- Author: Susan P Croissant
Elephant's Ears, Heartleaf (Bergenia cordifolia, Bergenia crassifolia).
Bergenias, named for the 18th Century German botanist Karl August von Bergen, have been in American and British gardens for at least two centuries. An under-appreciated species, it is a good choice for someone who doesn't know much about gardening. Hardy, reliable, easy care, rewarding results, attractive year round. Almost impossible to kill.
An attractive ground cover, spread by fibrous above-ground sideways stalks. Dark-green, glossy, slick, smooth, round/heart-shaped leaves have a cabbage-like leathery appearance. Sometimes called Pigsqueak (rub leaves for squeaky-clean sound). Most varieties have bell-shaped flowers, compact clusters atop 12-inch burgundy stems. From pale/rosy/deep pink to ruby red, magenta, dark purple. Each flower spike lasts only a few weeks, but the blooming period can be prolonged by regularly removing the spent spikes.
One of winter's most adaptable evergreen perennials. An interesting contrast to other winter plants as cooler weather sees enriching tones in leaf coloring--maroon, crimson, bronze, magenta, beet red, ruddy (red/reddish). This color sometimes lasts until April. Only on occasion do March-May blooms occur together with the winter-maroon leaves.
Siberian Bergenia varieties such as B. cordifolia (Saxifraga), B. crassifolia (Siberian Tea) and their hybrids have the greatest tendency to maroon in colder temperatures. With warm winters, they may stay green year round. B. cordifolia flowers March-May, magenta-pink, short stems. 'Winter Glut' rosy-pink. 'Abendglocken' (Evening Bells) has striking dark lilac-pink on tall stalks. B. crassifolia blooms early December or February-early March, magenta-pink. B. purpurascens (Purple Pigsqueak), mostly in the Midwest/East, produces red-purple leaves in fall/winter, deep-pink/magenta-purple/ red flowers in spring. B. emeiensis is strikingly different. Cliff-dwelling (WA state). Five-petalled white blooms, more daisy-like than the usual hanging-bells, mid-late spring. Not as cold-hardy, it is sometimes offered as a house plant or as a garden variety where summers are too hot for most Bergenias.
Bergenias tolerate drought but prefer moist soil. Suitable for light (sandy), medium (loamy), even clay (heavy) soil. Soil pH neutral, alkaline or acid. Full, semi- or no shade. Full shade produces lighter green, floppier leaves and longer necks trying to reach the sun. Semi-shade retains an attractive appearance that can become extremely green and lush if kept damp. With a little sun, the red effect heightens in bronzy red-leaf varieties. With no shade at all, it may suffer. Full sun, high summer heat and insufficient water burns leaves, plant remains shorter and rusty-looking around the edges. Nonetheless, apt to survive and continue spreading. Mulch lightly and water more in summer. Compost early winter. Nip off old foliage turned brown.
In selecting Bergenia, start with a few adult plants. Youngsters take time to get well-rooted and begin spreading. Choose root-bound in gallon-size pots. Plant in autumn or spring (after blooming) near a shrub, boulder or fence for wind protection, preferably north/northeast side of garden for afternoon shade. Or in a mixed container. After 3-4 years, it may become overcrowded and flower production may decline. Divide in spring after bloom. Deer resistant. Watch for snails, slugs, and weevils.
- Author: Cheryl A Potts
With our California draught seemingly continuing on into fall, our minds are not so much filled with ideas and plans of new things to plant, but more how can I help my existing garden survive or what should we simply be letting go.
However, I would like to share a garden I experienced this summer while visiting family in Michigan. Our son, daughter-in-law and family live in a beautiful neighborhood in Saginaw. The houses all reek east-coast charm and character, so missing in so many of our California neighborhoods. I want to tour every home in the surrounding blocks and love fanaticizing about just what kind of early American furniture I would embellish my old "new" home with.
But what really makes this neighborhood special is the people that live there and their interaction with each other. We were so lucky to have been able to attend a potluck at one of these homes attended by not only the whole neighborhood, but also, the Saginaw Police and Fire Departments, who, in promoting neighborhood good-will participated in a tug-of-war between the two life-saving agencies. Believe it or not, even this struggle between dozens of handsome young, virile men in uniform was not the high point of the day for me, but the garden in which we pot lucked.
On 5/8 of an acre, Dan and Linda Swaffer have developed an edible landscape garden of gigantic proportions. Back yard, front yard, side yard, all focused on growing organic food, and still having room to entertain the entire neighborhood (not to mention, feed the entire neighborhood). I found it to be the best example of what two people (not paid staff) can do for real with a lot of work and commitment. Yes, I know water is not a problem in Michigan, but we can dream, can't we.
Instead of typing a lot of overused words to describe their abundant garden. I invite you to just view the following snapshots.
- Author: Maria X. Isip-Bautista
A couple of years back our family was gifted a simple wooden flower press. Such a great gift for a family with little ones! One of our favorite uses of the press is drying beautifully colored fall leaves. This is a great activity for kids of a wide range of ages.
To make your own art with pressed flowers:
First, get outside and gather some leaves!
- Get everyone outside for some walking and exploring; it's like a treasure hunt!
- This is a great opportunity to discuss the seasonal changes that many trees undergo.
- Young kids can practice identifying the myriad of colors and shapes of leaves.
- Older kids might enjoy taking a plant identification book along to try and identify different types of tress based on leaf type, bark, etc.
- As you go along, it's fun to talk about what leaves everyone picks and why. This helps kids to really practice observation and description, and to practice articulating their personal tastes and appreciation for nature.
- Select leaves with a variety of shapes and colors, sizes and in varying stages of color change!
Next, press your leaves!
- You can buy a simple press at a craft store or even make your own. A tutorial for doing this can be found here: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Flower-Press
- Or just use some heavy books with sheets of paper/newsprint. The sheets of paper will help to wick moisture from the leaves and will protect the books from becoming stained. Be sure to use a good ¼' stack of paper between each layer of leaves you're pressing. Use acid-free paper if you've got it.
- Allow for plenty of time for your leaves to dry- 2-3 weeks is usually sufficient.
Get crafty! You can use your leaves in a variety of ways:
- Use them to decorate around the house: strewn on tabletops, in centerpieces, for dinner place-cards, etc.
- Paper crafts:
o Use leaves to create a diagram of the seasonal changes of tree leaves.
o Use leaves to decorate “thankfulness” greeting cards for the Thanksgiving season.
o Use leaves to decorate bookmarks.
o Use leaves in free craft time for the kiddos, and see what interesting things they come up with!
- If you'd like the leaves in your paper crafts to last a long time, you might consider using a clear-drying (acid free, if you've got it) craft glue to “seal” them on the paper.
Happy crafting!
- Author: Launa Herrmann
Dragonflies (Odonates) are sharp-eyed predators. With compound eyes covering most of their head, they enjoy a 360 degree field of vision. No wonder a dragonfly can quickly snatch its prey and easily avoid capture. After noticing one perched on the edge of my swimming pool, I was amazed at the difficulty I had snapping its photo. At the slightest movement of my finger on the camera, the dragonfly flitted away.
Australian researchers are trying to mimic the dragonfly's field of vision by studying how it tracks a small single prey in a large swarm of insects and hope to develop a bionic eye to help the visually impaired. According to Zahra Bagheri, one of the author's of the University of Adelaide study,“The dragonfly chases prey at speeds up to 60 kilometers [37 miles] per hour, capturing them with a success rate over 97%.” To learn more, click on http://www.wsj.com/articles/scientists-tap-dragonfly-vision-to-build-a-better-bionic-eye-1444055235
Finally, one of the best online articles I found on dragonflies notes that each of the 30,000 facets within their compound eyes point in slightly different directions thereby creating a mosaic of overlapping images. For more information on this fascinating article (30,000 facets give dragonflies a different perspective: The Big Compound Eye in the Sky) , visit http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/07/08/30000-facets-give-dragonflies/
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
I learned this summer that the Napa Camellia Society is disbanding. Napa has kicked off the start of the camellia season for 30 years. Due to the aging membership, physical labor involved to host a show and lack of new members, it was agreed upon to discontinue. I was a member of the society and encouraged veteran and trainee Master Gardeners to volunteer yearly to clerk or be runners in the judging process of the shows. Here's how it began…
In 2004, while attending Master Gardener training at Solano College and wanting to soak up anything horticultural, we heard about the Napa Camellia Society and camellia show. The Napa show would be held the first Saturday in February. Knowing nothing about this annual event and little about camellias, several Master Gardeners and trainees made the trek to the Napa Senior Center.
What an education we received that day. We walked into a large room filled with choice camellia blooms. It looked like a giant valentine. Wall to wall pink, white, and red blooms. The blooms were arranged on long tables by the name of the plant they represented and were propped on a plastic cup of wet perlite to keep them moist and unblemished. Camellia growers from all over Northern California joined together to bring their best blooms for this competition.
Meeting the growers, many of them accredited camellia judges, was educational. These passionate members were eager to share their knowledge. A Napa grower and the gentleman who began the annual show in Napa, was Superior Court Judge, Don Fretz. Developing a friendship with “Judge Fretz”, I asked him if he would come to Solano UCCE in Fairfield and share his love of camellias with the Master Gardeners. And he did. We came away with so much information and admiration for this gentleman. Growing camellias successfully is no small feat. We were saddened when Judge Fretz passed away in July of 2013. The Camellia show in 2014 was held at ‘The Meadows' and was in honor of him.
The Solano Master Gardeners took a field trip in 2007 to Peggy and Jerry Aaron's 16 acres on Mt. Veeder. Camellia growers and members of the Napa Camellia Society, their property supported 600 camellia plants all in pots and all hand watered. What an amazing day we experienced, what an education!
Nuccio's nursery, a breeder since 1935 of camellias and azaleas, was a supporter and sent camellia plants that were available to purchase. The plants sent were unusual and not found at local nurseries. The temptation to purchase a plant every year was my downfall. One year Camellia sinensis was available for sale. Knowing it was the camellia from which tea has been brewed in Asia for centuries, it was a “must have”. After purchasing, it was part of my Master Gardener “tea “ presentation for several years.
Using most of the shady places in our garden, the last camellia purchased was pruned into a bonsai. The plant was root trimmed and trained to cascade. The camellia blooms remain full size and are beautiful. The name of this camellia bonsai plant is ‘Francine'.
Sharing love of camellias with others has been a joy. Friends and family have added camellias to their gardens and give me annual progress reports. I now refer to the camellia as the “Winter Rose”. I know there are many Master Gardeners who will remember their days participating in the Napa Show; who will cherish their memories and join me in gratitude to the wonderful friendships we developed and knowledge we gathered.
