The rain keeps coming down feeding the Sierra snow pack which is great for all of thirsty California and for our own local gardens and wild places. The colors and textures of the  Albany Bulb are always enhanced by the rain and the gray skies. It reminds me strongly of Australia at this time of year when the Broom and the Acacia are in full bloom – Broom is a noxious weed in Australia (and here) and the Bulb boasts at least six different species of Acacia that I have seen – all Australian natives. As far as I know all of the plants on the Bulb are self-sown so that it represents the new ‘native’ flora of NorCal – a mixture of robust natives, remnant die-hard locals, and adventitious immigrants – a bit like the human population of Bayarea!

Wattle in full bloom

Eucalyptus globulus - The Tassie Blue Gum is such an intrinsic part of the California landscape now

They thrive here with no koalas or insects to munch on them.

The storms have dredged the Bay and laid down a rich carpet of red, brown and green algal flotsam.

Alysum abstraction

Klein cooch collaboration

Bulb archaeology

There’s lots of new art popping up around the Bulb but I might keep that for another post!