Beschorneria Bloom: An Update

Beschorneria yuccoides

(Note: This is an updated post with the spelling corrected: The plant is not blooming now, but ... it has had pups!  Multiple plant offsets have formed at the base and I'm in the process of detaching a few.)

With each passing day the Beschorneria flowering stalk continues to unfurl.

The weather persists in a strangely cold and wet pattern, despite having entered the Bay Area's dry season. Still, the garden has enjoyed a thorough, natural, watering and that's a good thing!

Part 1 - Mexican Lily .. Countdown to Bloom

Sanctuary for Succulents: Ruth Bancroft Garden Reprise

View with Hesperaloe parviflora -- Photos: Brian Kemble

Echinopsis hybrid

Displaying an originality that outshines traditional garden settings, The Ruth Bancroft Garden reveals an eccentric cast of characters and an enthusiasm for succulent plants that traces back to the 1950s, when Mrs. Bancroft first began collecting potted specimens.

View with Agave salmiana

Mrs. Bancroft celebrated her 100th birthday, and another milestone is just around the corner!

Agave celsii Flower

Bancroft Garden Views

Stalwart and Spiny: Structural Succulents!

While visiting Malibu, I toured Serra Canyon Ranch Nursery. My good fortune included a chance to walk through the landscape with a group that included Gary Lyons, Curator of the Desert Garden at The Huntington. Gary offered enlightening details, such as the identification of strikingly exotic, structural specimens on the property. 

Rarest of the rare: a mature form of Cereus v. monstrose - Photo © Alice Joyce

The property had once been the location of another horticultural destination: Serra Gardens Nursery.

Ceiba speciosa (formerly Chorisia speciosa) .. the magnificent deciduous tree in background: Brilliant Aloes blooming in foreground.

(Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce)

Arrays of drought-tolerant succulents of various sizes; potted and ready to plant.

For more information about plant availability at the nursery's growing grounds, visit:

www.serracanyonranch.com

BIG RED SUN .. Landscape Design

Big Red Sun

Venice, California!

I stopped here on the way to L.A.X. Airport.

Luckily, I could open the gate and stroll around the courtyard, although the business is closed on Sunday. The large-scale planters overflowing with the bold rosette forms of drought-tolerant succulents are admirable. The Big Red Sun approach is full-service, as the signs indicate; including the creation of unique vessels in a variety of shapes from saucer-like to tall, narrow containers, and dramatic rectangular planting containers that function as stunning focal points - be it for an indoor or outdoor environment.

Big Red Sun provides garden design each step of the way.

Next trip, I'll be certain to catch them on an open day.

(Thank you Selena, for your comment and the invitation. The horticultural panoply on display in the courtyard along with the streetside plantings... it's quite the visual feast! I'll make a note that Sunday is your day of rest:)

Amber.. chrome yellow.. Chartreuse! Canvas of Color

The winter garden is asleep.

Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce

Yet a few specimens bolster the scene of deciduous perennials and shrubs, like Cestrum elegans, with its dense clusters of blooms. Over the years I've learned a valuable lesson: to remove plants that are not performing and replace those unhappy campers that fail to die but never thrive. It's a decade since I created my Zone 9-10 sanctuary space, where I celebrate species that cavort in the specific conditions of my microclimate, adding color at quiet times like January and February, while furnishing a habitat for little critters; beneficial insects, butterflies, and birds.

Many of the earliest selections were actually chosen to boost plant combinations with their bright bursts of vivid hues. Above: Nandina domestica 'Firepower' is a compact variety that looks good in every season. And now that the garden is increasingly shady due to the growth of neighboring trees that tower over the space, plants with brilliant chartreuse foliage, or a spectrum of reds are appreciated that much more.

Choisya 'Sundance'

Photo © Alice Joyce

The downy, palmate leaves of variegated Abutilon p. Thomsonii - Winter 2011

Photo © Alice Joyce

Chartreuse Pelargonium - Winter 2011

Each of these plant genera are extremely well-suited to my garden, and so the garden as an outdoor room teems with many varieties and specimen plantings of Pelargonium & Abutilon, Cestrum & Choisya. No longer do I spend time or waste energy trying to meet the needs of fussy cultivars that are struggling to survive.

Long live the appropriate plants!

Drought-tolerant and happy to be in Alice's Garden.

The Chosen Few .. Botanical Assets

Blue Lotus

Photo: Little & Lewis

A final '2010' recap, looking afresh at scintillating botanical assets that contribute to a sense of place and style in 3 very different settings. In the new garden created by artist/ plantsmen...

Little & Lewis of Bainbridge Island, Washington, a blue lotus lures garden visitors to a lush spot in the landscape: Representative of the sculptural and horticultural tableaux associated with this exceptional team of artist/designers, and the unmistakable vitality of their work.

Eye-catching in its simplicity of design: the Moss Walkway at Stone Edge Farm.

There's nothing quite so exciting as visiting a landscape for the first time, and being stopped in one's tracks! Faced with a distinctive prospect such as this planting reminds me of why I revel in traveling from one garden to the next, never knowing what surprises await.

Leucadendron salignum growing and glowing in the Wave Garden.

There's little that can be said about this stunning member of the Proteaceae family that is not apparent in the photograph. Yet, when I think how very recently these magnificent, drought-tolerant South African plants have become widely available in California and other U.S. regions where they may grow and thrive, I'm deeply thankful to be gardening at this time, and and in this place!

Fences, Walls, Garden Gates .. A Neighborhood Stroll

An artistic entryway.

Rainy season insectary plant: Prostrate Rosemary spilling over the rocks.

What's your garden style?

Drought-tolerant, cascading streetside plantings.

Boulders & bold plant forms lend structure to a front gravel garden.

A stepped design perfectly suited to the site.

A straighforward statement.

Mediterranean attitude.

Japanese influence.

...Privacy Wall...

Moroccan blue sets this front garden apart.

Silvery .. Scalloped .. Spiky - Drought Tolerant Spring Selections

Annie's Annuals & Perennials

Silvery, scalloped & spiky selections!

All are drought tolerant, a quality I'm looking for when choosing new plants for the garden.

These beauties are available online at Annie's Annuals & Perennials: Locals will come upon their booth at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Among the crowd, I'll be picking out plants on opening day of the show!

Aquilegia vulgaris 'Black Barlow'

A shade perennial for USDA Zones 3 - 10, this dramatic columbine should grow well with average to low water. Interesting, there are no spurs on this variety.

Beschorneria x 'Martin Grantham Hybrids'

Such a savvy plantsman, Martin Grantham is a Bay Area treasure, working his plant magic at my alma mater, San Francisco State University.

A specimen for dry gardens, this rare & unusual cultivar grows in USDA 8 - 11, or perhaps as a container specimen in colder regions if given protection. Place in part shade to full sun.

Plants are wonderfully textural, and when in bloom, the flowering stems are stunning, as are dark red seed pods that follow.

Centaurea gymnocarpa 'Velvet Centaurea' pictured below: The grey foliage is a give away, as it's one indicator of a drought tolerant plant. A showy Spring bloomer, deer proof and perhaps even fit for a dry and shady spot, this centaurea boasts rich pink-purple blooms - for USDA zones 8 - 10.

Dianthus plumarius 'Rose de Mai'

Don't we all adore the clove scent of dianthus in our gardens?

This variety is recommended for USDA zones 3 - 11, and according to Anni J. - one of the head propagator's at Annie's - the plant pictured is 7 years old and does not receive supplemental water in our summer-dry region. Quite a recommendation.

Grow in full sun.

Annie's Annuals & Perennials

Drought-Tolerant Plants - San Francisco Botanical Garden Plant Sales

SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN 

... A great source for drought-tolerant plants ...

Trees, Ferns, Rhododendrons, Native Plants Succulents, Perennials, Salvias, Shrubs, Shade Plants: The San Francisco Botanical Garden's Annual Plant Sales are  a great resource.

An impressive, botanical extravaganza, with more than 4,000 different kinds of plants on offer; emphasis on drought tolerant plants for water-wise gardening and food plants perfectly suited for Bay Area vegetable gardens.

San Francisco Botanical Garden - Golden Gate Park - 9th Avenue at Lincoln Way ....

A large selection of California natives will be available at their seasonal peak during the Native Plant Sale. Species you can be  counted upon to feature seeds and nectar to sustain native wildlife, and bring authentic beauty to California gardens. Some 300 to 400 varieties of natives will be for sale.

Eucomis bicolor / Eric Hunt Photo

Beguiling selections of uncommon and unusual plants will delight avid gardeners, while colorful succulents, flowering vines, herbaceous perennials, rock garden plants, salvias, shrubs and rhododendrons should draw plant lovers of every persuasion.

Public Information:  415/661-1316 -- www.sfbotanicalgarden.org

Winter Color! San Francisco Botanical Garden Succulents

"San Francisco's mild temperatures and rare winter frost make it possible to grow a great diversity of plants..." 

Succulents in the Entry Border

After more than a decade of living in the Bay Area, the wintertime displays 

of vividly colorful succulent plants still hold me spellbound.

  Visitors to the San Francisco Botanical Garden will find the fan aloe among the

Entry Garden's eye-catching succulent specimens. 

Aloe plicatilis - Photo: Joanne Taylor

 At the Garden ... the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society's Newsletter:

"Gracing the hills and mountains of Cape Province in South Africa, Aloe plicatilis, or "Fan Aloe," adds drama to our Garden with its fan-like arrangement of fleshy leaves tipped in orange. The species name, "plicatilis," means fan-like, pleated or folding together. 

The fans of leaves display in two opposing rows with a spike of scarlet tubular flowers rising from the center 

on a tall solitary stem. 

Look for Aloe plicatilis in the South Africa Garden and in this month's In Bloom feature, 

complete with photos, a plant profile and exact locations."

Across the Golden Gate - Sausalito at Sunset

Echeveria species: A drought-tolerant, pass-along plant.

An octogenarian when we met, Dr. Herman Schwartz loved to walk through his Bolinas gardens giving visitors bits of succulent plants as he shared tales of plant collecting in Africa, the Americas, and Madagascar. The passionate plantsman's arrays of cacti, agaves, aloes & crassulas put on a brilliant flowering spectacle in the winter! Amid all the rarities, a Euphorbia greenhouse contained towering to tiny, spiny and spineless species: Countless plants that one could see nowhere else in the U.S. When Dr. Schwartz died not long ago, the Marin-Bolinas Botanical Gardens - as his renowned collections came to be known, were shuttered.

Golden Gate Bridge

View from the grounds of Cavallo Point Lodge, a new resort hotel within historic Fort Baker, Marin County.

San Francisco Bay

November is a great time to visit the city, although it's the rainy season, days are often dry and sunny.

Many summer days in San Francisco are cold & fog shrouded... yet each city neighborhood

has its own microclimate!

Cross the Golden Gate into Marin County and the weather shifts dramatically once you're away from the coast,

with crystalline blue skies, hot days , low humidity, and cool nights for sleeping.

View of the city from Sausalito.

Sausalito ... a ferry ride from San Francisco - often the only other town visited

by international tourists.

Intrepid travelers rent bikes and travel across the Golden Gate Bridge to explore the surrounding hillsides.

Fall Planting Party - Drought Tolerant Plants, Annie's Annuals!

Digitalis obscura

Digitalis obscura 

A drought tolerant foxglove from Spain, growing 2 feet by 2 feet.  

I love the rusty orange flowers of this gorgeous specimen for sun or "a bit of shade."

Plant in lean soil: hardy in Zones 4 - 10.

A personal favorite, Philadelphus mexicanus 'Flore Plena'

A charming, fragrant heirloom shrub: Spring bloomer that often flowers again in Fall. 

Plant in sun to part-shade; low to average water.

Fall planting ideas: Drought-Tolerant & Low-Water Shrubs & Tender Perennials.

Inspired by my recent visit to Annie's Annuals. 

Annie Hayes 

at this year's Fall Planting Party in Richmond, California.

The Bay Area wouldn’t be the same without Annie’s Annuals,

supplier of rare & wonderful plants for the past 15 years.

Annie Hayes shares the desire for rarities that drives plant-a-holics.

Plants are no longer for locals only ... Annie's Annuals are now available by mail-order.

Clianthus puniceus ‘Albus’

'White Lobster Claw' - Clianthus aka 'Kaka Beak'  or 'Parrot's Beak'

A fast growing evergreen shrub or small tree for a sunny setting; not fussy about soil type.

Average to low water; USDA zones 8-11 but web site mentions plants surviving 

  13 degrees fahrenheit. 

Nursery, growing grounds & display gardens are a vibrant habitat for bees, butterflies & hummingbirds.

A glimpse of the display gardens at Annie's Annuals.

Zaluzianskya capensis Albus

'Night Phlox' aka 'Midnight Candy' -  Zaluzianskya capensis

A richly scented, uncommon South African species, growing 12” tall & wide with multi-branching stems. A profuse bloomer for the night garden, Z. capensis boasts

white flowers backed by maroon. Easy to grow in sun; average to low water.

USDA Zone 9-11 or as an annual.

Arctotis grandis

"Steel blue eye encircled by a golden ring... pearly white daisy from South Africa.

...behaves as a perennial in USDA zones 9-11 - grown as an annual in colder winter gardens. Flowers ... close up at night. 

Plant in well-drained soil in sun; average water/No summer water."

(Photos of available plants, courtesy Annie's Annuals)

Link to Annie's Annuals

http://anniesannuals.com/