Sambucus Mexicana - I think!

This weekend I did a quite a lot in the garden, and so did Woodrat - and another whole day lies ahead of us. But more of that in another post, I hope. One thing I did was dig up an elderberry volunteer and put it in a pot for a neighbor. It's the elderberry I'll write more about today.

It's an amazing thing: it's only since I've been paying attention that the elderberries have suddenly appeared around here. How does that work? You can't not notice a sprouting bush - they do grow quickly. And at this time of year their blossoms are stunning, all over the neighborhood and beyond! How did I miss this?

I think our local elderberries are blue elderberry, Sambucus mexicana. To be sure, I went off googling to check and got a fun random hit:

... [T]he authentic Pre-Contact aboriginal flutes were tuned to ancient musical scales and, without a mouthpiece or block, they are so difficult to play that even the best flute players today find them impossible to play.

The true historical California Indian elderberry flute is tuned in the ancient scales and represents the Rosetta stone of aboriginal North American music.

http://www.kumeyaay.info/indian_artifacts.html?http%3A//www.kumeyaay.info/museums/artifacts/elderberry_flutes.html

Wow - that is very cool! As a very amateur flute player myself, I love the idea of a mysterious lost music, whose scale is locked away in an impossible-to-play ancient flute. (I don't, of course, love the nasty history that is implied by this.)

And - something else I had not noticed, in Jepson it says:

Etymology: (Greek, the name of a musical instrument made from wood of this genus)

Hey, maybe I'll go play a samba on my sambucus!

I did also read about people being poisoned from eating elderberry parts. Eat ye not of the leaves or other parts, and only cooked ripe berries, is the advice I read.

But mostly I was reading to try and establish if we have blue or red elderberries here.

All of the elderberries I've observed around here have the same large pinnate leaves, serrated, pale green with a bluish cast, with one of the leaflets on the end. The leaves seem to be huge on the baby plants:


And as the bush gets larger the leaves get smaller.


So how do I tell if I have Sambucus mexicana - AKA Sambucus nigra caerulea, AKA blue elderberry - or Sambucus racemosa, red elderberry? Both are native to California and beyond.

Well, first the berries, which are colored as per the name. But this is the first year I've noticed elderberries and I don't know yet. They are all green.

Also red elderberry prefers the wet. Our volunteers are in dry chaparral.

Also red elderberry has dome shaped inflorescences, not the flat plate shaped ones. But ours are - confusing.


Many like the above do have a sort of dome shape. And some are flat.


(Also the above shows how messy the shrubby ones can get.)

However, on checking Jepson, it seems the red elderberry has a dominant axis, like a pole with the other bits off like a christmas tree, and these did not. They are like flat plates that just sort of curl over. So I'm still leaning to the more likely choice, blue elderberry.

Las Pilitas has a simple rule of thumb: "REMEMBER IF IT IS LOW ELEVATION IT IS S.MEXICANA" - We are at 900 feet or so, pretty low. But I don't know if it's a hard and fast rule. Jepson does not give a "not below" listing, just a "not above" listing: 3000m for blue, 3500m for red

I also found an enormous old elderberry tree with trunk three-4 feet in diameter and - well I don't know but it could be 80 feet tall? Whereas Jepson classifies them as a shrub or small tree up to 8 meters.


(It's behind a deer fence on a neighbor's property.)

Hm. Suspicion: could it be the old tree is a planted garden elderberry, which has spawned all these others in the neighborhood? It looks older than the current development here which is about 45 years old, but they do grow rapidly.

There are a number of upright forms of the elderberry growing around the roadside too. They show the rather attractive bark, and also how those shoots that just spring up so quickly become thick but not very attractive branches, sticking up at odd angles.


Town mouse has a nursery bought blue elderberry growing rapidly and handsomely in her garden, and I'll be interested to see how my volunteers do compared to hers.

I do hope to do some formative pruning, though I'm not confident in my abilities as yet. I let the deer and bunnies do the formative pruning around here!


That's a volunteer coffeeberry, Rhamnus californica and this is its second formative pruning - the bunnies did the first one, and then I put the cage around. Now it's grown to the top of the cage, the deer have done a follow up. I'm sad but it's just as well as this is close to the house and is strictly illegal from the fire safety point of view.

Yes, there is also the question of fire safety. I'm happy to nurture the two or three elderberry volunteers that have appeared in the lower chaparral, but I'm not so sure about some that are right up on the flat bit near our home. If I keep them low and well watered, is that OK? I really want to use something taller along the fence line - where they have conveniently appeared!

Well, I'll keep you posted on the final decision - blue or red - when the berries color up!

Hairy Honeysuckle - Propagation of Lonicera Hispidula var. vacillans

I love the pink honeysuckle blossoms that appear high in our coast live oak trees on the edge of the redwood grove. I couldn't bring myself to cut back the boughs leaning over the driveway on which they were twining. And their new leaves in spring, soft and hairy, melt my heart.


So when they put forth red juicy berries last September, I snagged a handful and looked up how to propagate hairy honeysuckle, Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans (at least I think it's var. vacillans) in Seed Propagation of Native California Plants by Dara Emery.

He says you should separate the seeds from the berries and keep them in the fridge, with a bit of damp peat, for a month. I blogged about that season of propagating from seeds here.

Here's the smooshing process of getting the seeds separated from the berries:


Actually they stayed in the fridge for three months - them and the leftover marinara sauce - you know how that goes. When I finally looked at them they were germinating already, and I put them in flats that very day.

That was January 29th. By February 7th a few sprouts had appeared. I potted them on and they continued to thrive. Here's one on March 26th after a storm, cradling a huge water droplet. Must be all the tiny hairs supporting the water:


Here they are May 16 just before I potted them on to gallon pots:

I took one out to check its roots. They are ready to pot on when their roots are nicely filling the pot, but not yet coiling around.


I think they could have gone a bit longer, but there were certainly healthy roots well distributed through the pot. Some had more roots than this baby. And here they are a week later, still happy and unconcerned:


I have about three dozen. I'm not sure what to do as they get bigger and start to twine!

Here is what Las Pilitas web site tells us about Lonicera hispidula:

A climbing deciduous shrub with large pink flowers. Native throughout much of California and up into Washington. California honeysuckle can handle full sun to shade. It's drought tolerant. Use as a bank filler or groundcover. It has an edible berry but bitter. It seems to be deer proof. Hummingbird flower. It is hardy to about -10 to -15 degrees F. Its red berries are relished by the birds. Flowers yellowish at base, pinkish, in upper portion, grows in oak woodland, good in clay soil, with Symphoricarpos mollis, Salvia spathacea, Rhamnus ilicifolia, Heteromeles arbutifolia, Quercus agrifolia (dominant)

Sounds great, yes? And they have thirty for sale. So why are then are they not more available for garden use? They are not even listed in California Native Plants for the Garden (Bornstein, Fross and O'Brien).

Well, they do have an open, gangly growth habit, and thick stems.


And their stems sprawl around in an untidy way.


And here is the reason they were used by Pomo , Kashaya, and other native peoples to make pipe stems:


Sturdy, hollow stems. Apparently the native folk also burned wood ashes to make a paste for tattooing too.* Good to keep in mind in case I get the urge to smoke or tattoo myself while far from a convenient retail outlet. One never knows.

I am, however, more likely to to use them to clamber over open areas where we've cleared weeds, as well as to clamber into trees where I want to create somewhat of a privacy screen at the edge of the woodlands where they border the road, and also I'd like to share them with neighbors.

I also do want to try one or two in a garden setting, training them up a narrow trellis that I envision going up to the upper deck so they can then branch out along the upper deck railing. Maybe not the best for fire safety but then neither is having an upper deck, period.

My theory is that if you twine two or three together, and also pinch prune them to get more branching, they may appear denser and flower more. Also I put a few of those little fertilizer pellets in the pots, which I hope will give them a boost.

We shall see what happens by next October, when I think they will be well ready to leap forth with vigorous joy.


*Goodrich, Jennie and Claudia Lawson 1980 Kashaya Pomo Plants. Los Angeles. American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles (p. 56)

Color Harmonies -- What Are You Thinking, M.N.?

OK, I admit it, I'm a bit of a color snob. Or maybe a color fanatic. I have shoes in lime green and turquoise and a pair of orange cowboy boots. Then, a while ago, a thread at the venerable Gardenweb posed the question:"What is the worst color combination you've ever seen in someone's garden?" it really got me thinking.

First, of course, I was a bit puzzled by the "You would not believe it but this lady had a X next to a Y" emails that resulted. While I don't always follow the "...if you don't have something nice to say" rule, I try to reserve my sneering for worthy topics such as SUVs. And then I looked at my own garden, just a tad worried.

But on my recent trip to Tassajara, I really wondered what Mother Nature is thinking. I mean, look at the tomato-red Castilleja (Indian paintbrush) with the purple Salvia spatacea (hummingbird sage). And all that combined with -- green?

I'm not even sure the second photo, purple Salvia with blue and white Lupine would make it into a book of color recommendations. And isn't the yellow with the tomato red a bit garish?

Not to mention Castilleja together with Collinsia heterophylla. A bright with a pastel? Red with lavender? Tsk tsk.

What a relief to finally encounter a familiar color choice: Black and white. Here, the charred remains of the chaparral and the first white flowers of Gnaphalium californicum (pearly everlasting).

Postscript: In my own garden, I do prefer to group colors by region. And maybe I'll do a post about that some time. But I'm delighted by any color combination other gardeners come up with -- especially Mother Nature.

Spring Fling! Mother Nature Surpasses All.

I've had the great good fortune to spend the last five days at Tassajara Hot Springs, one of my most favorite places in the world. Before I left, I tried to find the perfect photo for the Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest -- the topic for May is Spring Fling. But nothing was quite right.

Then, while in Tassajara, I compared Mother Nature's design for the year with mine, and realized the spring fling was there, with photo opportunities everywhere.

In June 2008, the Basin Fire, which burned down a significant part of the Los Padres National Forest, almost burned down Tassajara, and engulfed most of the surrounding chaparral. Last year, the wildflowers were amazing, and I wrote about them in several posts. This year, with above normal rainfall, the show was even more incredible.

Stunning masses of wildflowers were everywhere, but I was most impressed by Mother Nature's design when I walked on the Flagrock trail. Here, the manzanita and chemise had completely burned to dried sticks, and those stick were being used as trellises by tens of thousands of Calystegia purpurata (chaparral morning glory).

As I walked the trail, the view opened (do click the picture to see the flowers). It was simply incredible and, as I found later, fiendishly difficult to photograph.

As I walked, I heard the constant hum of native bees and other insects enjoying the abundance of flowers, and the chirps and twitters of birds enjoying the insects (below a little ladybug).

A bit later, I came across the flowers shown in my contest picture above, Dicentra chrysantha (golden eardrops). I'd never seen them before, and was floored by the color and abundance.

"This is it!" I thought. "Spring Fling. A little overplanted maybe, but impressive nonetheless."

As I walked on, the path became more and more difficult to find. At the same time, the plants became more and more tantalizing.

When, after another ten minutes of difficult walking, I saw a woolly blue curl (Trichostema lanatum), one of my most favorite California native plants -- and one I'd never seen in the wild before -- I saw that as a sign. I made a photo, took another look around, and another, and then turned back.

I only got lost a little, and made it back in good time for a delicious lunch and a restful soak in the hot springs, dreaming of the Mother Nature's garden.

Spring Hike at Windy Hill

While poor Country Mouse was working too hard last weekend, I took the opportunity to go for a hike. One of my favorite hikes, and just a short drive from where I live, is Windy Hill Open Space Preserves. The preserves is part of the Midpeninsula Open Space Trust. I quote from their page:

The late 1960s was a time of rapid growth in the Bay Area. As tract housing and commercial development began to dominate the “Valley of Heart’s Delight,” concern for the preservation of the Midpeninsula’s irreplaceable foothill and bayland natural resources mounted among open space advocates.

Through the determined and heart-felt efforts of local conservationists, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District was created by successfully placing a voter initiative, Measure R, on the ballot in 1972. Measure R’s sentiment is as powerful today as it was more than 30 years ago.

Measure R will preserve open space by creating the Midpeninsula Regional Park District (currently named the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District). Open space is our green backdrop of hills. It is rolling grasslands - cool forests in the Coast Range – orchards and vineyards in the sun. It is the patch of grass between communities where children can run. It is uncluttered baylands where water birds wheel and soar, where blowing cordgrass yields its blessings of oxygen, where the din of urban life gives way to the soft sounds of nature. It is the serene, unbuilt, unspoiled earth that awakens all our senses and makes us whole again … it is room to breathe.

What really happened was that this voter initiative prevented the SF Peninsula from looking like L.A., with houses all the way up to the skyline. It also has given us excellent hiking opportunities very close to the cities where we live.

The humidity was quite high that day, so the views weren't as crisp as I would like. Here you can see the bay, with the Dumbarton bridge crossing the bay (double-click the photo to actually see that).

But I digress. I actually started the hike down in the valley, then hiked up the spring trail. The trail is fairly steep and completely exposed, so we usually make sure we go down that trail. But it was a fairly cool day, so I was actually able to do the trail in that direction, stopping for photos along their way.

The area was, I'm sorry to say, overrun with non-native annual grasses. Only close to the path did I find a few native wildflowers such as the lupine above.

Lots of thistles, as well. Welcome food for the birds, but seemed to be fairly aggressive. The trail was very popular with hikers, especially hikers with dogs. Interestingly, many of them seemed to just dash up the trail, then dash back down. I, instead, took the anniversary trail, more or less parallel to skyline boulevard, and then walked down on Hamms Gulch trail.

And suddenly everything changed. First, a beautiful Ceanothus thyrsiflorus in full bloom (see this  informative and entertaining post from Curbstone Valley farms about the plant and where its name came from)

Then a fairieland, with trees, ferns, and lychen. 

Trillium as big as dinner plates.

Dainty Smilacea racemosa (false salomon seal) right next to the path.

And the most special find: Fritillaria affinis (checker lily).

All that combined with blessed quiet. Back at the parking lot, after about 3 hours of walking, I felt refreshed and relaxed, hoping to come back to Windy Hill some time soon.

 

A Few Thursday Thoughts

Country mouse is very busy these days with long work hours, but will soon have more time. I thought you would like to see the status of the greenhouse building project - I took the above shot early one morning, the windows all covered in condensation. We have some some glazing to do, and then we have to dig out the floor, line it with wire mesh, and cover it all with gravel. Then there are the amenities - water and electricity, and finally the benches and so on. But the roof is on and very pretty, with Solexx, and I love watching the two skylights open and close all by themselves! They have something in the lifter that expands and pushes the window open when it's warm. By fall I'll be happily installed I think, and figuring out my new toy and what I can propagate with its help.

As you can see we decided to leave some natural wood color and not paint everything white - I really like it this way.

We are also going to put up a simple shade structure with benches and also a seating area, so then I'll be able to move trays around according to their needs for warmth and light, or protection from extremes.

This weekend the greenhouse may get some early inmates, some tomato plants grown by a neighbor who has the most amazing vegetable garden, and who has specialized in breeding tomatoes for a long time, hoping to develop a local strain that thrives in our damper coastal clime.

In my afternoon off last week (I feel like a Victorian servant with only a half-day off!) I potted on the hairy honeysuckle I propagated from seed collected on our property. They are easy to grow! I'll post about that if I have some time. It's odd how when you do have very little time off, that time becomes very precious and enjoyable. I have about thirty healthy little plants in their gallon pots, already doubled in size since I potted them on. I also have coast melic grass to pot on on my next afternoon off too, and also some baby toyons that will be ready to graduate from their three inch pots before too long.

I still have not resolved my weed conundrum - to remove the Conyza canadensis or not - and hope to call on some local experts for a consultation once this work binge is over.

Log Piles

One of the easiest things you can do to support wildlife in a suburban garden is to add a small log pile.  The BBC talks about log piles and the beetles, fungi, and critters they might attract here. And this article suggests that a log file is also an excellent addition to a butterfly garden. 

So, when  a neighbor told us that he had to take out two redwood trees that had been topped and were now unstable and dangerous (DO NOT TOP REDWOOD TREES!), I asked whether he could supply some logs. I was delighted to come hope and find  a nice stack of wood in the corner near the garden gate. Today, I made two small piles in the front garden, and two slightly larger piles in the back. The first is under the redwoods.

The other is between the blue elderberry and the Carpenteria, stil in shade, but more exposed to rain.

Right now, the cuts look a little fresh, but soon it will all blend in with the garden. And in fall and winter, when the rains come, I'll go by and check whether the salamanders and other creatures are finding a home there.

Now, wasn't that easy? It took about 5 minutes (well, maybe 10) and who know, it might make all the difference for some critter I'll never even see.

GBBD -- Abundance (Town Mouse)

When Mr. Mouse and I first talked to our garden designer Chris, she had each of us fill out a separate questionnaire. When we were done, I had circled drought tolerant and natives, and he had circled abundant.

"Well, that will never work out," I muttered to myself. But Chris just smiled and did her design, and we ended up with a beautiful back garden, with natives such as the Penstemon heterophyllus above, that is drought tolerant and generously planted.

A few years later, I designed the front garden myself, and here too, we see the abundance of grasses, perennials, and annuals. In fact, the Salvia apiana (white sage) in the right corner of the picture above is almost a little too abundant. Here it is again, looking in the other direction.

But who can resist a plant that gives so much on so little water? Just look at those white blossoms, and you would not believe the fragrance (this is the sage used by American Indians for smudge sticks).

Meanwhile, a California native succulent is starting to bloom, highlighted here against the bright green Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush) Twin Peaks II.

And the Lupinus aureus I bought from Annies Annuals in April is adding a nice touch of bright yellow against the manzanita that bloomed in January and is now fruiting (See this post about the fun I had with my package).

In the back garden, the Ceanothus thyrsiflorus are now blooming. With a long rainy season and cold days in spring, it started a little late, but is even more delightful now that it's started.

And behind the mounds with ceanothus, we find Mimulus (monkey flower), Collinsia heterophylla (Chinese houses) and Aquilegia formosa (western columbine) on the right. I've tried for a few wide shots for this bloom day so you get a better picture of the plants in the garden setting.

The columbine is especially impressive this year, it has clearly benefited from the late rains.

Close by, Carpenteria californica, plant of the week over at Idora Design looks more like a tropical plant than a rare native from an area near Fresno. Almost extinct in the wild, Carpenteria adapts well to garden settings and is a favorite of many designers. 

Well, friends, I have about 50 photos in the folder GBBD0510. But I'll have to come up with other delightful stories and clever posts to use those photos in. For now, let me go over to Carol at May Dreams Gardens and see what everyone else has to show. This being May, I expect I'll ooohh and ahh all weekend.