tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228547872024-03-13T15:20:01.628-05:00Two gardensEast v. West. Brooklyn v. Oakland. Rent v. own. Zone 6 v. zone 9. Continental v. Mediterrannean. Experience v. innocence.AXGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09360382024680867451noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-2621444543789556222012-01-18T13:15:00.002-05:002012-01-18T13:30:19.921-05:00PBS seed 1/12Cyclamen coum, silver leaf, mixed hederifolium, silver leaf, pink (ex PH, PBS 289)
Cyclamen graecum, mixed leaf forms (ex EH, PBS 300?)
Cyclamen hederifolium, silver leaf, white (ex PH, PBS 289)
Lilium bolanderi (wc CD, PBS 298)
Lilium candidum (wc AR, PBS 295)
Moraea villosa (?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-4552991692516631382011-11-13T23:20:00.004-05:002011-11-15T00:26:40.192-05:00Another ListSeed started this year:<div>
</div><div>Allium haematochiton NN</div><div>Aquilegia eximia G</div><div>Aquilegia formosa G</div><div>Calochortus argillosus BW</div><div>Calochortus plummerae BW</div><div>Calochortus superbus G</div><div>Calochortus umbellatus G</div><div>Calochortus vestae BW</div><div>Calochortus weedii var. weedii BW</div><div>
</div><div>Coming up (PBX 294 via NN; I've pasted in Ron's original descriptions from old NNS lists):</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); " >
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">Calochortus bruneaunis [NNS 05-122] Sweetwater Mtns., Mono Co., CA. 8350' </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">(Y) </span>This, like many populations at higher elevations, has pale purple and tan shadings on the outer surface of the pertals. Coarse granitic soils. Mountain mahogany/pinyon pine/antelope brush community. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">Calochortus striatus [NNS 05-157] Antelope Valley, Los Angeles Co., CA. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">2300' (N) </span>Mojave Desert, Los Angeles Co., CA. 2300'. 40 seeds $4.00. 75 seeds $7.00. A mariposa lily closely related to CC. palmeri and splendens. Here the conditions may be moist in late winter/early spring, but by flowering the alkaline clay flats have become dried and impenetrable. The 1&1/2", broadly bowl-shaped, bright rose-violet perianths have fine, red-violet striations, extending almost to the petals edge, and white, wispy hairs, that appear to hover over the inner surface. The large, fat anthers are a bright red-purple. Growing under the protection of small, spiny saltbush shrubs that provide some relief from dessication and grazing. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">Calochortus venustus [NNS 04-82] Central Sierra Nevada, Fresno Co., CA. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">5640' (Y)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">Calochortus venustus [NNS 05-171] San Emigdio Mtns., Kern Co., CA. 6000' </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">(Y) </span> Flowers here are a stunning dark red to dark reddish purple with a velvety plush texture to the petals. Several have yellow streaking around the gland and at the edges. The outside is pearly white with red-violet markings/striations varying in degree from flower to flower. So far this is the only site where I have found this red-colored form. Edges of Jeffrey pine woodland with sparse grasses and sagebrush. Fine gritty granitic soil. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); ">Fritillaria affinis - wild collected, Ukiah, CA - (W)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >
</span></div><div>
</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-62733625426959021112011-11-05T22:19:00.007-05:002011-11-13T23:19:25.663-05:00Another ListBulbs from seed sown 2007-2008 that survived long enough to get repotted this year. <div>*=already rooting out before first rain on 9/23<div>
</div><div>Allium amplectens*</div><div>Babiana ringens AA</div><div>Babiana villosa</div><div>Calochortus catalinae</div><div>Calochortus dunnii*</div><div>Calochortus kennedyi</div><div>Calochortus umbellatus</div><div>3 mystery Calochortus spp.</div><div>Freesia refracta</div><div>Freesia laxa</div><div>Freesia hybrid</div><div>Fritillaria eastwoodiae (1)</div><div>Fritillaria recurva (1)</div><div>Geissorhiza radians AA</div><div>Geissorhiza splendidissima</div><div>Lachenalia orchioides var. orchioides*</div><div>Romulea monadelpha</div><div>Romulea sabulosa</div><div>Romulea unifolia</div><div>Triteleia hyacinthina*</div><div>
</div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-14052221970786141682011-11-04T22:05:00.005-05:002011-11-13T23:17:21.703-05:00WhoaWow, I have actually forgotten how to use blogger. I can't believe they still don't have a table tool! Anyway, I got way too many bulbs this year:<div>
</div><div>JUNE</div><div>Boophone disticha KB</div><div>xBoopharyllis (!) KB</div><div>Brunsvigia litoralis KB</div><div>Cyrtanthus falcatus KB</div><div>C. falcatus x (elatus x montanus) KB</div><div>
</div><div>JULY
<div>Boophone haemanthoides T</div><div>Brunsvigia marginata T</div><div>Erythronium oregonum T</div></div><div>Tropaeolum tricolor T</div><div>
</div><div>SEPTEMBER</div><div>Brunsvigia Gregaria UCBG</div><div>
</div><div>NOVEMBER</div><div>Ammocharis coranica PBS(JS)</div><div>Calochortus venustus BB</div><div>Cyclamen peloponnesiacum RH</div><div>Cyrtanthus obliquus PBS (JS)</div><div>Erythronium 'white beauty' BB</div><div>Tecophilaea cyanocrocus BB</div><div>Trillium kuryabayashii RH</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Maybe someday I'll motivate to list the seeds I started too.</div><div>
</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-1568286096002044252010-03-25T22:39:00.002-05:002010-03-30T16:41:58.969-05:00Mission accomplished<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/4464064876/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2607/4464064876_a959ec94c9_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>Not exactly lush, is it? I may break down and buy some annuals just to have something to look at; not sure I can wait until fall to start them from seed.
Still, it's pretty exciting to actually plant something: 6 Penstemons, 6 lavenders, 2 Salvia apiana, 1 Baccharis, 1 Calycanthus occidentalis, 1 Carpenteria californica,1 Ceanothus hearstiorum, and 1 olive.
And considering that my whole idea for this yard started with Eriogonums, there's something to look forward to. Annie's should have them in a month or so.
And in the back: 1 Hydrangea transplanted from the front, 3 Acquilegia, 3 asiatic lilies that appeared in an abandoned pot, 2 Dahlias, 2 Aloes*, a sweetpea, Satureja mimuloides, Linaria, Beschorneria rigida*, Bomarea sp., (the plant formerly known as) Furcraea roeszlii (into a bigger pot, to go in front), Penstemon palmeri, and a Restio (Apodasmia similis, formerly Leptocarpus similis).<div>
</div><div>* transplants
That's 38 plants, not too bad for 2 days work. </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-89393077533428709582010-03-20T09:57:00.001-05:002010-03-20T09:57:59.309-05:00Plan B<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/4447132246/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4447132246_104f10522d_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>Behold, a plan for the front. It's getting planted next week, so get your tips in now!<br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-20538256843393293362010-02-02T00:12:00.008-05:002010-02-03T17:15:55.677-05:00help<p></p><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/4324549174/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4324549174_260b19f255_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a></div><span style="font-style: italic;">NOTE: I will probably have to update this entry to make it coherent or something.</span>
Believe it or not, I took this picture with a flash in the middle of the night to attenuate the squalor. This is my front yard. It has suffered for many years while I directed my attentions to the back yard, and then to my children. But the time has come to fix it, and I need your help.<p></p><p>
For various reasons, an olive tree is going to be the main feature. I might even be crazy enough to plant a fruiting variety, and make my kids cure olives for me when they get older. Four is good age to start working with lye, right?</p><p>
Around this olive I wish to plant a kind of mini-garrigue, mostly of subshrubs and annuals. The plantings will be artificially dense in a vain attempt to suppress the weeds, and require <span style="font-style: italic;">no summer water</span>. Thus: mediterranean-climate plants. It would be nice if it looked "good" in a front yard kind of way year-round.</p><p>
I want a limited color palette of blues, whites and yellows, though lavender will be involved, by decree from on high (my wife) -- I will probably stick with <span style="font-style: italic;">L. x intermedia</span> cvv. I'm also into <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=2622&account=none">Eriogonum latifolium</a> and <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=3109&account=none">E. umbellatum</a>; <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=818&account=none">Penstemon heterophyllus</a> and maybe <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=822&account=none">palmeri</a>. Sisyrinchiums. <span style="font-style: italic;">Salvia chamaedryoides</span>, open to suggestions for California natives. For annuals, I'm looking at the usual suspects from <a href="http://www.larnerseeds.com/">Larner Seeds</a>.</p><p>
A spiky Phormium would be so sweet in here! Sorry, no: mediterranean only, dude. I'm considering <a href="http://anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=822&account=none"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Hespero)Yucca whipplei</span></a> or various Aloes or even Watsonias. Nothing <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> sharp: I don't want my kids to lose an eye (I've got a <span style="font-style: italic;">Puya</span> out back for that purpose). However, anything to discourage the cats from shitting therein is a plus.</p><p>
So what should I plant? Something I HAVE TO TRY? Something I listed a boondoggle? Crowdsource my yard!* Before you jump in, consider these limitations:
</p><ul><li>approx. 17x15"</li><li>north-facing: FULL sun all summer, total shade all winter</li><li>soil is clay, but with decent drainage</li><li>this is Oakland, CA <a href="http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/communities/coastal-sage-scrub/plants">coastal sage scrub</a>, zone 10A (alleged)/Sunset 17
</li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><p></p><p>
*ironic. but srsly., please help!</p></span><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-85399824897513341522009-02-04T14:57:00.000-05:002009-02-04T14:59:37.541-05:00Oh, alright, here's a picture<DIV ALIGN="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/3252857605/" title="Bulbinella latifolia ssp. doleritica"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3345/3252857605_4c35d48deb.jpg" width="302" height="500" alt="Bulbinella latifolia ssp. doleritica" /></a></DIV>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-877880867873567532009-01-20T13:28:00.004-05:002009-01-20T13:40:09.441-05:00Happy New Year!<P>This is the space where one apologizes for not blogging, based on the pathetic fallacy that you care (technically, the fallacy is that the addressee, "you", even exists; the imputation that "you" care is just an icing of presumption on the fallacious cupcake). But I'm kind of over that, and the point is to alert "you" that <A HREF="http://hi-and-dry.blogspot.com/">Bob Nold has a blog</A>, which will be infinitely more interesting than anything I write.</P><P>Everyone probably knows this already (sorry, I don't have time to read "your" blog either), he's been writing it for six months now. I'm so out of it I didn't even figure it out when he <A HREF="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=22854787&postID=8971612508879579105">commented here</A> in June.</P><P><A HREF="http://hi-and-dry.blogspot.com/2008/06/first-things-first.html">Thanks Timber Press</A>! Now how about a copy of that Aquilegia book?</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-46750172580675538792008-09-04T00:07:00.006-05:002008-09-04T10:45:12.233-05:00Battlefield<P><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2827285638/" title="Where in the world is Skippy?"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2827285638_9e200a02d4_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>Oh, hello, is it September already? I have more important things to worry about these days than the garden, much less the internets. Miraculously, I appear only to have killed a monkeyflower this summer (so far). Even the Darlingtonia is alive, though maybe not kicking.</P><P>In this photograph I managed to capture Agavaceae, Asphodelaceae, Haemodoraceae, Iridaceae, Plantaginaceae (formerly Schrophulariaceae), Polygonaceae, Proteaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, and Themidaceae. Plus some weedy Poaceae. Probably no one else is schizophrenic enough to cram all that into a such a small area.</P><P>But that was not the point. Earlier this summer I thought about writing something about Polygonaceae, in the form of <I>Eriogonum grande var. rubescens</I>, the little balls the color of cheap nail polish pictured in the middle ground, and esp. <I>E. latifolium</I>, which I seem not to have photographed. The latter is the color of dirty laundry from afar, but close up reveals subtle whites, grays and roses wonderfully arrayed. The point of these plants isn't the flowers anyway, but beneficial insects who love it, and especially the felty leaves, which shame the hideous "lambs' ears" (Stachys something or other) so beloved of landscapers. I spent at least a few minutes coveting a yard comprised solely of Agaves and Eriogonums, in my first ever minimalist fantasy.</P><P>That wasn't the real point either, it was that on my now extremely infrequent trips out back, Skippy the resident Anna's hummingbird is invariably to be found enjoying the orange-trumpeted plant in the foreground, which used to be called <I>Zauschneria californica</i>, but is now <I>Epilobium canum</I> ssp. <I>canum</I> (cv. Catalina pictured). Tonight Skippy was unamused, and really shamefully inhospitable when a Rufous hummingbird stopped by, and some rather spectacular aerial combat unfolded before my eyes and occasionally a few feet from my head. Of course the camera was inside, but Skippy was still there when I came back later. You win zero dollars if you can find him in this picture (go to Flickr for the original size). And don't even try to find all those plant families, half of them appear only as straw.</P> <br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-12333249926223578452008-05-21T02:09:00.005-05:002008-05-23T13:32:12.265-05:00The Ides of May<p><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2510110361/" title="Ides Maiae"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/2510110361_2b5b2d76d9_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a></div>This will probably the the last picture I take in the garden for a while. Luckily, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ixia viridiflora</span> bloomed just in time, and I got some decent pictures. With it, as usual, firecracker flower, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dichelostemma ida-maia</span>, which I have not managed to photograph, though you can just see it in the background of this shot.</P>
<P>I looked into the name of <I>D. ida-maia</I> a few years ago, and read somewhere that it was named after a lady named Ida Mae. But I was never totally satisfied with this explanation, because it always blooms on May 15, which is the Ides of May, a date newly significant to me. So with the help of the internets, I tracked down Alphonso Wood's original 1867 description of what he called <span style="font-style: italic;">Brevoortia ida-maia</span>:</P>
<P><blockquote>This plant was first noticed by Mr. Burke, stage-driver, in his daily route, and by him my own attention was first called to it. He had given it the name of "Ida May, in affection for his little daughter,"—a name quite appropriate, moreover, as on the Ides (i.e., the 15th) of May, the plant begins to flower.</blockquote></P><P>The type locality was on the stage road from Shasta City to Yreka.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-86131575550403092432008-05-08T17:33:00.005-05:002008-05-08T17:43:11.425-05:00Natives<P><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2472255578/" title="white calochortus, reddish variety"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/2472255578_e40db837be_m.jpg" alt="white calochortus, reddish variety" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>1. My obsession with Calochortus did not really extend to the discreet charm of the fairy lanterns until <I>C. albus</I> var. <I>rubellus</I> started blooming the other day. Now I'm a believer. </P><P>Also: fairy lantern!</P><P>2: If you liked reading about the <A HREF="http://twogardens.blogspot.com/2008/04/news.html">Presidio manzanita</A>, you'll love <A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/07/HOQ710F9G7.DTL">this unnamed species</A>.</P><br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-30425875943666023502008-05-07T12:13:00.003-05:002008-05-07T12:18:25.460-05:00My new favorite article title<P>A. C. Gaskett et al., "<A HREF="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/587532">Orchid Sexual Deceit Provokes Ejaculation</A>," <I>American Naturalist</I> 171 (2008).</P><P>They're talking about pollinators, not orchid collectors.</P><P>Go ahead, read it, it's (allegedly) free.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-20551835532988476842008-05-01T23:29:00.004-05:002008-12-08T16:56:51.615-05:00The importance of being earnest<P>A certain blogger recently recommended buying ladybugs to release in your yard for pest control. I don't want to single out this endearing and admirable person, but this is a perfect example of making things worse by trying to make them better. A little bit of research, not to say common sense, would reveal that kidnapping bugs en masse and selling them to gardeners <A HREF="http://www.berkeleyhort.com/gardensuggestions/gs_mj05_ladybeetles.htm">is not a good idea</A>.</P><P><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RX_G-7djkbA/SBqfcfePjyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/EtgDSGNCFN0/s1600-h/grass.jpg" title="shut up, YOU try to illustrate greenwashing" ><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RX_G-7djkbA/SBqfcfePjyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/EtgDSGNCFN0/s200/grass.jpg" border="0" alt="shut up, YOU try to illustrate greenwashing" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195640431958789922" /></a>This is what is so dangerous about the current "green" climate in America: it can easily do more harm than good, as with ethanol, which, if you weren't paying attention, is currently responsible for starving the developing world, consuming more energy than it produces, and the rising prices you're paying for gas and food.</P><P>So if you're going to do something -- especially if you're going to publicly advocate doing something -- to make the world better, make sure it will actually make the world better.</P><P>[Brendan I. Koerner's <A HREF="http://www.slate.com/id/2174662/landing/1/">Green Lantern column</A> at Slate is an interesting attempt to do this.]</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-44423606246125903082008-04-17T13:58:00.003-05:002008-04-17T14:02:19.837-05:00NewsSurprisingly <A HREF="http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-04-16/news/aninconvenient-plant/full">good article</A> in SF Weekly on <A HREF="http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/nathist1/nathist/ravmanz.htm">Presidio manzanita</A> (<I>Arctostaphylos hookerii</I> ssp. <I>ravenii</I>) and the problems with native plant restoration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-2442637924741219012008-04-10T15:17:00.001-05:002008-04-13T23:29:16.925-05:00Update<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2403959324/" title="by popular demand by badthings, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2403959324_4261e2a237.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="by popular demand" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-85306126284838321272008-04-02T21:46:00.006-05:002008-04-03T16:41:22.378-05:00Travel<P><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2383491752/" title="Lachenalia liliflora"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2239/2383491752_6145784f3a_m.jpg" width="139" height="240" alt="welcome home" /></a></div>It was nice to return home to a new Lachenalia after a long long flight. The only thing that saved me from a <A HREF="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=556108&in_page_id=1773&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5">Naomi Campbell</A> was the absence of checked luggage. Terminal 5 rewarded my forbearance with a parting gift of food poisoning.</P><P><div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonblock/267198910/" title="Imbalance by John Block"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/267198910_f09ee1aaa3_m.jpg" alt="Imbalance by John Block" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>The trip was so absurdly whirlwind that the highlight was probably flying over Kew. I was looking out the window wondering whose estate has such an extremely large glasshouse when the <A HREF="http://www.kew.org/heritage/places/pagoda.html">pagoda</A> came into view. <br clear="all" /><p><P>We also flew over Elba, Skye, Iceland, and Victoria Island, a lot of interesting islands for a single flight. Except for Elba, they all looked deserted from the air.</P><P>On the ground, I did manage to duck into the <A HREF="http://www.ips.it/musis/muort_f0.html">orto botanico</A>, a pleasant enough oasis, but botanically rather staid in the afternoons, when the greenhouses are closed.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-59829269794885256712008-03-25T22:57:00.003-05:002008-03-26T11:27:35.247-05:00Just in time<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2361693323/" title="more where this came from"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/2361693323_3996dc15ec_m.jpg" alt="Leucospermum" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div><P>As I get ready to leave town, a flurry of activity, of course, including the first bloom of my Leucospermum 'scarlet ribbons'. It hasn't really opened yet, and I was going to wait to photograph it, but I just couldn't resist because it is so AWESOME. The plant is literally covered in flowers. </P><P>Don't worry, I've got some more treats in reserve that will probably open when I'm gone.</P><br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-41958511291818902752008-03-14T17:24:00.002-05:002008-03-26T01:54:34.941-05:00Further excitement<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2331277257/" title="my first Clivia"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2331277257_7410efaf23_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div><P>At this point, Clivias, or at least <I>Clivia miniata</I> cultivars like this, don't seem particularly exotic to me. Even <A HREF="http://flickr.com/photos/badthings/431553164/">growing by the sidewalk</A>. But I grew up with a Clivia (eventually many, many Clivias) that my mother babied for years and years before blooming. So it's not something that I take for granted, even now. Especially since this bloom is on a potted specimen I just bought last year, not the plant in the ground.</P><P>The <A HREF="http://flickr.com/photos/badthings/2333947404/">first Freesias opened</A> recently, I'm not sure exactly when because I've been so preoccupied with the Calochortus that I didn't notice, until I was out hunting snails by flashlight, suddenly blinded by the reflection off these (those LED lights are bright!). F. alba seems to be very happy, as these are a lot bigger than last year.</P><P ALIGN="center">*</P><P>But the most exciting news of the day is the reopening of <A HREF="http://www.hillkeep.ca/plantsindex.htm">Pacific Rim Nursery</A> whose demise I lamented <A HREF="http://twogardens.blogspot.com/2007/03/time-out.html">only a year ago</A>. Now, if only I hadn't pauperized myself (and the dollar hadn't shit the bed) in the intervening year!</P><P>Seriously, though:<br /><A HREF="http://www.hillkeep.ca/ts%20paeonia.htm"><I>Paeonia cambessedesii</I> or <I>Paeonia mascula</I> subsp. <I>arietina</I></A>?</P><br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-26556270799083946122008-03-09T02:39:00.006-05:002008-03-25T10:19:37.194-05:00Sweet box<P><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/436643940/" title="boxy?"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/436643940_3a2a16d3c9_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a></div>Spring is in the air in Nor-Cal, most deliciously in the scent of <i>Pittosporum undulatum</i>, an otherwise nice but nondescript tree that smells divine this time of year. The common name, I think, is wavy-leafed box, but I have been calling it sweet box since I figured out what it was, in honor of its wonderful spring smell. There is, needless to say, nothing particularly boxy about it.</P><P>This seemingly precocious spring has induced my first flower of <i>Calochortus umbellatus</i>. The Oakland star tulip is the flower that started it all -- if by "it" you mean my madness. I read about this lovely little bulb and decided that I should plant some, mostly because of the name: it is the only plant I know named after my town. Although apparently even the holotype is from somewhere else. There is no there here. At least part of my reasoning was that it would probably grow well here, being native and all.</P><P>But it was not easy to come by, oh no, and thus began my odyssey into the world of rare bulbs and mail order seed and various other obsessions, until I finally obtained some bulbs last fall (Thanks <a href="http://www.telosrarebulbs.com">Telos</a> and <a href="http://www.californianativebulbs.com/">Far West</a>!). And now my first diminutive and truly beautiful flower has opened.</P><P>It is much more subtle than the things that usually appeal to me. Also, admittedly, kind of purple: the petals are flushed a -- delicate! -- mauve purple, and the wonderfully contrasting anthers can at best be called blue<i>ish</i>. Nevertheless, I will call them "<A HREF="http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Blue_steel.jpg">blue steel</A>".
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2316519207/" title="Oakland Star Tulip"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2316519207_cd5fc2aa1d.jpg" alt="Oakland Star Tulip" height="416" width="500" /></a></P><P>This first bloom is a mutant: 8 tepals, but the normal 6 stamens. I wish I wasn't an idiot as a child and had learned something about science, because the genetics of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_ABC_Model_of_Flower_Development">MADS box genes</a> that control these things would be very interesting if I understood it.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-11258148742357735862008-03-06T18:29:00.005-05:002008-12-08T16:56:51.976-05:00ExcitementSome very exciting things are about to happen in my yard, which I will dutifully document for you in good time, but I wanted to alert everyone to this. Ellen Hornig of <A HREF="http://www.senecahillperennials.com/">Seneca Hill Perennials</A> just got back from two weeks in the eastern Cape and Lesotho, and <a href="http://www.senecahillperennials.com/index.php?page=introduction">wrote it up</a> on her website, one of the best things I have read in a long time. Illustrated with spectacular pictures, including John Manning and <I>Brunsvigia grandiflora</I> in habitat. Still, I think her earlier shot of <I>B. radulosa</I> might be my favorite ever:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.senecahillperennials.com/index.php?page=plants-b-c"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RX_G-7djkbA/R9B-fpUycwI/AAAAAAAAAFw/PAR-zJD9NzA/s400/brunsvigia_radulosa.jpg" border="0" title="stalking the wild Brunsvigia" alt="stalking the wild Brunsvigia"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174775053982790402" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-39412297795582775752008-03-04T02:27:00.002-05:002008-03-04T02:33:50.716-05:00Triumph<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2307376907/" title="Bulbinella latifolia ssp. doleritica"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2034/2307376907_63e086742d_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a></div>I have learned that two recent developments about which I was perhaps a little blasé are more exciting than I realized. The <I>Bulbinella latifolia</I> ssp. <I>doleritica</I> you see to the right at the end of its run (at the start it looks like a <A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2250328175/">giant mutant ratibia</A>) is apparently quite difficult to flower. My secret? Do nothing. It is in a raised bed with better drainage than the rest of the yard, but that is all.</P><P>I have also managed to germinate <I>Lilium bolanderi</I>. I did at least know that this would be hard, so when I got the seed last winter I stratified half of it for about 8 weeks, and kept the other half in the freezer until I sowed it in October. Leaves appeared for the first time in each pot last week (at the same time as some <I>L. pardalinum</I> I treated the same as the first batch).</P><P>Conclusion: let nature take its course. I did probably get lucky with nature this year, as we've had 831 chilling hours so far this year, nearly twice what I take to be average. <I>L. bolanderi</i> lives higher and further north from me and so is probably accustomed to much more winter chill, not to mention snow cover.</P><P>Now to try not to kill it this summer.</P><br clear="all" />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-16780525101304400452008-02-26T18:30:00.000-05:002008-02-26T18:30:31.335-05:00Seed in the news<P>Why, amid the self-congratulation suffusing <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/26/food.conservation">media accounts</A> of the <A HREF="http://www.croptrust.org/main/arctic.php?itemid=211">global seed bank</A> in Svalbard, does it require a "radical" NGO to <a href="http://www.grain.org/nfg/?id=557">point out the problem</a>? You don't get a prize for destroying the world's crop diversity, then saving a tiny sample in the freezer.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-89217048757322484082008-02-20T00:19:00.004-05:002008-02-20T12:19:18.237-05:00Common<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2266936705/" title="Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2375/2266936705_7e0afc8a12_m.jpg" alt="Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a></div><P>Now that it's started raining again, I can report that while it was sunny, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://flickr.com/photos/badthings/2266936527/">Bulbinella latifolia</a> and this Lachenalia rushed into bloom along with the crocus I mentioned. By the way, I have been castigated for not using common names, but does it really help you to know that the Lachenalia is called a "cape cowslip"? The Bulbinella doesn't even have a common name, as far as I know... When I started this, I didn't know shit about plants, so I made a point of learning their real names to be sure what I was talking about. But so many plants that grow here either have no common name, or a fake common name, or a common name that is meaningless to those of us who live continents away from its habitat, that it wouldn't make sense to use them even if I wanted to.</P><P>Anyway, the sun allowed me to inspect my seeds further. No sign of life yet from the <span style="font-style: italic;">Fritillaria recurva</span>, but I haven't quite given up hope yet -- there are a few sign of life in the long-abandoned <span style="font-style: italic;">Penstemon grahamii</span> pot, of all places; probably weeds, but you never know. And much to my surprise, I successfully germinated <span style="font-style: italic;">Castilleja applegatei</span> var. <span style="font-style: italic;">pinetorum</span>: common, nay, vulgar name "indian paintbrush" (and unlike <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://twogardens.blogspot.com/2007/06/solstice.html">I. niamniamensis</a>, it memorializes nothing but stupidity). The hard part is apparently not germination (not if I can do it), but getting them to grow: it is a hemiparasite. No one knows what the host species is (are?).</P><P>All Castillejas are parasites by the way. They've been transferred from the Schrophuliariaceae to Orobanchaceae. Commonly called, as those of you who profess to value such names will be dismayed to learn, "the broom rape family."</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854787.post-60018546138953131432008-02-06T18:05:00.002-05:002008-02-17T18:05:44.626-05:00Naivete, i.e., stupidity<P><div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2246761067/" title="Crocus gargaricus"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/2246761067_16094dcc1c_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a></div>After 11 or so days of continuous rain, the sun came out the other day, and I remembered I had a garden. I went out to see what happened and found this tiny crocus in the "meadow" (=lawn that I stopped weeding or watering). I thought this one would look cute with the delicate blues and orange stamens of <i>C. sativus / cartwrightianus</i>. </p><p>And it would be a cute combination, if <I>Crocus gargaricus</I> bloomed in the fall like the others.</p><P>In it's native... Turkey? this Crocus apparently blanket fields in its inimitable gold, creating quite a spectacle. Good thing I bought 3 of them!</P><P>
<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/badthings/2247554556/" title="Impatiens nyungwensis"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2247554556_510cd0e555_m.jpg" width="240" height="183" alt="I_nyungwensis.jpg" /></a></div>Another surprise was a profusion of flowers on an <I>Impatiens nyungwensis</I> that had done nothing since I planted it months ago. Makes up for losing the <I>I. niamniamensis</I>, presumably to cold. It wanted too much water anyway.</P><P>The excitement of last year's alliums finally germinating was similarly tempered by the failure of my <I>Fritillaria recurva</I> to do anything. (You'll recall I bought seeds from four different populations last year, and had [vain]glorious visions of breeding the ultimate frit). I haven't completely given up yet, but I'm getting seriously worried. They must have dried out too much over the summer. The prospect of starting over is discouraging.</P>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0