The environment of Santa Barbara has proved the Acquaik- 
possibility of hobnobbing with plants formerly considered tances now 
rarities and interesting for that reason. Now some of them Close 
generously greet me with a few surprise flowers throughout the Friends 
year. 
Of these generous ones, the most conspicuous is the Mexican 
Evergreen Solandra gutatta (Copo de Oro — Cup of Gold) whose 
bloom suggests the great chalice of the Golden-Banded Lily 
of Japan save that the general form is more nearly true to the 
contours of a giant, hollow-stemmed champagne glass, six or seven 
inches in diameter and nine inches long. The stem of the 
flower, narrowing to a base no larger than a finger, is set in a 
calyx in which is held a quantity of honey water. The 
flowers are terminal, solitary, fragrant and five-lobed; the 
bandings are purple changing to brown, and the cup of the 
flower in texture and color resembles a fine chamois skin. 
The leaves are large, glossy and bright green, not unlike the 
Magnolia. It is a rampant grower having thrown out a dozen 
or more branches which have extended in two years over the 
top of our arbor, a distance of thirty feet, some of these 
clastic branches being there doubled back on themselves and 
reaching a second time over the arbor roof for a distance of 
twenty feet. Not content with this horizontal growth, the 
rampant, aspiring laterals shoot skyward to a height of ten 
feet throughout the extent of the arbor. These we have cut 
back time and time again, having, unfortunately, no Jacob's 
ladder for their support. The blooms are a sight in spring, 
sometimes twenty-five being in their glory at one time. The 
plant is in full sun, in porous soil; rich soil and fertilizers are 
not desirable as that only encourages still greater growth and 
prevents free blooming. The ground is never allowed to dry 
out completely although it is never kept very moist. In 
summer, the Solandra together with all other plants in our 
garden must endure a certain amount of drought. This is 
considered desirable as the wood is then ripened. A bud about 
to open will complete its mysterious unfolding w^hile one lingers 
to watch. The remaining life of the flower also follows a swift 
development, the clear yellow changing to brown in twenty- 
four hours. The old blooms fall, however, so that the plant 
never seems remiss in its housekeeping. New plants are 
propagated from firm young shoots. The Solandra will not 
endure frost so that the area in which it thrives is restricted. 
An evergreen vine with a habit as vigorous but with lace- 
like foliage is the Tecoma regina sahae, a pink Trumpet vine 
of recent introduction and a winter bloomer, the season 
commencing about November and extending well into early 
spring. The habit of the plant is to send out low on the main 
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