Dry garden is dry

Well we turned the corner into June and despite a light sprinkle of rain (!) this week the garden has never looked so dry so early in the year.

Despite that we had a great workday last weekend. Chris, Bill and Leslie joined Matt and I, and we deadheaded Euphorbias, cut back remaining Chasmanthes, gave a lot of Salvia leucanthas a haircut, watered anything recently planted to get it through, and weeded away like maniacs. 

The Gazanias that someone left in a pot at the garden were planted by the front kiosk. They're currently flowering and look lovely - I should get some more for the garden. I forgot how tough they are, and how cheerful.

We have two compost bins totally full of green waste but it's so dry that it's not composting down. We added some water so fingers crossed by next month we can turn the two bins into one and it will be well on the way to nice dirt.

The Chasmathe are DONE!

Matt and I spent a couple hours weeding at the garden today. We turned two compost bins and watered them (after removing a huge amount of trash from one bin) and while Matt watered other already parched looking plants, I tied back the Phlomis at the steps and then cut back a lot of Chasmanthe.

I love Chasmanthe in later winter - fresh green leaves, orange flowers - what a great sight at the coldest time of the year. But right about now they are done flowering and their leaves turn yellow and crash. So they get cut to the ground - all 20 clumps of them... I managed about 4 clumps today.

Welcome to summer, SF!

Veronica!

Those who've lived here for a while know the weather in the Bay Area is always best in the fall - we call it our summer. And this weekend we had a beautifully summery day for our October volunteer workday at PG.

Matt, Chris, Josh and I were joined by Veronica, and the team set about more winter prep tasks.

Josh and Veronica planted an Aloe thraskii - a new species for us that was donated by Mat McGrath of Farallon Gardens. This should grow into a nice tree aloe, and with a lovely watering basing built by the team, I hope it thrives.

Matt!

Matt set up the water again  the second time this year. We deeply watered quite a few plants and noticed the watering done last time had helped a lot.

Already, the Phlomis and Leonotis have sprouted new leaves, and I think we saved a few Cordylines from certain death.

Matt also cut back the Matilija Poppy and worked on bagging up a lot of the branches from last time. 

Chris!

Chris got down (right down... on the ground) to business removing fennel from the back slope, and then bravely de-pupping a large, exceptionally spiny Agave "Green Giant" up at the triangle gardens. Dangerous work!

He and Josh replanted some there as an encampment deterrent, and more pups will go on the back slope. Knowing how fast they grow it'll be a Green Giant forest before you know it!

Josh!

I cleaned trash and Veronica helped me get the composters ready to use again. We'll fill them over winter, when it's wetter and the compost will break down quickly. We used some of the Chasmanthe leaves she'd removed to start the process.

All in all a very worthwhile Saturday!

VIPKid makes a difference

Go team VIP Kid!

On Friday we had a really wonderful VTO day with the outstanding team from VIPKid. Based in SOMA, they zipped over to help us prepare PG for winter.

I was joined by PG regulars John, Carrie, Matt and Josh as my volunteer coordinators, and we got a LOT done with so much help: go team!

Tasks we dove into included cutting back Salvia leucantha, Salvia canariensis, Leonotus leonurus, Chasmanthe and all sorts of plants that will spring back as soon as we get rain.

Timber!

One volunteer even cut down a dead Pittosporum tree, which was fun to watch. We will need to remove the branches over time, but at least that dead tree is more or less gone. And no we can replace the tree with something much, much cooler… maybe a Cussonia?

Thanks to all the work done at PG this year, very few weeds are in evidence there, but we still managed to fill a dozen big paper bags with green waste, and a few big plastic bags of trash too. John led a team at PRG to pick trash as well, an area that seems to collect a lot of waste.

Loads of green waste for 311

At the end of the day I’m always shocked at the impact a group of volunteers can make on the gardens: we cannot maintain the gardens without the help of these groups, so if your company want to join us, or even better you want to come to a Saturday workday, remember we’re out there rain or shine on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-12pm.

Thank you VIPKid: you rocked it!

Volunteer day pruning bonanza

Amanda!

I was away the last two weeks, so didn't think we had much time to promote this month's workday. However, a great team joined Matt and I and we accomplished so much: you just never know!

The day turned into quite a pruning exravaganza. Everyone got a crash course in how to prune or cut back various species, and the pile at the top of the garden awaiting pickup is quite huge now.

Gina!

Gina got stuck in cutting back a lot of dead Chasmanthe leaves in clumps around the garden.

This plant comes up every fall and flowers in winter, which is fabulous as everything else is pretty much dormant then. That makes the work of cutting back the dried up leaves in summer totally bearable, and once removed the garden looks 100% tidier.

Josh!

Josh spent his time on the front bed, rescuing various Agaves from the weeds and generally being detail oriented and cheerful as usual.

Matt moved some Agave attenuata to widen a path, and pulled scads of weeds, and I cut back almost all the Euphorbia characias in the garden and for the steps mostly weeded too.

Leslie!

Leslie attacked some of the Echiums with verve, removing dead flowers and making the paths more accessible. Matt deadheaded the Echiums in the middle back bed too, and that's made a hugh difference to the garden right away.

Amanda told me she doesn't have much in the way of gardening chops. Disagree! I showed her how to cut back the Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy) and she did a perfect job.

Sarah!

Sarah cut back Chasmanthe, then turned to the Blue Potato Bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii) which hasn't had a trim in literally three plus years. Working around the bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) she got the potato bush whipped into shape right quick.

All sorts of improvements

Leslie

Saturday's volunteer day was great - we had a dedicated and skilled crew on hand so a lot of wonderful things were accomplished.

Leslie is a stalwart regular and she worked on the middle pathways and beds, ably removing all sorts of weeds, of which we have a surprising number, unfortunately. 

I weeded as much as possible too - we have a good sized pile now  and with a bit of luck can get a debris box for an upcoming workday in order to remove that AND the contents of the compost bins to start afresh.

Hilary

Hilary is new but I could tell right away by her botanical garden tee she was a pro! She got stuck in cutting back Chasmanthe and Euphorbias, as well as the large and somewhat wilty looking Salvia gesneriiflora "Tequila"in the brights bed.

That Salvia looked pretty dead after the Big Drought, but it came back with a vengeance. Of course looking wilted in early June isn't a great sign, but being cut back means it might conserve some energy and make it through.

Chris

Chris loves ripping things apart so I was able to direct his energy towards the now-defunct Euphorbia lambii (victim of too many windy nights) and an overly-enthusiastic Echium madrerense, both of which are now gone and the garden is much better for it.

I think he had a good time with that. You can see him here posing with an ex-Echium.

In the meantime, Matt closed off one side of the bottom paths with stones etc. Our HUGE Agave attenuata at the front just past the arch is sure to bloom soon, and it's really in the way of that path. Si closing that for now will prevent the Agave being dinged up, leaving another path and the sidewalk as two ways to get to the top of the garden.

Critters

Mystery hole

Strange holes have been dug at the garden by a critter. I filled the two that posed a tripping hazard in, but left the third alone. 

Who is it? What are they up to? Why can't they dig in the compost heap and do me a favor?

Path full of weeds

Instead, I turned the compost myself, during which a rat jumped out of the middle bin. As I dug almost to the bottom I heard a squeak, and had poked my fork into a nest of baby rats. They seemed to be unhurt so I closed the bin and hopefully Rat Mum will be back to move the babies elsewhere.

After that, Matt and I spread four tubtrugs of finished compost, mulched a lot of areas, weeded the cactus wall, steps and assorted other areas, picked up trash, swept the steps and bricked areas, prepped for moving the bench, and cut back many Chasmanthe and Euphorbia plants. 4 hours well spent. 

Before and after

Here's a good "before, after, and today" evolution of the left bed as you walk into the garden.

L-R: February 2009, February 2010 and February 2016

In 2009 we had a Leucadendron at the front - that was killed by dog pee. You can also see lots of small clumps of Dietes that did really well in the end.

By 2010 the Leucadendron at the front was killed by dog pee. I replaced it with a very successful Cortaderia selloana "Silver Comet" and our Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is to the right, behind it. I'd put a small Agave americana variegata at the front, and some yellow Osteospermum are flowering away merrily to the right of that. The Brugmansia was the biggest plant in the bed, and a small Phormium tenax "Rubrum" and a clump of orange flowering Chasmanthe are poking up at the back. A small Coprosma australis (variegated) and a Euonymus japonica "Microphylla Variegata" (Variegated Boxleaf Euonymus) can be seen as smallish, yellowish blobs on the left side too/ We'd made a nice twig border around the bed front to define it too.

And today in 2016 the Cortaderia selloana "Silver Comet" did so well that we've divided it and retained a clump at the front, with a nice Phlomis fruticosa (Jerusalem sage) to its left. The Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is still going strong, too. The Agave americana variegata at the front got too big and moved elsewhere, and the yellow Osteospermum didn't last: I replaced them with Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblonga clumps.

The Brugmansia is still there, but dwarfed by the big Hakea suaveolens, and the small Phormium tenax "Rubrum" is now huge though you can't see it since the Dodonaea viscosa (Purple Hopseed Bush) planted in 2009 is bigger. I moved a red Cordyline nearby, and the clump of orange flowering Chasmanthe got swapped for a yellow clump you can see flowering. The Coprosma australis (variegated) got huge and was very successful, and the Euonymus japonica "Microphylla Variegata" (Variegated Boxleaf Euonymus) struggled a bit but lives on, seeming to do better this last year. The twig border composted away, and was replaced by stones again.

Good to look back now and again to see what plants do best, and remember which ones not to buy again ;)

Weeds and things

Hardenbergia violacea

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours weeding and picking trash at PRG. Things are looking good there since I moved the dumped chair to the top where poor Mariposa Center Garden used to be (city appointed developers ripped it out without consulting SFDPW or SF Parks Alliance), alongside the bath tub someone left there last week. 

Aeonium

Also left at PRG last week was a dozen 16' long 6"x2" fence boards, wrapped in tarps and plopped down on top of some Santolinas. I got rid of those within an hour by posting them FREE on Nextdoor Potrero, and someone was delighted to have 'em. However, the bath and chair are not as attractive, so I installed the free 311 app on my phone and uploaded a photo an service request this evening.

Chasmanthe floribunda

Back at PG, the Hardenbergia violacea is flowering up a storm way down at the back of the terraces, as well as the yellow Chasmanthe floribunda in the left bed (two clumps), and the Aeoniums are growing strongly. Bulbs are coming up, weeds are easy to pull, and all that remains this week is to secure a wood chipper for the volunteer day next weekend so we can get rid of the unsightly pile in the dog area!

Before the rain

Two new clumps

We're due a nice big rain tomorrow - half an inch maybe? So Matt and I decided to take care of some plant moving and dividing so the new plants would get rained in and we wouldn't have to lug water up to the garden.

The ground at the garden is still very dry - the top 4" is damp, but below that everything is dusty, so we're a long way from being back to normal, though the last few week's of light rain has helped for sure.

Pampas and moved Phlomis

We dug up the Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) "Silver Comet" by the arch and divided it up into several parts.

Then we returned the largest clump to the ground in the same spot by the arch, and then planted five divisions in the brights bed, middle back bed and left bed.

Cortaderia is one of the toughest plants we have, sailing through the drought without suffering at all, so we're confident having more of them is a great idea. This is a sterile hybrid, too, so unlike the plain green kind won't seed all over the place and be a nuisance.

The remaining original

I planted two large clumps of Chasmanthe bulbs in the brights bed, rescued from the Mariposa Center strip's destruction.  The other Chasmanthes in the garden have lots of leaves already so should be flowering soon - a nice spot of orange for the winter.

Lastly Matt moved a buried Phlomis to the brights bed. Much better spot for it, and it should fill in in front of a new Cortaderia there quite nicely. 

We have lots more plants to move and loads of brush to run through a chipper. Need to try renting one again!

Super Volunteer!

Today's volunteer day dawned bright and sunny, and Matt and I headed up to the garden ready for a few light tasks. Nothing major. It's hot, yaknow?


However, that was not to be.  Super Volunteer Bob showed up and did All The Things:

1. Turned the compost LIKE A BOSS
2. Cut back the Chasmathes like it was HIS CAREER
3. Obliterated a huge nasty stand of ivy that was out of control AS IF IT WAS A DRAGON HE WAS FIGHTING. AND WON.

Not only that but his wife Barbie weeded the steps with determined efficiency, and Jackie came too and weeded the back terrace with great gusto. But really, honestly, Bob killed it.

I cut back some Euphorbias and Matt did all sorts of tub-trugs full of damage to weeds.

But Bob owned it.

Out with the old, in with the new

Or rather, out with the dead, replace with the living!

Today I popped up to the garden and was very much enjoying how great it looks after the Genentech workday. I decided to weed the cactus wall, cut back some Chasmanthe, and noticed a gap along the steps where I'd removed a dead Convulvulus cneorum last weekend.

Having recently (today!) decided that no more plants can be planted at PG unless they come from those waiting on the terraces, I popped back there and chose a variegated Yucca and an Agave of species to be determined and planted them on the steps.

Happily, it's a great time of year to plant those species as they need no water to get started at all.

(Remember folks: we're in a bad drought - year two of it in fact.)

On the way home I deadheaded a dozen Euphorbias at PRG and weeded there too. It's all looking pretty spiffy!

NBC Bay Area, volunteers and lots of agaves

Yesterday's volunteer day was hot hot hot - what a weekend of roasting weather!

Some of our core volunteers came out to play: Emily, Nate, Carlin, Keyvan, Anna, Mary, John, Eliot, Amanda and I worked up quite a sweat doing lots of tasks.

The Amaryllis belladonna and Chasmanthes were cut back by Carlin, Nate did some twig border work, Anna sprayed vinegar on weeds to kill them, Mary deadheaded Agapanthus, John turned the compost and lots of weeds were pulled garden-wide. I cut back some Watsonias and Agapanthus too.

Oh yeah - and NBC Bay area was there to film it all! I got miked up for the workday and had to try not to swear as much as I usually do (!) while being followed around by the lovely Garvin and Claire from NBC. It was sort of fun!

The spot airs a week on Tuesday and I'll post a link when it's online. They came down to my house after the workday to do an interview too - as a result of preparing for that our house is now nice and clean, so at least there's that...

In the meantime John and Matt were in Healdsburg collecting Agaves and all sorts of goodies from a garden that was being demolished - how tragic. They came back around 3pm with carloads of amazing things. Huge Agaves, stunning Puyas, gorgeous Yuccas - such cool stuff. Among them:

Dyckia - a ground cover type
Agave americana "Lemon Lime"
Agave angustifolia 
Agave pachycentra (mislabeled?)
Agave "Rosa Gorda"
Agave salmiana "Butterfingers"
Agave weberi (maybe)
Puya alpestris (maybe)
Puya - some kind of giant, silvery one
Yucca aloifolia "Marginata"
Yucca elephantipes "Variegata"

Mental! We planted a few right away and today Matt planted some more. Awesome haul guys!!!

Pity

Taking pity on the extremely dry garden today, Matt and I set up sprinklers on a few spots for a couple hours. While the parched soil soaked up the dampness, we went around trimming, pruning, weeding and deadheading.

The Philadelphus got pruned, some Cotyledon orbiculata and Achillea got deadheaded, some Chasmanthe and Crocosmia got cut back. All good in the hood. Except that the shed's lock was melted off and clearly someone had been rummaging in there... not much taken that I could see, but we need a new lock. Sigh.

Random Verbascum

Salvia "Limelight"

Aloe ferox

Aeonium blushing

Another outstanding volunteer day

Today we had a bunch of volunteers from The Presidio Group who, as it turns out, are a hard working bunch! With their help, and that of several other marvelous volunteers, we completed a number of tasks - some that have been lingering for way, way too long.

First we got not one but two compost heaps turned over by a pair of enthusiastic volunteers.

Next a whole gang went up to the dog area with Emily and weeded it clean, then buried a long section of carpet under the wood chips as weed suppressant. They also sorted through a pile of twigs to prepare for twig border manufacture at some later date.

Matt led a group down at the arch. He removed an area of bricks that were being pushed up by a root, and had created a tripping hazard. He flattened it and redid the brickwork, while his team pruned back the Dipogon lignosus (Cape Sweet Pea) on the arch, prevented it spreading into nearby beds, and cut back the Salvia leucantha there too.

After that was done he took his team into the storm drain area - a land populated with dangerous things (cacti) that have been left in post there for Much Too Long. They removed all the cacti - risking life and limb I might add - and sorted them into three groups: Store in the dog area for later, throw on the compost pile and plant now.

In the meantime, I took a team to the bottom of the steps and we eradicated all the ivy (evil, and something we've battled in the spot since May 2009) and Aptenia cordifolia (useful groundcover planted in January 2011 and since then gone berserk) from a good-sized area, and cut back all the Chasmanthe that are done flowering. When the area was cleared, we were ready to plant some new stuff - always fun.

We moved an Agave americana and some Aloe nobilis to better sites, and added an Aloe cameronii (Red Aloe), an Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro Cactus) from the storm drain and a gorgeous Agave salmiana "Butterfingers" bought for PG recently. Huge improvement!

Patrick weeded and swept the entrances and Keyvan weeded the pathways very carefully, Anna separated out a huge clump of the bromeliad Fascicularia pitcairnifolia recently donated by Josh into separate plants ready for planting, and at the end of the volunteer day the whole garden was looking really great. Go check it out!


Who did all this work? Nate, Patrick, Anna, Vitalia, Tom, Tony, Lilly, Nora, Julianna, Keyvan, Annie B., Victor, Susie, Carrie, Susan B., William, Susan S., and Anthony. Please take a bow!

Thanks to all the volunteers and to The Presidio Group for encouraging volunteer activities among their staff: what a productive, sunny day it was :)

Heavy marine layer

Aloe striatula flowering

That is what Matt calls the rain we had today - just "spitting" where I come from, but he calls it a "heavy marine layer" - hah!

Anyway, he was at work today (boooo!) so I went up to the garden and did some work. I cut back a patch of Chasmanthe and spread the leaves around the base as mulch. Then I thought it looked ugly, so I spread 2 bags of compost on top. Much better!

Next I folded up all the plastic bags we have lying around and put them away, as well as organizing a few other things in the shed.

I took a quick pic of the Cotinus coggygria (Purple Smokebush) that I coppiced (cut to the ground) on Jan 1st of this year - it already has 5' tall new canes sprouting up. Looks great - coppicing was the right thing to do after all. Also took a pic of the aphids on the cardoon - being hoovered up by ladybugs as usual and the Aloe striatula flowers - used to be such a tiny plant back in 2009!

Got aphids? Get ladybugs.

After that I got deeeep into the middle back bed and weeded more, then spread some compost there too. Three tubtrugs of weeds to the composter. We are making some lovely compost.

Lastly I took a trash bag and picked up trash, and prepared to walk down along MCG and PRG and pick up all the trash there. Just as I was leaving, I saw a little beastie in the bushes and stopped to video it. It was a little mouse eating the flowers on a Salvia leucantha! Very cute.

Cotinus recovery

I took pics and videoed a while, then someone with a dog came along and scared the mouse away. You see a lot more wildlife when there are no dogs around - I often see bobcats, deer, skunks, raccoons and so on at the barn where we keep our horses, but when people bring dogs it's deserted.

Woodwork

Composter - fixed!

Yesterday Matt and I weeded for an hour while the trees at PRG were watering, and went and bought lumber to fix the steps and the composter lids for hopefully the last time!

Today Matt, armed with a brand new drill, fixed the heck out of the steps and the composter.

We turned compost bin 1 over into bin 3, which was recently lined in hardware cloth by Jim. Bin 1 is now ready for hardware cloth - no more rats in there please!

Steps - fixed!

I weeded in the middle back bed, removing huge tubtrugs of weeds. I also cut back all the dying Chasmanthe leaves in one clump in the brights bed and weeded and spread compost in the left bed.

More tubtrugs full went to the compost bins - the cycle continues. With the recent turning of the compost bins, and added water, the compost is breaking down much more quickly - I only hope any weed seeds are being killed at the same time.

Cordyline skirt cleanup

I gave a few plants some water, deadheaded irises and Kniphofias, and removed the dried up "skirt" of a Cordyline in the middle back bed, arranging the leaves at the base to smother future weeds.

A solid 4 hours out there in the breezy sun x 2 people = 1 full day of work!