GardenBook

   I've acquired a modest collection of Mangaves over the last few years-most of them are still in pots  but I am slowly transitioning some of them to the ground. The advantage with pots is that it's easier to move them out of harms way in winter, which as it turns out is a must-do for some cultivars. Some are also apparently a gourmet treat for snails. I bought most of those that I have collected from the UC Davis Arboretum plant sales-they had them back when nobody else did. This year though I opted to hold off buying any more until I  have a better plan for winter . I saw inconsistent reactions to rain and cold  so a year to just to shift plants around and  observe the results seemed like a wise choice.   The rainy season of 20-21 has featured (so far) only 8.19 inches of rain (season normal in the 25" range) and lots of frost with typical early morning temperatures in the 29 to 32 range. The coldest temp I registered here was 24f . It's not un...

 In February we got somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 inches of rain on the valley floor, and as always the hills that encircle us got several inches more. Rivers and creeks were swollen , our flood gates in the city were deployed and we were  spared the major flooding that was experienced by our  neighbors on the Russian River. It is gratifying to know the the decade long flood control project on the Napa River has in fact done exactly what it was meant to do-restoring wetland flood plains that direct the waters into safe spaces, and away from the city streets. I'm ready for some sun, and it looks like after the next series of storms we might have at least one full week that is dry. It will be a long time before I have to water anything.  During the last big rain event we had 3 hailstorms in one day, and the results will be shared here for Tell the Truth Tuesday, the brainchild of our friend Alison over at Bonney Lassie . Snail damage will be included for unsight...

 Last weekend I took a brief road trip to Santa Cruz , a beach city on the north tip of Monterey Bay . The primary reason for the trip was a production at a regional theater company , and because the run was short it was December or nothing; a relative was in the cast so nothing wasn't an option. And I knew this month would be an excellent time to visit the University of  California  Santa Cruz Arboretum -they have a robust collection of both Australian and South African winter blooming plants. The unstable weather that was predicted held off and I had a great stroll and photo shoot for a few hours on Saturday morning. I took so many photos there will be two posts, and in this one I will feature the Banksias. My climate is  marginal for these plants, though many will tolerate some frost and the dislike of summer rain and humidity is not an issue here. I plan to try one in a container next year just for fun.  Remarkably-for me-I actually noted some names by pho...

 I've done a fair amount of 'rose editing' in 2013 . I embarked upon this particular journey a couple of years ago when it became clear to me that  my garden was not going to get any bigger, and 60+ roses were using up valuable real estate. Many of the roses that have since been sent to the compost facility were either in decline, duplicates or under performers. I had gone from buying one or two roses a year , to buying none; there was simply no place to put them. As of today I have slimmed down my assortment to around 35, a couple of which have questionable status going forward. One of my keepers is the David Austin rose , Lady Emma Hamilton. I bought her the first year she was introduced to US commerce, and she has proved to be a prolific bloomer, very disease resistant (no sprays are used in my garden ) and has a nice shrub-like appearance never displaying the awkwardness that some of the modern roses are prone to.  I admit that I have tendency to plant things too clo...