As one year passes and another begins, I think we all pay a little more attention to time.  Whether it was watching that clock for the big countdown, throwing away our old calendar, or writing that new number on checks and documents, we all are a little more aware of time moving on. And when that change is not only the end of a year but the end of a decade, that awareness is even more acute.

     I got to thinking about time and plants and realized that several have common names related to time.  Some like Morning Glories, Ipomoea pupurea; Four O Clocks, Mirabilis jalapa; Evening Primrose, Oenothera biennis; and Moon Flower, Ipomoea alba, have common names that refer to the time of day or night that the blossoms open.  Others like Daylilies, Hemerocallis sp., and Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Brunfelsia pauciflora, describe a length of time of bloom or a pattern of blooming.

     Then I remembered another connection between plants and time. In 1996 my husband and I saw a floral clock in Weymouth, England. In a public garden, a large plot was decorated with a clock face made of beautiful blooming annuals.  Even the moving clock hands had plants on them.  It had been built in 1936. But this was not the first floral clock.

     According to Edinburgh City Guide, in 1903 John McHattie, the Superintendent of Parks, collaborated with a local clockmaker, James Ritchie, and Sons, to create the first floral clock.  It continues to this day. The clock is replanted annually and changed to represent a topical theme or an important anniversary.  This clock has inspired floral clocks around the world. There is a beautiful floral clock in Niagara Falls, Canada and even one near the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

     Carl Linnaeus (the father of the binomial, scientific identification and classification system) had ideas about a different kind of floral clock back in the 1700s.  According to an article by Brian Gardiner published in The Linnaen in 1987, Carl Linnaeus kept records of the opening and closing times of the blossoms of plants.  He found that certain plants seemed very consistent and he generated long lists of these plants and their respective flower opening times.  He envisioned a clock that would have plants sequentially placed around the clock face depending on their opening time. The clock would not need clock hands for people would see what part of the clock had open flowers.

     It turns out that Linnaeus' ideas were not that easy to actually put into practice.  Blossom opening times can be affected by too many variables including latitudes, amount of sunlight on a given day, changes in weather, and even changes in seasons.  It's a lovely idea though.

“I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself.” – Sir Peter Smithers

“Don't do it,” the nurseryman said as I wistfully admired the Mexican lime tree.  “They are too frost-sensitive for our area.”  So I didn't buy the tree.  At least not then. 

Years later, when redoing the backyard, I decided to take the plunge.  Although I had a Bearss lime in the front yard, it wasn't thriving in its windswept location.  Plus, I was still intrigued by delicious, cute, little fruits produced by the Mexican lime.   

The Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is known by many names, including Key lime, bartender's lime, and West Indian lime. The limes are juicy, aromatic, and flavorful.  Some plants are thorny, while other selections are thornless. I have a small yard, so I selected a thornless Mexican lime to avoid having to dodge thorns when I brush past the plant.  As with many citruses, the white blossoms are fragrant.  The green to yellow-green fruits are smaller and rounder than the usual grocery store limes, growing to approximately 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Once the limes ripen, in fall to early winter, they turn yellow and drop from the tree.  In my yard, the tree typically produces most heavily in October and November, but it seems like I can pick a lime almost any time of year.

The trees are moderate growing, to 12 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide.  I planted a standard because it would take less room.  The tree is still young and well-behaved, which is good because it is planted a little too close to our deck.  So far, it has done well with pruning.

The Mexican lime has a more limited growing range than other limes and is very sensitive to cold.  It is suited to USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11 (for example, southern California).[1]  Here, in zone 9, it is pushing the limit for the plant.   The Mexican lime cannot tolerate freezing temperatures and starts to incur frost damage at 32 degrees.  Since I live near the water in Benicia and temperatures are relatively moderate in the winter, I was willing to gamble.  I have non-LED Christmas lights strung through the tree in case of frost and am ready to take other measures to protect the tree if temperatures really dip.  In inland areas of Solano County, however, the Bearss lime is a better choice. 

Although I know I can lose the tree in a hard frost, I've really enjoyed the fragrant leaves and blossoms and tart fruit.  I'm glad I took the chance!

[1] The USDA's plant hardiness zone map can be found at https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/.

It was one of the last summer days – sunny with only the slightest nip in the air.  Perfect weather to look over my garden and enjoy the remaining flowers and veggies and look forward to next year.  Rather suddenly our mastiff, a reliable beacon of activity around the perimeter of our house, began to put out a ruckus.  I went to the front door but before I opened it I realized that the dog, Millie is her name, was looking up the street rather than out front.  I followed her head and there were 3 turkeys coming up the driveway.  That was fun. So I went out the back of the house to get a better view trying to stay out of sight enough to not disturb them.

I have a very full wisteria growing on an arbor along the roofline and I snuck near it off the back of the house.  Millie didn't come outside but made her presence known and made sure I didn't miss the presence of our visitors.  As I backed away from the house I could see one turkey above the wisteria.  Then there was an increasing clatter.  The alpha turkey headed off, I thought to go to my neighbor's roof, but actually going over our property to a greenway next to our back fence.  And then there was a din of flapping, squawking, and barking to beat the band and a flock (if that is what one calls a group of turkeys) often lined up on the roof and one by one took off to the greenway.  They landed and noisily took off on foot into the grasses.

Then all was quiet, Millie's job was done.; she had a drink and went to sleep.  We both had a snack and I went back to weeding.  Nature was good to us.  Harbinger of the holiday season to come.

It was a great day at the Mary Farmar school garden!

Every time I sign up for Master Gardener events, I get excited about getting out and working with my community alongside fellow Master Gardeners.  Even if I don't know anyone at each event, I always feel so connected to the folks that I find to be kindred spirits, driven by a love for all things about gardening and sustainability.

I would like to share my most recent Master Gardener volunteer adventure at the Mary Farmer School Garden in Benicia. We had a great day out in the garden that day!  I had seen the volunteer opportunity posted on the Master Gardener website but did not have free time until recently. When I arrived at the event, I was greeted warmly by Sheila Clyatt and the other Master Gardeners who were dedicating their time to the school garden.

This spectacular garden was created over 10 years ago, and is managed by Sheila Clyatt (Solano County Master Gardener) and Christine Linder, the Vice-president of Volunteers for Mary Farmar's PTA.  Sheila and Christine are joined by dedicated Master Gardeners, Mary Farmar PTA, and community volunteers.  

Volunteers support students that are in the first through fifth grades who visit the garden. These students come to the garden to experience hands-on activities, such as composting with worms; planting seeds, bulbs, plants, trees; growing and harvesting fruits and veggies.  The students also learn about pollinators, native plants, and sustainability.

On that day I helped out, Sheila quickly briefed the Master Gardener volunteers on activities for the event.  My activity station was the first of three, which had students learning about worm composting.  I gave the students a brief explanation about the worm composting (crash course from Sheila). Each student then made a bed of layered paper strips and soil for each worm that was placed into the main worm composting bin. 

Each student was given a small cup and some newspaper to tear into small strips to place in the cup. Then they added some soil, picked a worm out of a worm bin, then brought it to the next station where they added food for the worm (fruit and veggies that volunteers had chopped up). The students then placed the whole “worm bed” into the worm composting bin.  They seemed so pleased to be a part of this process for expanding the composting bin for use in their garden!

I noticed that most students seemed to gravitate to the soil naturally, wanting to smell, touch and feel the earth in their hands. To my delight, most of the students were more than happy to gently choose a worm out of the bin to place into their new “worm bed”.

If the students were not interested in worm composting, there were plenty of other activities, such as hands-on learning about Buffy the chicken and potting daffodils or succulent cuttings for their teachers!  What a magical garden!

Christine Linder, the VP of Volunteers for Mary Farmar's PTA is trying to increase awareness and parent involvement in the Mary Farmar school garden.  So, please join the Mary Farmar Garden Facebook Group for weekly updates from the garden. https://www.facebook.com/groups/569982193758936/