Wildflower Wednesday

I've missed Wildflower Wednesday, the last Wednesday of the month, more times than I care to think about, but this time, with a timely post from Diana at Elephant's Eye about her South African wildflowers, I actually did remember. Considering it's later September and the days are getting shorter, it's really quite summery here in Silicon Valley. Temps are in the 80s, and in my native garden there are still some flowers. Above, Solidago canadensis looks more resplendent than in reality. The good thing about this species of goldenrod is that it doesn't spread like crazy. The bad thing is that it doesn't spread a lot and it doesn't look like much. But the different pollinators seem to enjoy the offering.

An even bigger success is the Eriogonum, shown above between two ceanothus bushes. The original garden design had a Cistus (rock rose) in that spot. It bloomed spectacularly for one spring and then died just as spectacularly. I replaced it, and the replacement died. I tried again, and, following the three strikes rule I have in my garden, planted an Eriogonum instead. No longer sure which cultivar, but it fills the spot nicely, blooms at a time when I need it, and seems fairly indestructable. Here's a close-up.

The other big attraction with both pollinators and hummingbirds is Epilobium.

And finally, new to the garden, is Abutilon palmeri, an Abutilon from the California desert. I just purchased three of these for the annual fall revamp of the garden, and was delighted to find that butterflies were already gathering there even while it was just in a pot. Exactly what I'm looking for in a wildflower!

And now, I'll go over to Clay and Limestone, where Gail has invited others to join her in a celebration of wildflowers.

(I hope you'll all come back here on Saturday when Country Mouse and I will share the first views of October with everyone, hoping others will join. We've wanted one day devoted to garden pictures, not to close-ups, and have enjoyed visiting each other that way. See you soon!)

Seedlings - and Problems with the Well

The seeds I sowed are beginning to pop up - lots of Nassella cernua, nodding needle grass, and buttercup, Ranunculus californicus, and odd little seeds of other kinds which I'll itemize in another post. Most excitingly, I think the above is a seedling of Giant Wakerobin! And also potentially exciting (to me anyway) -- something is growing in the Hound's Tongue container!

But for a couple days now, the smart meters PG&E installed recently have disrupted the electrical setup of our neighborhood well system. The well is on one property, and the water is pumped to a huge tank on another property, upon an electrical signal that the water in the tank has fallen below a certain level. The water reaches our home via another pump, as we are not below the tank but along the ridge from it.

No electricity = no water.

A neighbor has been switching on the pump to the tank manually as needed, and folk who get their water by gravity are not affected now.

We dined with some kind "gravity fed" friends down the road last night and I begged a can full of water to keep the seedlings going until the electrician can come and fix the water systems again.

We only expect to be without water for three days at most. Meanwhile, I'm contemplating the fragility of our existence here, and our mutual dependence on others to keep these very local systems going.

Conservatory of Flowers

Last Thursday and Friday I had the good fortune to stay up in San Francisco with a friend. After deadlines and other annoyances all summer, this was a most welcome reprieve, and with the weather glorious, everything just fell into place for a very relaxing outing.

My friend's home borders the Presidio, so we could enjoy a walk to Golden Gate Park, where the Conservatory of Flowers is located. Golden Gate Park is always enjoyable to walk through, but when I saw the palms along the street, I knew that exotic delights were awaiting me.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers opened in 1879 and is the oldest glass and wood greenhouse in the United States. The main exhibits include potted plants, lowland tropics (this is the hot house), and highland tropics (an intimate glimps of life in the cloud forest in the tropics). Did you know one of ten flowering plants on earth is an orchid? Well, it is, and the Conservatory has an abundance of astonishing orchids in amazing colors (one was about six feet tall).

My favorite, though, was the aquatic plants section, which included the giant Amazon water lily (don't you love the reflection of the greenhouse roof on the water?).

The aquatics plant section also included a large collection of carniverous plants.

And that segways nicely to the special exhibit, Wicked Plants. Based on the book by Amy Stewart of Garden Rant fame, it was a well designed and informative exhibit with many surprising facts (and I liked the music). Sure, I know carnivorous plants are wicked.

 And I certainly know water hyacinths are truly evil (though I enjoyed the turtle that posed for a photo).

But you'd be surprised which commonly found house plants are quite wicked indeed. But I won't spoil it for those who want to read the book or visit the exhibit, I'm just saying be afraid, be very afraid....

When we'd spent enough time at the Conservatory, we ambled a bit through the surrounding gardens. I was particularly impressed by the Dalia garden.

Photos really don't do it justice. I had no idea so many different colors and shapes of Dalias exist. Sure, it's one of those "Love to visit, wouldn't want them in my own garden" things, I felt very lucky to be able to enjoy their beauty.

Bark Mulch Fatigue

One of the mainstays of water conservation is the use of mulch. And because everyone likes a uniform look, bark mulch is a popular choice. I'm actually not sure what this stuff really is, but I do know it's some kind of shredded wood, and I shudder to remember when Mr. Mouse and I spread 3 cubic yards of it in the front (the back garden was done professionally).

So, mulch great for water conservation, but it has an annoying tendency to get disturbed when I do some hand watering with the hose.

Mulch also isn't as great at discouraging weeds as I've been told. Any weed that's worth that name will not have a problem to get through 3 inches of the stuff.

But the biggest problem is that bark mulch is booooring. During the last GBBD, I saw Nan Ondras photos from her Pennsylvania garden, and I realized that I'd like my garden to look a little more like that. Actually, I have some areas that come close.

This sunny spot, with sedum, California fuchsia, Artemesia, yarrow, and Salvia leucophylla in the background looks (comparatively) lush and inviting. 

The side strip with two species of Eriogonum (buckwheat), sedum, and Correa also looks fine.

But here, we have a bark mulch dessert.

Sure, part of the problem is that the Lavender is still new, and I'm expecting it to grow. Another problem (problem?) is that I have California poppies here in spring. But I'm still wondering whether I have other options.

In this area Salvia sonomensis is an attractive ground cover year round -- of course, we don't have a lot of poppies there.

Things can also be tricky in the shade. This newly planted area with Heuchera (propagated by Ms. Country Mouse), ferns, and blue-eyed grass clearly has a bark mulch problem.

But as the fern grows, it will cover some of the area. What's a Mouse to do?

Here's what I'm thinking of trying (any ideas? please comment!):

• Stop buying more bark mulch for sunny areas. California natives in sunny areas are not usually surrounded by woody substances, but rather by dirt, pebbles, or dry leaves. 
• In the areas with spring annuals, plant summer/fall annuals next year. Seeing Ms. Country Mouse's Madia explosion is an inspiration! Is there a shorter version of that plant? 
• Worry less about overplanting. The areas that have bark mulch problems are usually those where I've been extra careful not to overplant. But life is short, so I'll probably start being a little more irresponsible. Let's face it, we'd all rather see blossoms than bark mulch.

Oak Titmouse in the morning, wetland plants in the afternoon

I had a very good day today (Sunday as I write). This morning I saw the little bird above, I think an Oak Titmouse. I also watched a chickadee for a while, and it caught a big fat something and relished it for quite a while.

I watered the greenhouse flats and pots, and then got off to the CNPS Propagation Group monthly work day. We were sorting and trimming plants for sale. Bringing out the beauty of the plant. Some of us sat round a table and enjoyed each other's company while we prepared the plant show mailer. All very pleasant, and a warm sunny day to boot.

On the way back home I stopped down by the local creek to have another look at the riparian plants there.

I couldn't help myself. So many lush plants growing right at the edge of the road. I would be doing them a favor. I scooped up various specimens from the boggy road ditch with as much root as possible and dirt too, and put them carefully in a garbage bag I was lucky enough to have in the car. When I got home I distributed them among various pots with heavy peat enriched potting soil.

These are possible candidates for the natural pool filtration system. I'll blog more about this anon, and Rana Creek's plant list for the natural pool conversion.


I also sowed lupine seeds today, then I decided to look up the time for sowing lupines. Of course, I read that I'm a few weeks too early! But I had treated them with almost boiling water, so they had to be planted now. Oh well. I'm just hoping they germinate.

Native Plant of the Moment - Asclepias speciosa (Part 2)

In June, I was happy to report that the showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) was blooming. No monarch butterflies just yet, but healthy, happy plants.

By late July things got even more interesting. The flowers had faded, only to be replaced by huge seedpods. Almost 3 inches long and green.

I was impressed, and of course I was wondering: "What's inside?" A few weeks ago, the mystery was solved. I had expected some truly huge seeds, but I was wrong.

The seeds were decent sized, maybe the size of a sesame seed, but each carried its own little parachute. And because the seeds weren't actually tiny, a big parachute was needed. Over the weeks, most have disappeared. I see them at times in various places in the garden. Maybe one will reseed, maybe not. For now, I'm just enjoying the show, and looking forward to next year's blossoms.

GBBD in the Country Mouse Garden

Many of my blooms are local wild natives I grew in my garden. I'm loving this accidental confluence at the corner of the greenhouse...


Closer in you can see the last of the lupines (local wild), growing through the deer grass (gift from Town Mouse):


And monkey flower (local wild)

Meanwhile the madia is going mad! Totally stark raving mad! All the ones the deer nibbled down are now blooming like crazy! now I know why in the wild Madia elegans is only a couple or three feet tall:


Here it is with some blooms of naked buckwheat (local wild):

Whereas left unmolested, and given good growing conditions, Madia elegans gets huge - and falls over. Here onto a frame we were going to grow tomatoes over, then didn't get around to it. I think it's quite picturesque:


Just to the right of the above, the coyote mint is near the end of its run, but still scents the air:


And the Jerusalem sage is putting out a few late blossoms:

Verbena lilacena is also fragrant - backed by some tall red sage, non-native I believe - I forget, sorry.


This monkeyflower grew unbidden and has been lush all through summer - I think it may be a hybrid of the local natives and a garden monkeyflower.


And oh, glory! the local wild California fuschia is blooming like crazy too! Love it!


Nearby the cape honeysuckle from South Africa is charming the hummingbirds:

And my fav. rave - scenting the air in heavy waves of wonderfulness - Salvia clevelandii 'Winifred Gilman' - wow! wow! wow!

Lastly a bit of excitement in the greenhouse where I recently planted a lot of seeds - the nodding needlegrass, Nassella cernua, is sprouting already!


Now if you haven't seen Town Mouse's bloom day post please pop over there instanter!

And thanks as ever to Carole of May Dreams Gardens for hosting this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day meme!

And on to the monthly sampling of other folks blooms around the country and beyond.... What fun!

GBBD in the Town Mouse Garden

We're at the cusp of fall, and the days are noticeably getting shorter. This is the time for surprises. Plants that didn't do much since spring, taking a rest during the long dry summer days, are suddenly putting out just a few more blossoms. This is what the hummingbird sage above is doing. And, even more surprisingly, Aristolochia californica (California dutchman's pipe) is blooming as well.

More in season is the goldenrod. I bought three Solidago canadensis last year because they are not at all invasive. Unfortunately, they also don't bloom too impressively and they flop over, so I'm reconsidering and might plant the more aggressive native goldenrod next year.

The buckwheats, glory of the summer garden, are slowly starting to fade. Eriogonum arborescens is turning a beautiful shade of rusty pink. I love a plant that still looks great when it's past its prime.

Another Eriogonum in the back garden is actually just starting to reach its best bloom time and attractive to butterflies and pollinators for months to come (enlarge the picture below for a better view of the different shades of white, cream, and rose).

The star of the back garden is still Epilobium (California fuchsia). The low-growing UC Hybrid has filled in well.

And from the sunroom window I can see the red blossoms of the tall cultivar, and, in the back-ground, the salmon-colored medium-sized cultivar. I grew these plants from cuttings I received from a friend so I really don't know the names - but I'm happy to share cuttings with friends who visit.

Another fall favorite (and not a California native) is this Sedum, which I've paired with California fuchsia and some sages and yarrow. It's humming with bees and other pollinators as well.

And last but not least the Mimulus hybrid (monkey flower) that would not die. Protected from the harsh afternoon sun at the east side of the house, this plant has been blooming non stop all summer.

And now I'll head over to Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see who else is showing us around in their gardens. Won't you join me?

Oh, and by the way, if you enjoy Bloom Day, I do want to invite you to First Views, a Meme Country Mouse and I started recently. We're showing of our garden views (not our blooms) in the first week of each month. Here's a little taste...