Pictures of garden on a frosty morning
Category Archives: General
Sedge meadow expansion
recently planted sedge meadow
Wet year!
rain garden plants in winter
Rain garden update
The rain garden after a few months of growth
Some new plants for testing
Our back yard plant testing area will have some new inhabitants as soon as it dries out enough for us to do some earthwork. For now, the plants are sitting in their pots, waiting. Scroll down to see what’s going in the ground next.
Senecio mandraliscae
This is a daisy. Although it doesn’t look much like one, it’s in the same family as your average marguerite. This is a very popular drought tolerant ground cover used in Southern California and the Bay Area. Supposedly, it can survive in Sacramento as well. We’ll see.
Aloe
This nifty aloe is supposed to be frost hardy in the Central Valley. It has interesting leaves and as a bonus gets typical red, tubular aloe type flowers that should attract hummingbirds.
Cape Rush
The rain garden area will get a Cape Rush (Chondropetalum tectorum), a large, bold grass-like plant from South Africa. This plant supposedly likes wet conditions during the rainy season that dry out as the year progresses. The plant gets over six feet tall – definitely a bold, focal point.
Grevillea ‘Coastal Gem’
The hummingbird garden will get a Grevillea ‘Coastal Gem’, a compact gray shrub with numerous interesting red flowers in early spring. There will also be an Aloe ‘Pink Blush’, a compact succulent with – as the name says – a pink blush to the leaves. It has red, tubular flowers that should also please theContinue reading “Grevillea ‘Coastal Gem’”
Leucadendron salignum ‘Golden Tip’
Another distinctive South African plant, Leucadendron salignum ‘Golden Tip’ will contrast with an existing large bronze New Zealand flax. The cut stems and flowers are very interesting in cut flower arrangements, the plant is evergreen and attractive year round. It takes very little water once established. The only drawback is that it can be trickyContinue reading “Leucadendron salignum ‘Golden Tip’”