Native CA Grass Sod

I was really happy to see this post from Bay Natives Nursery in SF on Facebook about their native grass sod options:
  
"Native grass sod now available by the square foot in six different flavors."

Sod Flavors avail:

• Fescue blend (Festuca occidentalis, F. idahoensis, and F. rubra) 
• Grassland Mix (Koelaria macrantha, Deschampsia elongata, and Festuca rubra) 
• Bentgrass Sod (Agrostis pallens) 
• Bioswale Sod (Hordeum brachyantherum, Hordeum brach. ssp. calif...ornicum, Nassella pulchra, and Festuca rubra 'Pt. Molate') 
• Heartland Sod (Nassella pulchra, Nassella cernua, Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. californicum, and Molate fescue) 
• Preservation Mix (Koelaria macrantha, Nassella pulchra, Nassella cernua, and Molate fescue).

Fatsia Japonica blooming

I've had this guy for about 4 years or maybe five, and this year it decided to send up some flowers.

acidanthera - star gladiolus

I planted these a little late this year, but they all came up with strong green growth, and I had hopes of blooms, but it wasn't to be this year... they will store up the energy for next year.

some info on acidanthera from sunny gardens

As with its relative the Gladiolus, Acidanthera's spikes of fragrant, creamy white flowers make excellent cut flowers. Individual, 2- to 3-inch-wide blossoms are star-shaped with deep chocolate brown or crimson-purple centers. Plants have sword-shaped leaves. Dig up and store dormant corms. In spring, plant 4 to 6 inches deep in masses for naturalizing in warm climates or in containers.
Acidanthera bicolor muielae, Peacock Orchid, Gladiolus callianthus, Abssyinian
The most common Peacock Orchid, it grows taller than the ordinary species.
Attributes - Acidanthera bicolor muielae

Plant Type: Bulb

Bloom Season: Late Summer through Early Fall

Flower Color: White

Foliage: Deciduous

Height: 2 ft. to 3 ft.

Width: 1 ft. 6 in.

Sunlight: Full Sun

Climate: Zones 9, 10

Notes: Container Plants, Cut Flowers, Fragrant, Showy Flowers. Susceptible to Aphids.

Awesome things to do with fruit & veggies

Who knew there were so many ways to play with your food? Check out these inventive ways to shape fruits and veggies so they are more fun to eat.

Square Watermelon

Buddha Pear

heart and star-shaped cucumbers

Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’

I've had this Ajuga, or bugleweed, for a couple of seasons - it did not overwinter successfully on the north side of my house. And the purpleish color of the foliage seems to go away when they spend a lot of time in shade.

The plants I had in the purple plant pot also died (probably because the soil had compacted to halfway down the pot and it wasn't getting any sun - I pulled the plants out and added new soil and a new Ajuga which is doing well) but they seem to propagate pretty readily, and some of these plants in some 4" pot that had filtered light have bloomed. These guys should be blooming in the spring, but here they are in November blooming away.

Here's what it should look like:

This Ajuga offers tiny, reddish chocolate-brown foliage. Spreading with vigor, the narrow lustrous leaves form a finely textured, close-knit ground cover trimmed by 6 in. tall spikes of bright blue flowers.
Blooms March–mid-May.
Size: 3"–6" high x 12" & spreading; hardy to zone 4.

Cedar Raised beds from Cedar Fencing Boards

Check out this great article from Alaskan DIY-er Ana White on building raised beds from cedar fence posts. Her blog also has other great building projects

http://ana-white.com/2010/05/hack-natural-rustic-cedar-raised-beds.html

Monkey Flower

bat-faced cuphea

This guy comes back every year with tons of blooms and is so striking with it;s red and purple combo! more info

Ginger Bloom

I bought this Ginger Hedychium coronarium 'Tara' a couple years ago, I bought it mostly because it is called "tara" which is my sisters name. I wasn't really aware that it would bloom when I bought it. It hasn't bloomed in the past couple years (I think mostly because my dog keeps breaking the canes) but this year a bloom has finally appeared! I keep it on the north side of the house where it gets bright shade and no direct sun.

this shoot appeared about a week ago, I was surprised to see it...

Hedychium coronarium 'Tara' (Ginger)-
green stalks rising 3-6 feet from the rhizome with long, lance-shaped leaves.
Mid Summer to Fall stalks are topped with 18 inch clusters of brilliant orange-red flowers with darker throats very fragrant with a scent similar to Gardenia.
hardy to approx 0 degrees F. It will tolerate an occasional light freeze or frost.
A hard frost will kill it to the ground but it returns quickly.
Prefers full sun in milder climates to part shade in hot areas.
Rich soil and good moisture.

Puya

I purchased what I thought was Puya alpestris "Sapphire Tower" from Annie's Annuals, but I think it's really Puya mirabilis. I bought two of them, and a couple summers ago one of them bloomed, this year the other one bloomed on two stalks, the blooms are really cool, but each one only lasts a day.

It's bromiliad from South America. Puya mirabilis
Zone 8b to 10—
A fast growing terrestrial bromeliad with bright shiny-green leaves that are slightly prickly at their base. The large, nodding flowers resemble species gladiolus and are chartreuse. This species flowers in 3 to 4 years from seed, very quick for a Puya.
Native to South America.
Average
Partial Sun
Attracts Hummingbirds
Great for Containers
Grows to 2' x 3'.

Pink Plants

I had a gift certificate for Orchard Nursery in Lafayette, CA and bought a taupe colored pot and three pink blooming plants this weekend.

I'm normally not so into the pink shades I prefer the orangy red tones on the warm side of the spectrum, but I thought these all looked very good together, and the pot went well with all of them as well.

Salvia coccinea 'Hummingbird Coral' Perennial treated as annual, to 2 ft tall, Full Sun.

Scutellaria suffrutescens 'Cherry Skullcap' Perennial, 3-8", Full Sun

Justicia Carnea Perennial, 2ft to 3ft depending on variety, Shade to partial shade

Not sure what I did here...

Somehow I completely killed the zinnas, but not the lantana or marigolds.

Hibiscus

I bought this Painted Lady Hibiscus last year, and it's still in the five-gallon pot I bought it in. It's just about doubled in size from the size I bought it, but during the winter it went dormant and took it's sweet time coming back. The first blooms were misshapen and small, it also dries out really fast which tells me it's probably root bound and needs to be transplanted.

I don't currently have another container to move it into, so I fertilized it with some fish emulsion, and that seems to have brought it back from it's sad state. Next steps with this guy will be to transplant it into a larger container, and maybe try to propagate some new plants from it.

Hibiscus stats:
Full Sun
Blooms continuously
Zone 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
sunset zones 9, 12-16, 19-24, Hawaii 1-2
needs overhead protection if temps go below 30
grows to 6-10ft
to keep growth vigorous, prune 1/3 of old wood back in spring
requires excellent drainage

Echinacea

I planted this Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower, three years ago from a six pack, the two plants in this planter were the only two that survived, and last year they didn't do anything but sit there with two leaves on them. Just as I'd given up hope, this year one of them actually shot up a bloom! Its supposed to bloom all summer so we'll see if it continues...there are no signs of the other plant blooming.

Purple coneflower stats:
sunset zones A2, A3, 1-24
Native to central and east North America
seeds are favorite of finches (there are two finch families nesting at our house)

Black Mondo Grass

I've had this plant for a while, the green is new growth, this plant is in need of some major dividing.

The blooms are so pretty but they only last a week or two.

This plant I divided about three years ago, it has finally bloomed. No wonder this stuff is so expensive...

I keep this perennial grass in containers under the canopy of an old deciduous oak tree on our north-facing patio.

Brodiaea Blooming

Brodiaea laxa - ‘Queen Fabiola’
other common names: Brodiaea, Long Rayed Triteleia, Pretty Face, Grass, Triplet Lily, Wild Hyacinth

These guys come back year after year and give me weeks of happy little blooms in between when the spring bulbss are dying back and the summer bulbs bloom.

Early-summer blooming. A wonderful native wildflower bulb valued for its clusters of violet-blue, upward-facing flowers. 'Queen Fabiola' flowers in very late spring (June) and lasts for 2-3 weeks. Plants are 15-20 inches tall. makes a long lasting cut flower. Easily grown in sunny beds with well-drained soils; great companion for Allium. Origin of species: Northern California, Tolerates summer drought. Keep moist during growing season.

Zones 5-9, 1990 USDA Climatic Zones 5 to 6 with mulch, Zones 7 to 8 without mulch.

New pottery

I went to Sloat in Danville the weekend before last and got these four pots during their BOGO sale. I was really happy to see that they had some green colored pots.

I planted the Guara I bought a few weeks ago, and the silver

something is eating the Dichondra...

something is either eating the dichondra, or someone thought it needed a haircut. Anyone know if dichondra is tasty to critters?

 

Here's what it looked like when I planted it:

Honesty, Lunaria annua

I think I picked a seed pod on a hike and planted this one. I remember seeing this awesome seed pod on the hike, and I don't remember buying a plant that looked like this one. It bloomed out of a 4" pot this spring that was in my plant hospital. I thought it was a random weed, but then when it bloomed I saw a gorgeous purple bloom. This is why I like to wait a season before getting rid of a pot or plant.

I posted about it when it was blooming, and I got a response from @boomerangutang that is was an Honesty, 'Lunaria annua'

As part of the mustard family, this plant is also known as: Annual Honesty, Bolbonac, Honesty, Money Plant, Moonwort, Silver Dollar
Native to Europe
Blooms in April/May
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
Can tolerate drought.
A good bee and butterfly plant.

transplant weekend

This weekend I finally transplanted the herbs out of their small shallow bowl, into a medium shallow bowl. They are much happier here. If I had known what I know now about herbs, I would not have planted the rosemary and lavender in this pot since they get pretty large.

Then I took the small shallow bowl and planted some annuals I got at the nursery.

Parrots Beak

Lotus berthelotii or Parrots Beak

My grandmother send me some cash in my birthday card, which I pretty much immediately ran out and spent on this plant and the orange pot it's in.

These guys are supposed to be sensitive to cold, so when I bought it a few months ago, when it was still cold at night, I kept it in the house on the sill of a south facing window. and when it warmed up I moved it outside. It grew a lot when I re-potted it, and this week it started blooming!

Most Lotus need 40° F nights to induce bloom, but not this vibrant-hued variety. Night temperatures can be as high as 55 - 60° F.

Parrot's Beak or Lotus Vine is a great plant that fills the needs for a silver, soft-foliaged plant, as well as a trailing silver plant that flowers. However, the flowering part is short lived, based upon where you live and how fast the temperature rises in the spring. Parrot's Beak needs cool temperatures in order to initiate flowers, and will start and continue to bloom only if the spring temperatures do not climb too fast or spike (when there really is no spring and you fast forward to summer.) If you have warm night temperatures the plant will quickly go out of flower.

In warm-winter areas, lotus is a striking evergreen perennial groundcover. It grows best in full sun with well-drained soil.

Light:
Sun
Zones:
10-11
Plant Type:
Annual,Perennial
Plant Height:
To 8 inches tall
Plant Width:
To 2 feet wide
Landscape Uses:
Containers,Beds & Borders,Privacy,Slopes,Groundcover
Special Features:
Flowers,Attractive Foliage,Easy to Grow

Annuals

I planted some annuals in a couple of containers to place on the windowsills in front of the house, they are doing pretty well...

Here they were a week or so ago before the bloomed

Here they are when I first planted them.

Flea Market Find

At the Antique Fair in Sacramento, CA this weekend I found this little book which is much like Sunset's Western Garden Book, but published in London in 1846. It lists all plants and garden topics, in a dictionary style, and even has a little section in the back with garden plans. Funniest part is that since the topic is plants, the info hasn't changed much.

Scarlet Monkey Flower Blooms

Today, I got the pleasant surprise of the Scarlet Monkey Flower blooming! Here it is shown with the Yellow Milkweed.

Bugs

what is this?

some eggs on the underside of fava bean leaves.

Jealousy...

My coworker is experimenting in his SF garden, and I'm a little jealous of his space and location - SF has a much more mild climate during the summer, and he'll be able to grow leafy greens pretty much all year round...

He 's also put up some Woolly pocket hanging gardens That are looking fantastic!

http://urbandelicious.com/blog/2011/05/25/mission-spring-garden/