2/4/09

Mid-week garden

It's been forever since I blogged about, you know, my garden. I've been taking pictures for a few days and I finally have enough to make a post.

Why not start with Penny. We haven't seen her in awhile either. Her she is getting some sun. She gets very excited when the hummingbirds visit those flowers for the bit of nectar under the stamens.

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Cup and Saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) flowers are popping out all over the place. The young anthers are caked with yellow pollen.

Cobaea scandens

The purple is nicest when the color has just ripened.

Cobaea scandens

You may recall the corolla is a celadon-type color when it first emerges from the calyx.

Cobaea scandens

Yesterday:

Cobaea scandens

Today:

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Today is hazy and it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Friday.

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The drought situation is desperate this year, and these rains won't be nearly enough for any of us. North of here, Bolinas is staring down the barrel of a gun. The dry rain barrel of a gun. Their water is almost gone.

Senecio cristobalensis must find a way to utilize that dew, otherwise why collect it.

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I just decided that I'm going to try Ellis Hollow-scanning some of these Hardenbergia flowers.

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Under the stairs some of the cyclamen bulbs are blooming. The eye catches little glimpses like this.

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I bought a couple of these Fuchsia thymifolia as bonsai starters. Rooted cuttings for $1.99 was all they were, but they grow very quickly in the ground. This one's at the sub-shrub stage right now, but I expect it will keep growing.

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I guess F. thymifolia is resistant to fuchsia mite, or it wouldn't have made it this far. San Francisco is infested with Fuchsia mite, which is why we must grow the mite-resistant bolivianas. Aside from fuchsia mite, San Francisco has perfect growing conditions for fuchsia, city-wide. They thrive on neglect.

Yesterday I was thinking about building a bamboo tee-pee for the Cornelian rose, but I put this cheap topiary-thing I found on the sidewalk here instead, and I think it's perfect.

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I lifted a trailing rose stem and wrapped it around the post and the stem clung to it like it was always supposed to be there. Problem solved. Eventually the rose will trail off the topiary and mingle with the other plants. The wild, overgrown look is very desirable I think.

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I've been snipping off wintry old foliage where it still clings to dormant stems because I'm sick of looking at it. This pile of newly-shorn sticks is deciduous Philadelphus lewisii, and the stem of green leaves catching the light is evergreen Philadelphus mexicanus growing nearby.

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I'm sort of imagining how the yellow mock-orange flower stamens will pop hanging out next to the ever-blooming orangey abutilon.

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Designing for flower color...such a bad idea.

So in the seedling department, I have some foliage. I'm excited about bronze fennel.

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And this is Echium pininana--Christopher, this is the plant you were expecting last year when you were surprised by the Echium wildpretii.

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I have about five seeds germinated. I will be happy to keep three of them, as tall, strong vertical focal points, but where they will go I have no idea.

And see this? Dahlia and nasturtium in the same pot! Makes me crazy when I do things like that. How did that even happen. Argh!!!

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I collected just a few purple fall aster seeds from my honeymoon in Big Sur last year. Just a few. Won't hurt anybody.

Symphotrichum chilensis

Layia platyglossa, Tidy Tips. Slugs love this wildflower, so I started it late.

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Tomatoes!

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Those will get planted out mid-March either before or after I go to Hawaii, depending on the weather, and/or my mood. At that time, I will still be harvesting snap peas.

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13 comments:

Gardeness said...

Those flowers are beautiful, especially the Cup and Saucer and abutilon. I planted an abutilon last year but fear our winter snow took it out.

Anonymous said...

It's strange to keep seeing gardeners elsewhere in California worrying about the drought's impact on their gardens. All the lakes are less than half full up here in the northern Sacramento Valley too, but I really don't think we've had much less rain than usual. Less snow in the Sierras, yes, definitely - but the rainfall in the valley doesn't seem to have gone down much. Or do I just think that because my plants have been dying all winter from excessive rain puddles rather than from any lack thereof? I moved one of my two silver bush lupines last week because it was drowning, but I don't think it's going to recover.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I just had a packet of cup and saucer seeds in my hand today and put them back. Now I wish I didn't. Did you start yours from seed?
You have lots of things looking good in your gardens now!

chuck b. said...

Catherine, I had a hard time germinating that Cobaea scandens. I sowed a whole pack and got only one plant...but what a plant. Frances, on the other hand, had all her Cobaea scandens seeds come right up. Once that vine gets going, it's rampant plant that takes over. A perennial for me, but probably an annual for you.

Annie in Austin said...

The intimacy! The intimacy! Your photos of the cobaea and fuchsia have scalded my eyes, Chuck. Especially the final celadon photo. Wish I could reach out and touch the petals.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Anonymous said...

We are terribly thirsty here in Austin too. The lakes are not depleted, but it just. will. not. rain. Maybe if we both start doing a rain dance, one of us will get some.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chuck, link love in a comment reply, thanks! I have to add that the white, alba cobaea is a total failure. One started to germinate then we got some super cold temps so that even with the heat mat it grew no more and rotted. The purple ones are in a larger pot and need to go into an even larger one before it is warm enough to be planted in the ground. They are the largest seedling by far in the greenhouse. Out of four seeds, three germinated of the purple, pretty good. I was heartened to see your tomato seedlings too, just planted the seeds here.
Frances

chuck b. said...

Frances, they sell that vine all overgrown in 4" pots at nurseries here... maybe you shouldn't do too much potting up.

Pam, it's cisterns for you and I both.

Annie, too much intimacy? :)

Chloe Marguerite said...

You really have got some nice seedlings. I never have much luck with starting seeds - maybe because I forget to water them, crows nip off any that do sprout, then slugs have their way with them..... etc etc.

Love that shot of sweet Penny, too.

lisa said...

I'm so inspired by your seeds, I may start mine early! Did you ever try the June-blooming clematis seeds I sent you? Just curious if they germinated or not.

chuck b. said...

I did sow the clematis--nothing has germinated. I'm holding the pot tho'...we'll see what happens.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chuck! Just found you through the Fairegarden blog. Wanted to say thanks for the pics of my old hometown, which I miss dearly.

The Fuchsia is very cute but it isn't thymifolia. We grow a lot of the thymifolia here so I can say that with certainty. Whatever it is, it's very charming though.

I'm jealous of that Brugmansia, too! I may have to pick one up in spring... The yellow with that princess flower is divine!

Fiddlehead Gardens said...

I love your cup and saucer vine photo! Pretty pictures in general. You've got a great eye.

Mya

ww.fiddleheadgardens.com
http://fiddleheadgardens.blogspot.com