tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56668551406001383382024-03-14T10:19:03.892-07:00Home, LandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-14244448733448320822016-10-24T18:03:00.002-07:002016-10-24T21:17:50.816-07:00Planting is Everything<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Mr. Hedge-Head really wants you to understand this!</span></div>
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A plant's success depends greatly on how you plant it. There's not much more to it than digging a hole about the size of the pot the plant arrived in, and gently removing the plant and the soil from the pot, and gently lowering it into the hole. It's when we get fancy that we mess up.<br />
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Back-filling compost isn't necessary and might even be harmful.<br />
Planting so low that that part of the stem or trunk is under the surface does not protect the plant.<br />
Excess watering can kill a newly planted tree, shrub, or annual in hard clas soil just as surely as it can when the plant is in a pot<br />
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The most import thing to be aware of when planting is a part of the plant called the crown. It's the transition point between the stem or trunk of a plant or tree, and the roots. It must end up just at the surface of the soil, or any plant, with minor exceptions, will be compromised and even die at a young age.** Trees can live for hundreds of years, but they'll die in 5 to 10 years if planted too deeply. Keep an eye of for trees that rise up from the soil like phone poles. They are at risk. A healthy tree flares at the bottom.<br />
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Essential: When the plant and its soil are sitting in their new hole, the top of the soil that came with the plant should be a but higher than the surrounding soil. This allows for some settling once it's all watered in and recovered from the jostling that went on while you were taking it from its pot.</div>
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If the plant came from a pot that it had been in too long, its roots will be all you can see. It's helpful to most plants if you do some loosening. Some don't mind aggressive techniques like cutting with a knife. Others, like Bougainvillea, can't tolerate any disturbance of their roots.</div>
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** The exception is tomatoes. You can bury the few inches stem. New roots grow from the buried stem and give the plant extra capacity for taking water and nutrients from the soil</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-68541032777338498252016-10-24T16:51:00.003-07:002016-10-24T16:51:30.625-07:00Plants' Life Cycles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Plants' Life Cycles: Three Broad Categories</div>
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ANNUALS (Most) wildflowers and sunflowers are called <i>annuals</i>. In less than a year, they come up from seed, reach maturity, flower, make seeds, and die. That's not the end for them though. Their seeds ensure another batch the following spring, if you allow it.<br />
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PERENNIALS Small, plants grown for color or interest that aren't annuals and aren't shrubs (or bushes) are known as perennials, but they're not the only ones. Shrubs and trees are very long term residents of the garden in which they are planted, so they're obviously perennials. Many ornamental vines, all cacti and most succulents are perennials.<br />
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Because they have to make it through winter, perennials are usually suited to one climate or another, but not all climates. Strangely enough, the romantic and delicate rose is tough enough for almost any winter weather. The exotic look of Calla Lily suggests a hothouse flower, but they thrive from San Diego to Seattle. Most vines are perennials. Think of them as horizontal trees. Some, like Campsis and Wistaria, can take down wooden structures eventually.*<br />
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BIENNUALS Brussels sprouts, foxglove, and hollyhock are all members of this group. The spend a ear maturing, do little in winter, and complete their live the next year--flowers, seeds, and any fruit they might muster. Start seeds in the same bed every year, and there won't br a bloom free year after the first one.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-79804289206714563682016-03-15T22:39:00.003-07:002016-10-24T16:54:49.154-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How to Choose Plants Wisely</div>
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Learn your soil type, because some plants won't grow in clay soil, and some plants do badly in loose, sandy soil, if they need a lot of water. They won't get it because water can spread away from where it is applied farther and faster in loose soil than in clay soil and not be accessible to your plant for as long, and also can evaporate most easily.</div>
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Know where you have sun and shade most of the day, because these cannot be compensated for. It's almost like the difference between water and air for fish and land animals. Information about sun requirements is usually available wherever you acquire plants or seeds.<br />
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Decide how much you want to water. Some plants are stressed and won't thrive if they spend too much time in dry soil. Others do just fine, and some want to be bogged. And..some can't tolerate "wet feet." Their roots will rot. Low-water plants save water, time, money, and weeding. The less you water, the less you support weeds, too.<br />
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Know the ultimate size of the plant! Not having to control size is a big part of a low maintenance garden. Roses are fabulous flowers but horrendous shrubs. They're ideally cut back to a candelabra look once a year, or they'd be sprawling monsters and not bloom as much. There are varieties meant to be self-maintaining, but the flowers won't be the best. They're called landscape roses.<br />
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Size is especially important with trees. There aren't many small trees. If you don't want the shade or to block a view, think about very large shrubs instead. All trees are "messy." there are no exceptions, but there are degrees. Fruits and seeds that stick to shoes or hurt bare feet can ruin a sidewalk for the whole neighborhood for 100 years, so bear that in mind in a front or side yard. In a warm climate, Coral trees are pretty non-messy, and certain evergreens are not too troublesome for colder climates.<br />
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In choosing plants, consider pollinators (bees? birds? bats?), fragrance, toxicity, and food production, including herbs. You don't hear much about serious cases of poisoning from garden plants, but I wouldn't grow Castor with children or pets around. Just in case. You can mix ornamentals and edibles in the same areas, and some edibles are nice-looking, such as artichokes.<br />
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∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞</div>
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*There's Wistaria in Sierra Madre, CA, that has been allowed to take down a house. It is the the world’s largest blossoming plant, and weighs:<br />
a) 450 lbs<br />
b) almost a ton<br />
c) 250 tons<br />
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<a href="http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/lifestyle/20150309/sierra-madres-historic-wistaria-vine-to-draw-thousands-this-sunday">Sierra Madre's Giant House-Eating Wistaria</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-33022694051067981162016-03-15T22:39:00.002-07:002016-10-24T16:51:54.983-07:00The Basics of Starting a Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every garden is located in a climate, and every climate has a name. You might not know what yours is called, but you know things like how cold it gets in winter and when it warms up in spring. As a gardener, you must know these things, because plants are very sensitive to climate. Like snakes and lizards, they cannot regulate their temperature, but unlike those animals, they can't seek shelter from extreme weather.<br />
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Temperatures affect viability and performance. Whether a plant will thrive for you is strongly related to its cold tolerance and sun/heat tolerance. Cherries, apples, and pears need cold winters to make fruit (performance). Citrus and avocados will freeze to death or at least lose their crop if it freezes significantly (viability and performance). The amount and form of yearly precipitation is also important to plants, as is its timing. As gardeners, we can make up for inadequate precipitation, and many plants don't mind too much precipitation if the soil they're in drains adequately. Plants available in nurseries and garden centers near you are likely to be suitable for your climate, so you don't have to be an expert when you begin making selections. Of course the same is true if you exchange plants and seeds with your neighbors and friends.<br />
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If you're embarking on an outdoor garden for the first time, don't let any bad results you might have had indoors get you down. In a small pot, with only the light available through a window, plants kept indoors are somewhat like inmates of an inadequate institution. Failure to thrive might technically be your fault, but the conditions are set against you.<br />
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Still, you might want to keep things simply when it's time to make something of an expanse of bare soil in your hard or community plant, and for that, you can do no better than sow wildflower seeds. You will get a beautiful display out of a few ounces of wildflower seeds. They grow quickly and of sold for your local market, will be tolerant of the weather, no matter what it does. It's all good with wildflower seeds! Most climates will allow wildflowers to grow in spring and summer, they're low maintenance and their good for birds, butterflies and bees.<br />
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With a little help from you in the beginning, planting wildflowers will help to suppress weeds. A week or so before you sow your wildflower seeds, start watering the soil to a depth of a few inches. Don't let it dry out completely, and you'll soon see many green spikes poking up through the soil. You must ruthlessly kill them all! They're weeds. (What is a weed? A plant that likes to grow more than people like to grow it.) Pluck away weed seedlings as soon as you recognize them. If you don't, they will bloom and set seed, or spread horizontally with runners or other fancy footwork.<br />
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Pay attention to the appearance of the weed seedlings. If you can recognize them you will always be able to eradicate them while preserving the seedings of the plants you want in your garden.<br />
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Keep those weeds at bay for a week or so, until the day comes when very few new seedlings appear to replace the ones you killed the day before. Then you may sow your wildflowers. If it's already hot, do it in the evening so they'll have all night to absorb water from the soil and can germinate in good condition when the time comes. It will just be a few days at most, and only a few weeks before something is blooming.<br />
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Plunk a few sunflower seeds here and there, considering the height when you choose their places. They are trouble-free, and definitely one of the happiest plants you can grow.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-82804985940011633402009-11-16T20:14:00.000-08:002015-08-07T17:29:49.809-07:00I love plants.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/hi/Hoodia_gordonii_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/hi/Hoodia_gordonii_4.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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That is such a cool flower! I bought something at Roger's Garden's today <a href="http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/hi/Hoodia_gordonii_4.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">that might be Hoodia</a>. I have to bring it up to the computer and compare it to photos.<br />
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Roger's Gardens is legendary and I can now see why. Quite an interesting selection of plants and the the whole place is nicely laid out. They had some Gasteraloe's I hadn't seen so I bought the most prolific-looking specimens of three to propagate for next year. Oh but it will be dull this winter if growth rates slow.<br />
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I also got a very fragrant pink carnation for my collection of very fragrant carnations. They are going to look great all humped together in a bed some day.<br />
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Rob and Marcella made terrariums last night. M filled a large footed jar with sand and planted a 6" high baby Saguaro in it. She poked down against the glass to draw sand from higher layers down through a few lower layers. The effect is like chocolate frosting dripping off a cake. I have forgotten what Rob did; something with an egg cup. Oh yes, he took some Conos with my approval, although my approval was reluctant to say the least. I put 3 small plants and a plastic pit bull in a square pot. The pot's surface was divided in a 2x2 grid; each item got one square. The dog's entire square was covered with a layer of beige sand that conceals the dark soil.<br />
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I also got a nice small columnar cactus at Roger's that was $12.99 and had a few spires in one pot. I hope it stays this cute. Finding out what it is is going to take a while. All the Cereus-type cacti are pretty similar.<br />
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Something interesting another day, I promise.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-18897259931492500872009-11-11T08:34:00.000-08:002009-11-11T08:50:03.294-08:00OctemberWell, I thought it was still October. I'm not wrapping my head around this whole November thing. That's partly because I do not feel as bombarded as usual by holiday themed advertising this year. I suppose advertisers have scaled back like the rest of us have.<br />
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What's that got to do with my garden? Bloody nothing, as I am sure you'd noticed.<br />
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All right then. What is going on?<br />
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The lawn is all green and ready for a trim. I must take pictures to send to the city to get into the lawn removal rebate program. For every sf I get rid of and replace with mulch or something else, I shall receive one dollar. Open to lawns in the City of Los Angeles.<br />
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The Gasteraloes are blooming again, some with a fury. By that I mean that some have two flower stalks. The new ones, which lack the pink decorations, are not blooming. I got those at Descanso this fall.<br />
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I guess I haven't mentioned what else I got there. I got a Saguaro for mom for Christmas, a Bismarckia (blue fan leaves; different from the Brahea), a blue med fan palm. Something glauca of course. This was bought from a retiring Mt Sac Hort prof. In my next life I will study hort in school. Home study is darned good also, but the more people to talk about plants with, the better.<br />
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One of Jero's Streilitzia nicholii (sp?) offsets has rooted. It's the larger of the two I checked. The other one had not rooted but is alive. The big Philodendron seems to have rooted. I got tired of all my indoor attempts and finally just shoved it in the barrel of calla persistence (BCP) and put a pot on it (Solandra grandiflora) to hold it down. I took the pot off and gave the Phil a good tug...nothing doing, it seems to have rooted. We shall see. I wonder if it will wait until spring to do anything. It's a climber with three-lobed leaves.<br />
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Well, to be frank I am more interested in soil content that what's above it these days. I wonder if there's any gold on my property :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-79392396280224520972009-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:26:48.185-07:00Back to the topic at hand: what lives?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ai! I was about to start typing, and remembered just then that I had taken wads of photos today. I might have to post them in Picasa or photobucket. Oh my. Well, next time I get up I'll look for the camera and the cable I need. I would be nice if Blogspot let us keep photo libraries online. If not uploaded files, then at least owner-created indexes of the photos on our hard drives with small thumbnails.<br />
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Hmmm. Garden coming along! Haven't seen ryegrass sprouting, but remain hopeful. Watering going well. I am going to use Round-up on the weeds I think [ugh!]. Or maybe the steamer. Shouldn't that do it? I hope so. I will apply it as close to the crown as possible, and also to the soil where many weed seeds lie. Gee, if you had Bermuda grass or St. Augustine you could write seasonal messages in the lawn with steam. With Festuca you could etch permanent designs and fill them with gravel once the grass rots and can be removed. I like the idea of rivers of green glass or a narrow, winding stream if you have an incline. I might try this.<br />
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I cannot wait to see how the grass looks. Would I regret seeding Bermuda grass? Could I keep it out of the tree cages? If I must have lawn I guess it should be St. Aug. I love the stuff and it's tough as nails and fills back in after injury, but it's much more controllable than Bermuda. I think it's easier to notice its first forays out of its own zone because its stolons are chunky. Bermuda grass can have a few footholds in the soil before you realize it's there. And then, if you procrastinate...<br />
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Okay, here is a thought experiment. What ONE plant would survive the longest and spread the most in a home garden with total neglect. Bermuda grass would be high on the list, I think, if you exclude true cacti and trees. If we include trees I might wager Washingtonia filifera (sp?). When thinking of your own yard, assume everything is perfectly well established.<br />
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It's awful. Tomorrow might be Jero's last day. I cannot stand it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-88838364908773376602009-10-14T11:21:00.000-07:002009-10-14T11:23:18.559-07:00solved a few problems this morning......namely, terrorism and healthcare.<br /><br />let's just bite the bullet and put CT machines in airports. Everyone gets scanned for cancer and weapons at the same time. Excess radiation is a trivial problem for some individuals compared to the other problems it solves for the government.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-71063390253207623422009-10-08T21:50:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:32:56.602-07:00More thinking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">"The writer enjoys writing because it makes doing nothing feel like doing something."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qmsv5RtOhWNGUcL4zXwBuTk2yf-i-9xu7H5tqN7rhAU1Ut7c0MFK3H9hV0WyaEP4KiRDfJ6QGXb4va6nYcV8WkSn8gESOvj6qlz0posEDptUT6__7fHsGFAHUaB44FcnhQ8a56Jzr9Y/s1600/stapelia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qmsv5RtOhWNGUcL4zXwBuTk2yf-i-9xu7H5tqN7rhAU1Ut7c0MFK3H9hV0WyaEP4KiRDfJ6QGXb4va6nYcV8WkSn8gESOvj6qlz0posEDptUT6__7fHsGFAHUaB44FcnhQ8a56Jzr9Y/s200/stapelia2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Agree or disagree? I'm afraid I agree. If this is meant to be a gardener's blog, well this gardener spent more time today getting dirt out from under her nails than into them.<br />
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I did de-pot the mold. I felt I had to break the pot to get it out, so I did. It began accidentally and soon was beyond control. The mold will need a little repair but will probably be usable. I keep getting be-fuddled as I try to order ceramic supplies. I guess I will do one category at a time: slip, glazes, furniture, molds. Must research kiln-sitting devices.<br />
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The lovely Stapelia bloomed--three of the four buds are open wide. The fourth bud hadn't opened as of late afternoon today. I was lucky to get such sharp pictures with an eight year old video camera.<br />
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I am keeping an eye on the variegated Stapelia in the same pot as the one in bloom. It's doing two small outgrowths that seem to be four-headed and might be flower buds. I'll see if I can get a photo. <br />
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Thought of building a low deck around the pool using Monrovia lumber. Revert to sand for passage from seating area to shade potting bench/pool equipment. Build a low wall with cinder block and make it seem as though it is a simple step up to a new level. Perhaps find or make smaller table top for blue table--re-shape to better fit in corner?<br />
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Oh, rats, I totally forgot I was writing a blog. I have to go now. Bye.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-19945089060339254012009-10-08T11:31:00.000-07:002009-10-08T11:50:42.129-07:00How to bloom if you is a Stapelia<span style="font-weight:bold;">In 4 Easy Steps.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisCy8vPpHCKyy2J2W0OMtCD2SsiUoxeTPTs2b8jrB6pmZHdqcdhkB2AzTaWxcjbVz9L5FXLKbQON8oc4SBM95u5hFcG8FI6KsilugQ5ukl-lWp7uTCD77XhiS74xtEL9EnysLBVypCw8/s1600-h/stapelia2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisCy8vPpHCKyy2J2W0OMtCD2SsiUoxeTPTs2b8jrB6pmZHdqcdhkB2AzTaWxcjbVz9L5FXLKbQON8oc4SBM95u5hFcG8FI6KsilugQ5ukl-lWp7uTCD77XhiS74xtEL9EnysLBVypCw8/s200/stapelia2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390299109815162130" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Jjl3kMFUaZ7gsgn22E-XgxUXo44SupHoJZbHd2phHYl7s0_4aa6fQzQY4OHcRLnJLiXUeVJ7rc1hHZT6Qrpuhh0bdXfCSlXHA0FYuRE_kKyQXrKDSJ99an1O2S-I1xyapKEDjtlCpwA/s1600-h/stapelia2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Jjl3kMFUaZ7gsgn22E-XgxUXo44SupHoJZbHd2phHYl7s0_4aa6fQzQY4OHcRLnJLiXUeVJ7rc1hHZT6Qrpuhh0bdXfCSlXHA0FYuRE_kKyQXrKDSJ99an1O2S-I1xyapKEDjtlCpwA/s200/stapelia2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390299372148403922" /></a><br /><br clear="all"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7AaEOrH8w0pjQBvpI31p7wkapzjAo0aonFKAcNQWNTD9HkuY_VVpX4CKVprZ2uiYTm3BVJYxxXV1zL2mAH0oZwk3hno8sBUw4UfaS816PUiIHxrmdcEeyNQKX9aUu826cod_W0qQa90/s1600-h/stapelia4.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7AaEOrH8w0pjQBvpI31p7wkapzjAo0aonFKAcNQWNTD9HkuY_VVpX4CKVprZ2uiYTm3BVJYxxXV1zL2mAH0oZwk3hno8sBUw4UfaS816PUiIHxrmdcEeyNQKX9aUu826cod_W0qQa90/s200/stapelia4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390299504115597362" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0_AJzKt9tW-7NQ_bMilZXSvWJHWAV79CkEf1fl2KqQhr30shOC9yrZeWhktcbijfNoPn248edJEy-ipcjWeBCvzJYvgaRixlKAibuhZck2tMxWi2-m4ptgX9NL7ktDP3TvBde9AV-Qw/s1600-h/stapelia5.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0_AJzKt9tW-7NQ_bMilZXSvWJHWAV79CkEf1fl2KqQhr30shOC9yrZeWhktcbijfNoPn248edJEy-ipcjWeBCvzJYvgaRixlKAibuhZck2tMxWi2-m4ptgX9NL7ktDP3TvBde9AV-Qw/s200/stapelia5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390299613773821282" /></a><br /><br clear="all"><br />These were all taken at the same time, this very morning. I used an older Sony video camera with a still function and a 4MB memory stick. Oh, and the fragrance of the blooms is as promised. A jab in the nose of something awful.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-386878036666752872009-10-07T22:29:00.000-07:002009-10-07T22:53:15.353-07:00Eh?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54NuS6zCfiWUDE8lNz2TmNYIrje0isdIAgPkg_ZotVrnlL7s-W9gIGb0ODVIraapfh2A5mXcmJjlXsECxqvXsJ7m8ODOBq7s5Nek6oEMr1zESJ9gOVWsXzD1QnvDdRg6tYkfXPS1aCuI/s1600-h/IMG_0348.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54NuS6zCfiWUDE8lNz2TmNYIrje0isdIAgPkg_ZotVrnlL7s-W9gIGb0ODVIraapfh2A5mXcmJjlXsECxqvXsJ7m8ODOBq7s5Nek6oEMr1zESJ9gOVWsXzD1QnvDdRg6tYkfXPS1aCuI/s200/IMG_0348.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390103142147932290" /></a><br />I haven't found the camera yet. Maddening. I did find the cell and was dismayed. Oh well I can use it to take pictures until I find the camera. The camera's four years old and I only bought it because my then 5-year old Kodak went kaput. I have another Kodak somewhere I got for free; must unearth and use. Oh, Tom has it in Monrovia.<br /><br />Oh, great news about the landscape! For Jero's swan song, I directed him to build a kind of terrace that extends southward the palm terrace, four feet below the concrete patio. He built it with the broken concrete chunks Marcella and I had brought, and filled it with soil from many locations. A great aspect of this project was that some of the soil came from the boggy area where the tap always drips. Clearing that mud away allowed him to fill it with gravel, and to use the cleared-away mud as part of the new soil for the terrace extension. [Ed.: Do I sound crazy?]<br /><br />Anywho, once the terrace extension was created, Bayou tested its restorative powers by running in tight circles, rolling around, and then casually lounging on the new bed. He was a delight to watch and I didn't worry much about the ancient wildflower seeds I had just strewen. He tilled them in good. Something will survive around the edges and that'll be fine. I'd be thrilled if it were carnations.<br /><br />Did I mention that Marcella and Jero gave me a Delphinium in a deep blue for my birthday? I repotted it and noticed it's got at least two good stems coming on soon. (As an aside, the Stapelia buds are bigger still...but not open yet.)<br /><br />Jero's true final act was showing me how to make a mold from a nice pot I found at Rob's. He showed me how to make a removable wooden case to restrict the plaster poured around the object of which you are making a mold. He and Marcella had to go to the post office before 5pm, so he couldn't stay long enough to pull the mold off the pot. I was supposed to do it but plumb forgot in the midst of other excitements. I am going to make pots in pastel shades that correspond, but with more white, to the various colors of the plants I sell. I may or may not mix yellow greens with blue greens on one pot. Maybe I would, if it had a white band at the top that dribbled into watery blue green that dribbled into watery yellow green. Maybe with red earthenware showing though.<br /><br />If a city was once magic, is it always magic? Can the magic be killed by development, which is a form of decline? Because whatever you loved about an area will be gone once the area is developed. Development is another word for obliteration. You shouldn't have to get permits to build, you should have to get permits to obliterate. You shouldn't be able to change the nature of an area unless the surrounding public agrees. Votes taken annually.<br /><br />I am thinking of Vancouver. It's not the city I remember as a child and as a young adult. I wonder what San Francisco is like these days? It's a magic city, too, but I feel its magic is dark; so is some of Vancouver's. Los Angeles and New York are not as dark as the two west coast gems SFO and YVR.<br /><br />Good night; nothing much else to say.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-20192679194925411222009-10-06T20:18:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:24:10.619-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ai! I was about to start typing, and remembered just then that I had taken wads of photos today. I might have to post them in Picasa or photobucket. Oh my. Well, next time I get up I'll look for the camera and the cable I need. I would be nice if Blogspot let us keep photo libraries online. If not uploaded files, then at least owner-created indexes of the photos on our hard drives with small thumbnails.<br />
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Hmmm. Garden coming along! Haven't seen ryegrass sprouting, but remain hopeful. Watering going well. I am going to use Round-up on the weeds I think [ugh!]. Or maybe the steamer. Shouldn't that do it? I hope so. I will apply it as close to the crown as possible, and also to the soil where many weed seeds lie. Gee, if you had Bermuda grass or St. Augustine you could write seasonal messages in the lawn with steam. With Festuca you could etch permanent designs and fill them with gravel once the grass rots and can be removed. I like the idea of rivers of green glass or a narrow, winding stream if you have an incline. I might try this.<br />
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I cannot wait to see how the grass looks. Would I regret seeding Bermuda grass? Could I keep it out of the tree cages? If I must have lawn I guess it should be St. Aug. I love the stuff and it's tough as nails and fills back in after injury, but it's much more controllable than Bermuda. I think it's easier to notice its first forays out of its own zone because its stolons are chunky. Bermuda grass can have a few footholds in the soil before you realize it's there. And then, if you procrastinate...<br />
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Okay, here is a thought experiment. What ONE plant would survive the longest and spread the most in a home garden with total neglect. Bermuda grass would be high on the list, I think, if you exclude true cacti and trees. If we include trees I might wager Washingtonia filifera (sp?). When thinking of your own yard, assume everything is perfectly well established.<br />
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It's awful. Tomorrow might be Jero's last day. I cannot stand it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-78856692249501446742009-10-06T07:44:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:20:13.269-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Man, I lost my cellie which is fine, I don't miss it at all except for the GPS and the camera. Realized I should sell my truck and the Chevy and get a lime green convertible Saab. I love it when things just fall into place like that. I guess an iPhone touch would do the trick? Or would it. Anyway I am done with cellphones. If the dogs get out, call me at home. They wouldn't be treated any differently by their rescuers depending on whether I were reachable or not; [Ed. Order new tags with your address on them.]<br />
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That was quite a train of thought. I do believe it left the station without us. It began because I am lamenting the absence of photos for today's diatribe.<br />
<br />
Onto the garden...during a pissy little discussion with Rob about whether my sailboat's mainsail was ripped or not, a powerful gust toppled one of the queen palms. Not sure if I should mention here that I do not like that plant much at all--not for any reason I can think of--and give my excuse for owning five of them. Or should I simply attempt to return them? The latter.<br />
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Well, anyway, one of them came a cropper and knocked my basin of mature Stapelia off the card table. Oh sheesh. The budding one was unearthed and lay panting, imploring, on the concrete. I tenderly re-planted her and her ilk, steadied the palm, and generally rearranged things so it wouldn't happen again. As Amos Tversky said, "Such are life."<br />
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I think I have divided all the succulents now, which takes away a sense of urgency that had been building and becoming sort of a tirade. Everything I have is maximally divided and planted to grow on and into saleability by December. A lot depends on temperatures. I wonder if I'll need artificial light and to grow indoors. Maybe a greenhouse would be helpful to warm things up and keep them growing in winter. I wonder if there's time to build one before Jero leaves. I won't tell him today. We are going to focus on ceramics and tile today. We'll make a mold of a pot I found and maybe pour the first realization. Depends on my getting my tax matters addressed by noon, I think. Must upload dogs for Connie and must...check with Ross...do bank statements for ...something else...involves printing..."Very, very, very, very important piece of paper" (Bubble, in an early AbFab ep.).<br />
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We planted several trees, I think I said, and Jero might have finished the drip irrigation. What a trouble free garden I will have. Just trees, each with a wooden cage to keep the dogs away, some mulch, and the potted plants inside the tree cages. Then my nursery activities up near the house. I do think I should keep the pool and grow aquatics in it. If that doesn't rule out swimming, I might.<br />
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Oh, I give up.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-22318779489707555002009-10-03T19:42:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:34:09.036-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtVRfjkzCsMCu3TfRLQG8ANnY15N-7cZLZJ_lYkUfK2VcwUXTRwTH7NjTp-u0bbm8CrVonJ-MrfYw9rDsOQIfQTLlsY6sPjTr_rT7DAvC1Sqhs3yNBGuwkvY41nRIvNHjsOaM6JvQifc/s1600-h/CIMG0102.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388579274885283234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtVRfjkzCsMCu3TfRLQG8ANnY15N-7cZLZJ_lYkUfK2VcwUXTRwTH7NjTp-u0bbm8CrVonJ-MrfYw9rDsOQIfQTLlsY6sPjTr_rT7DAvC1Sqhs3yNBGuwkvY41nRIvNHjsOaM6JvQifc/s200/CIMG0102.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a>Well anyhow I am starting to think they are Stapelia and that the cutting I took from Tom is also Stapelia. I was in the dark about this genus at the time of the theft but did notice his were about to bloom. Damn. So anyway I also bought one that looks like Tom's at Armstrong and decided that what I have are Stapelia, not Huernica. My buds are bigger and darker than they were before. Four of them in one cluster. Oh hell what if I am out of town when they bloom? This feels like it has happened before. Darn.<br />
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The photo in the upper left of this update is of my supposed Brahea armata while it was in its box at Home Depot.<br />
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What else? Jero adheres to the bury the root flare school of tree planting and I do not.<br />
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I can't really get chocolate ice cream off my mind right now; it will be the first night without in months if I don't get any. The Dunns aren't answering.<br />
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Marcella and I broke up that clumpy Agave I'd got at Armstrong and planted the chunks in right-sized containers for growing on. Some were quite tiny; nearly all had roots.<br />
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We brutalized the various Dianthus, all having been chosen for fragrance and therefore meriting drastic measures to insure their vigor. Is it typical of them to have lousy root systems, or were mine started badly by the growers? It seems they just stop growing at some point, and no amount of watering or not watering makes a difference. I dug one up from its pot and the roots were fine, flimsy, and seemed inadequate to steady and fuel the growth of the plant. I have a yellow carnation that's down (due to irrigular watering) to a twig with very little foliage, and which has taken several weeks to show any sign of leafing out after I gave it a jarhead cut. But it has begun to make little green nubs offs its papery limbs.<br />
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What else. My gourds still thrive; the morning glories seem less than robust, though markedly better than those transplanted at an early age into Marcella's garden.<br />
<br />
I foolishly checked the grape cuttings for roots--there were none. I became curious after noticing one of them wilting.<br />
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I got a tiny white mini-Cyclamen with a pink stripe on one petal of one blossom; I'll plant the seeds and see what I get. Big surprise: it is fragrant, and in a really nice way. It's the first time I had any inkling they had a scent. I have no idea what species it is, even after a lot of googling and goggling.<br />
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I forgot to re-plant the nodocactus (sp?). I went upstairs for the spray bottle so I could make a lemon juice solution and spray it on the stained parts of the old picture frames and have them bleach in the sun. A few hours after going up I remembered about the lemon juice. Anyway the frames are dry and quite usable; I guess I hope it is not too damp tonight. Well if they are damp maybe I will spray them with lemon juice solution; it'll soak in well and dry tomorrow. And I must plant the little gent.<br />
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Two of Hammer's Conos have bloomed, one in orange and the other in baby pink. Other of his plants are giving me the finger and making faces at me. Various Haworthia are blooming with their big frog tongues swaying in the breeze. I mean to ask him about the weird Crassula thingie that came in the pot with an Aloe from Altman's I got at Armstrong, but haven't got a picture of it yet. I doubt it is a repeat-bloomer so the opportunity to ID it passed for the year. I also must send him the old Cactus and Succulent magazine.<br />
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Well, I can't seem to focus on plants tonight, and there's the ice cream truck. Writing's on the wall.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-50124623397851844342009-09-24T23:50:00.000-07:002009-10-03T20:23:56.030-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjHHAkYDTO5FoC4eB_d33nayS3S2Ce6a0c8r7Sghb2YQnhG_mPQQHVj8nErlVSmqpQhi6wBN8RwNguDxyusMx1iYhFIcH1JvHFlree8ExuMUByMw4PdStr1tb9igNm5X18MUq6FUMPwo/s1600-h/CIMG0150.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjHHAkYDTO5FoC4eB_d33nayS3S2Ce6a0c8r7Sghb2YQnhG_mPQQHVj8nErlVSmqpQhi6wBN8RwNguDxyusMx1iYhFIcH1JvHFlree8ExuMUByMw4PdStr1tb9igNm5X18MUq6FUMPwo/s200/CIMG0150.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388580065508055602" border="0" /></a><br />Y'aint going to believe this but my dern Heurnias are about to bloom. That is, one of them is going to have four flowers. There are four buds. No, I did not say "that is one of them" in reference to the Gasteraloe to the right. That's just a little eye candy to get the ball rolling.<br /><br />These are the ones I repotted about 2 weeks ago. I didn't check for buds at the time because it had never occurred to me that the things might bloom. What did I think they were--slugs? Is there an African succulent that doesn't bloom?<br /><br />Oh by the way I own the domain "calandrinia.com." I feel this plant (oops--what species?) symbolizes the fun and excitement of succulents. The name might mean "Lark," as the Spanish "Calandrina" means Lark (the bird) in English.<br /><br />What else...oh, my gourds are just popping up with big baby leaves...what are those called? But the one I gave to Marcella is barely out of the ground. I think I should put these right into one gallons and not bother with 4". We'll grow the gourds used to make the cups (mates) from which yerba mate is drunk.<br /><br />Found two big pots in the alley, plastic ones. Old but not meaningingfully cracked or damaged by age. Faded.<br /><br />Getting ready to murder the pool. Can use the water to water the new lawn I suppose. Must get on weeding tasks. Blowtorch?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-18611664026941831572009-09-22T20:48:00.000-07:002009-09-23T06:55:59.959-07:00Huernia etc<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/hi/Huernia_reticulata_habitat_02.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 800px; height: 569px;" src="http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/hi/Huernia_reticulata_habitat_02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Rob so liked the photos of Stapelia in my cactus book that I searched the internet looking for a place that sells Stapelia. Found ONE! Made me pay attention to my Huernia about which I know little. They have muddled along in the same pot with the big Kalanchoe for a while, but I recently re-did that and took them out. Now I have to find out what might trigger them to bloom, as they haven't yet. Meanwhile a Sansevieria I got at the same plant sale has made 11 plantlets and stayed alive while being neglected. And it takes a lot of neglect to make a snake plant shows you it is suffering...<br /><br />Proper respect must be paid to Mr. Martin Heigen, who took the photo above and generously posted it on the interwebs. More of his work on Huernia: http://anti-matter-3d.com/Stapeliads/Huernia.htmlUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-75720580155576199422009-09-15T05:52:00.000-07:002009-09-15T06:00:49.816-07:00The Kalanchoe is probably Kalanchoe prolifera, unless it belongs in another genus. I did some research and apparently there is confusion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhox9JCkdJTiys8eM8RQ0ogBmg4oqhBsW43MkwcI9_0rh8MSRre9eH0do7rvYTAKXAMBaxmi7cpjjNycWyyfJ-kRXmjbuDP1uv-H29YXrWgSmO-t4H9M7z1C4878uhO1TfGvoCgwvfIY3I/s1600-h/mysteryplant.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhox9JCkdJTiys8eM8RQ0ogBmg4oqhBsW43MkwcI9_0rh8MSRre9eH0do7rvYTAKXAMBaxmi7cpjjNycWyyfJ-kRXmjbuDP1uv-H29YXrWgSmO-t4H9M7z1C4878uhO1TfGvoCgwvfIY3I/s320/mysteryplant.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381677688858329058" /></a> In my searching I found a very interesting plant in the genus Dorstenia. Succulents are so weird and cool! Gee, how scientific of me. Well anyway, have a peek at this puppy...click to enlarge your mind.<br /><br />If you like 'er, read all about it here: <a href="http://www.cssainc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=238&Itemid=212">Caccy/Succy Socy</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-20427900695402607182008-03-31T07:53:00.000-07:002015-08-07T17:15:09.677-07:00Sometimes known as Black Calla, but actually...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfV05oo9uh5aE6FL3t-kbE5TQe-HE5cEnCakDr9UdDp1M2MlFJKL4a6507SfQiTIoGcTSOrKtbMeL5MbQfn1wKYqP-hu-GpQ4c9_VRa_Zu2pidguACbQShwHYmbio7_uIR0D2QI9k4YZc/s1600-h/arum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183921642220654210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfV05oo9uh5aE6FL3t-kbE5TQe-HE5cEnCakDr9UdDp1M2MlFJKL4a6507SfQiTIoGcTSOrKtbMeL5MbQfn1wKYqP-hu-GpQ4c9_VRa_Zu2pidguACbQShwHYmbio7_uIR0D2QI9k4YZc/s320/arum.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a><br />
...Arum palaestinum, the Palestine Lily.<br />
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Like many others, I was lucky enough to find this plant popping up on its own. It was already emerging when I bought my place in Monrovia. I moved in during January, and noticed apparent Calla foliage under the fig tree. Ho-hum, I thought, expecting the standard white lily.<br />
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Then the thing bloomed. Wow. Luckily I was working at a nursery at the time, and a co-worker helped me ID the plant.<br />
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Since then I have found out that it is rare and coveted; currently 8 people on DavesGarden.com are seeking bulbs, and the volunteers at the Los Angeles Arboretum lit up when I promised them plantlets. (Gloria, I have not forgotten!) Apparently it was popular during the Victorian era. I can't see why it would have lost popularity.<br />
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But if you knew what I've been through with this plant...how many times it looked as though I were trying to eradicate it when I only wished to preserve it. How did such misfortune befall my garden? Oh, I had help!<br />
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I mentioned offhand to my roommate, in 2004, that I really ought to dig up and pot some of them so the dogs wouldn't destroy them. Came home from work and found out that roomie had drilled a hole in one of my vintage cache pots (beyond "Grrrrr!"), dug up ALL the Arums he could find, and stuffed all of them into the one pot. I nearly flipped my lid, but did what I could to re-pot and salvage.<br />
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In 2005, I made a temporary cross-town move and took several plants with me; upon my return, I took the plants back to Monrovia. By summer they had dried out and died back and basically looked like pots of dry soil...which is why Francisco, my sometime-helper, threw them all out. Indeed, he did. (In 2007, he threw out my Dracunculus vulgaris, which had also died back to nothing in its pot.)<br />
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The following year I was thrilled to see a healthy flush of growth from the original site of my Arums; we hadn't destroyed the motherlode. Then Francisco's brother Lino came to do an annual clean-up. I forgot to tell him to leave the lilies alone, and he sure didn't. The area was bare when I got home from work. That was 2007.<br />
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This year I was relieved to see sprouts emerge from the ground and turn into plants, and also to find some new plants elsewhere on the property. Of my struggling group of plants, only one blossom was formed this year, but she was a beaut, as you can see.<br />
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And this year, you will be happy to know, I didn't touch the little buggers. And no one who wanted to live out the week did so, either.<br />
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Fingers crossed.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-5130228701333223862008-03-22T06:40:00.000-07:002008-03-22T07:43:15.520-07:00It's wise to grow sageI have two kinds of sage growing on my property right now. They are both good looking, aromatic plants that perform well in hot, hot Monrovia. One's for cooking, one's for looking (and smelling).<div><br /></div><div>Salvia officianalis is cooking sage. It leaves are normally a silvery grey green, with a texture like that of a baby lizard's skin. A little rough, but not crusty. There are variegated types that include cream and pink shades; these are pretty in the garden, and taste just as good as the normal variety in food. I'm not much of a cook, although I have gained considerable skill as an eater in my lifetime. But I do remember I dish I used to make with garden sage. It was a simple cheese ravioli, wading in fresh sage leaves that had been sauteed in butter. I'd had it at a restaurant and found it simple to make at home. </div><div><br /></div><div>Note: If you really love cooking, or want to learn how to cook, please visit my friend Caroline's site, "Cooking Up a Storm." (http://cookbad.blogspot.com). She and her partner (they are "CookBad" and "AteThat" to their fans) try out a new recipe every day, and report the results with photos and musings. Stick with them for things you're going to put in your mouth; I'm just here to tell you how my garden grows. But I share my produce with Caroline, so look for some of my avocados in starring roles in some of her upcoming daily updates.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back to Salvia...</div><div><br /></div><div>The other sage I grow is Salvia clevelandii. This is a very waterwise choice for the So Cal garden. Its leaves are similar to those of the cooking sage's, but smaller and more narrow in their proportions. It blooms annually, with sweet little purple blossoms. It's not known to maintain especially good form, and sometimes will benefit from being cut back in the fall to branch out and leaf out again in spring. This keeps it from sort of falling apart, which it does once it gets too big, due to brittle stems.</div><div><br /></div><div>S. clevelandii is one of those plants that can stop you in your tracks and have you asking, "What is that wonderful smell?" Especially in the morning, it simply exudes a fresh almost minty scent that can be sensed a yard or two away from the plant itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>These are two low maintenance, unthirsty, and good looking plants. They both fit well in a perennial border, though clevelandii won't tolerate wet soil for long, and the cooking sage makes a nice container plant. There are also many purely ornamental varieties in the genus, and if I plant them, I will write about them. When I start a new garden I always toss in some kind of sage; for visual interest, culinary accents, and fragrance, sage will not disappoint.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-23993186877800255112008-03-20T06:58:00.001-07:002008-04-01T22:06:51.513-07:00What's not to like?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1x-Bp_HHaktjGCnsPkTeMEp6wS9OLGZUVBr56V_eSlZLGBsYivS4iGE1MWJIXFaPmKLdsttcbIztJzu3UGyPH3fw1hcPkxcTkrH5KT-NQLDFN6qnf9hT8XFhyphenhyphen5VxMLiIjD2Zr8WJtvRo/s1600-h/nzflax.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1x-Bp_HHaktjGCnsPkTeMEp6wS9OLGZUVBr56V_eSlZLGBsYivS4iGE1MWJIXFaPmKLdsttcbIztJzu3UGyPH3fw1hcPkxcTkrH5KT-NQLDFN6qnf9hT8XFhyphenhyphen5VxMLiIjD2Zr8WJtvRo/s320/nzflax.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184510022675435170" border="0" /></a><br />New Zealand Flax. I will say one bad thing about this plant, but it isn't the plant's fault: Some varieties are far too big for their locations in a garden.<br /><br />Now to the good stuff:<br /><br />New Zealand Flax is a terribly well-behaved plant well-suited to water-wise gardens in southern California. You see it everywhere--just a spiky blast of colored foliage that might be light green, dark green, pink, red, crimson, almost white, or yellow. These many colors are often mixed and matched as longitudinal stripes on the strappy foliage.<br /><br />The plant is exceptionally easy to propagate; just pull a pup off the side of a mature plant, making sure the pup has some roots. Stick it in the ground and nurse it along with water for a few weeks, and it's bound to make it.<br /><br />NZ Flax can be under two feet tall, or up to what, eight feet or more? Be wary of varieties named Guardsman or Godzilla. (As far as I know there is no Godzilla flax, but there should be.)<br /><br />Some flaxes are stiff, pointy, and upright, while others are curvy and weepy. None of them has the eyeball-piercing potential of a yucca or an agave, though, so the spiky fierceness is more for show.<br /><br />They bloom in a most interesting manner. An upright spike emerges and branches out into an interesting articulated sort of candelabra of buds. Each of these will open to an unimpressive flower, but the overall shape makes up for the lack of showy floral interest.<br /><br />What if you have a flax that looked cute in the pot, but is now taking up more sapce than a VW Beetle? Only one thing to do: part it out. Dig it up (easy task), divide it into smaller chunks with roots, and put an ad on craigslist. It'll be gone in a weekend. Heck, root the chunks in pots and sell them on craigslist!<br /><br />When I worked as a garden designer, some clients rejected this plant for being too spiky, or looking like a cactus. Hmmm. It might not have a place in every garden, but it has a several in mine, where it adds color and form and never, ever, causes me a moment's worry.<br /><br />Tell me, then, what there is to dislike about New Zealand Flax!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666855140600138338.post-26116169346900193532008-03-19T17:52:00.000-07:002008-04-01T22:05:13.700-07:00Starting the plant inventory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjn1QKC9_GOOo9nE3GJSfb4Eg6bg9OQgKiqGUqJoQ3Jkmc9KYCGFOIQLMvVnw8D-_LubXTl4rMfG3n26Z8YasCHGErFnOftwMmS1Qv37GMcTiROMf8vczzb70xi4MzxzATIoXXdK2lxE/s1600-h/pittosporuundulatum.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjn1QKC9_GOOo9nE3GJSfb4Eg6bg9OQgKiqGUqJoQ3Jkmc9KYCGFOIQLMvVnw8D-_LubXTl4rMfG3n26Z8YasCHGErFnOftwMmS1Qv37GMcTiROMf8vczzb70xi4MzxzATIoXXdK2lxE/s320/pittosporuundulatum.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184509593178705554" border="0" /></a><br />This is for people who love plants. I like them better than most anything, and frankly I don't care if they are in nursery pots or botanical gardens. I like to watch them grow. I love saving ones that are almost dead. Propagation fascinates me. I eat plants every day, I love them so much!<br /><br />The first plant I will describe is a tree. Pittosporum undulatum, commonly known as Victoria Box.<br /><br />The tree easily self sows, is not terribly long lived nor especially attractive. It drops annoying sticky seed pods on the ground.<br /><br />It has a fragrance that is hypnotic in early spring, sometimes late winter. When I worked in a nursery, people would come in in early spring asking if we knew what the wonderful smell they were smelling was! They'd want to buy one, but we didn't sell them. The plant is a commonplace, old-fashioned, and somewhat messy green nothing...so why try to sell them?<br /><br />The best place to buy this plant is San Gabriel Nursery. You can discuss with their workers whether the fragrance of Pittosporum undulatum is better than Sweet Olive, but trust your own nose! Sweet Olive might be more refined (okay, it is in fact better), but it does not project across your whole garden that way the Pitt does.<br /><br />Note to Ms. Eastman: This tree is growing along the fence on the south side of your driveway, on the neighbor's side. It has dark green leaves with wavy edges, and small creamy white flowers. They might be blooming already.<br /><br />Happy impending spring!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com