Summertime Catchuptime!

Well I think it's about time to get this party started! Don't you? How is YOUR summer going? Personally my free time made me lethargic, lazy and unmotivated. Could NOT get myself to update this blog! Too much effort.... But ah ha! I have overcome! Because here we are right?

(By the way most of these pictures were taken in June?ish?)

I haven't gotten as much done this summer as i wanted to but my bum didn't get TOO soft (is that what happens when you sit on it too much?). This is something i have been trying to find a place for for a while and it looks really pleased with itself now. Like somehow it managed to plant itself! Sheesh! Smugness aside i really adore this Helenium autumnale (Edit: thanks to Digital Flowers for the correction).

Two in the Garden, Three in the hills

This is one of my favorite combinations in the garden. This wonderful Alstroemeria with Salvia 'Waverly'. The Mimulus also adds a lot as well as the white Floribunda Rose to the left that's out of shot.

Ok, I just couldn't help posting another picture of this guy. The Deutzia 'Magicien' is blowing me away!
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A breathe of fresh air right up the street!

If there is a more wooing and exciting tree than the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) then- well- there's NOT!

RIGHT!?

A mixy pixy post!

In the spirit of procrastination here are some pictures!

YESTERDAY:

This is the Acacia melanoxylon in my parents garden (well technically it's in the neighbor's yard but it's cozy enough to everyone). It's a weedy tree that usually doesn't get this huge. It seeds itself about freely but not enough to be a big problem. The roots are everywhere in the garden, though at least they have nitrogen fixing nodules. (Of course i would rather do without them). It has been limbed up so it's not too overbearing while still adding grandeur to the yards. When I was but a very wee lad, us kids would draw on the bark of the main trunk with crayons so it was always very festive. Even though it's intrusive to the garden in a lot of ways i would be crushed to see it go (it is a pretty short lived tree unfortunately).

Ta-da! Deutzia 'Magicien' finally bloomed! This 5' deciduous shrub that was a freebie from back when i worked at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery has been sitting around in its 5gal can, not doing anything for a couple of years. I was expecting it to be really gaudy but it's just plain old gorgeous! Now it just needs a spot to go in the ground....

DAY BEFORE:

This was the last day of the semester for my "Design evaluation of bay area landscapes" class. A great note to end on! This was an awesome home in Sunol with an insane green roof (the main focus of the day), a small vegi garden with fruit trees, a pond, swimming pool and an awesome view overlooking their private vineyard (I know i hate them too).

6 DAYS AGO:

I only just heard about the Oakland Rose Garden the other week. I've passed by here many times without realizing such a gem lay hidden right around the corner.
This is the the Rose 'Circus' introduced in 1956. In this particular picture you can't fully appreciate how variable the colors of this rose are. Pinks yellows oranges whites peaches and everything in between. No commas! I'm serious!

On the way back to the car were some great little front yards. Well, OK- this was on a side porch, not a front yard.

But THIS on the other hand... Full frontal.

The lack of posts

OK- now, i can tell everyone is just on the edge of their seats for another exciting and fun filled post.... unfortunately i am so busy these days either freaking out about my project or as is today's case (a rare one) actually working on it. This is my grandparents garden that I'm designing for my class and actually getting to install. So hold your breaths while i try and pass my class(s)...
I also got a magnificent new camera(!) and i have so many hundreds of pictures to post it's a little overwhelming... bear with me. Rawr! (a bear)

P.S. hello new follower Bangchik and Kakdah! Woohoo!

Santa Barbara trip: Part Two: The Orchid Nursery.... ACTION!

THE ORCHID NURSERY

In this titillating tale, our protagonist Emerson the Bold departs on an epic journey to the southern lands of Santa Barbara.

Payin the bills. What fun!

This is a garden i work at. A good day clipping and planting. Wonderful gardening weather too. I am such a fan of Watsonias. This is all true.

I believe that's a Sedum 'Pork 'n Beans'. The below picture is the tiny patch of this in my garden that I hope will start filling out properly this summer. I know it's kind of a crappy little spot but i feel that I'm lucky I even got those little scraps in the ground before they perished. They sure can look great though huh? The pink and purples are Ixia. The purples are just the fading flowers. There just doesn't seem to be much intermediate between the two colors. Wacky.

The Beautiful Botanical

I went to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden yesterday. This place makes me so happy. The above picture is in the California Native section. Wonderfully wacky I say! Behind the 'soft puffs on wobbly legs' of the Coreopsis Gigantea is its accomplice in yellow flowers; Dendromecon (whether it is D. harfordii or D. rigida I forget and dare not guess as they look pretty darn similar). I love this bush and cannot wait to have some sort of experience gardening with it. To finish off this humpy-bumpy ride of a bed, we have the Prickly Pear, Opuntia littoralis. AH-HAH! WHAT FUN! ... I have got to calm down about this picture. This garden always gets me a little hysterical.

Over in the Asia section there are some really elegant and airy Camellias with bunches of very handsome and robust bamboo. A perfectly placed table with benches sits beside/under them in a cozy corner of the garden. Next to this area is an out of place (only geographically; not aesthetically)...

CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE!!!


Gosh, (thump) if there is anything that can get (thump) me in a tizzy it's an Aesculus (thump) californica. And this is not just any! (thump) Man, i feel like the sound of my palpitating heart will be (thump) heard even over my ever-increasing volume of passionate typing! (and the internet).

Uncomfortably warm and uncomfortably beautiful. A lovely greenhouse.

Have you ever seen such color under a Coast Live Oak? This is Omphalodes cappadocica. Look out Tree! There are blue flames licking at your heels! hah HA!

One of my favorite grasses, Muhlenbergia rigens. I can't think of any other grass that has such an intangible structure. It's upright and stiff, while being wispy and- no no, that's not how it is...
SEE??

Aloe Polyphylla. My Goodness. I can't even talk about this right now.

And finally: GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

The Beautiful Hills of the East Bay

My friend Lance and I went for a walk in the hills today. What a peaceful and fulfilling experience it was. Resting in the grass with bare feet, flowers abound, a gorgeous panoramic view of San Fransisco, Oakland, Berkeley, The golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island.... Then a nice little tromp around with Pines, Madrones, Eucalyptus, California Bays, Oaks, Lupines, Indian Paint Brushes, California Blue Eyed Grass, Monkeyflowers (ok, not in flower yet but looking handsome enough...), Berberis aquifolium, Ribes, Poppies, and oh so much more! Ahhh... how refreshing it was. how invigorating. What a place the East Bay is. I really do love it so.

Choose Four: Bees! Plants! Sun! Spring!

Mmmm...