Diversity

Diversity is a word you hear a lot about when talking about preserving the flora and fauna of our world, a topic of immense importance. But the term even applies to home gardens and thus to the nursery business. If places like Home Depot and Lowe's had their way they'd sell only 50 plants but ten million of each of them. Their business model is build on volume. Similarly, the vendors that supply them are streamlining their selection of plants to meet this business model. In another related vein, businesses such as Proven Winners seek to establish market dominance by trademarking varieties of plants that they produce in "super" greenhouses, huge, automated growing factories that maintain near ideal growing conditions to maximize performance and thus salable product. In fact, their goal is to grow thousands of one plant where one specimen looks exactly like the other. In ads in the major magazines, Proven Winners advertises these plants by trademarked descriptive names, hiding or avoiding their true botanical names. The reason for this is obvious -- PW wants to sell the plant by its visual appeal and to sell their "brand." Again, the goal is to produce fewer species and/or cultivars and thus minimize costs.
The effect these business models have in common is to gradually shrink the diversity of what is grown and sold to the trade. That means certain species or varieties are not planted in people's gardens and gradually are no longer grown, leading to them largely disappearing. That's why I feel that supporting growers who propagate and sell less common plants is almost a spiritual calling. And gardens like mine in some way continue the beneficial aspects of plant diversity.
Of course, a special place should be reserved for maintaining the diversity of local flora, so critical to the ecosystems here. Fortunately there are many growers in the ecosystem conscious Bay Area that continue to grow and keep alive local flora -- and share them with the rest of us.
On that note, here are more photos from my early September garden. The first hints of fall are showing themselves, as vines and fall perennials like salvias begin to shine.

Chamaecyparis 'Barry's Silver.' I may have mentioned that I have begun to take more notice of conifers when I visit public and private gardens. That increasing interest led me to create a Japanese style dwarf conifer bed. Here is one of my favorite denizens there -- Chamaecyparis 'Barry's Silver.' Love the color and the fine textured foliage.

Zinnia "State Fair' mix.These flowers continue to amaze me, finally answering the question "What the heck is the big deal about zinnias anyway?" At least for the large State Fairs, you're looking at the answer.

Caryopteris 'Hint of Gold.'One of my favorite plants, just now coming into its own. The flower clusters are not as big, or as deep a purple hue, as some Bluebeards, but that crinkly gold foliage is just so fab.

Hedychium greenii. This 'Fire ginger' is probably my favorite ginger, not only for the lovely coral-red flowers but for its red stems. Doesn't take over, doesn't get too tall or wide, blooms faithfully every year. What else do you want?

People coming into our nursery and spotting this Begonia sutherlandii are always charmed by its petite, cream soda orange blooms. Plus it has red stems and a very thin red rim to the leaves. Despite its delicate appearance it's pretty vigorous.

Another shot of my third Succulent bowl. The tall one, an aeonium, is from a 4" pot but the others were all bought in 2" containers. A little water, a lot of sun and voila ...

This isn't the greatest shot of my favorite Oxalis (species uncertain) but if gives you an idea. Lime green clover-like leaves and those vivid rose-colored flowers make a great combo.

Many will recognize the petite burst of color that is Schizanthus grahamii. A sweet sun-loving annual, it puts on quite a show all summer and it's super easy to grow. 

Though the focus isn't absolutely perfect, I like this shot of my Dicentra scandens' canary-yellow flowers in front of the wooden fence backdrop. I cut my plant to the ground in late June but it's already back up and blooming again. It's one of the most delightfully unstoppable plants I've ever grown.

Hedychium gardnerianum. So many wonderful gingers out there but this is certainly one of them. There's something about gingers that really appeals to me. They're colorful while in bloom but the foliage is often fresh and sort of tropical, so holding nearly year long appeal here in our mild zones.

Speaking of tropical, here's another member of my Tropical Corner, Canna Australia. Love its vibrant burgundy foliage and it provides a nice contrast to the gingers and bamboos around it.

Tricyrtis formosana. Toad lilies are fun and easy to grow, though they can kind of take over. Still, the flowers are just so cool and the spotting looks as much as if a painter flicked his paintbrush soaked in purple paint at a white flower.

The closeup on the flower may make this plant a bit hard to ID but it's a Zauschneria canum, now classified as Epilobium canum. This one is E.canum ssp. garrettii 'Orange Carpet.' There's definitely a bit more orange to the flower than on the straight species. Here the flower seems propelled away from the foliage, almost like a shooting star.

Here's the plant of the month and if you're a chocolate lover then the plant of the year! Let me introduce you to (drum roll) ... Scorzonera hispanica. If you've never heard of it, well, either had I. But it has been cultivated for a very long time, in part because it produces an edible carrot-like root that is said to taste a bit like oysters crossed with asparagus! You're not likely to grow it for that but for the fact that the flowers exude an intense chocolate fragrance. Plants like chocolate cosmos barely register next to the heady chocolate fragrance of this perennial.

Dahlia 'Coupe de Soleil.' A very pretty formal double dahlia that this year surprised me by also producing a few white flowers and combinations in between. 

My favorite Agastache, A. Grapefruit Nectar, doesn't smell like that fruit but has a very pleasing sweet smell. And it is floriferous, not just in volume and duration but it has this neat trick of producing both pink and yellow flowers on the same plant.

Sometimes simple is best. The flowers on Salvia azurea are just one color (though it has a paler blue 'throat') but when that color is a robin's egg blue then all is good. This guy didn't bloom its first year, went deciduous, then sort of hid among another agastache's leaves. I didn't realize it had survived until the first flowers appeared yesterday.

Who doesn't like Justicias? Sometimes collectively called Plume flower or Shrimp plant, these South and Central American natives have that tropical look to them that is most pleasing. The flashy red parts are of course the bracts, with the pretty two lipped lavender portions being the flowers themselves. I thought our week-long freeze last winter killed it but it has returned good as new!

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... These sweet little double, mini calibrachoas throw some people at first, being half the size but having the inner petals. This particular one, MiniFamous Double Peach calibrachoa, is an especially lovely one and has proved tougher than it looks, now back for year three.

You succ - why thank you!

For succulent lovers, there is no such thing as an uninteresting succulent and as we head into the heat of our summer/fall season, may cacti and succulents are at their best. Find a few photos in the collection below of my favorite succulents. The downturn in the economy has driven more people to growing their own vegetables -- a good thing -- while the drought has opened more people's eyes to the charms of succulents.
On another note, an unusual plant that I've been anxiously waiting to flower, Scorzonera hispanica, did finally produce its first yellow, dandelion-like flower yesterday. Why the big deal? It's the scent. It has the most intense chocolate smell of any flower I've come across. Amazing. It seems to be a tough plant too so it all seems good.
Here are more photos from my almost-September garden. Lots of photos of succulents, including a couple of the always interesting Propeller plant in bloom.

Begonia 'Angelwings.' This spotted begonia has been doing well in its container, getting morning sun. I learned not to cut it back completely, as that slowed its re-sprouting last year.

Here's another shot of my intense fuchsia-colored Ipomoea 'Sunrise Serenade.' Hard to believe this is a morning glory at first glance. Photographed against the lush foliage of Asarina erubescens.

Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' -- the old and the new. I thought this made an interesting contrast -- the clean blues of the new flower alongside an aging, spotted one.

Hedychium gardnerianum. This is the spike that first appears, from which the yellow flowers will soon unfurl. It sports an interesting architectural look at this stage.

Two shots of my Crassula falcata, better known to some as the Propeller plant. Those are the blue "blades" in back of the flowers.

Another shot, this time of the whole plant, of my weird little Portulaca 'Fairytales Cinderella.' Fab flowers.Oh, the tales they could tell ...

Keeping with the succulents theme of this post, here's my Crassula alba var. parvisepala. One of its attractive features is the red spotting on the leaves.

My mostly succulents table. It's sort of a holding area before they find homes in the ground or in another mixed succulent bowl.

Look up "white" in the Gardener's Dictionary and you may see a picture of Mandevilla laxa. It really is blindingly white, though of course its main calling card is the heavenly fragrance.

Though this Lampranthus 'Fire Spinner' flower is pretty, and I would include it anyway, it represents a kind of triumph. I've been waiting for this Ice plant to bloom for two years and it's just now yielding its first flowers.

I'm crazy mad about my new Pavonia missionum and, well, here's visual proof why. Love that color!

Back to succulents for a second, here's my Aloe striata, better known as Coral aloe. I love the opposing leaves and the red rims. Its common name owes to the color of its flowers.

My amazing Grevillea Moonlight just keeps on blooming. There's nothing quite like the flowers on this variety, being both large (8-10" long) and sporting that otherworldly color.

Potentilla 'Melton Fire.' Tough, beautiful and long blooming. Next ...

Staghorn fern. It seems to like its move to the crevice of a fir tree, which seems fitting for an epiphyte.

People are usually puzzled at first in seeing a flower that seems vaguely familiar. It's a Passion flower vine called Passiflora citrina and it's a bit of a mystery to me why it's not more widely available.

One of my favorite plants of 2013: Gomphrena 'Fireworks.'  It's supposed to be an annual but it's back and already beginning to bloom again.

Sphaeralcea munroana. One of my favorite plants, this prostrate globe mallow has THE prettiest rose-colored flowers.And its spilling over a low rock wall right next to the sidewalk, so passersby get to enjoy its charms.

Caryopteris 'Hint of Gold.' More than a 'hint' actually, this showy variety showcases rich golden textured leaves and then at the leaf axils soft lavender flowers. So lovely.

Fall-ing Your Way

I know it's only mid-August but it seems everyone is already leaning towards Fall. Kids are going back to school; college sports will soon be back on the tube; garden centers already have the first of the fall plants in and oddly enough the warm weather is really more of a sign of fall for us than summer. My garden is having nothing of it. It's still clothed in summer and proud of it. Summer colors -- golds, purples, blues and reds all make their presence known. Here are a few more photos, with a continuation of early summer but a few hints of fall showing through.

If this flower is a head-scratcher it's because it's a new morning glory from Annie's called Sunrise Serenade. It's a double form with a color so raucous you expect a cop to come along any minute to say "Keep it down over here!" No chance of that.

Fans of Oakleaf hydrangeas will recognize the tell-tale orangish stems of this vigorous species (H. quercifolia). It's a four season plant, barely going deciduous in the milder zones of the Bay Area. It's also a quadruple delight, with flowers, leaves, stems and seedpods all of interest. 

Flora or fauna? This kind of looks like a bug but those in the know will recognize it as belonging to Aristolochia fimbriata. It's one of the pint-sized Dutchman's Pipes, only getting to ~ 18." The flowers aren't as large or showy but they're cute nonetheless and not stinky. The spots make me want to call this the "leopard 'lochia."

No mistaking this Passion flower vine. This species is a bit less common (Passiflora pfordtii) but is an easy one to grow and it blooms quickly.

One of my favorite succulents, Crassula alba v. parvisepala blooms faithfully every year, making huge corymbs that are larger than the plant itself! Here the red buds are just beginning to open their white flowers. Bees love the flowers.

Bonus points for those who recognize this flower. It's Silene sp. 'Starfish. Parentage is uncertain but it is similar to S. laciniata.This flower is pinkish but flowers can also be a brilliant red. Like other Silenes, it is vigorous and drought tolerant once established. 

From the sublime to the mundane, here's a double petunia showing off its hot pink and white colors. 

This isn't the best photo but here are Vigna caracalla flowers in bud form. Of course it's better known as Snail vine and the open flowers will acquire a soft lavender color. It's climbed up into my Laburnum tree and finally in year two is producing its first crop of baby snails.

Though not a completely successful photo, this is the interior of a Hibiscus cisplinatus 'Rosa del Rio.' I love the radiating lines that seem to funnel the eye to the dramatic, almost gaudy, velvety anthers.

This photo isn't mine but as I may not have a colorful crop of berries on my Porcelain berry vine (Ampelopsis) for awhile yet, here's what they will look like. We have a mature plant clambering over the fence at Grand Lake Ace and get asked all the time "What IS that plant?" They produce quite possibly the most beautiful berries in all of nature.

Speaking of showy and colorful, the flowers on the vigorous Fuchsia 'Nettala'  are just too cool for school. The bottom petals form roundish cups that also could pass for a kind of wind chimes. Or dancers around a maypole. Charming and vigorous.

Color is the commonality in a lot of these photos and Impatiens 'Jungle Gold' can certainly hold its own in that department. Gold with reddish-orange markings in their throats, this species Impatiens will get about two feet tall and bloom prolifically. It is tender though, so will need some protection to make it through the winter. Thanks to Barb Siegel for this beauty.

Finally two photos of my favorite bulb -- Bessera elegans. Known as Coral Drops for its pint-sized, downward facing orangish-coral flowers, many liken the flowers to little parasols. The second photo shows the cream ribs on the undersides of the petals. The anthers are green, adding another bit of flare to this prolific bulb's charms.