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.

Volunteer Workday

Here's Matt and Chris moving a lovely big Agave attenuata from the front where it was blocking the path to the left bed's bottom path area. Just before this Matt had cut back all the Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri) down to 6" in prep for winter.  I am sure they will spring right back up and fill in that whole area - they are a bit brutal.

I weeded all over, and planted some Rock Purslane (Calandrinia spectabilis) in the new border of the top area with Matt, and also moved some Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) to fill gaps.

Emily, Nathan, Bill and his dog Coco and John weeded at PRG and picked trash - it's time for a bit workday though as the weeds are gathering strength and taking over!

Chris also repaired the broken composter lid that had been hanging loose for a while.... it's time to move that composter back against the fence so we have more space to work there.

In order to do that we are gradually emptying it and placing weeds we've removed in piles in the middle of beds where they can rot down out of sight in their own time.

Plant profile: Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy)

Latin name: Romneya coulteri (pronounced "ROM-nee-ah KOOL-ter-eye)
Common name: Matilija poppy, Fried egg plant.
Originally from: Southern California and Northern Mexico
Blooms: Big old crinkly white flowers with a huge yellow center, all summer.
Light: Full sun!
Water: Drought tolerant and very tough
Drainage: Excellent
Height x width: 8' x 8'
USDA Zones: 5-9
Where to find in P. Garden: In the left bed along the bottom path.

What! It's a giant poppy? Stand back people. It's THE giant poppy. Named for the acclaimed Irish astronomer and physicist Rev. John Thomas Romney Robinson, this mega-poppy behaves the way the young Robinson looks in his portrait shown here. That is, tough, determined, handsome and zealous.

In fact, while Robinson went on to do great things in his career, like cataloging 5,345 stars, the Matilija poppy is similarly ambitious, if not actually invasive and slightly annoying at times. But when it flowers, all is forgiven: those bloody great big fried egg-looking flowers are so cheerful it's hard to hate the plant.

The largest flowers of the poppy family, they prefer a warm, sunny spot and fertile soil with good drainage. Wikipedia says that they are "not easily grown but once established are difficult to remove" and I would agree with the latter part of that sentence. We didn't have any trouble starting them though, and they survive with utter neglect and no water at PG, and I hack them down to stumps in the fall which barely puts a dent in them.

In the wild, they are known as "fire followers" as they can often be found in burned areas. In the garden, they are known as utter b@stards and you cannot kill them.

The common name "Matilija poppy" comes from a location they're found. Matilija was one of the Native American Chumash rancherias, which became the Matilija Wilderness, a space of 29,600 acres established 1992 by the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act, 12 miles from the town of Ojai, in Ventura County near Los Angeles.

Although the original meaning of the word "matilija" is lost,  the name originates with the Chumash Indian Chief Matilija and his tribe, who lived in the hills and valleys of Ventura county during the early 1800s. Various legends can be read about here, and below.

Numerous legends from Old California tell of the story of his daughter Amatil and her lost love. In most versions, Amatil falls in love with a young brave, is kidnapped by Spaniards to work at Mission Buenaventura, longs to return to her tribal home, Ojai (the Nest), and finally flees the mission only to find her lover mortally wounded after a fierce battle with the Spaniards. The lovely Matilija flower is said to symbolize the tears of Amatil and her heart of gold.

Not sure such a romantic story is apt for such a brash plant, but OK. Plant them in a large area at your own risk. You probably won't regret it. Much.

After the rain, the weeds

 

Matt and I headed up to the garden to do an hour of weeding today. The garden is in full bloom!

You can see a lovely Kniphofia flowering in orange here, with an Echium in blue, and an Agave gypsophila and some red Dyckias in the foreground. 

I pulled all the weeds on the steps, and we planted a Yucca whipplei there, with the three others.

Matt pulled weeds all over the garden - we hauled 5 tubtrugs full to the compost bins, which are very full and need to be turned.

I cut back a Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy) at the bottom of the steps , and the Leucadendron salignum "Golden Tip" and the Lycianthes rantonnetii (Blue Potato Bush) at the top of the steps.

There's so much weeding to do - come on out to the Friday April  22nd Earth Day volunteer event to help us weed this place up!

Out with the old, in with the new

Leucadendron "Safari Goldstrike"

Matt and I did our usual Sunday morning garden trip today in the lovely warm sun, with clear skies above and a mockingbird warbling in the Monterey pine tree at the garden. Ah!

I decided to plant a Yucca rigida (Blue Yucca) by the steps. I cleared out a load more yarrow (Achillea) and carved a hole in the steepish slope, uncovering several daffodils just sprouting, as well as some hyacinths going for their third year "in the wild" and still flowering!

Yucca rigida gets planted

The Yucca should get great drainage in that area - we had a small Y. rigida specimen near there years ago that died but I'm hopeful this one will make a go of it.  That spot is also where we have the rest of our small Yucca collection, with a Y. recurvifolia, a Y. linearifolia and a Y. elephantipes "Silver Star."

While I was admiring that scene Matt cut back a Salvia leucantha, some grasses, an Artemisia, and the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri). Whack!

I wanted to plant some Calla lilies (Zantedeschia) donated recently by Michele so decided to take a look at the three lavenders in the middle back bed. Those were some of the first plants we ever put in, back in early 2009, and they're not long-lived. These three now have a distinctly dried-up look to them and I decided their time had come. Before I knew it I was enthusiastically ripping two of them out completely.

Entwined in them are a couple of Plectranthus argenteas so it was a bit of work to cut those back appropriately too, as well as the neighboring rosemary plant. I put the Callas in, looking a bit rough - with a bit of luck they'll bounce back - and decided to leave the third lavender for another day.

Overcast day

Weeping Yucca
(Yucca recurvifolia)

Today is a bit overcast and a good one to water the new plants. I spent about two hours with various sprinklers on various areas of the garden.

While they did their work I trimmed, deadheaded and weeded. The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is blooming, which means the leaves are going to die off shortly after and then it'll be cut back. That always leaves a big hole in the left bed for a month or two but it's worth it for the spectacular foliage the rest of the year.

The Weeping Yucca (Yucca recurvifolia) by the steps is flowering nicely for the first time - a very healthy plant. Another plant that's about to flower is the Agave parryi by the arch that I posted a photo of last week. Sadly this spells doom for that Agave - they die after flowering.  However, the flower spike is about 12' tall and very impressive, and should be there for many months. It's certainly going out with a bang!

Matilija poppy
(Romneya coulteri)

The fourth plant I noticed in bloom is the California native Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) in the left bed, with it's fried egg style flowers on very tall stalks. It's a bit of a rascal in that it likes to spread and pop up in odd places, but it hasn't been too annoying yet.

Winter Work Week

Lucky old me – I get a whole week off work at the holidays and I’m planning lots of gardening time! Which is great, because there is a LOT to do in the garden - I need some help.

If you would like to join me in the garden and work off some turkey, escape the relatives, or reduce your carbon footprint if you’re visiting SF for the holidays, please RSVP by emailing annie at psgsf.org and let me know what day(s) you’d like to come do some gardening. Available days are from December 26th to January 1st (our regularly scheduled monthly volunteer day) and we usually get started at 10am, though can start earlier or later.

Here’s a sampling of the sort of tasks we’ve got planned (and ones taken care of are crossed out):

• Pruning Artemisia californicas, Romneya coulteri
• Digging up Dahlia bulbs
• Weeding the red bed, dog area, and pathways thoroughly
• Mulching – trip to the mulch depot!
• Potting up cacti that are being saved for the terraced slope project
• Weeding the cactus wall
• Planting some cool new plants we recently got
• Removing diseased Cannas
• Digging out old concrete on the back border and planting Calandrinias
• Weeding the Mariposa Center Garden
• Move Ceanothus from red bed, and Salvia mellifera from bench area, to dog area
• Remove Vinca from back border
• Plant lavenders in lavender hedge, and Clivias behind bench
• Defoliating rose bushes, then pruning them
• Severely edit the front border - naughty nasturtiums are back!

And here are the days that people have RSVP'd for so far (will be updated as we go):

• December 26th (Annie, Nate)
• December 29th (Annie, Jes)
• December 30th (Annie, David, Emily, Riley) 
• December 31st (Annie, Emily)
• January 1st (Annie, Nate)

Update Dec 26th: Nate and I potted up loads of cacti, defoliated the roses, planted Clivias, rearranged the three Pericallis lanata by the bench, and weeded the paths.

Update Dec 29th: Jes and I thoroughly edited the front border, removing three wheelbarrows full of nasturtiums and corn marigolds and cutting back the floppy Gaillardias. I planted three Society Garlics (Tulbaghia violacea) in the middle back bed, deadheaded all the flowers there, and cut back the aster "Bill's Big Blue." I also planted a Hibbertia astera by the bench.

Update Dec 30th: Emily, Matt, David, Riley and I cut back the Romneya coulteri and Artemisia californica, planted Calandrinias on the back border, removed diseased Cannas, dug up all the Dahlias for storage, weeded some of the red bed, moved the Salvia mellifera to the dog area and various other tidying.

Update Dec 31st: I turned a Ceanothus "King Sipp" into a living hedge by tying it to a twig border with twine, and trimmed up the Agave americanas by the info sign at the front of the garden. Emily joined me and we planted a Phlomis purpurea by the top arch, weeded, and then went down to weed about half the Mariposa Center Garden.

Update January 1st: Nate and I weeded the paths quite a bit after successfully pruning all three roses. Later on I planted three Dudleyas and four Pelargoniums. I tied our Coprosma x Kirkii "Variegata" to the woven twig border next to it (hoping for living edging!) and found two rooted branches - moved them to the twig border too. Lastly I took a division of a Salvia leucantha and planted it in the front border.

Weeds: 0. Dog peeps: 1,000,000

Today was the first Dog Owner's Invitational event at P. Garden. In other words, I leaned on a few regulars to come help me weed the dog area ;) And I have to say, it was a massive success! Pic below shows (from left) Rick and Alison (with Peekaboo, who didn't stay for the pics sadly), Matt, Maile and Eddy, and Gina (with Tank) who all cheerfully joined me in completely obliterating the weeds up in the dog area.

You can see from the pics that the area looks completely different now - and much larger! Many piles of poop were picked up, and probably 10 wheelbarrow loads of weeds, including the impressive pile of weeds Ron made in the last couple weeks (thanks Ron!) went onto the compost heap. Amazing job everyone!

We also discussed plans for that spot, including:

a) Fresh woodchips (I'll look into getting them delivered)
b) Additional biodegradable dog bags and signage.
c) A bench (to be built by Gary with funds raised by us all)
d) A fence for the dog area to allow off-leash playtime (paid with funds from a grant probably)

Everyone seemed into those things. Got comments? Send 'em in!

Also happening in the garden today included Emily's work on the area behind the bench: planting many Florist's Cineraria (Pericallis cruenta), a donation from Leah. She also planted a Trachelium caeruleum (Perennial Blue Lace Flower) "Hamer Pandora" and moved a Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) into a sunnier spot.


Matt also did a number of jobs today:

1. Smelled the Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea) - apparently it's pungent!
2. Moved an Aeonium "Sunburst" from the cactus wall to the Moby bed.
3. Pruned the outrageous cardoon
4. Moved a Mexican Feather Grass
5. Moved an Agave parryi out from under the Bladderpod

6. Pruned the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
7. Corralled some naughty Vinca major into submission
8. Pruned a Euphorbia rigida


All this in only 2 hours. As Eddy pointed out, the weeding alone would have taken me 8 hours to complete on my own. This is quite possibly the exact reason why it hasn't been done til today! ;)

Change of plan

Today I started watering around 8am. Took a break for breakfast, finally got back in the house at 1.45pm - not all watering, but also weeding, trimming, deadheading and pondering a change to the front bed.

The California poppies got rotten due to sprinkler malfunction, the Corn Marigolds are annuals, and now past their prime, and the Nasturtiums are vicious and strangling everything. So I ripped out a lot of the above today at one end, and moved two Gaillardias over from the Canna bed. (Above)

When the rest of the Corn Marigolds come out it will look very bare! Since the garden tour is in just 8 weeks (!) I need to spice the area up with plants that:

Look good year round
Have bright-colored flowers
Don't need lots of water
Look good with Gaillarias, Agapanthus, silvery Artemisia and yellow Daylillies.

I'm at a loss. Maybe the sun went to my head. I predict a trip to Home Despot is in my future, where I will stand gormlessly in front of aisles of plants trying to pick a winner. And inevitably get the wrong thing. Oh well! It's all trial and error.

Rick dropped by and he is the reason the sunflowers are alive at all, it turns out! He's been watering them this whole time. Thanks! We're getting the payoff now with our brand new flower :)

I also had a nice chat with Gina and Tank, and John came by to donate a Begonia. Oh, and the hummingbird was back, feeding on sage and aloe flowers! I tried to take a pic but... my phone's camera mojo is weak.

Above: Matilija poppy flowering for the first time!

UPDATE: Later in the afternoon, just as I was leaving for Oakland, Jim and friend rolled up with bamboo! Jim had spend ages digging it out of his friend's garden and wow - there's a lot! We will plant it along the back fence. It's the clumping kind - promise! Thanks Jim (and friend) :)

Plant profile: Eschscholzia and other poppies

What bright orange flower is the official flower of California? Hint: April 6 is California Poppy Day.

It was selected as the state flower by the California State Floral Society in December 1890, winning out over the Mariposa lily (genus Calochortus) and the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) by a landslide. Oh dear - Matilija fans (ie Matt) not amused...

There are several subspecies - we've seen very small, yellow versions in Morro Bay, compared to the bigger, orange versions here in San Francisco.

Latin name: Eschscholzia californica ("eshz-KOL-zee-ah kal-ee-FOR-nik-ah")
Common name: California poppy
Originally from: Well, um, California! Officially, the western United States throughout California, extending to Oregon, southern Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Mexico in Sonora and northwest Baja California.
Blooms: February to September, and always covered in bees.
Light: Full sun.
Water: Drought tolerant - in fact, they go floppy if you water them too much!
Where to find in P. Garden: Front beds, top bed and top middle bed.

By the off ramp

I got a big packet of California poppy seeds and sprinkled them liberally in the garden. Quickly, small plants emerged. Assuming they were weeds, I just as quickly pulled them out! Oops. But many survived, and after weeks of watching they started to bloom. Talk about a show! These things are seriously good bang for your buck - a "fling 'em and forget 'em" seed. I've added red California poppy seeds to the top bed too, and "White Linen" in the left bed. Can't wait to see those bloom.

Some clever gardeners have cultivated other various colors, but those seeds didn't germinate for me due to lack of watering I suppose. Bah. Also worth noting is that the poppies hate to be moved with a burning, fiery passion, and will die no matter how careful you are. Lesson learned.

"White Linen"

Interesting note from Wikipedia: "A common misconception associated with the plant, because of its status as a state flower, is that the cutting or damaging of the California poppy is illegal. There is no such law in California, outside of state law that makes it a misdemeanor to cut or remove any plant growing on state or county highways or public lands except by authorized government employees and contractors; it is also against the law to remove plants on private property without the permission of the owner (Cal. Penal Code Section 384a) California Penal Code."

Other plants that are also commonly known as poppies that we have in the garden are the Flanders poppy (left, Papaver rhoeas - red with a black center, in the front bed) and Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri - white with a yellow center, like a fried egg, and very tall (left bed).

Turn me over - I'm done

Got totally fried today in the garden - it was probably well over 80 degrees there, thanks to the Potrero Hill warmth, and Gary's wall reflecting the sun. Everything was wilting, including me, and my parents. Whew!

Yesterday we went to the Berkeley Arboretum and wouldn't you know it, the damn place had plants for sale. Of course, during this Week Of Excess (parental visit, all stops pulled out) I had to get a few. It was hard to choose...

We planted them, and a few previously bought things, today:

- 2 Oxalis spiralis subsp. vulcanicola "Burgundy"
- Dasylirion wheeleri (in my price range. In other words, small - it will take 10 years before you will notice it.)
- Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy)
- Dahlia imperialis (Tree Dahlia)
- 9 Crocosmia "George Davidson" bulbs
- 1 Hymenocallis festalis bulbs (Peruvian Daffodil, Spider Lily)
- 2 Hymenocallis "Sulphur Queen" (Peruvian Daffodil, Spider Lily)
- Agastache aurantiaca "Apricot" (Hyssop)
- Calla lilies (OK, to be correct I suppose I should be calling them Zantedeschia)
- packet of Linum grandiflorum var. rubrum (Red Flax) seeds from Joan

Joan actually mailed me four big packs of seeds, and I'm going to add one of them (wildflower mix) to the sunflower row at the bottom of the street on May 2nd, and the other two (Layia platyglossa (Tidy Tips) and Gazania) that are left might get saved for fall, as they need a bit of winter rain to get started.

We also weeded the steps area, my mum moved a lavender and my dad moved a big jade plant that Matt had dug up the other day to a better spot.

We also went to see Kepa today, who has been propagating seeds for us in her greenhouse. We picked up some Gallardias, sunflowers, callas, a lemon mint, rosemary and some mysterious and interesting plants that germinated from the seeds Leah gave us. Kepa has a bunch of big fat sunflowers for the May 2nd planting - oooh, it's going to be awesome!

Anyway, thank goodness for Kepa, Joan and Leah, because since my parents are leaving tomorrow and the Week of Excess is over, I won't be buying any more plants for a while (no, really!) but I will have lots of seedlings and seeds to plant. :)