- Author: Betsy Buxton
Well, kids, the front yard is almost finished! That is, the plants are in – most of them – and the result is looking somewhat like my vision. What I mean is that there are the 2 roses with the clematis's entwined among the branches, the geums are in where I envisioned them, and my big “fat cat” statue is planted firmly by his rocks. Ok, so not everything is installed or even purchased yet. Some of the original sought-after plants didn't even make it to the house! I'll kinda, sorta, begin at the start of the story.
The way this new front yard plan originally shaped up was that I would have 2 roses with clematis, 3 geums (‘Tangerine'), a small well behaved ground cover (if such a thing was around), the already planted daffodils coming up and disappearing at the proper times, a Weigela with pinkish foliage and large red-pink flowers, a grassy “thing” and it was done. How it played out was . . .
The roses, the clematis vines and the weigela were shoe-ins as they were here. The rest was to be purchased – never, but NEVER take your time deciding on when to purchase your chosen plants because it seems the minute your heart is set on “that” plant, all of a sudden it's out of season, out of stock, or it's not available any longer. I found I definitely needed a list of substitutions and pronto.
The “grassy thing” was not to be. Even at Annie's Annuals, all the grasses were way oversized! I couldn't find much of anything in an under 18” height – but there were plenty at over 3' tall and wide. When filling in my size landscape I had the choice of 1 “deer grass” or 2 which would leave room for nothing else. Then I saw the substitute: dwarf phormium or flax! A lovely green and pink leaf color; I took 2, thank you!
A wonderful cone flower made the next cut as I went looking for a small shrub with flowers that would stay rather small without too much trimming – wow, I was on a roll! Next, came a rather large shrub , a Tequila Sunrise Mirror Plant, which advised that it would take up a 5 X 5' space behind the planting area but in front of the fence, snag, you're coming home with me, buddy! That filled the gap between the fence and the original mow strip that I left in place. A couple of irises that I had already, a 6-pack of Dusty Miller and a 6-pack of violas in place of ground cover and voile, it's done! Or at least, I'm almost there; some of my bargains still need to get their toes into the soil but that's what tomorrow is for!
On another note, those of you who didn't go to the drip irrigation talk on Saturday in Sacramento missed a great opportunity to schmooze with members of the Master Gardeners and several folks from still other Master Gardener groups. Learned a lot, found out newer drip irrigation products, didn't win any of the door prizes, and came away filled up the great eats provided!
- Author: Trisha Rose
Need a little help choosing plants? I recommend the California Gardening Guide written by Bruce and Sharon Asakawa's published by Cool Springs Press of Franklin, Tennessee. Although it was published in 2000, It has been very helpful to me in helping to choose plants that grow well in California. Our plants have been around a very long time, so what's 15 years. I ran across this book when I took Ken William's Plant Identification Class at Solano College a couple of years ago. The photographs of each plant are large enough that you can really get a sense of what they will look like in the landscape, something lacking in many other reference books. Also included for each selection are sun and moisture preferences, pests and diseases, pruning and care considerations along with when and where to plant. I gave found this added information very helpful especially when helping others choose appropriate plants. When I took Ken's landscape design class at Solano, I used this book to help my client choose plants for her garden. The photos helped her to recognize some favorites. I have many plant reference guides with The Sunset Western Garden book as my main guide, although the California Guide is not nearly as comprehensive, if the plant is listed it will provide more details and good photographs, frequently with a mature specimen in the landscape. I have purchased used copies online at very reasonable prices.
- Author: Karen Metz
I got a wonderful book for my birthday. It's called "Bizarre Botanicals: How to Grow String of Hearts, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Panda Ginger, and Other Weird and Wonderful Plants" The authors are Larry Mellichamp and Paula Gross and is published by Timber Press. As you can guess from the title they aren't talking about run of the mill plants, but of odd or interesting plants. There is a whole chapter on carnivorous plants and another on succulents. They, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, suggest the entire Euphorbia genus should be listed as bizarre because of it's diversity, and strangeness. They include other plants whose flowers or pods resemble other creatures.
The photography is beautiful. There is growing information on each plant, but the emphasis is more on other interesting information about them, like uses, myths, etc.I was pleased to see that I either am growing or have grown some of their selections. Cockscomb (Celosia cristate), Scouring rush (Equisetum sp.), Sea Holly (Eryngium sp.), Crested Mamillaria cactus, Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus), Tapeworm Plant (Homalo cladiumplatycladon), Devils thorn (Solanum pyracanthum), Baby toes (Fenestraria rhapalaphylla), Starfish flower (Stapelia hirsuta), Mother of thousands (Kalanchoe delagoensis), Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and more.
After looking through the book my next purchase will have to be Baseball plant (Euphorbia obesa), which you guessed it looks like a pile of baseballs. This book was perfect to be looking through around Halloween. I can also suggest "Wicked Plants" and "Wicked Bugs" by Amy Stewart for a similar fun loving vein of plant storytelling.
- Author: Betty Homer
A few months earlier, I featured one location of an urban farm tour that I attended in June 2015. Unfortunately, these tours only occur once a year, so you will have to wait until June 2016 for the next round of tours (the tour is organized by the Institute of Urban Homesteading (“IUH”) located in Oakland, California, and the sites change annually, so there is always something new to see and explore. Just Google Institute of Urban Homesteading to see their calendar of events). Because the sites are private residences, addresses for them will not be disclosed to preserve and protect the privacy interests of the urban farmer-homeowners.
After the initial tours, I learned that IUH was hosting yet another round of Bay Area urban farm tours in late summer/early fall of this year--this time in Hayward--so I decided to sign up for two more sites.
The first urban farm that I visited in Hayward was Vital Sow Farms. Vital Sow Farms consist of a lot size of 6,000 square feet, of which 1,500 square feet is used to support the owners' urban farm. I chose to visit this farm for its historical value. Apparently, it is one of the oldest properties on this block and the house located on this property where the current owners, a young couple, live on, was a Buddhist temple for 30 years. The current owners of Vital Sow Farms have tried to maintain and honor the spiritual history of their property in the design of their garden. They have maintained some of the original layout and features of the garden including a shrine, altar, and place of worship. Surrounding those sacred places, is garden where the couple grows an amazing abundance and assortment of organic food and herbs for cooking and for homeopathic remedies. Kale is one of the absolute favorites in this garden, used to feed both people and their 6 chickens. The owners have also utilized bio-intensive techniques and vertical gardening techniques to optimize space so that they can harvest food year round. They have inter-planted food, flowers and herbs to create harmonious polycultures and increase diversity in their backyard so as to attract beneficial insects. There is a large flock of chickens and many mature fruit trees on the property, including feijoas, Asian pears, jujubes, and Hachiya persimmons. Please see the pictures below and enjoy!
- Author: Nanette McKnight Shamieh
This summer I have been busy remodeling a home. And with that was the incredible opportunity to design a drought tolerant front yard. Although it was not the best of circumstances to plant young plants during a grueling hot summer...sometimes you just have to work with what you are dealt. And you can imagine my horror, in addition to the heat, most of the plants were trampled on by the contractor crew that came through with little respect for the beauties I had planted. That being said, some came through with fervor and others, well, are still struggling. Nurturing continues now that the contractors are gone.
Did want to share two beauties that came through in spite of it all…
