Euphorbia is an ever-so-appropriate word, since the name originated describing a drug-induced state.
Pulling muscles and working out one’s aging body until it cries “uncle” does have it’s advantages, sometimes landing you in your doctor’s office in which your doctor, shaking his head and looking at you with a pitiful eye scribes a prescription for muscle relaxer and sends you to bed.
But that is not the only gift I’ve received lately.
One client traded me a yoga retreat at Stillheart, a sanctuary in the hills of Woodside California—about 45 minutes from my house.
The accommodations are fabulous. The retreat is nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains mid-peninsula, amongst a beautiful redwood forest. My room opened up onto this amazing garden filled with euphorbia, and the occasional Buddha.
I fell in love with the euphorbia. They looked so seraphic. Even though it was overcast, the ambient light lit up the bracts at the end of the spiky stocks. The pictures I took are reminiscent of infrared photos.
One of the species of euphorbia seemed to be the species called characias. I wasn’t as sure about the other species. What ever they were, they were doing great deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which means they’re perfect for my yard.
Erphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom. Euphorbia is also deer and gopher resistant mainly because the sticky white sap of the plant is toxic and can be quite irritating on contact. So keep this in mind when trimming, deadheading or landscaping with euphorbia.
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