Are you serving lunch? 'Potimarron' Winter Squash!

What's for Lunch?

During my visit to Stone Edge Farm and Vineyards, head gardener Lena Hahn-Schuman kindly handed me one of these beautiful 'Potimarron' squash. As the French name indicates, this winter squash is thought to have the flavor of chestnuts. I'll let you know as soon as it's been cooked: A simple preparation is planned - slicing in half and baking.

'Potimarron' is a golden color as it grows, achieving the lovely red-orange hue when fully ripe.

As you can see from the lead photo, chickens are part of the larger ecosystem at Stone Edge, where an approach to sustainable organic farming takes in ornamental and culinary gardens, along with the vineyards and olive trees.

If you're in Northern California, or expect to be in the area, you may want to sign up for the farm's Mailing List, to be notified of special events and receive news of the release of Cabernet Sauvignon and 'Surround' wines,

not to mention the award-winning olive oil produced at Stone Edge Farm.

Head-Turning Design .. Citron and Emerald

A Walkway of Citron and Emerald Green:

Sagina subulata and Sagina subulata 'Aurea' flanked by Verbena bonariensis:

Stonework punctuates the vignette.

It's the rare instance when I'm totally captivated by a design element,

but I took great pleasure in this moss walkway during a recent garden visit

to Stone Edge Farm 

The elegance of the clean-lined scheme turns heads, while the juxtaposition of cushiony mounds of moss beckoned me to remove my shoes and experience the sensation of the patterned planting beneath my feet!

Do you call it Scotch Moss or Irish Moss?

Both common names appear in the realm of gardening and horticulture.
... to read more, visit Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Summer's End .. Gorgeous Grasses

Delicate plumes brush against the face along the entry path to Alice's Garden.

Photo © ALICE JOYCE

The showy display of Stipa - a welcome element in September.

Photos © ALICE JOYCE

And on the road... where late-summer gardens are buzzing with the effects of ornamental and native grasses! 

Texture .. Architecture - Plants as Ornament

Living Green Wall ..Hotel Modera in downtown Portland.   

An element of the hotel building's mid-century modern design: 

The courtyard landscape features soft pillows of golden Scotch Moss - Sagina subulata 'Aurea' ...set into the pavement.

Silky ... The inspiration for Bay Area Tendrils:

Clematis tibetana seedheads in Autumn - Alice's Garden.

Formidable architecture of an Aloe in bloom - Getty Center, Los Angeles.

Bedazzling ... Vertical structure of Himalayan blue bamboo:

Entry Garden Borders - San Francisco Botanical Garden

A Hint of Autumn .. Blooms in my Bay Area Garden

A bee enjoying an Anemone: The large swathe of Japanese Anemones - a melding of 'Pamina' and 'Mont Rose,' burst forth in the bed where roses once grew; too little sunlight now for roses.
Photos © Alice Joyce

Anemone 'Pamina' ... she's quite the lady.

What would I do without Toad Lilies! Especially Tricyrtis lasiocarpa : Yes, it spreads vigorously, but that trouble-free habit is just what's needed now in the spot where it grows along the back fence, beneath the limbs of my neighbor's enormous evergreen.

As I've had to cut back on the time spent on garden maintenance, I appreciate the elegance of this long-stemmed beauty more and more with each passing year.

Scrophularia 'Lemon and Lime' exhibits my favorite hues, brightening a bed that gets less and less light as the daylight hours grow shorter. In the ground Scrophularia languished, but planted now in the moist conditions of a faux terra cotta planter, it flourishes.

The blooms on this member of the mint family are a magnet for bees.

To read more about 'sticky germander' ... the common name,

here's a link to my San Francisco Chronicle Pick of the Week column.