A Bias for Blue! Drought-tolerant Perennial with Panache

Take a gander at 'Blue Throatwort' - Trachelium caeruleum! 

Native to the Mediterranean region, this clump-former is perennial in USDA Zones 7-11, growing with vigor as an annual in colder climates.

Some 3 to 4 feet tall, blue throatwort boasts large, dome-shaped umbels composed of countless miniature individual blue-violet flowers. 

They're said to be lightly scented, but I haven't noticed any fragrance. 

The botanical name, Trachelium is a reference to the neck: it was once thought to cure throat maladies.

Blue throatwort is not a fusspot! 

Rather, it's adaptable and drought tolerant, growing in my garden in both rich soil and lean, performing most vigorously in sun, although it has emerged and bloomed in a shadier spot, too. 

Staking is often necessary. I stake loosely, and the tallest stems take on an interesting curvature. 

Expect plants to die back after a couple years, but look for new, self-sown specimens that may appear close by. Deadheading results in second flush of blooms, although flower heads are smaller and not as impressive.  Old-fashioned throatwort makes a lovely dried flower if you cut the long, strong stems as they reach full bloom.  Strip away the leaves and arrange them in a tall vase, where they will dry naturally over time.  In a year-round garden border, the blooms of throatwort complement the deeply toothed, silvery foliage of honey bush (Melianthus major), and the felted gray leaves of Plectranthus argentatus.

American Meadow Garden - John Greenlee ~ The Late Show Gardens

Gentle paths wind through John Greenlee's

The Mediterranean Meadow

A Garden Installation at Cornerstone Sonoma

Greenlee's design for 'The Mediterranean Meadow'' takes its cue from the prairies that once blanketed the Sonoma landscape.

Greenlee weaves together grasses and sedges in a palette of soft hues and contrasting textures, in alliance with California poppies. Shifting with the changing seasons and the sky above, the garden's naturalistic style exhibits an atmosphere colored by the weather or time of day: Its contours subdued on an overcast morning; aglow in the setting sun; or brillantly basking in the sapphire haze of a summer afternoon.

Greenlee’s plant selections were chosen to fit the Cornerstone site’s heavy soils, hot summers, and windy conditions; taking into account that the garden is sited on a septic mound!

Used on walkways: Carex pansa "makes a fine natural lawn,"

according to The American Meadow Garden.

Other choice grasses used in the meadow: Dark green Carex divulsa, "one of the best groundcover grases for meadows."Pennisetum 'Fairy Tails' & P. 'Tall Tails.' Boer's Love Grass - the grass with glaucous blue fine-textured foliage. John’s new book, The American Meadow Garden (Timber Press, Nov. 2009) is illustrated with beautiful photographs by Saxon Holt. After reviewing the book recently, I expect it will become the go-to manual for professionals and keen gardeners.

Greenlee addresses the basics of grass ecology, explaining how grasses grow in different regions, so if you’re thinking about revamping an existing lawn, or creating a new planting with drought-tolerant grasses and companion plants, you'll find the book highly useful.

What is a Weed? - Native Plants at Hess Collection Winery

What is a weed?

A Plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hess Collection Winery and Art Museum

View looking down on the courtyard from the visitor center.

The garden features a design by acclaimed landscape architect Peter Walker, with plantings by John Greenlee, noted expert in grass ecology.

"The Hess Collection Courtyard is designed as an integral part of our mountain landscape and a commitment to care for the land we farm. Our vineyards are rimmed by meadows and redwood forests, and although our garden aesthetic is wild and natural, it is well-tended to maintain the experience of a lushly undulating alpine meadow. Native and exotic grasses and ornamentals are chosen for variation in height and seasonal interest. Volunteer plants surprise us in Spring, seedheads are allowed to dry and drop their contents in Fall. Thus, the garden is allowed to propagate itself and actively evolve.

Because the Eastern-most boundary of the naturally occurring redwoods is here in the Mayacamas Mountains, we incorporated these trees with Western sword ferns to echo the nearby woods."

Plantings encourage beneficial insects, taking in native species of common yarrow, Western columbine, bush anemone, creeping ceanothus and blue beach aster.

To add further color, Mimulus 'Pumpkin,' Purdy's Foothill penstemon, Salvia cleavlandii & S. spathacea were selected, along with yellow-eyes grass and Zauschneria californica.

On a recent summer day I made my way to Napa wine country to revisit the artfully arranged, Modernist landscape at The Hess Collection Winery.

A rectilinear pool and wisteria-draped pergola wrap around the garden's central layout of pristine decomposed gravel pathways: Their angular, dynamic pattern extends an invitation to enjoy the spirited plantings where butterflies hover and dragonflies dart overhead.

The garden holds a special place in my memory, having first encountered it while researching the Winery Gardens chapter for West Coast Gardenwalks - before the pieces fell into place for my move from Chicago to California.

(The Hess Collection garden also features in Gardenwalks in California, INSIDERS' Guide, 2005.)

Living Carpet of Texture & Color: Eco-Roof, Portland Central Library

Eco-Roof  - Multnomah County Central Library, Portland, Oregon

A high point of my Portland foray: Touring the Central Library's new Eco-Roof with John Cabrera, Facilities Supervisor.     Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce

Completed in September, 2008, the structure utilizes 24" x 24" pallets, which added to the ease of installation. The 4" deep soil blends organic and inorganic materials, mixed with Zebra, a water-retentive product made from natural cornstarch.

Multnomah County Library Eco-Roof - 801 S.W. 10th Avenue - Portland, Oregon

Photos and text: All Right Reserved © Alice Joyce

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The benefits of the roof are numerous. Plantings help to capture the majority of stormwater runoff, cut down on the cost of electricity for heating and cooling, and absorb UV rays.

The roof features some 17,000 plants; drought-tolerant sedums and grasses that create a wildlife habitat, and reduce air pollution. An eco-roof is believed to filter the air, actually removing airborne particles, as it absorbs carbon dioxide.

A look at the photos reveals the roof's aesthetic element: A rich textural carpet knit of an abstract pattern that changes with the seasons.

The summer scene pictured: One of peachy pink tones melded with brick red and mahogany hues alongside pale blue-grey & shades of green, with yellow blooms and feathery inflorescences!

Information about tours of Portland's Central Library Eco-Roof :

http://www.multcolib.org/events/ecoroof.html

Click on links for more about the Portland Area:

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/07/exquisite-rush-of-cascading-water-ira.html

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/07/art-in-garden-with-purpose.html

The Australians, Part ll - A Seminar

Correa 'Carmine Bells' growing in my garden

and Banksia species photographed at University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum
Photos © Alice Joyce

The Australians Part ll - A Seminar Presented by The Garden Conservancy and The Ruth Bancroft Garden

Visit .. Bay Area Tendrils for further details.

Refreshing Your Australian Repertoire:

How to mix exciting and appropriate Australian native plants in Bay Area Gardens

Friday, July 10, 2009, Civic Arts Education Center, Shadelands Campus in Walnut Creek

and a Study Tour on Saturday, July 11, 2009.

A trove of Drought Tolerant Plants, Colorful Succulents, Eucomis, and...

 

California Garden Circle - above

SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN 

Drought-tolerant Plants available at Botanical Garden Plant Sales

Visit the San Francisco Botanical Garden web site (link below) for a schedule of plant sales. A fantastic source for rare perennials, salvias, shrubs;

plants for shade and native species: Succulents, trees, ferns, and rhododendrons.

San Francisco Botanical Garden

at Strybing Arboretum

County Fair Building

Golden Gate Park

9th Avenue at Lincoln Way

The San Francisco Botanical Garden's Annual Spring Plant Sale: An impressive, botanical extravaganza, with more than 4,000 different kinds of plants on offer, including drought tolerant plants for water-wise gardening and food plants perfectly suited for Bay Area vegetable gardens. 

A large selection of California natives are often available at their seasonal peak. Plants that 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 may 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 draw plant lovers of every persuasion.

Public Information:  415/661-1316 or www.sfbotanicalgarden.org
Read more ... Luculias at SFBG  

Bloom Day: A Rare Perennial Shrub, Melianthus comosus

Melianthus comosus

Planted in the early days of my California garden, tufted honey-flower, a South African shrub, boasts deeply dissected, green foliage:  The plant's intense peanut-butter aroma is not particularly pleasant.

Blooming in late-winter, tufted honey-flower produces some of the most unusual flowers in my garden. The flower spikes are eye-catching, with their bladder-like capsules, while the red-orange flowers are said to be pollinated by birds.  

Perhaps they are in a native African habitat, but I've not witnessed birds visiting these blooms.

Prominent stamens, a deeply elongated throat with dark honey guide, and delicate, reflexed sepals are features sure to attract those of us who are botanically inclined. Touch the flowers, and a residue of watery nectar - black, inky droplets - is deposited on your fingertips. Not refined plant material for flower arrangements.

In my Zone 10 micro-climate, the growth habit is tall and gangly, so I cut the plant back a couple times a year, and always remove a few of the thickest stems; cutting them close to the ground.

Gledhill (The Names of Plants) defines the species nomenclature as 'shaggy-tufted' , which I find a lively description of these oddly attractive blooms.