- Author: Betsy Buxton
There are plants that catch my fancy, usually with beautiful blooms and exotic foliage; Leonotis leonurus or Lion's tail (or Lion's plume) wasn't one of them though. Yes, this drought-tolerant bush has grass-green leaves and swirls of orange flowers along the length of the stem and is pretty and good natured, responds to weekly splashes of water after it is established and really needs no special attraction – but the real attraction for me is the name. Just saying it as I water and look at the plant brings an upbeat smile. Imagine having this evergreen shrub in the corner of the yard (or in the middle, in my yard) and being able to tell friends, “Yes, I have a lion in the yard, doesn't everyone?”
I first saw this bush at the Buck Mansion in Vacaville during an outing of a plant class while in college. Wow, bright orange balls, no, rather a round cluster of elongated orange blooms about every six inches apart growing looking almost like orange tennis balls from a distance.
These tubular, individual 2-inch long flowers are striking against the 2-5 inch medium green leaves. This is especially true when each stem has its own collection of these downy orange orbs. The original bush I saw was roughly 6X6 feet and a pleasure to see. My own plant is only 2X2 feet and kept in check by the amount of water it receives. These shrubs are quite striking when kept groomed and shaped.
Leonotis leonurus is a great plant to combine with other plants of the same watering needs and growing conditions such as agaves, aloes, matilija poppies, or wooly blue curls. The orange flowers against lavender blooms and foliage as well as summer –fall blooming salvias. It is also a tough plant which if affected by the frost can be cut back to living growth in the spring. For those of you who feel this a plant for your yard, please also consider its newer, less seen sibling known as Leonotis l. albfloria or ‘white tiger'. I have both and love ‘em!
- Author: Karen Metz
The drought continues to bring surprises. A welcome surprise has been how well my dahlias have done with minimal watering. I especially like the 'Cheyenne Chief' variety. It is so dramatic. A less welcome surprise was that I only got one Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile blossom. I have been growing the 'Peter Pan' variety for over 15 years and this is the first year without numerous blooms. I see other yards with blooms so don't know if it's the water or if perhaps mine need fertilizer or perhaps to be divided. It's a puzzlement.
I am thinking of getting rid of my Butterfly Bushes, Buddleja davidii. They are drought tolerant and I do enjoy the butterflies that are attracted to the blossoms. But they always look so ratty by mid to late summer. They have also been growing so fast that I am always cutting them back to keep them out of my neighbor's yard. I am thinking of replacing them with plumbago. I have always enjoyed seeing that wonderful blue flower in other gardens. They would be growing against a fence. I wondered if any other gardeners out there would share their experiences with growing plumbago, before I make the leap.
Lastly, I have recently been working on a small portion of a larger Master Gardener project. My part is to come up with a website list of gardening related sites. I've had to toil endlessly, going to site after site, looking at all that wonderful information and all those beautiful plants. It's a rough job, but somebody's got to do it. And I get volunteer hours as well. Can it get any better than that?
- Author: Pamela Allen
Last week I walked out to my compost bins with the bucket of kitchen waste in hand. I twisted off the top, picked up the bucket, prepared to dump it in and then screamed EEEEEEKKK! What is THAT?
My compost was undulating with movement and sound, crunching and squishing and just EEWWWWW! I set down the kitchen scraps, ran into the house, turned on my computer and typed “Bugs in my compost”. Turns out there is no reason to worry, some people actually pay for the bugs that I got for free! With a little help from the Compost Santa Cruz County website, I determined my compost bins have been absolutely invaded by Hermetia illucens, black soldier fly larvae.
Black soldier flies are not harmful to humans. They do not bite or sting. They are not a vector for human disease. They are remarkably efficient consumers of kitchen waste. The adult fly only survives a few days, however the larvae can live for several weeks all the while consuming huge amounts of food waste. The castings can be used to amend the soil and my chicken flock enjoys any larvae that stray too far from the safety of the bin. They can be purchased from BioGrubs on Amazon.com. By my calculation, I have about $35 worth of larvae in my bin for free! I am over the gross out and now enjoy watching my little guys do their work. If you are interested, you can watch the video of my invasion on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjKJzhPxOsQ. My husband says he won't begin to worry about me unless I begin to give them names!
I continue to add green waste to my bin in the hopes that I can encourage the colonization to last as long as possible!
References
compostsantacruzcounty.org/PDF/Critters.pdf
amazon.com/BioGrubs-Soldier-Larvae-Voracious-Composters/dp/B00HG7BR3Y
- Author: Trisha Rose
One of the biggest issues I faced with removing my front lawn was "what should I put onto the bare ground now that the sod has been removed?" I am thinking about this again as I anticipate the return of rain for the garden. In the past month or so, I have heard on the weather news that a strong El Nino is a possibility this coming winter. There could be a lot of mud puddles out there with so many lawns removed or in the process of dying from the lack of water. For my front garden, the decision was driven by my big dogs. Although I rarely let the dogs out in the front yard, they do go out there on a leash occasionally. I needed to make sure whatever was out there didn't come back into the house along with them. One of my favorite groundcovers for pathways has been decomposed granite or "DG". It knits well into spaces, it is water permeable, looks tidy and has a nice crunching sound when walked on. Unfortunately, it also sticks to dog hair and between their toes which leads to the problem of scratching the floors, so had to nix that option. So then I actually tried rubber mulch, husband didn't like the smell, so that's out. Mulch is a pretty good option since it lays well onto the soil, but needs to be renewed yearly. I tried 4 or 5 different types and concluded that pathway or playground mulch laid on the soil the best without any strange sticky bits, but it needs to be renewed at least yearly since it disintegrates into the soil. This option works as an amendment to our native clay soils the but the mulch looses its function as a pathway cover so you will need to replace it, fortunately it is not that expensive. Beyond the pathway I had created planting beds with perennials and succulents which I filled in with more mulch. As least in the planting beds the choice of mulch was easier, mostly an aesthetic decision. In the front garden, I have also added about 45 to 50 bags of coffee grounds laid out over time. On the pathways they eventually work into the underlying soils and in the planting beds I usually dig the grounds in directly as compost. So after my various experiments with mulches I eventually came upon a solution of donated flagstone surrounded by jagged rocks with mulch in the areas off the paths. The jagged rocks knit around the stones and became somewhat buried into the pathways. I found that the rounded pebbles look much nicer but they will not ever knit together so they will not result in a flat surface. Safer is better so jagged rocks were the right decision for me.
Groundcover plantings, especially sedums look and function very nicely in lower traffic areas but until they are established, they will need some water.
It is such a dilemma to worry about the possibility of mud puddles after so much dry weather. Fall is fast approaching and it is typically when I anticipate adding plants to the garden. The fall and winter rains help to establish the newcomers and renew the existing garden. This year, I just don't know, I am having a hard time thinking about planting anything that needs water, but at least I have solutions in place to minimize the mud puddles.
- Author: Sterling Smith
Ailanthus altissima or Ailanthus is commonly found in Solano County. Tree of Heaven is a hardy species imported from China during the mid-nineteenth century, established in the California foothills it is now found nation-wide. Prolific, its spreads readily by self-seeding and suckering, found on abandoned urban lots and along highways it flourishes under marginal conditions. Many consider it an invasive WEED!
Ailanthus has bi-pinnate compound leaves one to three feet long with 13-25 leaf-lets, the bark is silvery-gray with a pronounced diamond-like pattern on more established trees. Reddish-brown masses of seeds are visible during the summer. Ailanthus is fast growing with large diameter (0.75+ inch) stems growing ~three feet per year. The wood is weak with no known commercial value.
Cultural controls; difficult to eradicate once established. A combination of herbicide application and mechanical removal can be effective. Recently I pulled up 15 Ailanthus trees up to 5 inches in diameter with a farm tractor and heavy duty tow chain. Bottom line, stay vigilant, remove early and often.
