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 This comfrey cultivar is fortunately less robust than the common green version, which is both large and difficult to dig up. But the color !  These are hard to find locally, and I finally scored a couple at Digging Dog , where it is still offered occasionally-get it when you can as they often sell out. I've seen these get much larger in garden that benefit from summer rains-mine have to live on the stingy irrigation allotment they receive in my summer-dry climate.  Visit   The Danger Garden to see more faves of the week..

 Lavender is pretty ubiquitous here in Northern California. I always have a few scattered about the garden--the key is decent drainage and willingness to shovel prune and replace with fresh stock when the inevitable woodiness sets in. My fave this week is Lavandula 'Silver Edge' , a plant that was on the edge of the dig-it-out  abyss , and has suddenly and inexplicably redeemed itself by throwing up a few flowers. I've had this plant for  a few years, and frankly don't remember where I got it, but if I had to guess I would say either Portland Nursery, or Bainbridge Island Nursery.Remarkably, I still have the tag , and the 'brand' is not one I recognize locally. The thing is, it's variegated...  "Silver Edge" , get it ? I have moved this plant once, but in all the years I've had it, it has never bloomed. Not once. I was pretty impressed that I still had the tag --the photo shows a nice flush of flowers. I am happy with the four on my p...

  This week I'm honoring the lowly Ipomea 'Marguerite' , who has engulfed a large segment of the Succulent Alley . You have to give her credit for tenacity. No doubt she pines away for the good old days when she was a new and exciting selection at the garden center.  This area really was all about the succulents, and one day it seems I turned around and there was  Marguerite , creeping relentlessly among the Agaves . She's heading for the open garden. Who knows where it will end ? Loree over at Danger Garden is our sponsor for this event...check it out !

 August has not been kind to my garden . The cruelty of spring ? Nope, not at my house . Everything here has just about grown to death-and a week on the road with no recuperation day before returning to the office didn't help much . Looking perky and lush in the bosom of destruction is my new Restio, Elegia capensis. Not only a new Restio, but my only Restio- a souvenir of the farewell cocktail bash at Flora Grubb on the last evening of Garden Bloggers Fling .  It sat in it's 4inch nursery pot for at least a month until I was able to acquire a nice blue pot for it to live in. It looked pretty silly when  first planted it , and still is out of proportion, but I expect by late spring of next year it will look just fine. One of the few things in my garden right now that isn't overgrown, flopping, or browning out.   This image from a visit to UC Berkeley Botanic Garden a couple years ago may or may not be Elegia capensis, but it is similar so I'll inclu...

 I love this plant.. I think it's the basic architecture that appeals to me ; and since it is not hardy here I bring it inside every winter without fail and give it a place of honor in the house where I can look at it all winter. I've had it a few years and it hasn't grown much; I repotted it in spring and added another small 2" plant that I got at the SF Garden Show. This is the first time it has bloomed, and I am ridiculously excited. But I love the foliage most of all. Maybe that makes this a quasi Foliage Follow Up  post ??? San Marcos Growers says it is native to South Africa , and grows to 2ft tall. At the rate mine is growing by the time it hits 2 feet I'll be shuffling around the garden with my cane and a bottle of Geritol.

 This week I have spent a great deal of time looking at and touching Chasmanthium latifolium, 'Northern Sea Oats' . A freak June rainstorm caused a bit of splaying and flopping , but it does swish and rustle pleasantly when I brush against it as it reclines toward the path.  I also own a variegated version of this, though it is much less vigorous and desperately needs to be moved , for it is in the root zone of a  large, mature  Liquidambar . I find the tactile characteristics of the blooms very magnetic..I can never walk past this plant without touching it..even better than popping fuchsias if you ask me, and lets face it , popping fuchsias is pretty damn compelling. Chasmanthium makes me think of flat , warm coins. Thin coins, like dimes .   As with most grasses , it is vital to site it where the low sun illuminates. Mine is planted where it gets morning sun , afternoon shade, and evening sun. It has never shown signs of spreading or re-seeding...

 Celebrating the return of my camera from the the hospital , and jumping on board with Loree ... I do love her fave plant posts and what a great way to ensure weekly blogging. Win-win !  I am thrilled with the Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Rosea' , purchased last year from Digging Dog on our Mendocino Coast. These large imposing Persicarias are not seen much around here, and I was triumphant to find this one when I visited the nursery last summer. It's comforting to have something that isn't bloomed out and flopping in the garden this time of year.  The foliage can get a tad ratty late in the season, but looks great right now, and after the ratty period, (which mostly involves the leaves near ground level) I get some nice fall color. Pleasantly architectural.