Introducing: Garden Interns!

Brittany & Shelby

Last Friday there was a very special workday scheduled especially for our interns, Brittany and Shelby, from San Francisco City College! These lovely ladies contacted me about earning their 16 hours of horticulture experience with us at Pennsylvania Garden. Our neighborhood is so lucky to have them pitching in! My mom, Debbie, was visiting for the day, so she helped as well.

After giving them a mini-tour we all set into to weeding the dog area. It has gotten pretty weedy up there, and we need to prepare the site in order to install some physical barrier under the mulch (carpet tiles? landscaping fabric?). Next task was to dispose of all the trash that has collected down at the Mariposa Center Garden. It was a productive workday, and I'll have to devise some fun gardening for us next week.

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.

Sunny Rainy Kind of Day

Kate pauses from weeding

Bonkers may be the word Annie would use to describe the weather on Monday, and I think it fits! Masses of rain clouds blew over the garden and were followed by bright sunshine, warm sunshine even, while Kate and I gardened.

Tasks of the day included weeding the walkway from the bench up and around the brights bed, weeding the bed along the pathway adjacent to the brights bed, and pruning back a Salvia that had overtaken a Leucadendron.

We weren't in the garden very long, but it was so beautiful out we couldn't help but get outside and do some work in the rain/sun! Be on the lookout of interesting mushrooms around the garden and remember to look but not touch, mushrooms can be some seriously bad stuff even when just touched.

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.

Plant profile: Philadephus (Mock Orange)

Latin name: Philadelphus ("fill-ah-DELL-fuss")
Common name: Mock Orange
Originally from: North America, Central America, Asia and southeast Europe.
Blooms: Sweet scented white flowers from Spring to mid Summer.
Light: Full sun to part shade
Water: Rain is plenty. No summer water needed, but enjoys a little.
Height x width: 5' tall x 6' wide
USDA Zones: 5-10
Where to find in P. Garden: When you're sitting on the bench, it's to your right, by the arch.

Talk about old fashioned plants! Our Philadelphus is "Belle Etoile," a hybrid of uncertain parentage from the 1900s, is one of the most fragrant in the bunch, and has a longer flowering period than others, as well as a more compact habit. That said, she's still a blowsy gal with loose arching branches. I will prune her annually to see if we can make the form a bit tighter. Since Philadelphus flowers best on second year wood, the time to prune is right after they're done flowering. Happily, this year's blooms were plentiful, very long lasting and very sweet smelling.

They are named "mock orange" in reference to their flowers, which in wild species look somewhat similar to those of oranges and lemons at first glance, and smell of orange flowers and jasmine. The scent is strong enough to waft on the breeze, which is why I planted this by the bench. We tend to get a lot of car fumes wafting in from the freeway, so I hope this counteracts that smell a bit.

Philadelphus californicus is the Mock Orange native to our state, and we'd like to get a specimen for the garden sometime.

FUF & Stuff

Ok, first off I know everyone that reads this blog probably already has a street tree or wants one in front of their home or business. However, if you are needing more trees or know people that should have a tree, please contact Doug at Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF). 

FUF is organizing a street tree planting day for our neighborhood - maybe you saw the signs - so this is your opportunity to get a new tree put in front of your home or business at a VERY low cost! You can also volunteer to help put in the trees - should be a fun day You know Annie and I will be there!

Contact: Doug Lybeck
Community Outreach Coordinator
Friends of the Urban Forest
dougly@fuf.net
415-268-0773

Second, just did some tidying up around the garden which included weeding out from underneath the Agave in the middle bed, weeding and cutting back in the bed with the Linaria in it (among other lovely plants) and general well, you may have guessed.... more weeding. Cardoon is coming back in style also, and butterflies are everywhere! To summarize, get yourself to the garden!

Bring it On Volunteer Workday

Paloma introduces Cleo

 So much was done on Saturday I am not even sure where to start! It was a beautiful day, perfect for getting work done in the garden. Almost everyone brought something special to the garden today- I brought my mom Debbie, and Mary brought herself there early with expert gardening skills (!). We all chatted while I hauled out all the supplies for the day. Then came Carlin, who brought a bundle of branches for making twig borders and on top of that, Jackie came and brought a flat of tomatoes from her garden to share with everyone. Paloma and Jim brought the littlest gardener, their baby Cleo. Whew! After a bit Elliot even showed up, and he brought a great attitude for getting stuff done.

Here is what we accomplished:

Elliot & Jackie's twig border 

- Front left bed mostly de-grassed and mulched; path swept
- Twig border repair
  - Weeding pathways and french drain
  - Watering terrace plants, aloe bed in dog area and lavenders
  - Cutback Crocosmia 'lucifer', Canna, Yarrow, general dead-heading around the garden

After all that hard work we drank some Izze's by the bench and watched a cute little mouse scampering back and forth from under the Tibouchina to the Agastache just inches away from all of us. The mouse resisted a good photograph, but we all agreed, it was cute and very outgoing to get so close to all of us humans!

Jackie and her tomato bounty

Groundbreaking date to be announced soon

Great news: PUC has approved everything, DPW ditto, and we are once again re-doing the timelines and getting the quotes revised so we can break ground in late October. FuF will help us plant trees in early November, and after that we'll install the decomposed granite sidewalk. Look out for a notice about tree planting day soon - we need YOUR help to do this. If you signed up in the past to help us, now is the time we need you. Thanks!

Plant Profile: Kniphofia

"Wayside Flame"

Latin name: Kniphofia ("niff-O-fee-ah")
Common name: Tritoma, Red hot poker, Torch lily or Poker plant
Originally from: Africa, Madagascar and Yemen.
Blooms: Red, orange, yellow, cream to lime green flowers on various hybrids.
Light: Full sun.
Water: Rain is plenty. No summer water needed, but enjoys a little and flowers better with it.
Height x width: 3-5' wide x 2-5' tall.
USDA Zones: 6-11
Where to find in P. Garden: We have several! One in almost every bed right now.

Kniphofia uvaria "Flamenco"

The genus Kniphofia was named for Johannes Hieronymus Kniphof, 1704-1763, who was a professor of medicine at Erfurt University in Germany, and whose impossible to pronounce last name makes many gardeners queasy about the Kniphofia's too. His name was pronounced KNIP-hoff. The plant?  nye-FOE-fee-ah, knip-HOFF-ee-ah, nee-FOE-fee-ah... choose any you like!

"Dwarf Yellow"

Kniphofia belongs to the family Asphodelaceae which comprises 17 genera (10 of which occur in South Africa) and about 750 species. About 70 species of Kniphofia occur in Africa. The genus Kniphofia is very closely related to the genus Aloe. In fact, the first Kniphofia to be described, namely K. uvaria, was mistakenly thought to be an Aloe and as a result was initially named Aloe uvaria.

Brought to the UK in 1707, they were kept carefully in greenhouses until 1848, when someone had the bright idea of planting them outdoors, and their great hardiness was discovered.

Tough and drought tolerant, these are a great plant for a low water garden - some species more so than others. They all like excellent drainage, and hummingbirds are attracted to their copious nectar, and if you keep them deadheaded they'll continue flowering for many months.

We have quite a few of these, as mentioned. Here's a rundown:

Kniphofia thomsonii
(Alpine Poker)

The species:
Kniphofia northiae “Octopus Red-Hot Poker”  Well worth growing for the foliage alone! Astonishing, Aloe–like rosettes, 4-6’ across, sport extremely wide leaves – to 6” across - with vibrant orange and yellow flowers. Ours is still a tiny baby, in the middle front bed.

Kniphofia thomsonii (Alpine Poker) is among the more strikingly distinct Kniphofia. The well spaced individual flowers, each gracefully down-curved, give the plant a unique look. Ours is planted at the top of the dog area, in front of a bronze colored Phormium tenax.

Kniphofia uvaria is a mostly winter rainfall species that grows in seeps, marshes, and streams on sandstone slopes and flowers in spring. We have a group of three in the brights bed.


The hybrids:

"Pineapple Popsicle"

"Dwarf Yellow" - tough,  bright yellow and a relentless bloomer from late spring to late summer in a somewhat smaller size. The middle back bed is anchored by this cultivar.

Kniphofia uvaria "Flamenco" - an early flowering type in yellow, orange and fiery red.  

"Pineapple Popsicle" - yellow to cream flowers on this one. It's new, and lives in the left bed.

"Wayside Flame"

"Wayside Flame" - bright, yet soft orange shades for midsummer excitement. The middle of the brights bed gets a dose of color from this one.

"Yellow Cheer" - dense yellowish orange buds, infused with chartreuse open to pumpkin-yellow flowers late in the season. I can't actually remember where I put this one...

UPDATE June 2016:
Well these are some super-tough plants but there have been some ups and downs. Dwarf Yellow, Pineapple Popsicle, Wayside Flame, and whichever one I put in the middle back bed are doing great. K. thomsonii - sad face! I would plant another in a less drastic spot though. K. northiae was presumed dead, but resurrected! Still hasn't flowered yet. I gave it some compost and a drink.

Cleanup day becomes week!

My garden helper for most of the week was my grumpy cocker spaniel Bentley (pic) who was often not content to be at the bench by himself. Fortunately he doesn't mind lounging on burlap, so I set him up by me while I deadheaded and generally cleaned out the front left bed.

Echinacea purpurea

There is lots to do around the garden any time of the year, but at the end of Summer as it starts to transition to Fall, well, things can start to look a little ratty. The shaggy Agapanthus starts to loose its color, Alstroemerias flop, and corn marigolds turn crisp...this list goes on and on! While many plants are finishing their summer show right now many others are gearing up - be sure to check out some of the Agastaches, Salvias and Aster that are all Fall bloomers.

One picture shows our grouping of three Echinacea in the brights bed on the way to the dog area, they should flower throughout the Fall.

The Linaria purpurea (pic) by the bench is even giving a second go of it, and with a little cutting back, may continue to flower. That plant has been an unexpected winner for us at the garden - I highly recommend it for a partial shade spot in your backyard.

Linaria purpurea

A quick 3 hours in the garden

It's amazing how time flies when you're in the garden. This morning Matt and I went up to potter around a bit and before we know it, 2pm had arrived.

Matt worked on potting up more cuttings, and I set sprinklers around all the new plants. I also realized I'll be out of town soon and some plants need to go from pot to ground and get settled in before then. So I pulled out a few plants and forced myself to pick spots for them.

Kniphofia northiae - this massive Kniph was one Emily picked up recently and it's going to be a stunner. Where better to put it than in the middle front bed?

The area under the first cherry plum tree has been a source of annoyance for quite some time. Various Oenotheras seed there and in the summer I think "well, they're flowering - better than nothing!  Then they start to look awful and I rip them out. Bare spot! The Achilleas I put there needed more sun and almost died out, and the Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Lady) bulbs are almost done flowering. I'll move them next month when they're dormant to a place where they won't flop over the path.

I ripped out all the Oenotheras and decided it was a great spot for 2 plants we had waiting: Phlomis fruticosa (Jerusalem sage) is a trusty xeric plant, with silvery leaves and yellow flowers. We had potted up a cutting ages ago and it went in under one of the cherry plum trees. Next to it went a Choisya ternata "Sundance" (Mexican orange blossom) that I got at the Flowercraft scratch'n'dent section a while back. These two ought to fill the area with evergreen silver or chartreuse foliage respectively, and will both manage a part shade spot fine.

 3 Lithodora diffusa went in along the front of the brights bed, a Coreposis gigantea in the middle front bed, everything got a good soaking, and the day was done.

Volunteer day: potting up

Patrick plants Aptenia

Today's volunteer workday started a little overcast and gloomy, but ended up sunny and fine as usual.

Things that got done:

John came over and traded me loads of Aptenia cordifolia cuttings for loads of Calandrinia spectabilis cuttings. A win for everyone!

Patrick then planted all the Aptenia cuttings into 4 flats as ground cover for the SPUR project (now known as the Pennsylvania Railroad Garden). He and Matt potted up all the Euphobia lambiis we have waiting for that project into 2 gallon or larger pots, as well as a load of Salvia "Anthony Parker."

Doryanthes palmeri

Patrick also swept the pathways into the garden neatly, which may seem like a pointless job with so much mulch floating around but it really makes a difference in my opinion. I like a neat path - so sue me!

Matt moved the Doryanthes palmeri (Spear Lily) from it's spot in the brights bed, completely hidden from view, to a much more prominent area as it deserves.

Eddy pruned back the naughty Dipogon lignosus vine on the arch at the entrance and stopped it's rampant spread into the next door bed. That was a task I was sort of hoping never to have to do, and Eddy made it so. The vine has had a severe haircut and should behave itself for a while now, fingers crossed!

Lavandula, Tibouchina
and Plectranthus

Bill and Jeanie cut back spent Chasmanthes, Cannas and Achilleas in the left and brights bed, and I moved the water sprinkler around and gave everything a nice drink. I also tidies the pots behind the shed and pruned several  branches from the cherry plum trees by the bench to let in more light and prevent heads hitting them when you go to sit down.

I potted up a flat of 4" pots of succulents and had a nice chat with Janet about how frustrating certain granting bodies who shall remain nameless can be, and the day was done.