Three plants

Three plants — all old favorites of mine — that have recently caught my helper Isaac’s attention on our walks around downtown Palo Alto: two because of their striking foliage and flowers, one because its multitude of yellow flowers seem to thrive everywhere, even in the most unlikely wastelands. Then the first two have remarkable — and, alas, similar — names: acanthus, agapanthus. While all three have odd common names: bear’s breeches / britches, lily of the Nile (not a lily, and from South Africa, far from the Nile), daylily (again, not a lily — and why day?). acanthus. On this blog, in my 7/1/12 posting “Two plants of the season” (golden marguerites, acanthus), with this photo of the latter, whose leaves Isaac recognized as an architectural motif, but whose flowers were a pleasant surprise: A stand of the plant in bloom: (#1) Acanthus mollis, with its flower spikes and its giant leaves, which are responsible for its jokey common name bear’s breeches / britches (big enough to serve…