the size of a large green olive and will be ready to eat in nine months or so. Wild, right?
In case you missed it, Meagan Francis and I did a deep dive on what I’ve learned about avocado growing on our new podcast Midlife Lady Leisure Pursuits:
This is not the first time that the rock wall below, seen on my neighborhood walks, has been featured in this series. I just love the way the artichoke agave are studded between the stones, but this month I was even more struck by the color combination of the bougainvillea:
That persimmon-orange next to the more expected pinky-red is so interesting; if anyone needs a color palette for a new brand or business, I think this entire array is gorgeous.
Last July my dear friend Nicole helped design and plant - from her own garden’s clippings - a variety of succulents in a large, square planter on our front porch. Her vision was that the tall cactus in the center would provide height, and the surrounding plants would spill over and fill in in interesting ways for movement and variation.
Said center cactus has never really taken off in the height department, but holy cow did the rest of the assortment understand the assignment. Turns out this was more an ensemble piece than one with a rising star. Take a look at 2024 vs 2025:
This one is called ageratina adenophora, with a common nickname I wasn’t wild about so you’re welcome for the Latin. It’s also known as Crofton weed.
It’s toxic to horses and highly invasive, making it one of those pretty-but-problematic plants I encounter on my walks.
This purple find is salvia leucantha, or Mexican Bush Sage. It’s normally white, but has blue and purple variations and, according to my research, will not make your horse sick or take over your garden. Phew.
When you literally live among the oak trees you sometimes forget how spectacular they are.
This photo looks like it was taken in black and white, but it’s actually just an early gray July morning, canopy against lightening sky.
I’ll leave with you with some natural beauty I encountered hundreds of miles north of home this month, from cool streams in the Shasta-Trinity wilderness to winter wheat and vineyard views in the Willamette Valley to pine forests in the high desert of Central Oregon.
I’d love to hear what’s growing in your backyard this month. Leave a comment or hit reply and let me know.
Talk to you in August! -S
More in the What’s Growing series:
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