Posts

Showing posts from 2015

Thanksgiving Postcard from Wine Country

Image
 It's my habit every Thanksgiving to go out with my camera as close to sunrise as I can mange and take some shots of the vineyards in their fall finery. They were a bit 'gone over' this year , but I enjoyed the tradition never the less. I hope you enjoy whatever tradition is yours this holiday!

Update on the Back Corner and a New Project

Image
 Way back in March (you know, when it was Spring !) I posted about my renovation of the sadly neglected northwest corner of my garden. Though the transformation is not complete it looks improved and the plants are starting to fill in.  Here it is in April, after the new plants were installed. Looking pretty sparse... Lobelia tupa is somewhat discernible in the center of the photo next to the soaker hose , and the trellis is the new home for Passiflora loefgrenii caerulea.  And taken last week, the Passiflora has made a statement..I'm keeping an eye on it. Lobelia tupa has achieved knee-high status. A couple moves still to be made here over fall and winter; Sanquisorba officinalis 'Red Thunder'(out of the photo) is too close to the Weigela and was shaded in summer. It will go where the Penstemon 'Raven' lives on the lower right, and the Penstemon will be moved to the left.  This infrastructure issue is unfortunately calling the shots in the bed  h

Natures Garden

Image
 My brief trip out to our coast in October included a stroll to the Pt Cabrillo lighthouse station . Multiple shipwrecks on this rocky and turbulent shore in the early days of logging  the redwood forests above the headlands led to the construction of the light station in 1908. The visitor parks in a lot just off the highway, and walks the 1/2 mile paved road that slopes gently down through the grassy headland to the cliffs. Sadly, I can't name the grasses and sedges that grow here in spite of frequent visits and have vowed to learn before my next trip out.  The view down the road  walking in. As I look on either side of the road  bands of color range from greens to greys to golden brown. At the lighthouse , small but powerful. Amaryllis belladona has natualized in places here in Mendocino County. View from the cliffs The lighthouse keepers cottages have been restored and are available as vacation ren

Mendo Botanical

Image
  In the course of an all too brief road trip I spent a day at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden which is bordered on the west by coastal bluffs overlooking  the Pacific . The spectacular beauty of the coastline in Mendocino County itself is a feature of this garden, as the trails that meander through the forests and meadows of the garden terminate at the sea.  The garden is is USDA zone 9b, the same zone as mine; an indicator of the limited usefulness of the USDA zones here on the micro-climate laden west coast. Sunset (the go-to zone guide for gardeners in the west) classifies this area as zone 17 , mild wet and frostless winters with summer fog and lack of heat.  Growing a tomato in Mendocino is an exercise in futility, Fuchsias can sit out in the sun all day long, and frost is rare. The perennial gardens here are planted with tough customers that can withstand winds, pounding rain, fog and salt air.  They grow some dandy Kniphofias out here on the coast.  

October at the Ruth Bancroft Garden

Image
The members only fall plant sale has undergone some procedural changes that leads to a much more leisurely experience than past events. I expect this was the intent, as the plant sales have become increasing popular and with that comes the inevitable traffic, parking and long lines at checkout. It seems to me after attending both the spring and fall sales this year that they have improved things significantly. Unfortunately for this particular sale there was no longer an early opening time for members , thus my opportunity to take some nice morning light photos was gone. Naturally it was a bright sunny day with nary a cloud or wisp of fog in view.  There are several bed renovations ongoing here, one of the nicest is  an area near what used to be the main entrance , where Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' is planted among the Agaves.   I have started a small collection of Gasterias, but thus far I lack good id skills, and only one of the plants I own currently c