I bought this plant at Home Depot without really knowing what it was. But I really liked the bright red on the stems, and it looked like it was about to bloom (see an even brighter red flower pod was at the base of the plant).

I looked all over on the internet looking for what it was, and then found the name right on the tag ;-) Philodendron Congo 'Rojo'

It seems that different resources have different ideas of what the plant will tolerate, it's a tropical plant, and will do will in zone 10 and 11, but seems like it will do well in zone 7-9 as either an annual or as a perennial that will die back in the winter.

It seems as though it should do well as an indoor plant, but I don't think it's getting enough sun, and I've both under and over watered it in the month or so that I've had it. It seems to have been potted in a medium that seems to hold onto moisture for a long time.

today I'm putting it outside to get a shot of sunlight (though not direct).

Anemones

The Anemones have been blooming, mostly just one at a time here and there they are a nice blueish purple color, and are running a bit small, this one is the largest that has bloomed. It's a little over 3" across.

from Wikipedia: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Greek anemōnē means "daughter of the wind", from ánemos "wind" + feminine patronymic suffix -ōnē.^[4] The Metamorphoses of Ovid tells that the plant was created by the goddess Venus when she sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover Adonis. The name "windflower" is used for the whole genus as well as the wood anemone A. nemorosa.^[5]

These are Japanese hybrid-style anemones, and grow from a tuber, I would hope they would naturalize in an area if they were planted in the ground.

Sunset Western Gardener Manual says they are zones 2b-24 (sunset zones, not USDA. I am in zone 14). and that they are long-lived. they are supposed to be slow to establish but spreads if the roots are not disturbed, so plant them and leave them alone. divide the rhizomes in fall or early spring, or propagate from root cuttings. they like partial shade, which is good since i have them on the patio in a pot under a very old large deciduous oak tree that keeps the patio nice and cool all summer long.

 

There are varieties of anemones that are native to California, Oregon and Washington, you can look at some of them here at the CalFlora site , they are less showy, but retain the bright cheery feel.

Garden talk: rain gardens

Also from the bay friendly garden tour this weekend, there was a talk on rain gardens from a landscape designer who's projects include public works projects. Here are my notes/learnings from that talk:

Im still waiting for a copy of the handout that was distributed at the talk, to get the exact calculation, but I learned that there is a calculation for how much roof area you have which includes a percentage of rain (CA only gets 4-6%).

You can not have a rain garden within 3' of a public sidewalk or 10' of a foundation. As the water will erode the base rock that supports these structures.

If you have clay which most of us in CA have, you'll need to make sure that your soil is permeable enough water that stands should not last more than 72 hours at the most

Should not do a water garden on more than a 3% slope ( you should check with a professional if its more than that do make sure you're not putting yourself at risk for landslides ).

Plants need to be very flexible- ok with their feet wet, and with drought.

Rushes
Sedges
Sages
Blue grey times are more drought tolerant than greens
Fringe cups
Red monkey flower

Be careful of CA fuchsia & carrot species they can take over and be one invasive.

Plant talk: Alameda plants that thrive on little care

Last weekend I went to a garden tour it was hosted by the bay friendly gardening coalition. At one of the gardens there was a talk by a master gardener who works in the Livermore demonstration gardens about the outstanding plants for Alameda county. The Alameda county master gardeners http://acmg.ucdavis.edu/ have put together a couple of brochures that each list 18 plants that thrive in Alameda county http://acmg.ucdavis.edu/Outstanding_Plants_for_Alameda_County/ . During the talk, master gardener Carol discussed some of the plants that did better for the inland portions of alameda county, and also some tips on care.

Things I learned:
Never water a dormant plant
Deer dint like plants with a lot of scent or weird texture
Strawberry tree likes acidic soil ( good under pines)
Don't prune flax back it won't recover well
Manzanita is a great ground over but takes a long time to fill in
If you plant all three types of lavender, you will extend the bloom time april-novrmber- and you should not fertilize them at all or they get leggy. also, English is good for oil or cooking, intermedia/Provence good for cutting and fragrance
For shade (less than 4 hours of sun) use ribes, Oregon grape, heuchera, or toyon/coffeeberry
Red bud may bloom again in fall if it gets some water.
Manzanita and yellow or white yarrow need zero water

Is that a red hot poker?

This red hot poker is just starting to bloom I thought I'd snap a photo before the crickets eat it.

Muscari

 The first blooms from the bulbs I planted in February are the muscari. I was afraid they wouldn't bloom, since I had planted them so late (In CA, they should be planted in late fall). They are very cute and a great introduction to spring.

Not-Blue Freesias

I always buy blue freesias but they never come up blue.

Spring bulbs

These bulbs bloomed last year, but they didn't look as nice as they do this year!

The freesia snuck in there this year -they've been naturalizing themselves all over the yard.

Tulip orange
Freesia yellow
Camassia blue

Springtime

Everything is starting to come out of its winter slumber.

Bulbs

I planted these just a couple of weeks ago. In these three containers there is a blend of the following bulbs:

Anemone
Dwarf iris
Sparaxis
Crocus
Muscari

I also planted some Acidanthera gladiolus (also called Gladiolus callianthus or Gladiolus callianthus muriela), that came from Costco it was a pack of 100 bulbs so I've been planting them around other places as well...I also planted these previously but they haven't bloomed yet even after two years...

Spring

narcissus that came with the house.

 I bought a few annuals to brighten the yard up while we wait for things to bloom.

The sourgrass or Oxalis 'pes-caprae' is in full bloom along with the blue Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler'

The sourgrass came with the house, and returns every year, the Ipheion was added by me, and has naturalized a bit. This year it has really taken off!

Dahlia Update

Out of the three Dahlia's, only one had bloomed (or looks like it's going to). It's pretty.