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

Wing House Landscape: Embraced by Nature

Wing House Detail - Architect, David Hertz

Above: Zauschneria & Below: Ceanothus (Photos: Wikipedia)

Countless indigenous wildflowers rise up in the Santa Monica Mountains. While exploring the Wing Ranch landscape with horticulturist Aaron Landworth, I spied a host of blue varieties of California Lilacs appearing alongside the pathways, and white-blooming species, as well.

Ceanothus crassifolius

Having talked with Patrick Blanc only last week about his inclusion of the hummingbird magnet, Zauschneria (Epilobium canum) for the design of the new Drew School Vertical Garden, it was exhilarating to find myself in a natural habitat where this and so many native species prosper.

Francie Rehwald's incredible Wing House is nearing completion. Driving up to the house's hilltop site, one is struck by the breathtaking 360-degree views: The use of a 747 jet in the construction sets these buildings apart. Such an amazing project! 

You're about to enter a totally unique setting with a noteworthy history, associated with the artist/designer, Tony Duquette.

Collection of tumbled glass fragments & abalone shells to be used in

decorative mosaic elements.

Stone boulders serve as impressive garden seating.

A Landmark Living Wall of Native Plants

Photo, Courtesy Patrick Blanc

The Bay Area is abuzz, and I'm exhilarated! The very thought of innovative botanist, Patrick Blanc creating a large-scale project in San Francisco - my back yard so to speak - has the entire horticultural community in a state of excitement! And the general public, too, especially the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. Imagine going out for a stroll and discovering a living wall taking shape before your eyes: It's the largest project Blanc has undertaken to-date in the United States.

Patrick Blanc at the February 10th press briefing.

(photo: Alice Joyce)

The placards flanking Patrick show: to the left in the photo - a selection of the native California species being planted; and on the right, Patrick's sketch of the design with the plant names indicated.

A detailed post about the project taking place at The Drew School is now posted on:

Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

You might like to read about Patrick's...

Verdantly Vertical Living Wall at London's Athenaeum Hotel

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:)

Left my heart in the Santa Monica Mountains!

Anigozanthos 'Big Red' Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce

Red Kangaroo Paw from Western Australia blooming in Santa Monica Place gardenscape.

Look for an endless parade of Southern California gardens & mountain landscapes in the weeks ahead on Bay Area Tendrils

& Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

I'll be reporting on my sojourn to the Los Angeles area,

where the Malibu Garden Club invited me to speak on...

21st Century Gardens: Movements, Projects, Trends

The Leaf & Petal Co. is located

across the street from the brilliantly renovated dreamscape for shoppers - Santa Monica Place,

opposite downtown's pedestrian-friendly Third Street Promenade.

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.

Hidden in Russian Hill: Fay Park

San Francisco's crookedest ... Lombard Street, Russian Hill -- A serious photo op for tourists.

Photo: Wikipedia

Fay Park: Open Daily 10am to 4pm

Continue down Lombard Street a bit to Leavenworth and you'll discover a tiny, albeit, delightful city park designed by the Mid-Century Modern landscape architect, Thomas Church.

California Garden & Landscape History Society Web Site Photo: Copyright Susan Chamberlin

Thomas Church is surely best known for his design of an iconic American landscape: El Novillero, the Donnell Garden. Although I live nearby, I've yet to be free on a day when the private garden has opened for special events.

Fay Park also holds a unique place in American landscape architecture, as it's believed to be the only residential garden designed by Church that is now regularly open to the community and visitors, alike.

San Francisco Parks & Recreation Department worked to restored Fay Park. A neighborhood group, the Friends of Fay Park helps to keep the garden looking lovely year-round. The city has been enriched by the very special bequest of Mrs. Mary Fay Berrigan, who gifted her home and garden to San Francisco. Should you visit the city by the bay, hop off the cable car, or walk up from North Beach: You'll want to take some time to relax in the serene oasis of this park, where beds of roses bloom for months on end.

**Fay Park is a popular setting for weddings, so you may find a celebration in progress.**

Locavore Heaven! Ferry Plaza Farmers Market - San Francisco

Pomegranate luv! at the San Francisco Farmers Market

San Francisco's beautifully restored Ferry Building at the Embarcadero: Gourmet shops and the Farmers Market offer the finest local foods: breads & pastry, seafood & meat,

herbs, olive oil & flowers.

Tourists flock to the area for the engaging ambience, not to mention chocolates & gelato.

Buddha's Hand : Citrus medica

Saturday was reserved for a winter day in the sunshine.

During my graduate studies, I lived in the city for two years, but I still can't get over the dress code in San Francisco -- Flip-flops throughout the year, no matter what the temperature!

Although the peel of this citrus variety is quite thick, it is an extremely fragrant fruit that grows on a small tree or shrub. I have no personal experience growing it, and wonder....

have you ever grown this tender plant indoors or in your garden?

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Beaux Arts-style Ferry Building was constructed in 1898, with a clock tower some 245 feet tall situated at the foot of Market Street. Restoration was completed in 2003. You must see the building's stunning interior if you visit. It's a breathtakingly beautiful architectural space, with a 660-foot long sky lit Nave and marble mosaic floor.

Visitor Information

Amazed by the Beauty! A Winter Day at Quixote Winery

The Stags Leap palisades create a dramatic backdrop, while seedheads of ornamental grasses soften the surroundings on a winter's day at ...

Quixote Winery, located in the Stags Leap AVA - American Viticultural Area - of Napa Valley.

Former owner Carl Doumani, an avid art lover, once said: "The minute I saw [Hundertwasser's design) I knew it was what I wanted."

Playfully colorful, flowing and undulating, Quixote's design represents a rare example in the U.S. of a site (buildings and grounds) created by the artist, Hundertwasser. Always aware and concerned about the environment, Hundertwasser often added green roofs to structures.

Hundertwasser's paintings and architectural work incorporate an organic aesthetic meant to enrich one's everyday experience, in sharp contrast to the stark, geometric architecture that he loathed.

Ornamental grasses planted throughout add a naturalism to a landscape

designed by Landscape Architect Jack Chandler.

The Quixote vineyards are organically farmed.

"The kind of day that makes you want to live forever."

I basked in the warmth of the Irish: In this instance, the above greeting by Quixote's Wine Club Concierge, Ireland-born Anne White.

Anne's hospitality will enhance your visit to the winery: open by appointment only.

A note: In 2000, Hundertwasser died on a voyage on the RMS Queen Elizabeth, and is buried in New Zealand.

Quixote produces finely crafted Petite Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Celebrating Gardens

Aristolochia californica .. a very early blooming native vine in Alice's Garden 
Photo Copyright © Alice Joyce

The image of California pipevine befits the notion of the brilliantly green 2-year Blogiversary, celebrated with the readers of Bay Area Tendrils!

Surely one of the most interesting 'flowers' a gardener could ask for, and a host plant for swallowtail butterflies - the vine's leaves being the only food source the caterpillars consume.

Despite the region's heavy winter rains, it's plants such as this vigorous vining species that enliven my days as a gardener in the Bay Area. It's not unusual to see the plant flowering on and off throughout the seasons. This pipevine has spread widely in the garden, climbing up latticework, and scrambling under an arbor into through a border along a fence on the western boundary of the property.

The postage-stamp size garden I left behind in Chicago may be familiar to those of you who have followed the blog from its early days. A scanned 35mm slide shows a corner of a tiny gem of a space brightened by the hue of Chinese-red enamel on arbors I constructed, the wooden shutters and door to my studio. In Chicago, it always seemed we went directly from winter into summer, when a spell of intensely hot days would descend and roses would open... only to immediately wilt in the heat. But annuals grew lushly, thriving for months on end as the evenings contained the heat of the day.

Photos Copyright © Alice Joyce

The garden I created in my new home is a retreat from the daily grind: Another outdoor room, in fact, to expand the space of a tiny house. With plants that bloom year-round, the garden is filled with buzzing bees (despite the decline in bee populations), hummingbirds, and butterflies that feed on the pipevine; keeping us company while we have lunch under the umbrella.

In this 'before' shot, you'll see the new fence built to protect the space from our small town's over-the-top deer population. I'd been working for a couple months when I took the photograph, spending much of the time down on my knees, digging up broken glass and concrete rubble in order place the pavers that define the shapes of beds and borders. I eventually built up mounds for planting, having implemented the depleted and compacted hardpan with plenty of compost. I layered newspapers over the future pathways, as the El Nino rains of 1998 & '99 poured down over me.

UCSC's incredible FLORA: Banksia ericifolia 

Photo Copyright © Alice Joyce

Moving to the West Coast has been an eye-opening journey for a self-professed fanatical plant lover. It all began with my first 'major' journey about an hour and a half south to the Arboretum at the University of California at Santa Cruz! Here, collections of plants encompass members of the Proteaceae family from South Africa; the stunningly enormous cone-like flowering clusters of Banksia species from Australia; and yes, California native plants in the Elevenia Slosson Research Gardens: All provide an exciting horticultural experience.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Native Plants .. Slipper Orchid 

Photo © Alice Joyce

New York Gardens on Bay Area Tendrils

I want to thank you all for dropping by to share in my adventures.

New York City's Battery Gardens: The Bosque designed by Piet Oudolf (Photos © Alice Joyce)

Chicago's 'Crown Fountain' by Jaume Plensa .. Millennium Park (Photos © Alice Joyce)

Chicago's Green Destinations on Bay Area Tendrils

I remain extremely proud of the city where I was born, raised, and lived for decades. It's the equal culturally and horticulturally of any city I've ever visited! I need to travel to the midwest to experience the vibrant atmosphere of Chicago at least once a year.

Barcelona's Historic Parc de la Ciutadella (Photo © Alice Joyce)

The sophistication and panache of Barcelona is unique.

It's 2011.... amazing how time is flying by. I plan to continue writing about my travels here

and on my web site: Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

...to connect with virtual green thumbs in the year ahead,

and especially those of you I'll have a chance to meet in real time!

Ciao ... à bientôt ... Hasta pronto ... Até breve ... Until next time!