New sign

Check out the new sign: Matt added it behind the bench (so it’s not staring you in the face when you’re sitting there) and we have another for the kiosk at the front of the garden.

Matt varnished a piece of wood to attach the sign to, and got a big heavy post, concreted it in, and bolted the backing to the post. It's pretty darn sturdy!

In case you can’t read it, it says:

“Thank you for helping to make this garden a safer place.

If you see people loitering, leaving trash, or vandalizing

our garden please call Police non-emergency (415) 553-0135

Find out more about Pennsylvania Garden at psgsf.org”

 
Yes, we really mean it - call the police if you see something odd at the garden. And call 911 if you see a crime in progress. Our local police officers really want to hear from you.

Before and after - the cactus wall

I like a good before and after picture set, and here's one of the cactus wall. On the left is the before aspect. taken in February 2009. The after pic, on the right, was taken yesterday - almost 2 and a half years later. So much has changed, as you can see. The Aloe nobilis hedge has really grown in. The Yuccas are established, and completely surrounded by all manner of cool succulents and so on. I think it's my favorite part of the garden!

4th of July Botanical Adventure

Any guesses as to where the first photo was taken? Somewhere in LA? A spot in SF you've never been to? You never know where you'll find a beautiful spot full of botanical interest, and the photo was taken by me from a street park in San Antonio, Texas!

Linda Pace (of Pace Picante Sauce) created Chrispark to honor the memory of her son. If you told me it was designed by a famous landscape architect I would believe you, because it is gosh darn beautiful. The street park is across from modern lofts in the historic brick building. Yes, this is Texas! Be sure to check out the plants section on their website which gives a layout of the park's plantings with great descriptions and photos.

On my trip I was also able to visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden (link here). My current favorite native plant of central Texas is the Leucophyllum frutenscens, shown first in close-up and then behind some silvery Agaves at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Just an amazing shrub from the Figwort family, a real winner that needs minimal water, can take heat, and has pink-lavender flowers like crazy all over.

So, if you ever visit San Antonio don't skip the River Walk, but also don't miss Chrispark and the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Plant profile: Nassella tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass)

Ornamental grasses used to leave me cold – grass is stuff for animals to eat in my book, so I wasn’t expecting much when I got my first Mexican Feather Grass. However, they have some lovely qualities: Mexican Feather Grass is a graceful, delicate and very fine textured ornamental grass that needs very little water. It grows in a dense fountain-like clump with slender, wiry leaves 1-2 ft tall. The silky flower clusters look great in dried arrangements.

Latin name: Nassella tenuissima ("nass-ELL-ah ten-you-ISS-im-ah") syn. Stipa tenuissima
Common name: Mexican Feather Grass, Silky Thread Grass, Ponytail Grass
Originally from: New Mexico and Texas south through central Mexico.
Blooms: Inconspicuous – grown for foliage
Light: Full sun, part sun.
Water: Rain is plenty. No summer water!
Where to find in P. Garden: The left bed has several clumps, which have seeded to other areas.
The Latin name nassa means "a basket with a narrow neck for catching fish," and tenuissima means “thin, fine or small.”

Its hair-like foliage moves with the slightest breeze, and it really contrasts well with architectural plants like Agaves and Aloes. Mexican Feather Grass has a tendency to self sow, so watch out – you’ll soon have more little mini-clumps coming up, though they’re easy to pull out if you don’t want more. Another way to propagate them is by dividing large clumps.

Warm evenings

Helichrysum bracteatum
"Monster Rose"

I went out this evening to water in the plants we planted at the weekend, and they were all looking great. I put in a couple of Crinums that have been languishing in the back, just to get them out of their pots. I don't know what kind they are but hopefully when they flower they'll be white. Well I guess we'll see!

Quite a few plants are flowering for the first time right now. The Helichrysum bracteatum "Monster Rose" is tall and narrow, and each plant has several flowers. I could go for about a dozen of these plants!

Crocosmia "Lucifer"

There's a lovely big Rudbeckia nearby too, covered in buds which I think will be orange. Is it called "Cherokee Sunset"? Can't remember. Lastly, the Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) are about to flower too - hurrah!

Other plants that have flowered before, but are at it again, include the Aloe nobilis hedge, the Dahlias and the Crocosmia "Lucifer" - lots of hot orangey red going on in the garden. Drop by and see it all!

Corn marigolds get their comeuppance

The back border cleaned up.

Bright and cheerful though they are, the corn marigolds (Chrysanthemum segetum) do tend to get out of hand. At today's volunteer day Heather and her mum spent quite some time removing clumps of them that were past their best. They also planted a yarrow (Achillea millefolium) near the bench that was donated by Anna today.

We were also joined by John, who, alongside Carlin, weeded in the dog area, planted two lavenders and watered the entire lavender hedge. John also watered the brights bed and a whole lot of other spots that needed a boost.

By the kiosk: before

I set up some sprinklers around the left bed and planted a purple Osteospermum in a gap there. The left bed doesn't get any sprinkler action from the weekly watering, so we'll give it some water manually every couple of months. 

Nate and Tanya deadheaded a huge number of plants, which means more flowers for everyone to see, and Matt bought a strong pole for the new signs we have to put up, as well as sanding and varnishing a wooden backing for one. Hopefully we'll get that put up this week.

Kiosk area revamped!

Lastly Carl and I worked on the area by the kiosk. We installed edgers, weeded thoroughly, added dirt, and planted half a dozen Aloe brevifolia along the edge. Finishing up with some water, a gravel mulch, and a thorough sweeping of the entire sidewalk, brick path and entrance way, it really looks fantastic!

Update: Matt and I went to Flora Grubb later in the day and saw some cool blue grasses for the back border, on sale. We got 6 Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Avena Grass) and planted them, plus some Aeoniums we had kicking around, right away.  When the orange Calendulas fill in, it'll be a nice look.

Volunteer Day this saturday

Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)

Come on down! The weather will be warm, the garden just got rained on, and we have a host of projects small and large that need your attention in the garden. We might even get to make that compost bin we've been talking about for a month now...

We start at 10am and work til 12pm. Drinks will br available!

New tees in the house!

We'd been selling tees through Cafepress but they skim off so much money that we were only making about $2 per sale - not worth it. So we recently had about 50 tees made for us by Eco Imprints here in Potrero Hill and let me tell you, they are gorgeous.

Silk screened in two yummy shades of green on an organic cotton tee in 4 sizes, they make the perfect gardening tee. Go check 'em out! They're cheaper than the old tees, better quality, and your purchase of a tee brings $20 straight to the garden - much better for everyone!

June 18th Workday... whew!

The workday today was an amazing success, a crew of ten worked over the garden (in a good way!) and it is looking better than ever. Jon cut back the Chasmanthe, the white Nicotiana, and removed all the corn marigolds that were making it difficult to walk in the paths. Carl, Debbie, Bekah, Leigh, Tanya and Paloma removed weeds from the brights bed and along the pathways. Nate and Carl also redid a twig border leading to the dog area (thanks guys!) and Ryan watered all of the new/newer plantings and the Cordylines by the arch. Matt, Ron and Gina were also at the garden for bit, and I think everyone generally had a great time.

Safety

We're always on the lookout for ways to protect the garden. It's unfenced, so anyone can walk in at any time of the day or night, and sometimes people steal plants, break things, leave trash, pull off the freeway for a quick pee or just sit around drinking and being obnoxious. Before we had a garden there we had a guy living in the bushes for over 4 months, and while the love and attention showered on the spot has greatly improved things, we still get the occasional problem.

With input from our lovely neighbors we've decided to make a sign (see a mock-up, above) to put in the garden. The purpose of this sign is twofold. First, it tells people we have noticed and don't appreciate their nasty habits.

The second and main point of the sign is directed at the law-abiding among us: it asks you, the neighbor, to please call SF Police non-emergency if you see crime happening in the garden and report it. That number is (415) 553-0123 - put it in your phone right now.

Since Jim began organizing neighborhood watch meetings on our block, we have come to learn that our local police are great guys who are very responsive to crime in our area: they will send extra patrols around right quick if they get a tip off that people are being annoying on our block. They WANT to know, they WISH you'd call and they CAN do something about it! Our main guy there is Sergeant Troy Dangerfield - I mean come on, he's practically got a comic book superhero cop name. Don't you want to call him up? ;)

Now, if you aren't sure whether to call, but just have an icky feeling about someone in the garden, call anyway! Yes, that's what the police said. Call anyway. Listen to your gut.

And if you see violent crime happening - a fight, attack, mugging etc, well I don't need to tell you the number for that - 911.

Thanks everyone for doing your part to make the block safer.

A few additions

On Tuesday the sun was out and I wanted to get a couple of extra plants put in the ground to complete the area behind the wrong way sign. I popped down to Flowercraft and got 12 Artemisias (two 6-packs of starts; one was "Powis Castle" and the other is just called "Dusty" - it's the wider leaved type we have in the front border).

These little guys love a dry spot and will fill in between the bold, architectural Agaves, Aloes and Phormium with a soft, silvery, feathery effect.

I planted them in our new area, and weeded a bit. I added kitchen scraps to the compost pile and noted that the Shirley Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) that Sophia and Jess helped me plant managed to grow a couple flowers up by the lavender hedge - shown left. It's a pity more didn't come up, but next year I expect they'll have a better chance to strut their stuff.

Plant profile: Scabiosa

Non stop flower action - that's what Scabiosas bring to the garden. Deadhead away and they'll keep flowering, and all without much water at all. And for a busy gardener that's a winner.

Latin name: Scabiosa ("scab-ee-OH-sah")
Common name: Pincushion Flower
Originally from: Europe and Asia
Blooms: Light blue, lavender, white and pink flowers adorn various species, but my favorite is the deep burgundy S. atropurpurea "Ace of Spades"
Light: Full sun, part sun.
Water: Rain is plenty. Little summer water is needed.
Where to find in P. Garden: S. atropurpurea "Ace of Spades" lives in the left bed, while a few light blue Scabiosa anthemifolias live in the middle back bed.

You can buy Scabiosa seed but the plants are readily available so unless you enjoy coddling tiny plants, just grab a few 4" sized pots at Annie's Annuals or somewhere and have at it.

UPDATE June 2016:
Treat these as a fun annual - we don't have any left as they tend not to make it longer than a year for us, but fun times when they are around!