Nature Beckons... Morro Rock

Morro Rock (Photo: Kjkolb Wikipedia)

Morro Rock Photo © Alice Joyce

Not far from the cities of Paso Robles & San Luis Obispo on California's Central Coast, the magnificent outcrop of Morro Rock emerges from the Pacific Ocean. One element of the so-called Nine Sisters, Morro Rock is referred to as a 'volcanic plug' on Wikipedia. "There are nine volcanic peaks and hills between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo... The peaks were created over 20,000,000 years ago as volcanic ... magma which welled up .. inside softer rock which has since eroded."

Read more on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Stapelia ~ Striking, If A Bit Stinky Show

In a small, terracotta planter,

a Stapelia plant has been growing in my garden for a number of years.

Maybe I imagine that it might have bloomed once before.

But did I jump up and down when I discovered this flower the other day?

Yes, there was a dance of sorts to witness had you been around.

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens - Desert Garden

(Photo: Wikipedia)

More than a decade ago I visited the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens for the first time, touring the magnificent Desert Garden while

researching my book, Gardenwalks in California.

I'll never forget seeing a mass planting of Stapelia gigantea, with many of the large, strange blooms like starfish... resting on the earth. Each, perhaps 12 inches across.

My flower measures about 2 1/2 inches. I don't mind that it's tiny in comparison.

Also called the Carrion Flower, Stapelia has a reputation for being stinky

to attract flies that pollinate the plant.

Before opening, the flower's early stage begins as a strange, puffy pod-like form.

Altogether odd.

It's been one of my favorite, if all too rare, sights since entering the gardening realm.

Now my own pass-along plant has rewarded me after years of benign neglect.

Succulent plants are fascinating in their diversity. So unlike the beautiful blooms I generally cultivate. But Stapelia stands alone in my mind. I really couldn't conjure up a more intriguing flower form if I tried.

Farm Fresh & Fun! Happy Acres, Paso Robles

Had the greatest time touring... Happy Acres Family Farm with Coy Barnes of The Wine Wrangler during a visit to Paso Robles. 

Read more about my Central Coast sojourn on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Happy Acres is a family run Goat Milk Dairy operation that produces the finest artisan cheeses featured in Farmer's Markets and restaurants.

A certified organic farm, they also produce fresh produce and eggs.

Children and their parents delight in touring the property to learn about farming and animal care. You can visit the web site to book a tour!

It's a setting filled with the energetic activity of pigs and dogs, chickens and alpacas, horses and a miniature donkey, along with the 200 or so goats that owner Stephanie Simonin can readily identify by name!

Four women and some younger family members work together milking, collecting eggs, or preparing goats for 4H events and shows. They also create luxurious goat's milk skin care products, another Happy Acres speciality. All are handmade and paraben-free, from moisturizing creams and cleansers to lip butters and lotions in a variety of scents.

Happy Acres Family Farm is located in Templeton, California, a bit south of Paso Robles.

Thanks, Stephanie! The White Tea Ginger Lotion feels wonderful on my skin.

www.HappyAcresFamilyFarm.com

Aah... Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve!

The stunning natural beauty of the

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Wildflower season spans the Springtime months, however, the Fall is also a great time to visit this California State Park. Its eight miles of trails wind through western Mojave Desert grasslands.

Watch for critters such as scorpions and lizards, gopher and rattlesnakes, coyote and bobcat.

A Welcome Visitor: U.C. Botanical Garden, Berkeley

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Mantis created by Patrick E

Perfume Roses! Russian River Rose Co.

Russian River Rose Company Nursery and Display Garden

Jan and Michael Tolmasoff harvest more than a half-ton of rose blooms -- that's 130,000 intensely fragrant flowers -- from their Healdsburg, California gardens in order to yield a mere 2 ounces of distilled rose oil.

The Tolmasoffs' gardens sprouted in 1980. And over time, the layout evolved into a historical arrangement of roses, starting with species such as Rosa californica, a California native. A tour of the garden begins across the way, in a setting anchored by antique roses of European and Middle Eastern descent, creating extravagant displays

A naturalistic butterfly garden encircles the house's turret, with annuals, perennials and roses coming together to provide continuous bloom. The relaxed planting features irises and calendulas for color and contrast in spring: summertime allies - verbena, cosmos, pincushion flower and echinacea are outlined by a vibrantly colorful border of miniature, own-root roses.

Look for the entry arch, supporting hybrid musks among a bevy of shade-tolerant roses that thrive in Northern California. Tender tea roses boast an area of their own. Jan mentions Etoile de Lyon as one of the most beautiful, recommending it to people looking for an antique rose, but not a once-blooming type.

A compelling element of the garden design: An allee articulated by seven arches 12 feet high and wide entices visitors to stroll through the vineyard to the perfume rose field.

Garden Valley Rose Ranch

It's high summer, when a visit to Garden Valley Ranch is the order of the day.

North of San Francisco in Petaluma, this plant nursery & display garden offers a cottage rental & more. (Photos Courtesy GVR)

'Trollius'

One of the distinctive garden areas at GVR is a delightful mixed border

inspired by the designs of the English gardening doyenne, Gertrude Jekyll.

Columbines, Cardoons & Foxgloves

The Rose Field - 'Climbing Iceberg' Arbors in the background.

Here you'll find landscaped gardens and rose fields

to tour,

either

on your own, or call ahead for a scheduled docent tour.

Garden Valley Ranch is open for touring Wednesday through Sunday, events permitting.

Ph: 707.795.0919 for a schedule of events, information on classes,

or for tour information.

May through September Tour Hours 10 - 5

Foodie Treat: 'Circus Circus' Tricolor Carrots Renee's Seeds

A tender foodie treat: This new variety for 2011 from Renee's Seeds:

Tricolor Carrots 'Circus Circus' is a winner.

We grow it in T's sun-drenched community garden.

We're harvesting small, tender carrots and eating them straight from the plot. I used a macro setting on the camera so they appear full-size. T hasn't had any luck with carrots in the past, but this variety is already producing an extremely abundant crop and it's only July.

Heritage Rose Garden: Quarryhill Botanical Garden

Rosa chinensis var spontanea

A magnificent setting year-round! Quarryhill Botanical Garden

Photo courtesy, Christine Walker - Quarryhill

From the garden: Quarryhill director, Bill McNamara returned from a trip to New York City after accepting an award marking Quarryhill's induction into the Great Rosarian's Rose Garden Hall of Fame. Bill received the award at the headquarters of the Manhattan Rose Society in recognition of the outstanding dedication to the preservation of Asian species roses and cultivars.

This honor comes at the same time as the Heritage Rose Garden takes shape at Quarryhill. A new feature at Quarryhill, it will trace the lineage of hybrid tea roses back to their Chinese ancestry, and expand the scope, beauty, and accessibility of the public garden. New attention is being paid to species or wild roses that require less chemical pesticide and fertilizer use.

www.quarryhillbg.org

Patrick Blanc: Vertical Gardens Update

Patrick Blanc Vertical Gardens: London and San Francisco

Detail: Heuchera Bloom at Drew School Living Wall - Photos © Alice Joyce

May 2011 Athenaeum Hotel, London

Compare images below from 2010 with those taken this Spring, and you'll see evidence of amazingly lush growth from one year to the next. Photos © Alice Joyce

Athenaeum Hotel's Vertical Garden completed in 2009 Photo © Alice Joyce

Spring Blooms - April 2011 Drew School Vertical Garden, San Francisco: Planted February 2011 -- I'll visit soon to update photos of the living wall's native plantings.

April 2011 ... Drew School Vertical Garden - San Francisco

Verdantly Vertical on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz