From LA to El Dorado

Finally Somethings look good!

2009-09-21T20:17:00.001-07:00

My brugmansia has been trending downhill for over two years now. Something keeps sucking it dry. I managed to keep it alive but not much more by spraying it when I spray the roses. When I finally discovered that spider mites were destroying the roses this year, I treated the brugmansia as well and look at the result. The first leaves after treatment were quilted even though they were green and healthy and the second phase of leaves look like they should, green and smooth. No flowers or buds yet but with growth like this I am optomistic that I will see it covered before winter arrives.

It can't get worse.

2009-09-07T14:01:00.001-07:00

Despite a mild summer, my garden has gone to pot. This year I discover I have spider mites - never a problem before. They hit all the roses except Mutabilis and nearly wiped out my new bedding roses in their first year. I got some stuff that is supposed to kill them systemically. I can't really tell if they are dead yet but there are healthy stalks that give me hope. Never got a tomato or a zuchini from my raised bed. Only green beans - and they were very good. Everything in the bed is dying with some kind of white stuff - well the tomatoes are not dying - not that it makes any difference.
Well, moving right along. Maybe I have learned something and next year will be better.

It am hot!

2009-07-19T15:45:00.001-07:00

Even with the heat, I have a few flowers. The crocosmia are looking quite nice although the leaves are beginning to brown and this is the only clump from the three or four from last year that survives.

Graham Thomas rose is blooming although the flowers are small and turn crispy after opening. Also this year the flowers are turning apricot rather than bleaching white like last year.

Perking up in July

2009-07-11T18:03:00.001-07:00

A few more flowers this week. The white verbenias in the planter are starting to bloom nicely. I just have to remember to water them every other day.
Next is gaultheria. I planted two dozen of them last year with the hope that they would like it here and multiply. Most didn't make for this season but this one is looking good. I don't know if they didn't like the winter or they need more water.

Next a closeup of mutabilis showing the color range. They open yellow and turn pink and then fushia. Finally another shot of my purple shrub rose. This week it is looking pretty showy with the full range of color from purple through red to lavender.

Happy Fourth - No Fireworks here

2009-07-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Havn't got much more to show this week. We are still pretty much in between something. The first picture is something I regard as success. It is a small part of the bed area between my lawn and the retaining wall. It is the closest thing to my hopes for luxurious flower beds. I will give credit to Digging Dog. I think all the plants came from there and they suggested the combination of the yarrow and the aster. (You can see the yarrow just beginning to bloom and the aster is the tall, dark leaved plant in the background). The other plants are euphorbias who seem quite happy.
The other picture is my 'purple' shrub rose. It is a deep purple in the spring but not in July.
I would have more roses if I could persuade the gardeners that roses are supposed to have flowers. They want to shape them. Sigh!

As June goes out with a blast

2009-06-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

The green beans are beginning to form. We should be picking them in a week or so.

Next is the Sea Kale (statice) which is beginning to look like a keeper this year. (The definition of keeper is mostly survival. If it survives, I keep it.)

Finally two pots on the patio. The sweet potato vines always look great. It's the other stuff that is the problem. The black one is overwhelming the flowering ginger in the first one but the second looks alright.

Another week like this one and who knows.

Just a Few Gems

2009-06-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

It's slow in the garden this week. The beans are just about to flower and look much better than last year. Not much action with anything else in the raised bed.

Over in the other part of the yard we have a salvia blooming its little heart out and finally the lavender looking good and smelling better.

With all the wonderful coolness, I expected more from the garden. Oh well, maybe next week.

June Flowers

2009-06-13T17:50:00.001-07:00

Some pretty flowers this month. The garden isn't spectacular as a whole. The roses are past their first blooms and the rest arn't enough to catch the eye.

Still, I have some beauties. The first is an alstoemeria (I think I got that right). I have always wanted one but the ones at the nursery cost an arm and a leg and usually the colors are muddy so I never bought one until this year at the SFGS. It is gorgeous. I just hope that I can grow it when it gets hotter (and if if will survive the winter).

Next is my brugmansia. It is starting to look good but I always have trouble them when it gets hotter.

Verbenia bonariensis grows beautifully for me and make a pretty airy presence wherever I plant it. It also reseeds happily and every year I have more plants. (It survives the winters just fine)

Then the small white bedding zinnias. They were great last year and starting off fine now.

And finally my red daylily.

Water Lily - the rest of the story.

2009-05-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last year I was into garden goals - and I accomplished the ones I set. This year, not so much.

This water lily was one of my goals last year. I accomlished the goal but never really got the benefit. I was excited about having a small water feature in our courtyard filled with floating leaves and flowers. What I got was a container filled with green scum, a few lily pads and not flowers.

Needless to say, my wife is not a raving fan of this water garden. She does not appreciate the aesthetics of galvanized metal and she doesn't like green scum.

So I have vowed this year to do better. More fertilizer for the lily and find something to fight the green scum. I have inserted fertilzer plugs every few weeks with no noticeable impact on the lily. There are still only a few skimpy leaves. With the scum, I have kept the water relatively clear. It may be some stuff I got to spray the water to prevent mosquitoes. It may have nothing to do with the spray. I don't know. I do know that I expect some appreciation from the lily and I'm not seeing it.

Maybe it's still too cold for lily growth. Maybe, the lily just doesn't like me. All I know is that unless it starts giving me a little appreciation, it won't get another year.

This week in the Garden

2009-05-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

First up - Mmw. Cecile Brunner with long bloom stalks. Then the deep purple shrub rose.

Then my new shrub roses for the foundation planting. These are Flame Mediland - a little blue for my tastes but it looks promsing to fill in the spaces where the pittosporums died.

Next is Mutabilis, always looking good.

Finally some new african daisies. I like the color blends available. This one blends orange, brown and purple very nicely.

Flower in May

2009-05-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

As you can see the roses are beginning to bloom. Graham Thomas -slightly out of focus, followed by Mme. Ceclie Brunner.

Cecile has been tiny for the past two years and I have wondered if she would ever get big because the catalogue says 3 feet. This year I have some bloom stalks that are tall as you can see. It still remains to be seen if the whole plant will get bigger.

The next rose is a dark violet shrub paired with Cecile and finally Ginger Syllabub growing up the bell tower in my entrace courtyard.

Mutabilis is blooming but only a few blossums and I am still waiting to see flowers on my newest - Fire Mediland which I am using to replace some Pittosporums that died. I havn't used roses for landscaping plantings yet and so if this works, I will be doing more.

Anybody using the new landscape roses like flower carpet ($25 at my nursery, wow!) or mediland or others. Share your experiences with me.

Flowers This week.

2009-04-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

More iris this week. Suspect is the first with the dark falls and caramel colored standards. It is an arilbred but looks more like a bearded. Oyex, the second definitely shows the aril in the shape and shadings. It has small leaves and not much of a presence until it flowers. Then you can't take your eyes away.

And finally, my irrepresibly pink sweatpeas. Every blessed one of them is pink, and not just pink but a particularly disgusting lavender pink. Since they are growing in the raised bed where I hoped they would be finished by planting time, I don't know how long I will put up with them.

Flowers This week. p1

2009-04-19T16:30:00.001-07:00

This week, I am seeing more flowers in the yard. Here are two to start things off.

The first is a euphorbia with cheerful orange bracts. The second is the sweatpeas that I planted last fall in the mistaken belief that they would start growing and blooming early and yes I don't believe that April is early.

At least this year they came up last fall and didn't die. The next problem is that they are pink. I was sure that they were assorted colors and I most definitely would not have selected a packet with exclusively pink flowers, especially a magenta pink like these. There are only a few flowers so far and these sweatpeas had better put on a good show to make up for their pinkness.

Repotting Cymbidiums

2009-04-12T15:25:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I repotted some of my cymbidium orchids so I thought I would share the process. I use coir bricks as the potting medium. Coir is the fiber from coconut husks and you can buy it compressed into bricks which you soak in water before use. I use the mixed bricks which contain larger chunks of the husk.

The second picture shows the plants waiting to be repotted.

The third picture is the coir after soaking.

The fourth picture is one of the plants broken apart out of the pot. You don't need to be delicate with them. I also clean out dead leaves and the dry fibers around the pseudobulbs to make the plant more attractive.

The fifth picture shows part of the plant repotted with the remaining part waiting it's turn.

Finally, the last picture show the class of 09 perky and eager to grow and get ready for blooming next year. I am hopeful that these will bloom for me. I usually don't expect plants to bloom the first year after repotting but i don't get around to repotting them until well into the summer. This year I am early enough to hope that they get a good long growth season.

The two plants that are blooming now need repotting but I will wait until the blooms fade.

Another Cymbidium

2009-04-10T17:29:00.001-07:00

I'm awash in orchids this year.

Well, maybe not awash but three plants with blooms is my best performance yet in the foothills.

King Arthur (Sweetheart) is my best bloomer, both here and in So Cal. This year I had two plants bloom, one in December, when it normally bloomed for me down south and now this one in April. Behind him you can see the pink I showed a week or so back.

I am feeling very optimistic that next year will be a bloom bonanza. Several of my plants are over grown and need repotting. I am going to do it soon to give them the best chance at blooming next year. The ones I potted last year should be definites. I received my coir bricks last week so as soon as the rain stops, I'm ready.

First Iris

2009-04-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here is my first iris this year. It's an Arilbred. You can easily tell from the beautiful brown blotch and if you look carefully you can see the domed shape of the bloom. I am particularly pleased because it is a true test of a plant to come back a second year on my rockpile.

Logic would argue that arilbreds would be a good bet given that they like dry summers (at least from one parent) but you never know. Then, also sometimes wet winters make a plant that you would otherwise expect to be happy die on you.

Some of my others seem to be coming on strong, others are still there and some are missing. Life is a great experiment and it's wonderful when you can experiment with something as beautiful as this. I am lousy with marking my plants but this one is most likely Burra Sahib although it isn't so domed as the picture in the catalogue.

Put a Tiger in Your Tank, Pam

2009-04-02T17:33:00.001-07:00

Pam Penick, Gardener, Designer and Blogger extraordinaire uses stock tanks in her landscapes, both as water gardens and planters to raise her plants to higher levels. It was an inspiration to me as I looked to find a container for a water lily last year (there is a story there but let's save it for later). Anyway in my daily web browsing, I found this lovely pool and since it's an idea that not even Pam has incorporated into her garden, I want to share it with her. I love it when I can reciprocate.

What's going on this week.

2009-03-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

First a look at the new plants I got at the SF Garden Show. These are all perenials from Digging Dog. I am now figuring out where to plant them. My plant selection processes are not altogether clear to me. The general characteristics I seek are plants that I think will grow in my rockpile and are not pink. Beyond that I don't have a plan and so when I return, it's always a problem figuring out where to plant them. Then there are the completely irrational selections - like a three pack of flowering ginger varieties. They are supposedly hardy but I know they are forbidden by the plant cops. The original plan was to grow them in pots but Iam seriously thinking about putting them with rosa mutabilis and the elephant ear (also forbidden). I am a sucker for tropicals. If it weren't for the plant cops my backyard would be as tropical as you can get in the foothills. Also, in spite of my poor record with cymbidiums here, I bought another and also a dendrobium that is supposed to be hardy in SF. I expect to bring it in next winter.

Next a progress shot of the roses (or one of them) that I planted last week. Looking good.

And finally a pink cymbidium. This one was one I got for helping a lady repot some overgrown cymbs that she got from her mother in SF. It's not bad although I avoid pink whenever possible. There is one more cymb with buds ready to open.

SF Flower and Garden Show

2009-03-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drove to San Mateo - the new venue for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. This was my second year and although it is a fantastic show, it's like they say, The first time is always the best.

I don't know what to say about the difference. Driving another 30-45 minutes didn't help get me in a positive mood but I didn't like the venue very much. it is a newer building than the Cow Palace but very bland. The Sacramento Bee commented on the display gardens being set in the middle oft he vendors. They described it as distracting. And it was. I remembered that last year the gardens were located in an arena away from all the commercial activity. I thought they were dark and strange but they were more effective in their splended isolation than the bustling space this year next to the Sham-wow's this year.

I don't get off much with the gardens. They seem unreal and not very appealing. Mostly I like finding plants that I want although I do get ideas. This year the walls of plants were appealing. The first picture is from the Smith and Hawkin display with succulents making a wall. This one is probably the most possible one for me in the scorching foothill summers but the others are very attractive.

I found lots of plants that I liked in the sales area- mostly practical selections although I was seriously tempted by the tree peonies. More on the plants I brought back later. Last year I found a vendor selling coconut hull bricks for potting orchids and was hoping to get some more but I was disappointed. I guess I will be web-surfing.

I think I read that the operator of the show has found a buyer so there will be another next year and I will most probably go. I can't resist the opportunity to browse thousands of wonderful plants and take them home immediately.

This week in the Garden

2009-03-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

Still slim pickings. The daffodils are looking good. I just can't seem to get a good picture. The small bulbs (iris species, tulip species, crocus and muscari are all missing this year. I don't know if they are just laying off, whether they needed fertilizer or whether they just arn't dependable here. Gotta love the daffodils although I intend to give them one more boost of fertilizer before they go dormant.

I am waiting to see if my iris which had their first bloom year in 2008 will put on a good show. The leaves look good and so, for now, I am optimistic.

Still haven't planted the roses but I intend to get at least some of them into the ground today.

What's in my garden?

2009-03-08T15:56:00.001-07:00

First the new roses for this year. I am adding a second Graham Thomas to make a more robust presence and replacing some pittosporums which died when the drip system got stopped last year with shrub roses. I am hoping to get the same size planting with flowers to boot. I selected Fire Meidiland because I like it hot.

Last year I lost every rose I planted, something that has never happened to me before. I think I know why and I won't be using that product again. I will probably phase out all the products from the supplier over time also even though I think they are good products. I think that east coast techniques may not always work on the west coast.

At the bottom, I show you the flowers from my grevillea planst. They are showy up close but not so much from a distance. Still its nice to get some color on my hillside backyard.

What's in my garden

2009-02-21T16:11:00.001-08:00

Not much beauty today. Buds are bulging. Leaves are growing but the early daffodils are fading and the later ones still sprouting. Last year I remember lots of crocus by now. This year just these tiny ones. They are gorgeous however.

My Bad

2009-02-07T11:00:00.001-08:00

Last year I got carried away at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show and bought some tropicals like this Epidendron. I meant to bring it in before it got really cold but good intentions have a way of going bad. Anyway when I finally brought it in it was mostly black with just a few green leaves. I pruned off the dead growth and found green stems and the few leaves you see.

Will it come back? Stay tuned.

What's in my garden

2009-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Bumper crop of lemons this year on my dwarf lemon tree. Lemons are happy in the foothills. It’s too bad they ripen all at once and in the winter to boot. They hold on pretty well but by summer lemonade time they are past their prime.

In my garden

2009-02-05T18:02:00.001-08:00

I've talked about my cymbidiums and their struggle in the north. This one has been my best performer both down south and up here. These buds popped up before Christmas and developed through some near freezing nights. I thought this was the only plant but I find I have two more with budstalks. One is the same variety and the other is one I got from helping someone repot orchids from her mothers San Francisco garden.

More later because there is not much else going on garden wise.

Elsewhere in the garden

2008-09-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Making a fine show is an aster, noted earlier this year for reappearing after being AWOL last year.

Quite a welcome return and a nice bit of fall color

My Inferno Strip

2008-09-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

High Country Gardens has a selection of plants to thrive in what they call the inferno strip. This is a dry hot area of your garden where it is difficult to develop beautiful plants because of space and access. Mine is a narrow strip of soil (rocks in my case) between the retaining wall on the north side of my house and the walkway.

I bought into the concept believing that if there is an inferno strip, it is this area of my yard. These are the survivors.

Starting from the bottom, we have a salvia. I am afraid that I have forgotten which one and I bought it locally, not from High Country It's not a beauty yet but it does have some sky-blue flowers and it made it through the summer with little coddling.

Next is a penstemen (pine-leaf if I recall). It blooms in the spring and the rest of the time looks like this I started with two and this one is left

Next up is artemesia Seafoam. It doesn't bloom but is is attractive most of the time. This one is a survivor of two as well.

Finally, up top is an unlikely inferno dweller a self-seeded viola She popped up all by herself (and some siblings with her) and now as summer is fading has started blooming. I don't know how to explain her but she is definitely welcome.

What's blooming now.

2008-09-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

The weather is cooling down. Plants are less stressed and just maybe some nice fall blooms are on the way. For now, this is what I found this morning.

The rain lilies have been blooming for over a month. They come and go quickly however and catching them has been a praoblem. Today I dound a nice white one.

Next is the mandevillea. This was an impulse buy in July to help fill the trellis which has been bare all year. This is the first of the blooms since I planted it. It seems happy mow but may not survive the winter.

Making her first blog appearance is Mmc. Cecile Brunner, looking the best for this year. She is still tiny but I am hoping in time she will make the 3 feet promised in the catalogue.

And finally, crocosmia. This is the third year I have tried to grow them and finally they are taking hold and appearing happy. I have several clumps established from bulbs planted in late spring. They were a long time coming up and once up I wondered if they would bloom. Now I am just enjoying their exuberance.

What's Blooming Now

2008-08-23T14:30:00.001-07:00

Now is not the best my garden has looked. There are few flowers blooming. The ones that are are either stressed or past their prime.

The best of the lot is my climbing rose shown here overexposed but still lovely.

Society garlic.

Ivy geraneum

Lantana

I'm grateful they are even trying.

I wouldn't call any of them a favorite (well maybe the rose) but I have to love anything that puts out an effort in a Sacramento valley summer.

Tomato

2008-08-23T14:26:00.001-07:00

After all the hoopla. After building the raised bed. After weeks of watering and fertilizing.

My first tomato.

Tomatoes

2008-08-10T14:04:00.001-07:00

I have tomatoes! Two of the three plants have green fruits.

So far so good!

Scared Straight

2008-08-10T13:54:00.001-07:00

Last week I posted my offensive effort to green up the front of my house by letting my climbing rose Mermaid grow out the window in the bell tower at the entrance to our house. Now everything is copacetic and my house looks just as bland and inoffensive as everybody else's.

By the way, Mermaid is just fine after the surgery and is directing her efforts to growing around the eaves in the courtyard.

I am growing to love zinnias

2008-08-10T13:46:00.001-07:00

And this little guy is a big part of the reason. Last year I planted the white form of this single type of zinnia. They were wonderful, cheery, perky and tough. This year I tried growing them from seed but failed to get a single one to survive my haphazard care. Luckily I found six packs of the red ones. I only bought one pack because I didn't think I would like the color. Now I wish I had bought all there were.

This guy is having the time of his life while most every other plant I grow looks beat down.

Encore

2008-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

Speaking of roses, both of my climbers have rebloomed; this one more exuberantly than the other bad boy who has been spanked and sent back to his room (see below).

This time I am aware of the frangrance.

Busted

2008-08-02T17:16:00.001-07:00

I have talked about my two climbing roses in the courtyard entrace to my house. One of them, I decided to encourage to climb through the widow in the bell tower and out onto the front of the house. The idea was to prune and train the branches along the eves of the house above the garages.

As you can see the rose has quite enthusiatically followed my suggestion and I was getting ready for some pruning and tying to train it along the eves when I received a letter from the plant cops that I couldn't have anything vegetative climbing out of the front of the house.

This isn't my first run-in with the plant cops and, in fact, I started a post describing my earlier problem but never got around to finishing it. Another item on my to-do list. Suffice for now to say the I will be removing the offending vegetation this weekend. These guys mean business.

On the Trail

2008-07-27T15:16:00.001-07:00

Zimmerman Trail to be specific. This is one of the trails which the developers of my community have hidden like little jewels in each of the neighborhoods.

My frustration is that they don't link and provide a way to explore the whole place.

This trail, I just stumbled on this morning on my walk. I was trying to get to the edge of the community without taking the main thoroughfare. It looked like it might do it but instead on continuing on the perimeter,it looped back to stay within one section of the development.

I was happy to find it nonetheless because it now provides me another alternative route on my walks. The pictures are actually backwards because I failed to capture the trail sign where I entered and so you see the sign where I exited.

Along the way you see the oaks and pines (mostly oaks) which form clusters on the hillsides. There will also be sycamores in the creekbeds. In February all the slopes are green but that changes to gold by May and stays until the rains start.

The last picture is an example of the oaks. This one is a particularly handsome one.

July Blahs

2008-07-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

This is perhaps the most attractive corner of my garden this week and it underwhelms.

July is not the best of months in California's central valley foothills. It is hot. (Last week we had temperatures over 100 degrees) This week has been relatively pleasant with temperatures in the lower 90's. Nights are usually in the 60's.

My wife and I took two days to go the San Francisco during the 100 degree spell. It was nice to have the cooler weather and get away from the smoke from the 100's of fires in the state - from which all the smoke seemed to gather at our house. We visited art museums, rode cable cars and enjoyed some good food before returning to find the smoke even worse than when we left.

Taking those two days, I got careless about having our son water the plants. I lost one plant and severely stressed my three brugmansias that were just beginning to look healthy.

Anyway this picture shows my Graham Thomas rose (upper left) with tiny, nearly white flowers that turn crispy after they open. Agapanthus in the upper right and cleomes which happily reseed and grow ever since I planted some small plants my first summer in the house.

Raised Bed Progress

2008-07-19T17:10:00.001-07:00

Or lack therof.

My three tomatoes have achieved some size and one has set a tomato. I clearly need to stake them since they are beginning to sprawl over the other vegetables.

The pepper and eggplant have not grown very much although they seem to be getting ready to bloom.

In the front you can see string beans that seem to be stuck at 6 inches high. I probably need some fertilizer because I filled the bed with mostly bagged compost and a little topsoil.

The other thing I need to do is to secure the corners to the 2 x 6 side timbers.

Galtonia

2008-07-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

This year I planted some new summer bulbs. I hoped that bulbs would prove more resilient and long-lived than the perennials with which I have been trying to fill the beds around the flat area of my back yard.

I had never heard of galtonia candicans but it was described as big and fragrant so I bought 12 bulbs and put them in different parts of the yard to see what would happen.

This is the flower stalk. It is about 3.5 feet tall and attractive. I don't find any smell. The stalks look rather lonely since I planted them about 1 foot apart as suggested. I suppose that they will form a clump over time and provide a stronger presence.

I photographed an isolated galtonia spire and one that has been overwhelmed by an agastache which burgened way beyond my anticipated size when I planted it.

Grace

2008-06-08T16:34:00.001-07:00

Another of my new roses showing off a bit. She is in a pot and just flopping over the edge but I see a promise of a nice display of golden-apricot rosettes when it builds up some more wood.

I seem to have burned out three of the four new roses planted in the ground. Too much fertilizer, too soon. I thought I had waited long enough (maybe six weeks after planting) but clearly not. I am hoping that they will come back from the roots (I only plant own-root roses) but I am not expecting much.

Cleaning up my work areas to keep my wife happy and potting up the rest of the plants I bought last weekend. I still have two salvias and a gaura. They will have to wait until tomorrow. Last week I planted green beans and watermelons and today the beans are coming up.

Cactus

2008-06-01T14:32:00.001-07:00

This cactus has been with me for over thirty years since our first apartment in West LA. We called it a penthouse but it was more like a trailer on the roof of an apartment building. My cactuses clustered near the slider that was the entrance because it was southfacing. They came with us as we moved to the beach, the peninsula and now to the foothills.

I repotted and broke apart a large plant this spring. This is the piece that is on the back patio. The two pots in the courtyard won't be blooming for a while yet.

I love the ethereal quality of these flowers. I don't like the fact that they only last one day.
This one only has the two buds so after this weekend, no more flowers.

Another euphorbia

2008-05-26T20:14:00.001-07:00

This is another euphorbia, a perky plant with orange flowers. Too bad it flops. By the way, the weather turned cold. I had to turn the heat on to keep my wife happy and Saturday was rainy. The climate is lovely here in the foothills.

Ghosts

2008-05-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

Two plants from my first order from Digging Dog.
This was three years ago when I had high hopes of developing beautiful perennial beds around the level part of my backyard,
Euphorbia characias and aster 'Lady in Black'.
I had euphorbias all over my socal yard. They were wonderful fillers with soft blue green foliage and chartreuse flowers. They would do the same for me up here, I thought. The aster was something new - a plant I had never grown and couldn't have grown in socal. It was supposed to be beautiful with achillea 'Inca Gold' and I was trying to develop beautiful beds so I bought the pair. 'Inca Gold' has thrived (you can see it in the lower right corner of the picture) but 'Lady in Black' and euphorbia were never seen after the first year.

Until now.

After a year when I did not see any traces of either (and you can see that my beds are far from a state where you can easily lose a plant), here they are again looking reasonably happy.

I have no explanation but I am happy to see them.

Verbenia Bonariensis

2008-05-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago when I was living in Southern California, verbenia bonariensis was trendy. Everybody was talking about it and how wonderully it worked as a 'see through' plant. I had a few plants growing in my rose bed. I liked it because it was easy, had a presence and looked good as a cut flower with my roses.

I did not think that it would survive in my new garden despite seeing plants my first year in the local nursery. Next year, no plants at the nursery so I bought seeds two years ago. I am terrible with seeds and manated to grow only two plants from a packet. This plant is the only survivor but is looking quite happy. There are even some seedlings growing at the base which I keep forgetting to pot up and transplant.
It's a lovely plant.
My problem is knowing what to do with it. Art and design have very little to do with my garden style. I have a plant. I find a hole and plant it. If it looks good, then I have an unexpected benefit. Right now it is overwhelming my 'Ceclie Brunner' rose since despite being a 'see through' plant, it's got some hefty branches. I won't move it because I know it would die but I need to find some places for it's babies where they will complement other plants. My first thought is to plant them in my summer hyacinth (galtonia candicans) bed. Since I have never grown it (galtonia, not verbenia) before and have no idea what it will look like when it grows up except it will be four feet tall this is a lame idea. Heck, it's the only idea I have so here we go. You see my problem.

Too Darn Hot

2008-05-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

The fourth day of over 100 degrees. And without our normal Delta Breeze cooling at night. They promise that it will cool down next week. I caught several of my potted plants looking dead and shriveled by the time I got around to watering yesterday. Happily, they all pulled back to some semblance of life. I fertilized, sprayed and thought about pruning but I.m done for the day. My roses are already past their prime. Next week I will be pruning off dead flowers to prepare for the next wave.

First up today is 'Midnight Blue'. Earlier in the week when it was cooler the flowers were very deep purple. No more.

Below is 'Mermaid' starting around the top of my courtyard.

Raised Bed

2008-05-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here is my raised vegetable bed completed just two weeks ago with three tomatoes, a pepper and an eggplant. There is room for more but I don't know what to plant.

At bottom a partial completion shot from about a month ago. I have completed two of my resolutions.

Summer is acumen in

2008-05-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

The weatherman says it will be 100 by Saturday. Spring is over. We will be rivaling Polecat.

View from the Baclyard

2008-05-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

When you leave our house to enter the backyard, you see the slope which is on the way (in it's fifth year) of becoming a tapestry of various greens and textures. Walking out, you enter a covered area which frames the hillside between the columns. The neighbors to the rear are currently visible but as the plants grow to full size, the one story house will be hidden.
The third picture is from our outdoor sitting area looking north and the final picture is of the north end of the slope where one of the three maples is beginning to create some shade

Some Like it Hot

2008-05-10T21:37:00.001-07:00

Not the weather which will be more than hot soon enough. Today was perfect Spring weather which we seldom get in Sacramento.

What's hot is 'Hot Cocoa' bursting into bloom. I love the smoldering ashy color of the mature flowers in contrast to the orange flames of the buds.

At the bottom, 'Graham Thomas' just opening it's first buds. It promises to be spectacular.

Calling Ethel Merman

2008-05-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

"Everything's Coming Up Roses'

These pictures from my front courtyard show 'Ginger
Syllabub' climbing the bell tower. This is its second year and it looks like it will pull its weight this year. The buds are just beginning to open showing full quartered flowers. They are lighter than I expected but since my few flowers from last year were white in the summer heat, I will take the blush. This variety is supposed to be fragrant but I don't notice much at this stage. The second photo is a closup of the flowers.
Finally at the bottom is 'Mermaid' Only one flower open yet and I don't see many buds so far.

Two More Arilbred Iris

2008-04-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Both are gorgeous but only one is unmistakenly an arilbred. 'Suspect' on top shows beautiful color. I thought maybe it would be deep blue from the buds but you can see that the falls are red that is nearly black with maybe a bit of aril shading with a golden apricot color in the upright petals. It has two stalks with two large blooms each (one had three but I foolishly knocked off the top one while planting some bulbs next to it.

The flower on the bottom is 'Oyez ' which is a very popular Arilbred and you can see why from the picture. It has the domed shape of the uprights and the smaller circular falls with both sporting the aril tracings overlaying the basic pick and cream color. This plant, when I received it last fall appeared shriveled and dead with only a patch of green on one leaf. I put it is a pot to nurse it along (spraying it with Ultraboost) until it was big enough to plant just this spring. I didn't expect it to bloom but it put out a stalk with one bud which became the beauty in the picture. I can't wait until next year.

Palms

2008-04-26T12:40:00.001-07:00

Blue (top) and Pindo (bottom), the survivors of a collection of babies purchased many years ago, nursed along in Southern California and finally dragged kicking and screaming up north.
They are all hiding from the plant cops because it's illegal to have them anyplace that can be seen from the street. Just one more of my misadventures with the plant cops to be featured in a post as soon as I finish it

The blues are native to Mexico but seem to tolerate cold just fine. The Pindo surprises me. It is a relatively tender palm but seems happy here. I have done nothing to baby it either.

Another Iris

2008-04-26T12:36:00.001-07:00

This one in blue. I no longer know its name but it's a standard bearded.

More Irises

2008-04-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

The first two pictures are of 'Elegant Lass' a border bearded variety. She definitely deserves the name and is putting on a spectacular display for her first year. My dwarf lemon seems determined to grow sideways and you can see the fruits behind the second picture. Keep in mind that Lass is not much more than one foot high so it is rather unseemly for the lemon to invade her space. It is time to straighten him out.

On the bottom is my dutch iris. He has been with me since the second year and always puts on a good show. For all my complaining about the plants that I can't grow here. I should be fair and point out that iris were something I never considered growing in LA.

Survivor

2008-04-20T14:05:00.001-07:00

This handsome little guy has stuck with me from the very first summer. I bought him at a local nursery when I first began looking for perennials to fill my sunbaked and empty beds surrounding the level backyard. I was taken by his golden green color and the promise of blue flowers. Now, I can't recall his name but I could probably find it quickly should it be important.
He isn't a non-stop bloomer but you can see that he is ready to put out some nice blooms now. What I love about him is that he is still with me and putting up a good show despite the scorching summers and the stony soil.
If I see any more like him, I plan to give him some company.

Early This Year

2008-04-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Making an appearance much earlier this year than normal, kniphofia 'Bleached Blonde'. I have enjoyed it because it provides a block of green spiked leaves up my slope. Also it doesn't receive any landsacpe watering, just what naure provides.

This one is supposed to rebloom although it never has for me. Maybe this year with the early start, it will.

The suspense is killing me.

2008-04-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate a tease?

Tiny Bit of Sunshine

2008-04-13T16:55:00.001-07:00

Hidden among the dutch iris I found this tiny delight. There are some up the hill also. I don't know what I was thinking when I planted them.

Iris Number 2

2008-04-13T12:26:00.001-07:00

Iris number two is also an arilbred and I still have the label, Bagdad's Folly. It has more of the aril shape and more shading but for my money, nameless number one beats it.

Number one pushed out two bloomstalks and boasted four flowers open at one time while Bagdad only managed one bloomstalk and one flower.

I don't remember selecting yellow flowers but so far it's two for two, yellow

Encores

2008-04-13T12:00:00.001-07:00

Rosa mutabilis in its final color. I know I called it brick red before and here it is cherry but in actuality, the color is more a blue red. Whatever, it's silky petals are lovely.

My still nameless arilbred iris looking even more lovely with two bloomstalks and four open flowers.

Oh... I looked it up. It's name is Burra Sahib.

Narcissus Malfunction

2008-04-12T09:29:00.001-07:00

Normally, narcissus are problem free. I just plant them and they bloom. This clump of doubles is an exception. They grow well and set buds but the buds either dry up in an early stage or develop fat healthy looking buds which are ready to open which stay closed until they rot. I broke these two to get the amount of opening you see but even then, they never opened fully.
The first year this happened, I decided that a rainy spring had hampered their opening but this year was a dry spring and they still don't open.
I don't know of anything to do other than to avoid doubles in the future.

My Slope

2008-04-06T14:30:00.001-07:00

This is the slope behind my house. It is filling in but the plants are still growing. The narcissus are pretty much done as are the flowers on the rosemary. You can see the dry creek which runs through the center of the slope. I am getting some ideas for additional plants to add in the fall.

First Iris

2008-04-06T14:20:00.001-07:00

My first iris is a new arilbred. I lost the original tag so I don't know what variety. I should be able to look it up. It doesn't have much of the aril shape or shading, just the beautiful blotch on the falls.

The arilbreds are new this year and so far they seem happy. My other iris, planted the first year hear have not been flowering. I blame the fact that I put them on the hill by the dry stream bed but made no provision to give them summer water. I do see some flower stalks this year.

I am hoping that the arils will like our weather without coddling.

First Roses

2008-04-06T14:15:00.001-07:00

Rosa mutabilis.

My two bushes have just afew flowers open but are loaded with buds and will soon be covered with flowers.

This is the color of the flower when it opens. It turns a brick red before it matures and the petals fall so the bush appears covered with multicolor butterflies.

Orchids from the Show

2008-03-30T14:26:00.001-07:00

I wasn't going to buy any orchids!

But feeling a bit cocky with three cymbidiums blooming this year, I got a deep red miniature and couldn't resist a beautiful epidendrum. I never really got the epidenrums to thrive for me in SoCal and they didn't last long up here but they look so great, I talked myself into another try. The cymbidium is small and I may winter it inside. I will definitely winter the epidendrum inside.

The orchid plants at the show were incredible and the prices were fantastic. I just wish I had better accommodations. I would have bought more.

Plumeria from the Show

2008-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

I knew I shouldn't but I can't resist plumeria. Ever since my two year Army tour included Ft . Shafter Hawaii, I have longed to grow them along with other Hawaiian garden plants. I had two plants which I brought from LA when we moved. One was about four feet tall (not including pot) and the other about two. They were too big (and too ugly) to bring in the house so by the second year they died.
In LA it never got warm enough near the coast for the buds to open so when they first arrived in July I enjoyed seeing them flower but it was their swan song.
I was irresistably drawn to the hawaiian booth selling plumeria plants and cuttings. After several passes and hearing that the cuttings were only $10, I had to do it. The saleslady was encouraging about growing them in Sacramento but she told me something I never knew which sealed the deal. She said they need to be in a small pot to bloom. In a large pot, they would just grow. I always assumed that growing them big would encourage blooming and wondered how the nurseries managed to get flowers on the small ones they sell. If I bought two, she would even throw in the fertilizer (she insisted that they need to be well fertilized to match the volcanic soil in Hawaii).
So here are my cuttings ready to put out roots and start growing. If I keep them small, I can find someplace in the house for them in the winter. Really.

Succulents From the Show

2008-03-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

I usually cannot resist succulents and the plants for sale were choice. I kept eying the displays as I prowled the vendor floors, finally deciding that I had to take some home. After waiting in line to purchase, I was told that my plants totaled $25 and the minimum credit card purchase was $40. They would take checks but, of course, my checkbook was in the car. I asked the lady if she could put them aside while I got it but I knew that if I lugged all my purchases back to the car, I would never return. Then I saw the atm. Normally I will never use a private atm but otherwise these cuties would never be mine. So, risking identity theft, I replenished my cash and bought. Actually, now that I have all the plants home, I think these were my best purchase. But then, that's what I think today. Tomorrow will be a different story.

My new plants are from bottom left, Echeveria afterglow, top Euphoribia sticks on fire and finally on the right Kalanchoe thyrsiflora. I don't yet know what I will do with them. The little guy needs repotting but beyond that I need to put them someplace where I can admire them.
And if I need more, I know where to get them.

Easter Flowers

2008-03-23T16:40:00.001-07:00

Another narcisssus and a species tulip

Back Yard Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T16:29:00.001-07:00

This is a view of my tiny flat backyard taken from the retaining wall and looking northeast. You can see two of my maple trees sporting birdfeeders and a birdhouse, the two rosa mutabilis against the fence ( they have buds and should be blooming in a week) and my beleaguered cymbidiums ,clustered under the tree to the right. You can see that I have plenty of space to fill. My problem is finding something that grows in the first place and then survives to come back the next year.

Behind (to the right and back ) is my slope. Maybe I will get some pictures of that next week.

Resolution Completed

2008-03-23T16:07:00.001-07:00

All is well with my new water lily- or at least it is now residing in a spiffy new pot with genuine aquatic potting media. I had to order the tub from Michigan, not being able to determine a local source from the web. Wouldn't you know that as soon as it came, I found an equestrian supply store not too far from my local nursery with real stock tanks in the front display. Sometime I will check them out but for now my water lily has a home.

This is the pot. It looks like a felt bag but must be made out of some non-decomposing material.

And here is the potting medium. It says you can mix it with loam but I used it straight. I still need the fertilizer tabs but lets see how helvola likes it's new home.

Monday Rosemary

2008-03-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful Monday. The rosemary are beautiful trailing over the retaining wall at the foot of my hillside backyard.

Took care of some odds and ends. Cleaned the patio and set up the outdoor furniture. Repotted three of my cymbidiums using the coco chip bricks I got at the SFF&GS- I knew I should have bought more bricks. Most of the others need repotting but I would rather stagger the repotting so as not to discourage blooms next year.
While inspecting my plants, I discovered one more that has a bloom stalk.

Hurray!

Gardens in the Dark

2008-03-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

I guess that the central area full of display gardens was supposed to be the high point of the show. They are impressive... and clearly the result of a lot of work but they are like model homes - flamboyant, eyecatching and empty. They aren't your backyard, or even your rich neighbor's. They don;t offer much to the down and dirty gardener. I guess they showcase designers and landscaping firms but I don't know that they provide much help if I were seeking a landscaper.

I circled the arena trying to get into the spirit of the displays but it just wouldn't come. First of all, what's with the darkness? I suppose it helps cover up the fabrication of these displays and maybe its all for the good. It made me feel like a con job, however.

I took a few pictures. These were the best of the lot and they don;t reveal much.

Still the gardens were merely an interlude at the show for me, a break in the intensity of the reall excitement - the shopping.

Show Stopper

2008-03-16T20:20:00.001-07:00

They had more than plants at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. There was this show-stopping garden umbrella. Two sizes, several colors. It folds up...........and it has solar lights. I wanted it real bad but the county, state and feds have claimed all my assets and more so it is not to be.

They have a show special price but even that won't make it work this year. Maybe next year.

I could have waited

2008-03-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

One of the plant vendors at the SFF&GS was selling water plants, particularly water lilies. They had my recently purchased hardy miniature, Helvola, all prepackaged in a nice planter for immediate use in a water garden. My helvola, which arrived last week, is a little plant with leaves and roots but badly in need of a pot and appropriate soil. Naturally, I should have realized that I would need soil and a pot but it never occurred to me so when the poor naked plant arrived, I went out to the web and ordered them. They are now on the way but meanwhile my helvola languishes in a saucer of water. I guess its no big deal because my tub isn't here year either.

The only revelation is that I could have gotten my water lily at SFF&GS had I waited and maybe saved a little money. One of the water plant purveyors at the show is from nearby Elk Grove. If I can't get the fertilizer tabs which I neglected to order with my soil and pots -and didn't buy at the show because I ran short of cash for small purchases- from my local nurseries, I can get them from him.

San Franciso Flower and Garden Show

2008-03-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

First impressions

Walking from the non-preferred parking area toward the show you cross over the traffic entering the complex. Then you are there, the famous Cow Palace.

Inside is an incredible sight wonderland of vendors, exhibsition gardens and food. (I noticed one attendee complained about the limited fare but there seemed to me to be a wide range of food offerings). For me, a nondescript polish sausage was all I needed to keep me going for 5 hours of gawking and buying.

We drove down from Sacramento leaving at about 9:00 AM. I dropped my wife off at Union Square f or a day of browsing San Francisco art galleries and got to the Cow Palace at about 11:00 AM. Inside, I first passed quickly though the vendors to see what was available and plan later purchases. Then I looked at the display gardens and returned to the vendors for actual purchases. I quickly became very grateful for the check stands because some of my purchases were heavy and all were awkward to carry. By the time I was finished, my wife had left two messages on my cellphone wondering where I was (cellphone coverage in the Palace seems to be spotty). I left about 3:30 PM but with the very heavy traffic and my unfamiliarity with driving in San Francisco, it was 4:30 before I spotted her on the steps of Union Square opposite Macy's. Then to a nice restaurant on the Embarcadero and back to Sacramento.

More reactions and comments later.

If you're going to San Francisco

2008-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

Oh, wait! That's not what I meant to say.

The only possible reason to go to San Francisco this week is to attend the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. OK it's really in Daley City, but back to the point.

If you are new to the show here are your assignments.

And One More

2008-03-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

New kid that is.

This is tea rose Sofrano which arrived from the Antique Rose Emporium. I really didn't want it for another week or so, primarily because that is when my other roses are coming. They didn't ask when I wanted it and shipped right when I ordered. Their roses come in gallon pots and can wait nicely for me to hack a hole in the rock pile for it. It would be plenty fine to plant it this weekend which turned warm and sunny. The old roses are sprouting strongly and its the kind of day you want to visit the garden center and buy something. I am holding off for Friday when , at long last, I visit the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. I am hoping for inspiration and some new additions to my garden.

Meanwhile, Narcissus

2008-03-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

The most spectacular displays right now in my garden are the narcissus. I have planted the hillside behind my house with bulbs each fall (except last year) and the result is clusters of flowers scattered over the slope. I thought I was planting many bulbs but clearly I could have multiplied my planting by 5 or maybe ten to get really spectacular results. Still what I have is beautiful.

Last year I was thinking of planting some whites. I am still thinking. When I see all the yellow flowers, it seems that white would detract. Maybe just a few.

I also planted lots of muscari, thinking how nice the blue flowers would be against the yellow. I don't know how they do it for the pictures but in my garden the muscari bloom after the narcissus and they are dinky little things. I probably need to read the fine print.

New Kids

2008-03-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist some new plants. I am a sucker for bromeliads despite a poor track record. Here (middle) is a Dyckia x 'Icicle seedling'. Beautiful color.

Next (bottom) Bilbergia nutans. It's not so spectacular but I think I can grow it and get some color on my patio during off season. And finally (top) Aloe lineata.

These little guys are my first order from Yucca Do and I am impressed. I have been browsing their online catalogue for a few years and finally succumbed.

I have long hoped to find a better landscape plan than agapanthus for my area. They look good in spring but in summer here they turn into crispy critters. Low growing aloes would give the same effect and survive the summers looking acceptable. I haven't yet determined if the dreaded landscape cops approve of aloes so, for now, my new guy will be in a pot.

Sorry for the strange labeling and layout. Who knew what blogger would do?

Cymbidiums

2008-03-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

I had a large collection of cymbidium orchids which were easy to grow in coastal LA. Naturally I brought them all along with our move to the idyllic Sierra foothills along with rubber trees (ficus elastica), brugmansia, various cacti and miscellaneous other plants in pots which I had accumulated over the years in Southern California. I even rented a small truck to haul them up after their four month exile to my son’s San Pedro front yard.

I was not sure that they would survive the first winter even though I knew that cymbidiums can manage in nearby Sacramento. They all survived but not one bloomed the first year. Then I worried that they would not survive the summer. They did even though I had no shade in my newly landscaped yard.

I now was confident that I could keep them alive but the next challenge was could I persuade them to bloom. Blooming them had never been a trick in SoCal. I used the bloom and grow fertilizers in the appropriate seasons and the orchids responded appreciatively. I maintained this practice after the move but got no blooms in the first two years. This year was to be my final try. I would either have some blooms or give up on cymbidiums and focus on something more appropriate for my climate.

This year I had two plants bloom. The first was my miniature green flowers variety (Sweetheart 'King Arthur'). It has always grown like a weed and flowered like a champion so I was not surprised that it would be the first to step up. In addition it is an early flowering variety which sets buds up in the fall for winter flowering. As a result it had many bloom stalks formed before it got cold and the blooms actually opened in January despite some pretty cold weather. Those blooms are still on the plant but way past beauty.

The surprise was the second plant, another miniature, only red (If I knew the variety once, I don't any longer). This year the stalks popped up about December and just last week opened. The flowers are a bit stressed looking but much better than no flowers at all.

I can only speculate what might have made the difference but this encourages me to hope for even better results next year.

My first thought is that I moved the plants from an exposed location on the retaining wall to a more sheltered location under one of my maple trees and in front of the retaining wall. There they receive shelter from the hot summer sun and perhaps some protection from the winter cold. I will keep them where they are.

On another front, now that it seems that I am having success with them, I plan to repot a few of the most pot bound plants before the summer heat.

One final thought is that my normal month for beginning the bloom fertilizer is October. I plan to switch in September to see if I can get more blooms.

Descanso Gardens and deja vu

2008-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

Day trip to LA to see the tax guy and the Hertz folks set me up with a convertible. OK it was a Toyota but still, tooling down the Hollywood Freeway from Bob Hope to Hollywood with the top down was a blast. The only thing missing was Randy Newman singing 'I Love LA'.

Anyway, I left the afternoon open to see something before flying back to Sacramento and decided on Descanso Gardens. In all my 30 years in LA, I only made it to Descanso once before. Yesterday was the perfect day. Camellias blooming everywhere, sunshine, what more could you want.

They have a corner devoted to California natives. None were blooming but just looking at the plants brought back memories of my bulldozed front yard at my old house. I had a huge ceanothus 'Concha' which was a spectacular blue background for the small brick patio which our son built for us. Next to it was a fremontadendron which was also a spectacular display in spring. I had lehua plants, good sized specimens of jade plant (crasula), some low growing aloes and a red banana screening the patio and french doors to my wife's office from the street. This was perhaps my best gardening effort at the old house. It wasn't really planned. I added things I liked from my frequent trips to the nursery and it gradually came together. Unfortunately when it was beginning to look its best, I had to take an out of town job which eventually led to our move.

Where I live now, there are plant police who continually look for forbidden plants in my landscaping. (Doesn't seem very American, does it?) Every thing the landscaper planted was approved but who knows about the things I pick. Nevertheless, I do add plants and think about how to make my new yard better despite the constraints. It's probably time for a post on the dredded homeowners association but not today. Maybe tomorrow.

Roses Present

2008-02-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Year 1

We moved into our house in July but did not get the rear yard landscaped until December so my first year to contribute to the garden was 2005. I mentioned earlier that I had asked the landscape designer for some roses. He allotted three spaces on the side of the yard behind the retaining wall that steps up from my level yard to that of my neighbor's. There were three holes hacked in the rocks with gallon pots as filler.

I had decided to be more adventurous with my new roses and ordered three Mutabilis to fill the holes. I was still trying to take the measure of the plantings and understanding what they might look like when mature so I was cautious about further ground planting. I wanted another rose, however, and decided to grow one in a pot. After considerable pondering, I selected an Austin rose, Symphony which was described as a yellow .

Mutabilis was an inspired choice. (I later found that it is one of the 10 best plants for the area selected by the UC Davis Botanical Gardens.) Two of the plants took off right away while the one in the center languished and eventually died. (Water from apparently natural sources bubbles up randomly in my new yard causing some drainage problems which I will document later but the central rose was planted right on top of one of them.) The survivors are always in bloom (except when I force dormancy) and are now about 6’ x 6’.

Symphony was disappointing; not very vigorous and bleached out to white in our scorching summer weather. It lasted two years then petered out.

Year 2

By this time it was clear to me that the beds around the level area of my back yard could stand some more plants and so why not some more roses. I added two roses, Mme. Cecile Brunner (the regular one – not the climber) and Midnight Blue. They are both small and I hoped would be complementary. I am still waiting for them to grow up.

I wanted climbing roses in my front courtyard where there is what we like to call the bell tower over the gate from the front yard. I planted Mermaid to grow up the north wall and out of the top of the bell tower into the front of the house and Ginger Syllabub to grow up the one freestanding pillar of the tower. Mermaid is incredibly vigorous but so far has not given a big show of blooms. GS is slower growing, not a vigorous bloomer and the promised yellow-apricot flowers wash out to white. She needs to step up this year or I will be looking for a replacement.

Finally, I ordered two Hot Cocoa’s late in the season and planted them in front of the Mutabilis. (I had really wanted Hot Cocoa and so I rationalized that the colors would go together. They don’t go well but I like them anyway). They have yet to really look good, partly because my maple trees have begun to actually provide some shade. When I planted them, the trees were only nine feet tall and the idea that there would ever be shade in the yard never crossed my mind. I am hoping that this year will see them vigorous and blooming up a storm in spite of the maple.

Year 3

I planted Graham Thomas. It is supposed to be tall and gorgeous. By this year it is tall and spindly. The few flowers I saw last year actually stayed yellow but beyond that, it hasn’t won my heart..

Year 4

Stay tuned.

A Great Idea

2008-02-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

The Garden Wise Guy shows a clever idea about how to select plant companions.

This is Brilliant

2008-02-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

You would think that a Missouri farmboy like me would have thought of this but thankfully Pam did. This is just what I need for my water lily. Now that I live in the sticks, I should have no trouble finding just the one.

I can relate.

2008-02-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

Another transplanted gardener copes and prevails.

Rocks

2008-02-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

I was prepared for differences when I moved to my new house. The yard is smaller. It has a steep slope for most of the backyard. The front yard belongs to the Homeowners Association. These were all issues that I recognized from the first. I may not have appreciated their full impact but they were not surprises.

What I failed to anticipate was that my entire yard is a rock pile. I do not mean that there are rocks embedded in the soil in my yard. There is no soil. I mean a rock pile. The first clue was the jackhammer the landscaper used when he installed my plantings.

Even recognizing the reality, it didn’t hit home until I decided to embellish the bones of my landscaping with some seasonal interest. In this case some narcissus. My slope was just begging for some splashes of spring color and I ordered an assortment of bulbs intended to provide a long season of color. In my enthusiasm, I must have ordered 100 bulbs, imagining that planting them would be easy.

In fact, it was a pain. First I had to pry out all the rocks where I wanted bulbs. (I don’t really mean all, just those in the first eight inches.) These rocks I stacked on the side of the bed for later disposal. When this was done, I had a hole for the bulbs but no soil to fill it. For this I used a compost mix from the nursery which I blended with the small amounts of clay holding the rocks together. Then I planted the bulbs. Needless to say it took a long time to get all 100 bulbs in the ground. I have to admit that part of the problem was that I did not have the wits to purchase some decent digging tools. I bought a shovel before I understood how useless it would be in my yard. I had a small garden trowel to pry up the rocks and I added a screwdriver to my tools early on but they were inadequate. Only this year did I purchase a pick which makes the task much easier.

The bulbs have done well, returning every year but last year I lost the will to add more, first because of the digging and second because I can’t remember where they are after the foliage dies. I feel inspired with my new pick to go back to the catalogues next fall to add some more.

maintenance

2008-02-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sun today although it is still coldish and I finally got into some maintenance. First, the roses. I sprayed them all with a dormant spray. I need to spray again and then prune. I always seem to get into a competition with the gardener. He usually gets to them first. He did cut the Mutabilis' back which is what I would do anyway but I may shape a bit after the spraying.

Then I cut off a few lower branches from my three young maples. As they grow, I cut the lower branches each year. This is the third year and I may be finished.

My first narcissus are just about finished and it looks like it will be a while before the next group comes on. They are just breaking ground. I do have some crocuses popping. Spring is on the way.

Roses Past

2008-01-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our last house nearly 30 years ago, I inherited a rose garden occupying half of the strip between our driveway and our neighbor’s yard. At that time the neighbors had a tall evergreen hedge which screened our view of their yard and provided a background for the roses. I had never really thought about growing roses because they seemed demanding, ugly as garden plants and not very exotic. (After all I was in Southern California after a Midwestern upbringing and education. You can grow roses in Missouri but not hibiscus.)
Anyway, we had other more important priorities and so the roses stayed. Eventually, I decided that since they were there; why not give them a little attention. I learned to prune them and provided some occasional fertilizer. They responded by not dying and providing a springtime show – some a better one than others and gradually I considered adding some more interesting varieties. I don’t remember the ones that either died on their own or were ripped out but two were with me until the bitter end after which the new owner ckeared every plant in the front yard and replaced them with a grass lawn livened up with one palm tree carefully placed in the center. Oh well….

Survivors

The roses that survived my reign at the old house were good credible varieties that I would never have selected. They kept being good enough that I hesitated to cull them. They were also hybrid teas (well I guess Queen Elizabeth is not really and HT but close enough) which I never even consider anymore.

Queen Elizabeth

In my garden it was a gangly teenager with ok but not beautiful flowers. It did keep blooming.

Chicago Peace

Just did enough to survive although it was on my list.

Additions

The Dark Lady

My first Austin. It had a nice deep red color and the flowers were attractive and full but it didn’t bloom a lot. I treated it like a hybrid tea which probably didn’t help. I was just getting to understand Austins when we moved.

Evelyn

My second Austin. Lovely flowers and a reputed wonderful smell although I can’t remember being overwhelmed. It was just getting going when we left.

Souvenir de Malmaison

My first old rose, a Bourbon. Slow growing and just coming into its own when we left but with beautiful flowers.

Mme Cecile Brunner

I mistakenly ordered climbing which because a huge rambling mound in my rose bed. Lots of blooms.

Scentimental

I was trying here to get some blooms. I also planted a grouping of three to get some mass. It worked well but made the overall look of the bed rather odd.

French Lace

Same planting as Scentimental. I loved the color and shape.

Things I learned

Over time I got better at pruning but only at the end did I begin to understand that not all roses are hybrid teas and since I kept eliminating the hybrid teas and replacing them with other types, I had to develop some sensitivity which is not a normal behavior for me. (I am still learning that as you will hear in my NorCal rose report sometime soon)

I also explored better fertilization adopting a four week cycle of fertilizers, Epsom salts and something else I don’t recall and a Spring tonics of alfalfa pellets. I got good growth but I think my pruning sabotaged the effort.

I never got to the point of thinking I was a rose expert but I was beginning to feel competent. So much so that when I was telling the landscape architect what to include in our new backyard plan, I told him I wanted some roses. He blocked out space for three.

How is it working out three years in to the new yard. I'll get back to you.

Water Lily

2008-01-21T14:51:00.001-08:00

Some action on my resolutions. I ordered a dwarf hardy water lily for my courtyard. It is supposed to be an excellent variety for growing in a container. Knowing nothing about water lilies I take the word of the purveyor and purchase Helvola. Now all I need is a big pot.

History

2008-01-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

We are beginning our fourth year in a new house located in a severely CC&Red community in the Sierra foothills. Before we lived 3 blocks from the ocean in a rural seeming suburb of Los Angeles. We enjoyed frequent fog and very temperate weather. It never froze and seldom got to the high 80's. My gardening was limited by time and budget (for two years I was working in Sacrmento during the week and driving home for the weekends) but I had a few roses, some cacti and succulents and a bunch of cymbidiums. I was growing a living hedge of lehua to enclose a front yard patio off my wife's home office.

Finally, we decided that a new house near Sacramento would make life better for us all and we selected our plan and lot and the builder started building. We selected a lot with an upward sloping back yard. There is a 15 foot level yard, then a retaining wall and maybe another 30 feet of slope. We selected the lot for the privacy and the idea of looking out to see a green slope from our house.

We found a landscape designer and he developed what is proving to be a very nice plan as it grows in. Three maple trees are just getting big enough to shield us from the incredibly hot setting sun in the summer but are bare and let light and warmth in for the winter. The hillside has Canary Island Pines and an African Sumac (the designer specified a Crepe Myrtle but I had never seen one that I thought was attractive and asked for something else). There are strips of pittosporum, raphiolepis and grevillea with manzanita filling in the bare spaces and rosemary billowing over the retaining wall. We have a dry creek bed meandering down the middle of the lot but ran out of money for a water feature.

On the flat area we have a crescent of lawn, a lemon tree and some small shrubs (mostly pittosporum. The beds surrounding the lawn were largely bare to begin with and four years later are not much better. I have tried to introduce some plants and had some success but more failure which I will recount at some later time along with some of my problems with the slope.

For now this will give you an idea of the kind of gardening I had leaned at my former house and some idea of what is coming as I relate my growth as a foothill gardener.

2008 Resolutions

2008-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

For this year I am resolved to accomplish some goals set when we moved into our new house in 2004 and some new ones.

The old ones are:

1. Build the raised bed for vegetables on the side of the house- mostly tomatoes
2. Increase the substance for the flower beds on the level area of my backyard

The new ones are:

1. Grow a water lily in a pot in my courtyard
2. Create some ambiance in the afformentioned courtyard

New Direction

2008-01-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

In my previous life as a blogger, I focused on politics with occasional detours into my garden. Having realized that I offer little in the way of new insight into the political follies and recognizing that rage is not attractive and seldom useful, I am redirecting my blog energy to the documentation of my steps and missteps as I learn how to garden in the rocky Sierra foothills.

Look for posts reprising the last three years interspersed with my plans for the next year and updates on my successes and failures.

Obscene Amenities

2007-02-09T10:11:00.001-08:00

Amenities International produced this short video to showcase the luxurious accommodations enjoyed by US military personnel in Iraq.

read more | digg story

Garden Update: Freeze Dried

2007-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Tough love for my plants this month. I did not make any effort to shield them from night temperatures 32 degrees or below over the last two weeks. Time will tell the consequences of my neglect but my philosophy as I adjust my gardening skills from coastal southern California moderation in all things to foothill northern California expremes is " Survival of the fittest".

Right now, my favorite plant is narcissis. Rynveld's Early Sensation is just what it's name says. They started blooming in early January and are still going strong through the freeze. It is the second year for these bulbs so I know that they can handle our weather extremes. Other bulbs are coming up but not yet ready for prime time. I need to plant more of these guys next fall.

Next on my favorites list are my cymbidiums. One pot of my miniature green, King Arthur, was blooming before the freeze and now , to my amazement, a second pot has a bloom stalk. Only one pot looks like it might not survive the winter and it was marginal before. The plants seem largely unaffected by the temperatures. I did nothing to shield them but they do receive full sun during the day. Last year I did not get them to bloom. I am hoping that the others will follow King Arthur and flower this year. Now I know that they can survive here, my next challenge is persuading them to bloom.

Among the other plants, I can do nothing but wait and see what comes back. Because it has been so dry, I watered all the pots on Saturday after reading in the paper that the combination of cold and dry is very stressful, Now we will see what happens. Nights are staying above freezing so I think that the worst is over in terms of temperature. We do need rain.

2007-01-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Wife Beating in Islam - The Rules

Unblieveable wisdome from the religion of peace.

HT wizbang

John Kerry's Embarrassing Visit to Iraq

2006-12-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

He's Ronry.

read more | digg story

2006-12-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night Live: Nancy Pelosi

HT Betsy's Page Saturday Night Live does Pelosi.

Garden Update

2006-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

In the continuing saga of adjusting my gardening skills and plant palette from coastal southern California to Sierra foothills, I have this observation. This year is cold. Algore notwithstanding, for me and my garden, global warming is a crock.

It has been just above freezing every night for over a week now. No frost in the morning and no snow yet (our last snow was in February and broke our African Sumac). Interestingly, one of my early cymbidiums is blooming. The poor things are so confused by the weather here but somehow this one pot got it right. This is exactly the time it would have bloomed in SoCal. Between the super hot summers and the super cold (relative to SoCal) winters, I probably should just give up and find something that will grow here but I am a stubborn cuss and will keep growing them so long as they continue to cope.

I continue to be surprized by my Brugmansia. I thought it would be among the first of my SoCal plants to succomb. Not so. In fact, there is a one which I see hanging over the fence down the hill that seems quite happy here. My plan is to plant my large potted brugmansia in the ground in my back yard. I rooted some cuttings from the big plant in late summer for backup. The ones from hard wood rooted nicely but the softwood cuttings failed to root. I have two small ones in reserve. The large one got infested with some bug or other. It amazes me that a poisonis plant can fall victim to bugs. The leaves got spotted and the new growth was covered with webs. Spraying with the stuff I use on my roses reduced it but did not eliminate it. I am not confident about planting it but intend to proceed. I missed the good planting time before it got cold so I will wait now until at least March.

My next project is to find a replacement for Agapanthis. Whey does anyone plant them here in hot Sacramento? They look awful in the Summer heat with their crispy brown leaves. I am thinking about a small Aloe of some sort or maybe Kniphofia.

The catalogues have started coming so I can begin my garden fantasies for 2007.

2006-12-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

ZUCKER TAKES ON THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP AND JAMES BAKER

Those who don't srudy history are doomed to repeat it.

LA on My Mind - Continued

2006-12-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

Lunada Bay

I always thought that we had done great by our kids raising them in a beautiful semi-rural ocean-side enclave in the great LA megalopolis. What I have learned about parenting is that, in my case at least, it was all about me. I wanted my kids to grow up in a tony neighborhood with college prep schools so different from my Missouri farmboy childhood. If I had thought more about my sons, we might never have come to LA.

Our old house, newly rejuvenated, stands naked and defenseless with only one small, newly planted palm tree. I would love to see the renovations inside, although I am sure that they are not to my taste. I can just see the plantings in the back yard around the side of the house and recognize that some of them survive. I drive on an notice that one by one the oldest of the houses in my neighborhood are replaced by ‘tuscan’ wedding cakes. When we moved to Lunada Bay, there was an interesting mix of ordinary middle class and wealthy housing. Now that land values have risen, only the very wealthy can afford even the ordinary houses which are disappearing. The vacant lot where the old Shell gas station used to be is now a park but the core of Lunada Bay retail remains. In addition to the walkable neighborhood schools, the hardware store, grocery store and drugstore were very persuasive in selecting our house. The drug store is now a bank but the market and hardware stores are still there. Over the last five years, the neighborhood schools have reopened bringing back the appeal we originally saw in the neighborhood.
It is a delightful community, still unpretentious and accessible (none of the gates which are so fashionable these days), even with million dollar home prices and tuscan wedding cakes sprouting like mushrooms. It's the only place on the hill with neighborhood shopping. I alwlays said that if you have to live in LA, Palos Verdes is the place to choose and Lunada Bay is the best of PV.