I had no idea what Xeriscape was until I saw this coloring page. Apparently Xeriscape is a type of drought-tolerant landscaping using plants native to the area requiring little or no watering or maintenance. For a state like California, that is very important.
Once I knew what it was, I started looking for it and it was showing up in all different parts of the city. In Dolores Park, near the Esmeralda Slide, on Lombard Street and by the Hidden Garden Steps.
There was some by the 16th Avenue steps as well and I’m pretty sure I read that the Salesforce Tower Garden was designed that way too.
I have even seen some examples of it in my own neighborhood and it makes perfect sense for a non-gardener like me. Lots of cacti of different sizes and shapes sound perfect.
For my second “X” I’m taking the easy way out and going with X-tras. These are a bunch of random things that I’ve seen during my excursions that I wanted to use but they didn’t fit well with any other topic.
City hall looks so cool at night.
The painted wall outside the Van Gogh Exhibition and other wall art. These are just a couple examples. I found it amusing that the Hotel des Arts had a mural on the front.
Miscellaneous statues that are all over the city:
This one shows the scooter rentals which, along with bikes and vespas are scattered through the city too.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, home to the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Looks like a Bishop’s Mitre. They even named a new hill, Cathedral Hill, for it.
Sutro Tower, the 3-legged TV and radio antennae and all the muni wires that made taking pictures sometimes incredibly difficult.
Bill’s Place where we stopped to have lunch on two of our sight seeing expeditions. This is funny because my husband’s name is Bill. Apparently we are not the only ones that enjoy the food. Chris Isaak, Sharon Stone and Robin Williams dined there as well!
A couple more really neat looking buildings and the home of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last but not least, this sign in a store front window that made me chuckle.
As we get down to the last two letters I must admit I’m going to miss the exploring I’ve been doing in this city. I think I’m going to have to bribe my hubby with lunch at Bill’s Place so he’ll take me back to some of my favorite spots. Think it will work? See you tomorrow with “Y.”
Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring and took the pictures.
Janet's Smiles 
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That sign is hilarious. I hope your Bill takes you back to Bill’s Place for a hamburger :).
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I think he can be persuaded 🙂
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Love graffiti walls done in good taste although hubby always grumbles! Beware of pickpockets sign was funny. You sure found great artsy architecture to shoot. Thanks for all your hard leg work for me to enjoy
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Glad you enjoyed it, Jeanne. It has been fun for me too!
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I am fascinated by xeriscapes because they conserve water. Not only is water a precious resource, but in NYC our water has been “privatized” and there is a cost for it — so gardens and landscapes that can survive on whatever rain falls are cost effective environmentally friendly. https://mollyscanopy.com/2021/04/x-bedroom-i-have-to-move-atozchallenge/
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Interesting. I know that we can occasionally get fined if we use too much water and at times there are restricted hours for when you can water your plants and things.
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Such pretty pictures! So beautiful! I’ll be hopping backwards to see some more 🙂
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Thank you!
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I learned what xeriscape was when I moved to Arizona. For here, it means… cactus! 😀 😀 😀
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I never knew how many different kinds there were. Some are really lovely.
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Great choices Janet, and it’s great we got those peeks at your “leftover” extras. You’ve shown us so much wonderful stuff around the city. I’m confident your bribing Bill plan will be a success. 🙂
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Yeah, he’s kinda easy in that regard – LOL
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How awesome that the coloring book had an X! I have never heard of the term but it sounds like a great way to landscape in dry climates.
City Hall does look beautiful with the lights on it.
Weekends In Maine
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There were only a couple of nights that my son worked late enough for me to catch the city hall in lights. Most of the time he was off before it got dark.
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TIL! Lawns that don’t need watering seem really smart to me.
Great pictures. Is that Twitter HQ?
I love letter X posts! Always such variety.
It’s hard to believe the blogging challenge is almost over. Then the after survey, reflections, and the road trip sign-up.
Plus, I’m taking part in the Bout of Books read-a-thon in May. So much excitement!
J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author
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I saw your bout of books, going to have to look at that more. Yes, that is Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco. I was going to write about it but too many wires were in the way! Definitely going to be catching up on some blogs during May. Thanks for visiting and all you do for the challenge!
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The bird mural looks so real at first I thought it was a statue. WOW so awesome. So did Bill burgers live up to their name? Were they really good? I think I want a hamburger now!
Cheers,
Crackerberries
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LOL I don’t eat the bun but the ones I have had have been very good. The bird is one that I see every day because it is on the street I drive up to get my son to and from work.
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Excellent X word and extra photos!
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Thanks Iain! I knew i had to share them somewhere.
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Gosh I wonder what Bill’s Place serves? 😉
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LOL – it’s a tough decision on what to order.
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I really enjoyed looking at all the Xtra photos, Janet. Good idea to save them for X.
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Thanks Sue. I couldn’t just forget about them.
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Xeri-what? I enjoy the letter X posts so much because there are so many new words to learn, especially if folks have been participating for a couple of years and ran out of “x-ray” and “xerox” posts ;-)))
You X-tras were great, too. I’m pretty sure I took pictures of the “North Beach Hotel” at some point. Looks so familiar.
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-z-2021-you-have-to-kiss-many-xenopus.html
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It’s right by the Transamerica building but actually there are a lot of those rounded corners throughout the city. I just love the look of them.
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Ooooo I love the graffiti walls!!!
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Right? Some of them have some remarkable artwork.
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Yeah!! So beautiful
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