Internet Thieves .. Copyright Infringement!

The longer you blog, the more likely you'll discover

your content and photographs have been stolen.

The nature of the 'beast' that is the internet?

Ultimately, it makes no difference if you watermark photos or not,

or if you embed your photographs with copyright information.

Watermarks can be sliced off / embedded data is easily ignored.

I'm told savvy computer geek thieves know how to remove watermarks,

and they surely aren't concerned with embedded attribution.

I could spend all my days (and nights) searching AND finding obscure and not-so-obscure web sites and blogs where my words appear in my own voice yet on a totally foreign web address.

Splog = spam blog.

A friend's web site was hacked yesterday,

and she has reminded readers of the importance of backing up your web site and blog content.

Is the internet a sexy beast? One we find alluring despite its faults?

You may soon see a copyright notice in each and every Bay Area Tendrils post.

ALL TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT: ALICE JOYCE

Little steps to lessen, if not alleviate, opportunities for sploggers.

Arched Blades of Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' - Irwin's Garden

Design by Robert Irwin

I love the contemporary aesthetic of Robert Irwin's design of the Palm Garden...
...now on view in Los Angeles at the LACMA campus, where

Architect Renzo Piano has created yet another stunning museum building:

The Resnick Pavilion.

Cor-ten steel - pictured - is one of Irwin's preferred materials, having used it to construct planters and long rectangular raised beds. In outdoor projects, this type of steel weathers to a naturally deep-toned rust color.

The color of these hard-edge containers complements the garden's plant palette, with structural foliage in shades of blue, creamy yellow and green. The layout seems to pop! amidst the grassy sward of the garden's horizontal plane.

Artist Robert Irwin burst on the horticultural scene as the creator of

a controversial garden at the Getty Center,

revisited on Bay Area Tendrils in 2009.

Stalwart and Spiny: Structural Succulents!

While visiting Malibu, I toured Serra Canyon Ranch Nursery. My good fortune included a chance to walk through the landscape with a group that included Gary Lyons, Curator of the Desert Garden at The Huntington. Gary offered enlightening details, such as the identification of strikingly exotic, structural specimens on the property. 

Rarest of the rare: a mature form of Cereus v. monstrose - Photo © Alice Joyce

The property had once been the location of another horticultural destination: Serra Gardens Nursery.

Ceiba speciosa (formerly Chorisia speciosa) .. the magnificent deciduous tree in background: Brilliant Aloes blooming in foreground.

(Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce)

Arrays of drought-tolerant succulents of various sizes; potted and ready to plant.

For more information about plant availability at the nursery's growing grounds, visit:

www.serracanyonranch.com