Ukiah

I'm sorry I'm not here much right now. Busy, busy.

Here are some pictures I took in Ukiah last weekend. It was early when we went for a walk; late afternoon would have been better for pictures. Although I doubt I'll ever get anything better than what I saw 2 years ago.















And here are some pictures from the passenger seat on the drive up.



Notice how the hilltops are vineyards now.

The garden of scarce blog posts

I apologize for the scarcity of blog posts recently, but I've been distracted by non-garden stuff. I'm not as tweeting much either.



The garden really slows down this year and it's tempting to think "nothing is happening". Also, the light is mediocre most of the time. There's a very narrow time interval when you can take pictures.



You can see what I mean from the deck.



But things are happning; there's no confusion about that.



I learned about the crimson-flowering fava beans from Michelle.



I forgot the name of this tiny Gladiolus





Echium pininana may be the closest thing this garden will ever get to a "structural plant". I have five of them in the ground, and sixth one on the way. The first batch grew vigorously from fresh seed, but seed sown later seems less so.



Anyway, they grow straight up and become towering spikes of blue flowers in the spring and summer. I'm not sure if that will happen in 2010 or not, so I have a wait-and-see approach.

Lots of things are sprouting from the ground, besides mushrooms.







And some trees have flowers.



And some of the trees that don't have flowers will have flowers later, like this Ceanothus with Rosa 'Moonlight' climbing up into it,



an idea that occurred to me while I was writing a note to Frances about what I should do with Rosa 'Moonlight'.

The 32% UC fee hike

The Regents of the University of California voted to raise tuition fees 32%. Formally, UC says California residents pay no tuition for a UC education but that's a load of crap.

There are protests of course.

"The noise of protesters came through the window as the regents voted. It was only lightly discussed, with UC President Mark G. Yudof urging that students explore all the financial-aid possibilities so they don’t get scared away or drop out."

Another load of crap. President Yudof is telling students to borrow money to pay for their education. And why not, that's what California does to pay for everything--borrow money. Heaven forbid anything be paid for out of general revenues. Better to pass a bond measure instead.

UC does a terrible job explaining the reality of borrowing money to college students. Yeah, you borrow $40k (minimum!), but you pay back so much more. Students financing a four-year degree on loans will be paying those loans back well into middle age. Down payment for a house? Forget about it.

And as a UC alumnus myself I hate to say this, but the quality of a UC education is not so great. Really, it's a lot of political propaganda. It may seem vital when you're young but it's not very useful beyond your 20s.

Community college instructors are better teachers, hands down. Unless you're getting a degree in the hard sciences, I see no reason to attend any UC. You can get an equivalent or better education in the liberal arts from a school in the state university system.

Which is not to say that this whole thing doesn't suck. It does. It especially sucks for students half-way through. They talk about having to go to a community college.

"Mark Villela, a junior at UCLA, also said he would probably have to drop out of school and attend community college in his hometown of Palmdale."

Honey, you're junior. There is nothing left for you to take at a two-year community college. Get a part-time job and transfer to State.

Bloom Day!

You can scroll over the pictures to see the names if you're interested.













I never get good pictures of this Cuphea but it's always blooming.



So is the Tibouchina, but you see it all the time.



Winter-flowering Tithonia diversifolia, the giant aster with chocolate-scented flowers, is just starting to flower. The first flower opened a few days ago, way up high on the plant. Soon there will be many more.



Ceanothus blooms a little bit on and off all year, but the main show is a few months away.



I bought pansies! Ha ha. I have low expectations, but the color was irresistable.



That's pretty much all I've got, but you can see a lot more at May Dreams Gardens.

On Bernal Hill

I took a walk a little before dusk.









Folsom St. in the Mission is lined with Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia).



While other streets have very few trees.