Turning Towards Torcello

One of the great surprises of my Italian sojourn:

Historic Torcello, barely populated, yet at one time, the beating heart of the Veneto.

Some 20 people now occupy this island in the Venetian lagoon where 10,000 or more once thrived. 

Wild meadows and fenced areas under cultivation caught my eye,

along with Ristorante Villa 600, where we stopped to sip an afternoon 'Spritz' in the peaceful gardens.

Ponte del diavolo / Photo: Wikipedia

The ancient bridge found on Torcello is a popular place for tourist shutterbugs to pose.

The only other bridge of its kind in the region is Ponte Chiodo,

leading directly to the door of the Ponte Chiodo Guest House, where I was welcomed upon arrival in Venice.

Buddleia Bliss! Miss Ruby Is A Stunner

Alice's Garden is a rather petite plot. 

Thankfully, I can expand upon the plants I insist upon cultivating by taking advantage of T's community garden.

At times, when a shipment of plants arrives to trial from Proven Winners - Color Choice shrubs, I'll choose to 'install' certain choice cultivars at T's veggie allotment - aka: our community garden plot, located about one mile from our house.

The community gardens are laid out in our town's parkland, where Buddleia 'Miss Ruby' has had plenty of room to flourish. Indeed, she stops folks in their tracks as they're strolling past.

While T. might be weeding or tending to the veggies, and cutting flowers he harvests for bouquets, he'll often hear someone call over the fence by the path, "What is that... a butterfly bush?"  Followed by, "it doesn't look like my buddleia!"

My 'Miss Ruby' butterfly bush is currently covered in long-stemmed blooms that beg to be admired. 

We do our part, dutifully oohing and aahing over the fragrant, deep toned ruby spires that I can't get enough of.

Paradise in Mill Valley: Don Worth Garden

The Garden Conservancy 'Open Days' Program in June of 2012

featured a Marin County garden created by Don Worth.

This magical Mill Valley paradise created by artist/photographer Don Worth was one of the gardens opening to the public, allowing for a rare opportunity to visit a unique West Coast landscape.

 I wrote an in-depth feature on the garden at: 

 Alice's Garden Travel Buzz:  Drop by to see a photo portfolio of the garden and learn more about Worth's exceptional vision.

Queen of the Bog Garden .. Lovely Lobelia

Magnificent dark-leaved Lobelia 'Queen Victoria' ...

photographed at Portland's South Waterfront Park.

Without a doubt, Portland is one of my favorite U.S. destinations for summertime garden splendor!

Wild Lupines .. Catalina State Park

Truly Blue...

Arizona Lupine: Lupinus sparsiflorus 

Catalina State Park

Tucson

Gardens of Tohono Chul Park, Tucson

My Tucson sojourn took in terrific meals at restaurants like Cafe Poca Cosa and Feast. There were wonderful hikes in sublime desert settings, 

and gardens, of course!

My timing was perfect to catch full bloom on the ornamental, evergreen trees, Sophora (aka Calia) secundiflora, at Tohono Chul Park located on the city's Northwest side on Paseo del Norte.

Common names for the showy beauty in the photo include Mescal bean, not to be confused with the Agave used to make mezcal.  Another moniker you might be familiar with: Mountain laurel. But I like the sound of Sophora secundiflora as it rolls off the tongue.

When I first saw the lavish blooms I thought of the Empress Tree, Paulownia tomentosa, which produces gorgeous purple panicles in Spring. They appear to be unrelated.

You can easily spend hours exploring the Park's demonstration gardens and walking trails, art exhibits and gift shops, sign up for a daily tour, or plan your visit for to coincide with special event or class at Tohono Chul.  The inviting patio of the Tearoom -- a popular spot with locals and garden tourists.  To read more, see the Tohono Chul feature on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz - click at the top of the page on the right.

And stay tuned for more Tucson highlights!

Dream Catcher .. Kudos, Kolkwitzia!

Reprise: 
Having turned the corner on the 3-year anniversary of Bay Area Tendrils,

I'm reposting one of the loveliest shrubs sent by 'Proven Winners' to trial in my garden.

The company released the plant about 5 years ago.

Finally, the rain returns .. and the garden is a dance floor where juncos strut.

Having been buried in a mountain of tax forms - always anxious to put this yearly task behind me - I await the emergence of some of my favorite spring-bloomers to begin showing signs of life.

I photographed this fairly recent addition to the garden last April. 

Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Dream Catcher' is the aptly named Beauty Bush, a Proven Winners cultivar worth seeking out.

A profuse bloomer, it boasts glowing foliage in filtered shade, and a graceful branching form.

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

San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

Part I - A handful of highlights from the 2012 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

GardenMob by Saunders Design

featured expansive walls representing "upcycled landfill rescue materials,"

a long rectangular pool and colorful Rhodies.

Below: The PLANit Green garden demonstrated the successful use of recycled 'Urbanite' as a hardscape material, reclaimed wood, recycled glass, and local rock.

Created by the West Valley College Landscape Architecture Student Club and Habitat Horticulture,

the minimal design is set off by a cool color scheme, with planted pillars as focal points,

and a massed planting of Astelia 'Red Gem.' 

Savanna! 

An engaging garden on every level of sensory experience, designed by the guru of grasses, John Greenlee.

 

Today: Saturday March 24th at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show Gala, this fabulous garden will be raffled off - value $25,000 - to benefit the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.

To read more, visit... Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Mariposa Gardening and Design 

Their stonework is always outstanding!

Photos © Alice Joyce

The Darjit garden, with its golden dragon sculpture by Kobi Beck, drew plenty of crowds as show visitors posed for photo opportunities. The material, Darjit utilizes primarily recycled paper together with a mix of china clay, rock powder and cellulose fibre.

An excellent selection of beautiful poster art at the ...

Vintage European Posters booth: 

The company is located in Berkeley on Fourth Street.

Seriously Stormy: Thornless Flowering Quince

Early Spring Bloomers...

My garden boasts new blooming shrubs this Spring, in shades of scarlet and orange.

Photo: Courtesy Proven Winners

The shrubs are thornless varieties of Double Take flowering quince and they're proving to be an excellent addition to Alice's Garden.  Some time in May last year the plant shipment arrived, sent to me by Proven Winners to trial.  I planted an "Orange Storm' in the enclosed front patio area and another in the main garden outside the french doors at the rear of the house.

The showy, double flowers began opening in early March. Now fully open, stems have many more flower buds forming. As you can see, they look a lot like camellias, though not as large. They are quite a bit bigger and with a more beguiling form than the flowers on species shrubs.

Flowering Quince Double Take 'Orange Storm'  - Chaenomeles 
Photos © Alice Joyce

Double Take 'Scarlet Storm' - Chaenomeles 

One of the'Scarlet Storm' plants has been planted in a rather sequestered spot in my garden. I'm glad to see tall stems emerging as they seek the light. 

'Pink Storm' is planted in T's sunny community garden in our town center, where it receives full sun; more than anywhere here at home. Another is planted at my friend's plot a block away, where I can keep an eye on it. There's been so much rain lately that I haven't had a chance to photograph the pink form, but it's blooming abundantly and clearly thriving at the community garden plot. I'll surely continue to photograph these beauties. I'm smitten!