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.

Chelsea Physic Garden Vignette

Lavatera arborea 'Variegata'  

Velvet tree mallow

Photographed at the Chelsea Physic Garden, London

Longing for, Lusting after... Rare Solanums!

Longing for...  Lusting after.....  Coveting 

Plant lust can be an addiction.

In particular, I've a penchant for Solanum species, aka Nighshade.

I once wrote in Garden Design magazine, "show me a plant with attitude and I swoon."

Solanum atropurpureum

doubtless scared away more than a few garden visitors. A tall, rangy shrub marked by purple-black stems densely covered in thorns, it's another South American species.

An unexpectedly vigorous growth habit eventually compelled me to say au revoir, and  I ceremoniously removed it from the intimate space of the patio. Not a good spot to admire the plant's strange beauty. 

Solanum pyracantha...

has appeared here and there in the garden over the years.

Tender perennial set apart by furry textured leaves, and a rich purple hue on new growth and spines.

Now growing in a container,

S pyracantha boasts blue-green foliage complemented by orange spines and pale lilac blooms.

(Images scanned from my archive of 35 mm slides.)

Shrub or Beast? Making A Garden - Chapter 3

Artichokes in the early garden

Chapter 3   .... The Agony and the E... word

Shrub or beast? 

 Where a California privet leads a keen Chicago gardener astray 

That's the privet, poking out over top of the arbor

The tale of making a garden picks up about 4 months after move-in day. 

The raised beds and borders are taking shape over lengthy work days. The process: deep-digging; removing buried debris; implementing with soil amendment; outlining planting areas with field stones and pavers.

As mentioned, this period coincided with an El Nino winter of insistent rain. I apply a thick layer of newspaper over the paths, before covering them with blue river rocks. In this way, the gravel rests lightly over the hardpan soil. 

A cast stone bench is selected, and I build a blue arbor to surround it.

The arbor backs up against a California privet. 

When the space was cleared, some half-dozen trees and shrubs remained (along with 1 wild rose / soon to take the spotlight). All grew at points around the perimeter of the garden. 

To my eye, the privet seemed innocuous. A not-too-tall evergreen, multi-trunk tree. It looked fit to provide a bit of shade for the small patio being carved out. 

A year passes. One day a savvy horticulturist drops by for a visit. Looking at the privet, she comments offhandedly, “Well, you’ll want to take that out...maybe plant a Michelia in its place.” 

I had yet to realize it was a noxious weed. By now, the privet’s canopy is increasing in the new garden setting. Its production of flower clusters also increases, followed by masses of seeds that rampantly self-sow in the enriched soil.

I encourage Tom to prune it, heavily! I ask him to clip the flower clusters as soon as they form. 

He prunes and he prunes. The privet responds by producing a bonanza of blooming pom-poms. 

The Agony of of making a garden takes many forms. 

A few years ago, Tom devoted 2 days a week - over 3 months in the fall - to cutting down the privet limb by limb, using hand saws - no power tools for my guy.

BTW, privet seedlings still appear in the garden. Seeds of invasive plants have a long life span.

Link to Chapter 2

A Riot of Rhodies - Sonoma County Getaway

Sonoma Horticultural Nursery

It was a glorious day for a getaway! Driving west to the Coast, we aimed for Bodega Bay, site of Hitchcock's, The Birds. 

The route took us along the back roads, through Sebastopol, for a stopover at Sonoma Horticultural Nursery: A Northern California destination for plant geeks and garden aficionados. 

Sonoma Hort features 1-1/2 miles of pathways winding through moist woodland gardens. The magic touch of proprietor Polo de Lorenzo emerges throughout the nursery's leafy surroundings; an environment befitting the nursery's emphasis on rhododendrons and azaleas. 

Once, during a visit in early May, I witnessed the heart-stopping performance of a legendary dove tree (Davidia involucrata), its white bracts likened to fluttering handkerchiefs. In a circular driveway, one particularly enchanting dove tree has been designated a Sonoma County treasure--Heritage Tree #20. When blooming in May, Empress trees (Paulownia tomentosa) are another revelation!

The densely planted 8-acre property encompasses a pond & Blutcher Creek - a preserve for countless water-loving specimens, which add to Sonoma Hort's beguiling vignettes and picturesque vegetation. A lavish exhibition at this time of year - replete with the riotous colors of rhodies and azaleas - also takes in the strapping foliage of primitive-appearing Gunnera chilensis, accompanied by swathes of pretty primulas. Clematis cultivars are beginning to bloom, and soon, towering foxgloves will emerge along with masses of flamboyant clematis blooms decorating vertical posts and pillars placed along the paths. 

The nursery sells species, and choice cultivated varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas, along with exceptional selections of trees, shrubs, vines and shade-loving perennials. Scheduling a springtime stroll is a must for local gardeners & anyone touring Sonoma Wine Country.  As it's open year-round, Sonoma Hort is always a lovely spot for a getaway.... and plant shopping!

Making A California Garden, Flowers and Foliage, Design and Planting

'Before'

Flowers and Foliage

Corokia virgata 'Bronze King'

Cestrum newellii 'Elegans' Below...

UNDER CONSTRUCTION....

A visual diary, recording the making of my California garden....

from the earliest days to the present.

Year One

Images scanned from photos taken as the garden was being planted,

and in the summer that followed.

The garden layout....

working during the drenching El Nino rains of 1999/2000.

Somehow it was possible to deep dig, mixing in large amounts of compost and soil amendment, while removing concrete rubble, and all manner of debris buried in the hardpan soil.

Transplanted from Chicago to California, the move fueled my notion of year-round gardening, and I was unstoppable in my desire to create a new garden from scratch.

Shown at the top: scanned photos of the yard just before we bought the house,

and after I had started clearing the space.

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.

DAHLIAS, Alice's Garden

A quick post - it's a grey day and I'm conjuring up summery thoughts.

Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' towers over 'Tasagore' and 'Japanese Bishop' - pictured - All were purchased from Swan Island Dahlias, a great resource for choice dahlias.

I've planted these red and orange dahlias with dark foliage for a brilliant late-summer display.

Stormy Sunday - Spring Plants... Preview

Winter storms....   Looking toward Spring

New Cultivars...... Dramatic Accents

Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'

Aristolochia californica

Unusual Natives

  Aquilegia v. 'Lime Frost'

Tried and True Perennials