Calliandra replaces Encelia

 I replaced a perfectly good Encelia farinosa (Brittlebush, Incienso) that had never flowered as prolifically as I wanted with Calliandra eriophylla (Pink fairyduster, Mesquitillo).

The Encelia was at times an inspired choice - it had a ~2.5' rounded growth habit with perennial gray - almost white- leaves that looked great in a summer evening garden.  It glowed in the moonlight.  

However, it grew a bit wide for the spot I had in mind and crowded the top and sides of the small sandy berm on which it was planted.  It never flowered as prolifically as I wanted (I've seen specimens absolutely covered with yellow flowers) and then it recently seemed to be a bit in decline. Pruning could have addressed this, but ultimately I wanted a bit more architectural interest, visibility through the its replacement, attractive flowers, and the ability to use more of the berm on which it was placed.  

 I think that its replacement, Calliandra eriophylla meets those requirements.  I've previously planted its larger relative, Calliandra californica, and it flourished in my garden against a south-facing concrete wall.  C. eriophylla should be a bit more dainty and with appropriate pruning it ought to be a bit more open, sculptural, and accommodating to adjacent plantings.

Purchases at Theodore Payne

 On 11/12/2020 I purchased the following native plants at Theodore Payne

Aquilegia formosa 4" - three @ $12.75 that are now share space in the front rose garden, since they will do well with more water than they are likely to get elsewhere.

Quersuc durata 1G - 1 @ 11.90 - A whim purchase.  Can I grow this on my hillside and keep it low?  This is a shrub oak tree and mine looks like it's two in a 1 gal pot, so root competition may keep it smaller.  Not local to PV, but rather the surrounding LA mountains.  PV is often left off of the "what grows here" charts since it is widely separated from documented occurrences by the moat of greater Los Angeles.  Calflora has a settable parameter with a default of 10 miles of "moat".  With 10 miles or more of separation between a place of documented growth and your area of interest the answer is "doesn't grow there", even if it quite likely used to or will. 

Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' 1G - 1 @ 10.20 - Tony Baker suggested that I try this in the large pot near my front door.  It gets full direct and reflected sun in summer and hardly any light at all in winter.  Her suggested I pair it with strawberries, which I have did a few weeks ago.  Looking good so far.

Calliandra eriphylla 1G - 1 @11.90 - The smaller and pink version of Baja Fairyduster (Calliandra californica) that may be more garden suitable for me.  Need to make a place for this. This is an eastern desert plant, so my sunny and sandy soil berm will be suitable.

Oenothera elata ssp hookeri 4" - 3 @ 12.75.  Hooker's Evening Primrose.  Hooker is a last name.  This probably wants more water than I planned to give it, so I'm in a bit of a replan about where to put it.  These ended up low on the east side of the native garden berm, near a fountain. 

Lepechinia fragrans 1G - 1 @ 11.90 - I thought my parents might like this, since it is low water and full sun to part shade.  It might work well off the patio of their house.  I have one that's moved around my garden and is now on the lower side of my hill.  It doesn't seem to be doing incredibly well, but a winter in teh ground may help it along.

Dudleya traskiae 1 G - 1 @ 11.90 

Sisrinchium bellum 1 G - 1 @ 8.50 - Planted at my parent's house.  Not even sure why I bought this since I have a ton that could have dug up.

Festuca rubra 'Molate' seed 0.25 lb 17.00 - seems to work well in my yard.

Allium bulbs 2 @ 8.00

wild Gladiolus? No.

When we asked we were told this beautiful plant was a "wild Gladiolus". Perhaps they have naturalized in Sissinghurst, which is where this photo was taken. Web searches on "wild Gladiolus" don't immediately come back with an unambiguous identity, so I emailed Sissinghurst, who, everhelpful, corrected us.

Hi Brent,

The plant you saw was Dierama pulcherrimum, Hopefully, when you google it now, you will be able to see it. It’s a lovely plant and easy to grow too.

Kind regards,

Helen Champion

What a rewarding email to read.  Indeed, Helen has it exactly right.  It's also known as a Fairy Wand or Wand Plant according to Native Sons Nursery who seem to occasionally stock it.

See also Pacific Bulb Society.

It turns out to be a hard plant to find in my area.  I have ordered one bare root plant and 20 seeds from out of state.  We'll see how it goes.

Malva propagation

I waited for the easy time of year to make cuttings, soak, coat in Root Tone (use your preferred brand of rooting hormone) and place in small pots. Several days of rain shortly after kept them hydrated.

I place two or more cuttings per pot to allow for attrition.

Earthside Nature Center in Pasadena

I was combing through cobwebs of the internet and came across this blog post celebrating an Earthside Nature Center that had never heard of before.  Sadly, it seems long gone.

My attention drawn to promoting native bees this morning, led to thinking about annual wildflowers, which reminds me of the most beautiful native garden I ever saw.
It was the grounds of Earthside Nature Center in Pasadena, the work of Kevin Connelly, whom I was privileged to meet with there.
The author of Gardener's Guide to California Wildflowers (Theodore Payne Foundation, 1991) he tended those gardens with loving care -- showcasing beautiful beds of California native annual wildflowers.
In previous times the indigenous glory of the low-elevation areas where most of us make our "native gardens" was largely our native annual wildflowers. Entirely too few of our "native gardens" are graced with baby blue eyes, clarkias, gilias, goldfields, meadowfoam, phacelias, tidy tips and the like.
Too few of our "native gardens" also, graced with our native geophytes such as blue dicks, colony onion, fritillaries, Ithuriel's spear, mariposa lilies, soap root, and the like.<\em>

Link
http://hometown-pasadena.com/history/digging-up-secrets-in-lamanda-park-part-3/84425

Sadly, it looks it's  long gone - There's no recent mention in the LA Times, which does offer this article:

LA Times:
Earthside Nature Center Offers Annual Wildflower Walkabouts
April 11, 1987|BONNIE SOULELES

If you don't want to drive to the Antelope Valley or trudge up a mountain to view California's annual explosion of color, pack up a picnic lunch and take the family to the annual Wildflower Walkabouts at the Earthside Nature Center, 3168 E. Del Mar Blvd. in Pasadena. Informal guided tours of this secluded, tranquil environment will be led by knowledgeable docents today, Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The center, once an eyesore used for dumping trash, nestled between a flood control channel and Southern California Edison power lines, is now a microcosm of the California plant world. Inside this magic kingdom, it is shady and cool and the only sounds are the crunching of leaves and the chirping of birds.

You can expect to find a festival of blossoms including baby blue eyes, phacelia, black sage, wild iris, lupine and the ubiquitous poppy. A stroll down leaf-strewn paths, past a serene pond under spreading oaks and sycamores demonstrates what can be accomplished when land is reclaimed and cared for.

Admission is $3 for adults, $1.50 for students under 18 and senors over 55. The center can be reached from the 210 Freeway. Take the Rosemead off-ramp south to Del Mar, then right for approximately one-half mile. Park along the curb and enter on foot via the driveway at the east side of the Girls Club building. The guided tour takes about one hour. Picnic facilities are available next door at Eaton Blanche Park. For information call (818) 796-XXXX.

Pillared rose using a timber post

In England we saw a number of ways of trellising roses that aren't commonly seen in S. California.  There's this drift of rambling rose over a felled tree that I though was particularly picturesque:

Rambling rose on a felled tree, England, 2019

This requires the sort of space that we are typically short on in S. California, but there was another technique we saw that I subsequently learned was called pillaring: A climbing rose is planted near (12" from) the base of a wooden post and twined about it making more efficient use of space and allowing incorporation vertical garden elements.

The following two pictures after the jump make the concept clear.

2019 Western Redbuds were outstanding

2019 was the year that Western Redbuds along my driveway really were impressive.  They were planted in early 2012.   In previous years I was happy with them, but this year the colors - even after their bloom - were outstanding.  Redbuds bloom in the early months of the year, but quickly way to pods.  The flower bloom is beautiful but ephemeral.  Something happened this year that was unexpected: Normally, I dislike these pods which follow the flowers that the tree is known for, but this year they were such a deep red / mahogany color that I felt they just continued the beauty show.  Here they are in May:

More below the break

Erigeron glaucus in a pot

Here's an idea I could implement at home. The photo is from Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens and doesn't look all that imposing.  However, that is Erigeron glaucus, which has a wonderful extended bloom during other parts of the year. The photo was taken at the end of summer (10/5/2019) so it's looking nice and tidy given the extended heat it's been through.

Timber Posts

It's true - they do exist at specialty providers like C&E Lumber.  I wrote about an impending visit earlier.

More photos below the jump.

Timber post supplier

I've had a hard time finding poles or landscape timbers longer than 8'.  I can easily get dimensional lumber that is more than 8' in length, but for certain garden construction projects it really improves the project aesthetics to have a more rustic or natural look.

For example, in England we observed that climbing roses were often trained up a solitary pole, a practice I subsequently learned was called pillaring. Yes, it's a verb.  The poles resembled branches or trunks of small trees, which added to the naturalistic effect.  The major big box stores (HD, Lowes) have landscape timbers (flats on two opposite sides, curved on the adjacent sides) and poles in 8' lengths.  Armstrong had stakes (~2-1/2" diameter pressure treated round lumber) in 8' and 10' length.  These were all deemed too short (about 1/3 of the above-ground height should be in-ground for stability) and too thin (a substantial look is desire, so maybe a minimum of 4" diameter was wanted).  Ganahl had a similar 8' (max) selection, but referred me to my new favorite garden supplier C & E Lumber (CElumber.com).  They _specialize_ in posts.  Who ever heard of that??!  I can't wait to visit.

TPF 2/16/19

In years past, this is the sort of thing that a gardener would tape into their garden notebook. I'll just leave it here.

For later search:

Lepechinia cardiophylla 1 9.00
Diplacus (Mimulus) 'Trish' 2 16
Calystegia macrstegia 1 9.00
Styrax redivivus 1 9.00
Cirsium occidentale 4" 3 13.50
Carex pansa 4" 12 54.00
Seeds 2 9.00

Brent - via iPhone

The plant sales start early

Made the following purchase at Annie's Annuals at sale prices.  While this is clear-out-the old type of sale, the bring-in-the-new type of native plant sales are just around the corner.  I hope I can bridge the end months of summer with these plants into the cooler establishment months of autumn. 

With shipping, I pay the same price at Annie's as full retail in my neck of the woods (Los Angeles area) but I don't have to put up with traffic.  Also, I figured out a way to filter Annie's web site sale items for California Native plants, so it made my selection easier. (As a side note, having decided that I will garden with Ca native plants exclusively actually makes my gardening easier.  Imagine the analysis paralysis that I would have if I could choose outside that slice of the plant world.) 

I already have one successful 'Margarita BOP' Penstemon but two others failed in nearby locations.  I'll get a retry with this order.  Also, I'll have a similar set of P. 'Blue Springs' to play with - maybe I will plant them together in a big drift or two. 

The Monardella 'Marian Sampson' is an experiment.  I think that underneath the Encelia where it will get occasional summer water would be a good place.  Apparently it's hard to establish, so I will improve my odds with two.



Annie's received the following order on 08/20/19
Order Information:
Order #235504

Item ID	Product Name	Quantity	Unit Price	Total
4611	Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP'	2	$6.71	$13.42
5062	Monardella macrantha 'Marian Sampson'	2	$5.96	$11.92
818	Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs' "Foothill Penstemon"	2	$6.71	$13.42
		Subtotal		$38.76
		Sales Tax (9.50%)		$3.68
		Shipping		$13.95
		Total		$56.39
		Credit Card		$56.39

Purchases from Matilija Nursery

Back in mid december I made the following purchases from Matilija Nursery.  I hadn't been before, and I had a good time talking with the owner, Bob.  He was particularly impressed that I made the longish drive from home.  I managed to combine it with a trip to the Payne Foundation and a tasty rib lunch, so it wasn't too much of a chore for me.

Heuchera maxima (Island coral bells) - 5x 1gal for the front yard next to the driveway.
Iris 'Wilder Than Ever' - 5x 1gal also for the front yard next to the driveway.  I have a swath of 'Canyon Snow' and a swath of these now.  I hope that's a good plan - I was trying for something more orderly than random irises.  It doesn't look like they will bloom this year, but they do seem healthy. Planting out waited a month or so on the Bob's recommendation because the Iris weren't quite well-rooted enough when I purchased them.  Now, as I write in April, they seem to all made it past the crucial first month or so despite major garden soil excavations from the local skunks or possums (looking for grubs).

Monardella odoratissima (Mountain monardella) - 1x 5gal. This is A wonderfully strong and wild-smelling mint.  According to CalFlora there are two observations in Los Angeles County; one is identified as M. glauca, one as M. odoratissima.  There are three subspecies: Monardella odoratissima ssp. glauca, Monardella odoratissima ssp. odoratissima, Monardella odoratissima ssp. pallida.  I'm not sure which one this is.  Come by some time and take a smell - it's marvelous.  I have it atop a sandy berm in my back yard near a path so that passersby can reach out and get the smell on their hands.

Sisyrinchium bellum (Blue-eyed grass) - 4x1gal. There are a number of selections of this plant in teh plant trade - often cute dwarf varieties. I've fallen for their cuteness many times.  However, I've also had consistent bad luck with the cute ones lasting in my garden.  I think they require more water and shade than I can give.  I have had good luck with the regular species, so these augment some existing plants.  I had one volunteer this year as well, so perhaps with a critical mass of S. bellum I will have a self-sustaining colony. 

Moving along in the garden

Moving along in the garden with purchase of five iris 'Wilder than ever' for the front.  For the back, mostly seeds right now except one 5 gal Monardella odoratissima which lives up to its name with a powerful and wondrous wild mint scent 

Brent - via iPhone

Forgotten garden TO DO list that I just stumbled across

All of these have been done already, or are overcome by events (OBE). Go TO DO list, go!!

~Clematis ligusticifolia (Virgin's Bower or Yerba De Chiva) located on front fence.  Confirmed purchased from Annie's in 2013 as "Western White Clematis“ Move from the front fence - needs shade to part shade.  Move to S side yard by fruit trees? By Western Redbud?

~Erigeron glaucus (Seaside Daisy) from pool area where it doesn’t thrive to another area (slope by hot tub? Rose garden? Adjacent to fr. lawn path?).  Don’t know what selections I have.  Generally seems to have adaptable soil, moderate to regular water, and part shade (inland).  Shade and water is probably the issue.  Even though I’m not that far inland, it’s very exposed in my back yard, I water infrequently, and the soil is poor where they are located.  10/22/16: Juli agrees that we can try it in the rose garden in front, providing I'm willing to move it again if it doesn't work out (no doubt by her definition).  I agree.  I watered this one well 10/23 & 24 prior to digging it up for the move.

~Heteromeles arbutifolia, (Toyon) 8-15' H x 10-15' W per TPF.  Move from container to neighbor’s yard just past N fence gate.


~(some at TPF 10-27) Fragaria (Strawberry) for rose garden ground cover. Species Name: Fragaria chiloensis 'Green Pastures'. Common Name: Green Pastures beach strawberry


~Sisyrinchium bellum (Blue eyed grass) for rose garden ground cover.  Two of the species acquired from PVLC on 10/22/16 at their sale.

10-25 at TPF: Sisyrinchium bellum                  1G     Blue Eyed Grass     50     $9.00

~Rhus integrifolia (Lemonade berry) - Got one from PVLC sale on 10/22/16 with the intention of using it where the salt bush is, completely throwing away my idea for Malacothamnus fasciculatus or Dendromecon harfordii.   In the light of the next day I think I should go back to M. fascicualtus as a replacement for the salt bush plants.  Juli indicated that she wanted a climbing rose on the pool equipment iron work, and I didn't agree with this given the differing water needs for the rose versus the rest of the hillside.  She was still insistent.  Now I have to rethink everything in light of competing water and light issues.

A tree’s genetics picks its fungus

From Ars Technica, an interesting study about the Pinyon pine and its fungal associations.

...
Researchers took seeds from drought-tolerant and drought-intolerant trees, then exposed them to soil containing fungal communities from both drought-tolerant and drought-intolerant roots. Even when grown with the opposite soil, the seeds ignored the local fungal community; both drought-tolerant and drought-intolerant seeds still cultivated the same species of fungus as their adult forbears.

It turned out that the inheritance of the fungus is what actually made the different trees drought-tolerant or drought intolerant; seeds from drought-tolerant mothers only grew larger than their drought-intolerant cousins when in the presence of their attendant fungi. The tree’s genetics simply helped it recruit specific species of fungi.
...

Pima Country Public Library circulates seeds too

"In addition to books and DVDs, in 2012 the Pima Country Public Library system became one of the first in the nation to circulate seeds. Aspiring gardeners can look up varieties electronically, put seeds on reserve and check out 10 packs at a time. Availability changes with the seasons: By mid-September, tomato seeds are long gone, but many other seeds — including dill, arugula, cucumbers, the flat white teardrop shapes of squash seeds, and the small dry beads of tepary beans — rattle in paper envelopes. Participating branches offer support as well as seeds, such as gardening classes, brochures, and, of course, books. The greenest beds flourish with flowers, herbs, vegetables and an idea: That public libraries can be resources for local food growers as well as local readers."

See more High Country News (http://www.hcn.org/articles/communities-tucsons-seed-library-fosters-food-sovereignty-in-a-desert).

Broken hoe

I like the design of this hoe.  I had a memory that it might be called a skiffle hoe, but I probably made that up.  "Scuffle hoe" actually returns search results using Google.  In any case, it does a far better job at weeding than a standard hoe due to the way the angle of the blade glides in the top layer of soil as opposed to digging down into it.

It's broken now after several years of service.  I'll be looking for a replacement since the rain has brought up all sorts of weeds and this is just the sort of tool to demolish them when they are young.  The one drawback of this hoe was that the spring steel of the blade wasn't sharpened and it didn't take an edge easily. The one I have resembles the "Luster Leaf WW100 Original Winged Weeder" which the ad copy claims is sharpened, but it's not. Nonetheless, the blunt edge worked well enough to break off weeds.  Other triangle and diamond-shaped hoes with a similar cutting angle also seem appealing so I might give those a try.  Those tend to look like they have an actual sharp edge. 

Alternative designs like a "hula hoe" aren't the right tool for me based on prior experience.

Definition of gardening

Gardening - The slowest of the performing arts.

Source: Garden Design Magazine

Last harvest this year

Sent from my iPhone at great expense