- 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.
- Author: Mollie Jarrett
I've been plagued by a stray cat that is determined to use my herb bed for their personal toilet.
I've tried some of the usual tactics to discourage it like cayenne pepper, orange peels, and netting buried under the soil. Nothing worked until I saw “How to Keep Cats Out of the Garden” at veggiegardener.com. The answer was a simple inexpensive item, (though a not so aesthetically pleasing one), that has worked for me so far.
Look at the picture below. Have you figured it out? Yep, plastic forks! Just place them tine side up about two inches apart. It seems that cats don't like the feel of the tines against them so they stay out.
P.S. You could use the clear plastic forks which would be a little less noticeable.
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
I purchased a Brunfelsia pauciflora after seeing one on a local garden tour. The color purple pops in any garden and this smallish shrub in the backyard behind a swimming pool was striking. Researching information about it I learned it would grow in zone 9, belongs to the Solanaceae family, requires partial shade and needs regular water. It is an evergreen, perennial shrub, quite lovely by itself when it is not in bloom.
Since all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested, I planted my shrub behind other plants in a small, shady, side garden. In doing so, it would be “hidden” and away from curious pets. It has been in the ground for about seven years and has just recently begun blooming heavily. The tubular flowers fade from purple to lavender to white, hence the folksy common name. It has beautiful oval leaves, which disappear underneath the beautiful, multiple clusters of blooms.
A tropical American native, it blooms in spring and early summer. It does well in containers. Although most literature mentions pruning this plant to shape it, I have never had to prune ours. It is about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. In alkaline soil, iron may need to be added to the soil to prevent chlorosis. So far, using fish emulsion has worked well. Literature says this shrub will grow to 10 feet tall, but pruning can keep it much smaller.
‘Macrantha' has large purple flowers and is less cold hardy while ‘Floribunda Compacta' has smaller blooms but more of them. It also has larger oval leaves, eight inches long and two and a half inches wide.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is an easy shrub to grow requiring little attention in the garden. Besides enjoying the beautiful blooms, I adore the name. It sounds so Victorian.
- Author: Launa Herrmann
This summer I repotted my succulents. What a delight to survey my collection, finally all neat and tidy. However, less than a month later, I noticed an intruder. “Out of the blue” popped a yellow mushroom. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure what I was actually looking at. And frankly, the little fungi was so cute I really didn't want to disturb it. But I did. With hand in surgical glove, I pulled it up and out of its blue ceramic pot. Its aroma — well, it smelled so earthy, almost cooking-quality good.
After snapping several photos and spending time researching I discovered the interloper is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, also known as plantpot dapperling, flowerpot parasol, and the yellow houseplant mushroom. Initially upon its discovery in 1785 near Halifax, this species was named Agaricus luteus, however a different fungus had already been given that name. In 1839 a garden inspector with the surname Birnbaum found the same species in a Prague greenhouse resulting in its current name of birnbaumii.
Whatever you call it, you definitely do not want this mushroom on pizza or atop your salad. After discovering conflicting reports about its toxicity, from being poisonous if consumed to causing only gastrointestinal upset, I'm not about to give this cute colorful mushroom a try. After all, who needs drama after a nice dinner!
So I disposed of the pot's content — succulents, mushroom, and all the tiny little sprouts of mushrooms — securing them in a plastic garbage bag before dumping the bag into the trash can. Since this mushroom spreads through contaminated soil or mulch, I avoided using the green waste can. I left the empty ceramic pot in the sizzling summer sun to sterilize itself for a couple weeks, then scrubbed its surfaces with a mixture of water and bleach.
If you find these mushrooms in your pots, remember they are almost impossible to eradicate. The longer you allow them to sit around, the more risk you take in their spores spreading to other pots.
