A few hours on a sunny Saturday

Yesterday Matt and I went to the garden to do a few quick tasks and noticed that the Aloe ferox (Bitter Aloe) is about to flower for the first time.

This was a tiny little 4" plant from Annie's Annuals less than 3 short years ago in April 2009 and it has grown magnificently.  It'll be an awesome sight when the flowers open - I can't wait to see how it looks. This is a tree Aloe meaning it'll grow into a 9' high tree eventually. Or maybe sooner than we thought at this rate!

After that I planted some Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Lady) bulbs in three spots in the brights bed. These were on the lower left bed path, and doing OK, but I think some pink flowers in the brights bed will be fab.

They like to be planted with the tips of the bulbs showing - as you can see in the photo the ones on the right are covered with dirt correctly, the ones on the left are about to be covered. I hope they like their new spots. Sometimes they get upset by being moved and won't flower the following year but hopefully I've moved them at a time when they're totally dormant and won't care.

There are a few more of these bulbs around the garden (in the left bed) that I want to consolidate into clumps in the brights bed - better do that soon.

Lastly Matt and I sat on the steps and started delicately weeding the grass and other weeds from the sides. This job takes quite some time to do correctly - there are a lot of little Sisyrinchium californicum (Yellow-eyed Grass) clumps that look like grass there, mixed with grass.

We want to keep the Yellow-eyed Grass, and not the boring grass. Tricky work, but oddly rewarding. In the pic you can see a before and after section.

Rain's a-comin'

A Dahlia, earlier today

On Tuesday or so we're supposed to get 1/2" of rain, and I for one would be delighted. Especially if it rains from 10am to 4pm. Or from midnight to 8am, for example... as things are so dry and all.

Today Matt and I went to the garden for the first time in ages - we got married (!) and went on honeymoon to Thailand, so it was quite a treat to see how much the garden has grown under Emily's watchful eye since we were away.

We decided to fix up an area on the lower path side of the left bed, where a previously lush clump of Bulbine had failed to look good at all this year for reasons unknown.

Before and after

First we ripped out the Bulbine, then we rearranged the Agave attenuatas that were there (two) and added several more, including a large one from the middle front bed that was getting overgrown with Aloe.

Matt moved two large clumps of Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) up-slope, as they were encroaching on the pathway, and we took out a big clump of Naked Lady (Amaryllis belladonna) bulbs that need to go in the brights bed instead. Next we planted 16 small pots of Graptopetalum paraguayense "Pinky" around the base of the Agaves, and half a dozen cuttings of Finger Aloe (Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblonga) along the front slope to hopefully prevent it sliding downhill.

The whole lot got watered in heavily, and it was done!

The middle back, middle front, and left beds also got a load of water. I weeded the middle front bed, and Matt transplanted some volunteer Euphorbia characias from the middle front bed to the front border. Emily, Ryan and Bentley popped by, and all in all, it was a productive day.

Composter fiddling

Amaryllis belladonna

I went out to add a few L-brackets to the composter on Friday... and the cordless drill died on me. I did manage to get one bin finished, and filled it with the compost we'd saved from the plastic composter in the wheelbarrow and three tub trugs. I added a load of dry plant matter from the big heal and that bin is full already.

I charged the drill up thoroughly and went back on Saturday with Matt only to find Ron had been at work in the garden - he's started the terracing!

Matt and I finished screwing in the brackets for the composter. All we need now are another redwood board to complete the fronts, and a plan to make the lid. I designed a sign to attach to the front of the bin, outlining what should go in there. I'll buy some hasps and two locks: only one bin will be open for kitchen scraps at any one time, while the other two will be locked - busy cooking up new compost.

I'm considering emptying the worm bins into the new composter too. I think they'll be happier in a huge composter. The worm bin is a little small for such a big garden, realistically.

Matt and I also spent some time clearing the pathway to the composters and back area in general, so Ron and his workmen can access it easily.

The contents of the box

As we cut back branches from the trees I found a little black tupperware box that felt oddly heavy. I thought it might have drugs in it or something else someone had stashed... turns out it was a "letterboxing" treasure trove! This is a bit like geocaching (or not, if you read the website http://www.atlasquest.com) - you go to the site to get clues about the location of a box, and go out to look for it. When you find it, the box contains a little book that you stamp with your personal rubber stamp, and you sign and date it too. The box also holds a unique rubber stamp of it's own so you can stamp your personal book that you carry with you on letterboxing expeditions.

Clearly a few people have found and signed this trove's book! The most recent was October 2010 though - has it been forgotten and unloved? I hope not! It's nice to think of the garden having a little secret hidden away.

The inside of the box was a bit damp so we left the contents out in the sun to dry a bit, then carefully repacked them and hid them in the same area. I'm not giving away the location! You'll have to find it yourself ;)

Plant profile: Amaryllis belladonna

You might think you know the genus Amaryllis already - those big bulbs you get around the holidays that produce huge red or white flowers? Well, those are actually Hippeastrums, from South America. The real Amaryllis looks similar, but comes from Africa. And there's only one species in the genus!

Latin name: Amaryllis belladonna ("amma-RILL-iss bella-DON-ah")
Common name: Belladonna Lily (UK), Naked Ladies (US), March Lily (S. Africa)
Originally from: Africa
Blooms: Clear pink (some ranging from white to reddish) blooms appear in late summer. They also come in white and deeper purplish/reddish shades.
Light: Full sun
Water: Rain is plenty. No summer water!
Where to find in P. Garden: We have quite a few clumps in the left bed.

This is a funny plant, which grows from a huge bulb. The leaves are produced in the autumn or early spring in warm climates depending on the onset of rain and eventually die down by late spring. The bulb is then dormant until late summer - they require a dry resting period between leaf growth and flower spike production. Just when you have forgotten about them and the leaves are long gone, the bulbs shoot up a deep burgundy spike topped with a cluster of 2 to 12 funnel-shaped clear pink trumpet-shaped flowers, and no leaves at all - hence the common name "Naked Ladies."

The species was introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century, having been discovered growing wild on the Cape of Good Hope by a few Dutch growers who emigrated to South Africa. The plants reproduce slowly either by bulb division or seeds and have gradually naturalized from gardens throughout much of the West Coast since these environments are like their native South African habitat. Driving around the parched California hills in late summer you'll often see big clumps of Naked Ladies by the roadside.

As tough as they are, these bulbs don't like to be moved. I've planted quite a few in the garden but only a couple have flowered in the first year. In 2011 we got a flower spike from every bulb - about 25 scattered through the garden.

The Plant Sale Cometh

With so much going on at the garden it is hard to focus on just one thing!!! Roses, Columbine, Anemone, Ranunculus, Dianthus, Watsonia, Iris ... on and on... the list is practically endless of plants that are putting on a stellar spring flower show.

But enough about what the botanical members of the garden are doing, on to the volunteers! Over the weekend Josh pulled a ton weeds, including ivy and 'god-knows-what out of the aloes on the slope' and much of the ever present bindweed. He even watered the asters for the plant sale. Double gold star for you Josh!

After work today Ryan and I stopped by Janet's house to pick up a plethora of wonderful plants she has donated for the Plant Sale on May 1st. As a sneak peak, the photo is of two absolutely giant Amaryllis for the sale. Many thanks Janet! Tomorrow I will catalog the new plants, and do some additional weeding in the garden.

Rain

On and off showers have led to fairly damp ground at the garden: makes weeding easier. So yesterday I went out and realized I needed some coffee before the weeding began. I cut a few Gaillardias and sage flowers that are going to be cut back soon anyway, and took a bunch up to Farley's. They have been pretty decent to me this year, so why not! And I got a free coffee in return. Well alright!

Then I saw Rick back at the garden, weeding the lavender hedge area. We had a chat about damage to the hedge and noticed there's a lot of dog poop up there. I have a lot of plastic bags to add to the dispenser up there - hope that helps.

I got pretty wet weeding and pruning... after a while it stopped being fun so I went indoors.

Then I went by Audrey's place as she had some plants for me! Today I planted the Chasmanthe and Amaryllis belladonna bulbs she and her husband Joseph donated to the garden.  I also deadheaded some Cannas, moved an Achillea and an Agave attenuata to better places (left), and weeded some more.

I shovelled a wheelbarrow full of muck from the storm drain to the bigger compost heap, and shovelled some compost from the bottom to the top of the round plastic bin (looks great!).

Then I potted up three Opuntia cuttings and planted another, and chatted with Adolfo, Alison and Gary separately.

There she blows!

Today's post will rely heavily on quotes from Moby Dick, after which book we have named the Agave americana variegata that was recently beached at P. Garden (thanks to John!)

"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November (March) in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea (the garden) as soon as I can."

And so we went across the street to plant the mighty plant, in the rain. But how could we move it? It's heavy, and prickly, and recalcitrant... "I rejoice in my spine, as in the firm audacious staff of that flag which I fling half out to the world."

First, we dug a hole for it, moving several plants out of harm's way first. We used the dug out mulch and dirt to make a ramp up the side of the bed.

We rolled the massive beast onto a tarp, and roped it together. "Panting and snorting like a mad battle steed that has lost its rider" we dragged it up the hill, and up our clever ramp. "Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents’ beds, unerringly I rush! Naught’s an obstacle, naught’s an angle to the iron way!"

We finally got the plant upright in the hole, and shored up.
"There she blows!--there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!"

And then, we went inside "...because truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast."

""Grub, ho!" now cried the landlord, flinging open a door, and in we went to breakfast." Well, lunch actually.

LATER THAT SAME DAY:

I am all Herman Melville'd out, thanks goodness, due to loads more digging. We dropped by Sloat Garden Center on the way home from the barn, and they had all sorts of Echiums. This is one of Matt's favorite plants ever, and he went on an Echium bender. Bought four different kinds! Echium gentianoides "Tajinaste", E. pininana var. alba "Snow tower", E. wildpretii (?) and E. "Mr. Happy" (hybrid of Echium wildprettii & E. pininana) if I recall correctly.

I got a Salvia argentea (it's furry!) and a Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum “Silver Lace Bush”, as well as 20 Amaryllis belladonna bulbs... Phew!

Naked ladies

Today I went up to the Haight and picked up over 20 Amaryllis belladonna bulbs from a craigslister whose name I totally failed to catch (so sorry!) - he also generously gave me lots of spider plants which might make good, tough border edging.

I can't wait to see the belladonnas (aka Naked Ladies) flower, though this might take a year or more - they hate to be disturbed.

Quick, before it rains!

(Above: Before and after) Today we scheduled a two hour window for gardening, and lots of people came by. Just after Matt and I finished tamping the dirt around the mega-yucca, Barbara, Sage and Elijah rolled up with their shovels, and coffee. We know they are determined diggers, so this was great news: Matt set them up planting Agapanthus on the horrible rocky edge the off ramp curves around. They put in probably a dozen or more, and then we moved a Ceanothus, and planted eight or so Amaryllis belladonna bulbs and three Vincas. Oh and after that the huge tub of bamboo that Julia gave us went in by the chainlink fence to hopefully screen the freeway from view. These people are unstoppable!

Not only that but they gave us a lovely donation towards what we jokingly called the "Sage and Barbara Memorial Bench" - we are going to have to find just the right seating device that gives at least three people a place to enjoy the garden from, so they can sit and enjoy their hard work together. While they are alive, you know? Thanks guys :)

John, donator of the mega-yucca at left, came over and pruned the Cordyline for us. Well, it didn't need pruning but it certainly wasn't doing us any good hidden away back there, so he cut off some tips for us to root, and took a long branch for himself. I was so pleased that he was happy with that - he's given us tons of plants so finally we can give him something back. And then later, while I was busy doing something else, he dropped off a dozen plus more plants! Where does he get it? He's like the pied piper of potted foliage!

Jess and the Princess Sophia came by and inspected our work too - I think we passed: Sophia keeps a close eye on the job! ;) I can't wait til the pathways are a bit nicer/cleaner for kids to use, and I can remove all the rusty wire flags, which I worry might cause a scratch. Speaking of paths, we moved some agapanthus by the Wrong Way sign, and Matt made a little brick path so dog owners can walk straight up to the trash can without having to pick across a flower bed.

Another person who came by was a guy who lives up the hill, with his two excellent dogs. I can't remember his name* now due to shock: he offered to build us a metal trellis arch and help make proper brick paths. Yep, I'm utterly ashamed that I forgot his name but what can I say? A trip to Home Despot can make me froth at the mouth, so you can imagine the scene I make when people offer me custom ironmongery and professional brick expertise... Anyway, I hope he emails me. He made a gateway up the hill that I have been admiring - it's gorgeous.

So we got loads done together. And now it is raining. Thank goodness for that.
Below left: Amaryllis belladonna planted around the base of an ornamental plum. Below right: bamboo













*Update: His name is Ron (I knew it!) and he's the Iron Maverick. Go to his site and check out the amazing things he can do with metal - wow.

Another big dig

This morning I headed out to Berkeley with Matt, to return to Julia's house. Her garden is about to undergo a transformation, and the old plants don't fit the new plan. Lucky for me! Once again the car was loaded with Agapanthus, Cannas, a few Crocosmias and several big fat Amaryllis belladonna ("naked ladies") bulbs!

We chatted with Julia as we were leaving and she mentioned her gardener was not fond of bamboo, of which she had two containers of the clumping type (i.e. not the kind that runs all over and takes over your garden.) Matt is a big bamboo fan (no, not a large fan made of bamboo... oh never mind...) and when Julia offered us a container of bamboo we were really excited. It's the perfect big, cool, jungly, low maintenance thing that will screen the freeway from view (that's it on the left.) Thank you so much Julia!

Back at the garden, I spent and hour or so cleaning up the trash, cans, bottles and needle (just one) that the homeless guy left. I'd called SF Homeless Outreach Team earlier in the week, to let them know he was there and ask if he needed help. They went out to offer him shelter and potentially permanent housing. It appears he took them up on the offer, and now we can prune the loquat he was living under.

Later that day at the barn we dug up some Vinca major (periwinkle) to go with the Vinca minor that Leah gave us last week. And tomorrow, we'll plant it all!

As I sit here savoring a delicious Advil...

Saturday morning I went to Berkeley for a couple hours of light digging. The charming Julia had offered me free plants from her front garden via Freecycle, so I went off expecting to find few things left as other gardeners were converging on the spot over the weekend. But no - she had more Agapanthus, Crocosmia, Cannas, and succulents than I could stuff in my car. I even found a couple Amaryllis belladonna bulbs I think, growing amid an agapanthus forest.

I dug and dug. I dug some more. The car was full and I was still digging. I was sweating. The sun was beating down. The neighbors were looking at me funny. My back was twingeing. And I barely made a dent in the endless supply of plants! Thank you very much Julia - what a difference this will make to P. Garden!

Of course then I returned to the homestead to plant them all and suddenly I regretted my greed: now I had to dig more holes to plant them! And of course, unlike the lush soils of Berkeley, where you put your heel to a spade and it slides in, here at P. Garden one applies force to the spade and instantly hits rocks. So, I wasn't so much digging as hacking, violently.

After a few hours of this frenetic stabbing and scrabbling at the unhelpful ground, with no lunch, I just about fainted. Leah our Special Guest Arborist also spent many hours today pruning the tops of the (now flowering) cherry plums and they look fabulous. She also brought 2 Vinca minor (periwinkle) and a Russion sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)! Oh how I rubbed my hands together with glee: Matt thinks we will be strangulated by Vinca in the night, but he's wrong. Wrong, I tell you!

I felt like such a wimp telling Leah I was done for the day at 3.30pm, but in the end it's very lucky I did - I went down to Pacifica to see our horses and one of them was suddenly very sick.* I had to rush him ot the vet hospital and didn't get home til midnight. Argh!

Today I'm going to plant the rest of the Crocosmia and mini Agapanthus that I tarped up for the night. I'm just going to let this lovely Advil kick in before I hobble over to the garden to see what awful plant location choices I made yesterday during my feverish battle with the dastardly dirt...

* It was colic, for those who know horses. He didn't require surgery overnight so we hope to pick him up today :)