Last year, our California asters grew. And grew. And grew. By flowering time, the plants were about six feet tall. Too hard to appreciate the flowers at that height without a ladder, but the plants had a solution: as the season progressed, they drooped. We couldn’t cut them because we wanted the seeds as aContinue reading “Aster chilensis trimming results”
Category Archives: General
A bit of art at the state fair
Plein aire at the fair, 2013, at the California State Fair. A day for artists to invade the fairgrounds with their materials, painting whatever strikes their fancy.
A new native grass for the meadow
This is one of those plants whose common name – Alkali Sacaton – is only a bit more comprehensible than its Latin name – Sporobolus airoides. The Latin name is a lot more fun to say, however. We picked up a small fuzzy looking tuft of grass in a four inch pot at Elderberry FarmsContinue reading “A new native grass for the meadow”
Some new plants from Down Under
During the midst of the worst heat wave in years, a package arrived on our doorstep. Live plants. Fortunately, our doorstep is in the shade, so the “Live Plants” tag was still accurate. The plants came from Tuffy in Temecula, a supplier of plants to wholesale nurseries – our closest grower is supposedly Devil MountainContinue reading “Some new plants from Down Under”
Agapanthus?
combine lily of the Nile with other plants to create dramatic compositions
Urbanite: Using old concrete for new construction
Using urbanite paving with crushed rock creates a pervious walkable surface.
Playing with a monster
Fun with the rampant, fast-growing perennial morning glory vine (Ipomoea indica).
More mosaic!
A new mosaic transition / landing joins the garden.
Wind, Sun, Karl Foerster Grass
A breezy day near sunset, slanting rays of light coming through the grass as it dances in the wind… Feather Reed Grass, Karl Foerster variety (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’) Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘stricta’ is similar, if not indistinguishable. If you want variegated leaves, get ‘Overdam’ – although it isn’t as vigorous as the green-leaved varieties.
A (mostly) native garden by a stream
A mostly native garden thrives along a suburban streambank.