Alright, these aren't bettas, but it seems as if I have a propensity to like the aggressive and unusually beautiful.
Sarracenia flava in bloom :)
First, a trip down memory lane
My old windowsill in Edmonds, WA. Hoyas, tropical pitcher plants, and orchids abound.
I have always loved carnivorous plants (I used to tote around Peter D'Amato's "The Savage Garden" when I was a kid). My first Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plant) was N. ventricosa, and I also obtained N. spathulata x maxima. They lived well on my windowsill in Seattle, but when I moved to eastern Washington for college, they did NOT like it. I donated them to the Washington State University teaching greenhouse, and I am happy to report that under the loving care of Chuck, the maxima is taking over one of the walls of the greenhouse and occasionally has pitchers over a foot long! The ventricosa is also doing well. I tried to get cuttings from them but they got lost in the post for a while and did not strike. I am hoping to try again since San Francisco is basically perfect for highland Nepenthes.
 Baby monster. This N. spathulata x maxima is now terrorizing the epiphyte wall in the Washington State University greenhouse. I'm very proud! Miss my old plants :( Hopefully I can get the cuttings to work when I try again. |  Terrible older picture of my beloved N. ventricosa. Got this plant over a decade ago! |
California Carnivores Spring 2014
I first visited California Carnivores several years ago when I was doing a summer research project at UC Berkeley, and I was finally able to go back this last weekend. Luckily, the Sarracenia (North American pitcher plants) were in full bloom and most of the temperate carnivores were just coming out of dormancy. I will definitely make it a habit (now that I have my car!) to visit California Carnivores on a seasonal basis!
The Seductive Sarracenia - North American Pitcher Plants
 Sarracenia purpurea - gorgeous. Incredibly hardy plant.  Beautiful, masterfully crafted flowers that also trap their bee pollinators! |  S. flava cultivar (??) opening for business |
 S. flava x cuprea |  Close up of the flowers  Can't remember all the cultivar names. Hello! |
S. leucophylla, easily one of the most beautiful plants in the world
 Flava again. Clearly my favorite lol |  Another flava hybrid ?? :x |
The Dangerous Darlingtonia californica - Cobra Plant
An impressive all-red version of this amazing plant! I need to go out and find these in the wild - they are native to Northern California and Oregon!
The Precious Pinguicula - Butterworts
 Amazingly long flower stalks! Growing out of a moss wall |  P. moranensis eating well |  Giant flowers on tiny plants! |
The Deadly Dineae muscipula - The Venus Flytrap
Giant terrariums getting ready for the Chomp! exhibit in the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers this summer.
The Dread Drosera - Sundews
 Beautiful little D. 'East Italian Alps' |  Snapped by my friend Amy, a deadly looking sundew |
The Nefarious Nepenthes - Tropical Pitcher Plants
I love all carnivorous plants, but the Nepenthes are without a doubt the ones that hold my heart.
The imposing peristome of N. veithii, dark form
 This one almost came home with me. Baby N. spectablis. |  An absolutely hulking N. truncata. This pitcher was over a foot long! |
N. sibuyensis. Bascially ventricosa on steriods. One. Of. These. Days.
 Another fantastic N. veitchii |  A mature N. hamata. Check out that deadly peristome!! |
Cute little N. ampullaria, red-form. They looked like a cluster of eggs.
 N. X briggsiana 'Peter D'Amato'. Named after the owner of California Carnivores, a wonderfully kind and generous man! He was a blast to talk to! |  I drooled over this one a bit. N. burbidgea. Perhaps when the price goes down... |
Mr. Dewy! Such a sweet greenhouse cat! Right after this picture he climbed into my lap and proceeded to purr while kneading my brand new pants...sigh :)
Welcome Home Little One!
I spent ages agonizing over all of the highland Nepenthes on the sales floor. I finally decided on a baby N. talangensis. Only recently discovered in 2004, it is a gorgeous little tropical pitcher plant with small, beautiful pitchers and long climbing stems adorned with short, compact leaves. Perfect for my vertical growing space! I think that my west and north facing windows in the alcove will be perfect to give it bright indirect light for most of the day and direct light for a couple of hours. The temperature next to the window also swings from 75F during the day to 62F at night, which highland nepenthes require for good growth. Humidity is always high in foggy San Francisco, so I am excited to see this little guy grow!
 Hoya publicalyx 'Red Buttons' and a staghorn fern are the little one's new friends. I bought both of these when I arrived here as small pants (the only had 3 leaves...). Amazing what 3 years can do. |  New little one :) The last one hiding!  Mature N. talangensis at California Carnivores - what I have to look forward to :) |
Close up of the first Hoya publicalyx 'Red Buttons' bloom of the season! There are a ton of other flower heads getting ready to burst...I might suffocate from the fragrance at night lol
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