Aster chilensis trimming results

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”

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”

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.