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Santa Cruz

Begonia boliviensis ‘Santa Cruz’

Begonia boliviensis ‘Santa Cruz’ is one of those modern cultivars that I am typically not so keen on. It grows vigorously with abundant red bloom. ‘San Francisco’ is similar but with abundant pink bloom. ‘Santa Barbara’ is similarly similar but with abundant white bloom. All perform splendidly, like so many formerly modern cultivars that were trendy before them. I am not so keen on them merely because they are both modern and trendy. Their names do not help either. My colleague purchased ‘Santa Cruz’ from a nursery in Santa Cruz. It now lives here in Mount Hermon, which is a few miles away from Santa Cruz, but still in Santa Cruz County. I suspect that it is more popular locally because of its name. For the same reason, I suspect that ‘Santa Barbara’ is more popular in Santa Barbara, and ‘San Francisco’ is more popular in San Francisco. I also suspect that I would be less resistant to these modern cultivars if they had more appealing names, such as ‘Los Gatos’, ‘San Jose’ or ‘Palo Alto’. Perhaps the names are for the counties rather than the cities within the counties. All three of my recommendations are within Santa Clara County.

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Horridculture – Pseudo-Sustainability

This would not survive for long in the wild.

Sustainability is a good idea gone bad. Theoretically, it is commendable. Horticulturally, it involves growing species and cultivars that require minimal intervention or resources that they can not obtain naturally from their environment. In more extreme application, it can involve growing only native species, but not their cultivars that would not be naturally occurring, in order to limit interference with natural and endemic ecosystems.

Capitalism is a good idea too. Unfortunately though, it too often compromises other good ideas. It is how sustainability became a cheap fad, which now involves all sorts of artificial but marketable products and interventions that are contrary to its original intention. Regardless of their sources, water, fertilizers and amendments that are not provided by nature are unnatural. Container gardening infrastructure, irrigation systems, artificial illumination and really anything that is made of unnatural material are violations of sustainability that should be more obvious than they are.

‘Sustainability’ has become a buzzword for marketing.

There is certainly nothing wrong with appealing exotic vegetation with the garden or home. Almost all of the best and most popular vegetation is not native, and most of it relies on unnatural intervention and resources to perform as desired. However, it should be recognized for what it is, and not marketed as ‘sustainable’ if it is not.

This unusual cultivar of Aglaonema was unnaturally selected or developed from species that are native to tropical or subtropical climates of southeastern Asia. it grows primarily as a houseplant here because it is vulnerable to even very mild frost. It grew in artificial potting medium, within a plastic pot. It will always be reliant on artificial irrigation, and will perform better with unnatural application of fertilizer. It will always be less vigorous than greener cultivars because it lacks chlorophyll. Yet, it is marketed as ‘sustainable’.

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Sustainability Is More Than A Fad

Vegetation that survives within untended gardens is truly sustainable.

Sustainability is a good idea gone bad. It is so often used as a marketing gimmick by those who actually have the least to gain from it. Really, landscapers and gardeners would not have much business if landscapes really were sustainable and able to function without their help. The best landscapes probably compromise between being as sustainable as possible with a few more conventional but less sustainable features to make them functional.

For example, lawn happens to be among the least sustainable of landscape features. It needs ridiculous volumes of water and continual maintenance, typically with gasoline powered mowers. Many lawns are gluttons of fertilizer. Yet, almost all landscapes have lawn of some sort. Lawns are certainly justifiable for children and dogs.

The trick is to use lawn like rugs for the landscape instead of like wall to wall carpeting. If possible, it should not be an all purpose ground cover for whatever area is not landscaped with something else. It should cover only areas that will get used as lawn.

Bedding annuals are likewise far from sustainable. They need too much water and work, and get replaced seasonally. Even those that sometimes naturalize where a bit of water is available, like sweet alyssum, godetia and nasturtium, really do not perform quite like more pampered bedding plants do.

The best way to see sustainability in action is not in the pretty pictures in the brochures of landscape companies with something to sell, but in the worst of landscapes. Plants that survive in abandoned landscapes where lawns and bedding plants have died off are obviously more sustainable.

Bottlebrush, oleander and various junipers and yuccas may be stigmatized as ‘gas station’ plants, but earned that stigma by being so resilient and sustainable. The many types of cotoneaster, manzanita, wild lilac and rockrose are also worth investigating, (although wild lilac and rockrose do not live as long as the other shrubbery does.) Redwood, California laurel, strawberry tree, incense cedar and many types of eucalyptus, oak , cypress and acacia are among the more sustainable of trees.

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Fads Influence Contemporary Garden Design

Even boulders can become a fad.

Landscape design and gardening trends change like every other sort of fashion. Several fads of the past were quite practical and justifiable. Many were not. Whether justifiable or not, many merely became old fashioned. Some evolved into a more contemporary style. Others were not so adaptable. Planning for a landscape is easier than planning for fads.

For example, plants seem to be disproportionately small within a new landscape. That is because someone planned for them to have sufficient room to grow. Shade trees should eventually mature to be proportionate to their respective spaces. In fact, all plants should mature accordingly. However, overly trendy queen palms can become passe at any time.

Many home gardens contend with fads from the past that are awkward to accommodate. Strict symmetry that was very common long ago has become more than old fashioned. It is now considered to be unappealing. Relaxed asymmetry is now common and popular. Of course, this is an advantage as aged trees of symmetrical rows begin to die randomly.

Queen palms that became popular in the 1990s are getting more expensive to maintain. Only professional arborists can groom them as they get too tall to reach from the ground. Queen palms at rear fences of backyards were a fad. Sadly, most utility cable easements are above such rear fences. Palms that encroach too closely necessitate costly removal.

Living Christmas trees was another fad that caused serious problems later. Most of such trees were either Italian stone pine or Canary Island pine. Many found permanent homes within confined home gardens after Christmas. They seemed to be so docile while small and potted. The problem was that both species grow too big for compact home gardens.

Sustainability is presently a fad that actually has potential to be beneficial in the future. It only needs proper execution. The results of fads may linger long after the fads are gone. Many trees that are fads now could survive for centuries. No fad demonstrates that more accurately than sustainability. That which is truly sustainable can evolve with future fads.

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Sustainable Horticulture Should Be Sustainable

Lily of the Nile is sustainable!

There is no doubt about it. Weeds are sustainable. Otherwise, they would not be weeds. By definition, they grow where they are undesirable. Less sustainable vegetation should be less invasive. Also, it should be less resistant to eradication than most familiar weeds are. Unfortunately, also by definition, weeds are undesirable. They can not become fads.

Sustainable horticulture is a fad though. Unlike most fads, it is actually quite sensible. In theory, it is horticulture that requires as minimal intervention as possible. It excludes that which requires intensive or impractical cultivation. For example, native species that grow wild are sustainable. Tropical species that may survive only within greenhouses are not.

A problem with the sustainability fad is its marketability. ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Sustainability’ have become cliche buzzwords. They too often describe merchandise that is contrary to the fad. Realistically, genuine sustainability is unsustainable within profitable marketing. Truly sustainable merchandise would eliminate most of the need to ever purchase more.

Modern cultivars can qualify as ‘new and improved’ as they first become available. They are certainly new. However, their improvements may be questionable. Hybridization and extensive breeding can cause genetic deficiency. Even natural variegation compromises vigor. Seed is not true to type. Most aesthetic improvements are contrary to sustainability.

Native species are technically sustainable. Once established, they might survive without irrigation or other attention. Unfortunately though, some are not very adaptable to refined home gardens. Some are vulnerable to rot if nearby vegetation needs frequent irrigation. Some perform vigorously only for a few years. Several species are innately combustible.

Ironically, several of the most passe and old fashioned species are the most sustainable. That is why some of them became passe. Lily of the Nile can survive indefinitely. If it gets overgrown, it is easy to divide and relocate. It may be available for free from neighbors or friends. African iris, New Zealand flax, bergenia, most aloe and many yucca are similarly sustainable.

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Juniper Cultivars Deserve More Consideration

Evergreen juniper foliage has distinctive texture.

Fads come and go. Many can be good, even if only briefly. A few might be bad enough to later stigmatize the object of the fad. For example, the formerly esteemed crape myrtle is now familiar as a mundanely common tree. Flashy bloom and complaisance contributed to its excessive popularity. Most sorts of juniper are similarly victims of their previous fad.

A few cultivars of juniper suddenly became overly popular during suburbanization of the 1950s. They were remarkably reliable and resilient. Most were shrubbery or low hedges. A few were groundcover. Hollywood juniper grew as a compact sculptural tree. However, most junipers grew too big. They became difficult to maintain, or impossible to renovate.

As many outgrew suburban gardens, few junipers outgrew their reputation. Even modern cultivars that were unavailable during the fad of the 1950s are perhaps less popular than they should be. Realistically, many old and new cultivars of juniper are quite practical for refined home gardens. They merely need to be appropriate to their particular application.

Many cultivars of several species of Juniperus are commonly available. Straight species are very rare from nurseries, although a few are native nearby. All junipers are evergreen with tiny awl or scale leaves. Foliar color ranges from forest green to silvery gray. Bloom is unremarkable. Some junipers produce pretty and aromatic blue, gray or black berries.

Junipers generally do not respond favorably to pruning that damages their natural forms. Those that grow as groundcovers, with stems that sprawl over the surface of the soil, are not offended by pruning to contain their edges. However, most groundcover junipers are actually just low shrubbery. Pruning might leave holes within their dense foliar canopies.

Junipers that grow as small trees do not mind removal of lower limbs at their main trunks, but object to partial pruning or ‘stubbing’ of such limbs. Regardless of their natural forms, all junipers should be proportionate to their particular applications. With sufficient space, they can mature and develop their naturally distinguished forms with minimal altercation. Maintenance could really be quite minimal.

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Not All Plants Like Fads.

Ornate pots and planters can be as decorative as the plants within them, and provide extra accommodation for more plants.

Like so many fads too often are, container gardening is overrated, and is actually contrary to the currently most faddish of fads; sustainability. Plants in containers need more regular watering than those that can disperse their roots more extensively into the ground. Those that are so indulged also want fertilizer to be applied more regularly, but are more likely to be damaged if fertilized too generously. Because confinement is stressful, plants in containers are innately more susceptible to disease and pests. Some plants need more pruning for confinement.

Then there are the problems with the containers. If exposed to sunlight, thin plastic containers get warm enough to cook roots within. Pots that do not drain adequately or that sit in their own drainage basins can stay saturated enough to kill roots. Water in drainage basins allows mosquitoes to proliferate. Seepage from large pots can rot decks and stain pavement. Self watering containers work nicely for houseplants (if used properly!), but lack drainage, so can not be used out where they are exposed to rain.

The advantages to container gardening are actually quite limited. Containers are obviously needed for houseplants, and where exposed soil is not available, like on balconies. They are also convenient for plants that want better soil than they can get in the garden, especially if the rest of the garden is responsibly landscaped with sustainably undemanding plants that do not require soil amendment or regular watering. Frost sensitive plants can be moved easily to sheltered locations if contained. Flashy plants like orchids and tuberous begonias that get displayed prominently while blooming can be concealed while not so impressive.

Of course there are many pendulous plants like Boston fern, spider plant, string or pearls and burro’s tail that really are at their best in hanging pots. It is also hard to deny that there are all sorts of artsy containers, like colorfully glazed pots and sculptural concrete urns, which are appealing enough to justify growing plants in them, even if just to show off the fun containers. Bonsai requires containers, but that is another big topic!

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Is That A Body?!

This happened back in the 1980s, but after all these years, is still funny. It is reblogged from three years ago.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

P71118It seems that changes in fashion are sometimes partly motivated by rebellion against what they are changing from. The comfortably loose and pendulous ladies outfits of the 1920s that were so unflattering to the human form while revealing more of it than ever before were probably a rebellion to the impractically uncomfortable and strenuously refined ladies fashions of the late Victorian period that were designed to enhance the ideal of feminine form while also obscuring it. The simple and squared landscapes of the 1950s that were so neatly tailored that they would be considered to be bleak by modern standards were replaced through the 1970s and into the 1980s by a much more relaxed and curvaceous style with sculptural trees, shaggy foliar textures, hills and boulders. Ah, the boulders. They were still cool when Brent and I were studying horticulture at Cal Poly. We had to get some.

While Brent’s…

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Horridculture – Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Sweet bell peppers are actually more of a challenge to grow.

This illustration is relevant neither to the topic, nor to that really creepy rock band of the same name. Even though the band has been popular since I was in high school, all that I know about them is that I am none too keen on their music. Embarrassingly, I do not know much more about the topic, and it has been a hot topic much longer than I have been growing my vegetables.

Vegetables make no music of course. I just mean that I am no more familiar with contemporary cultivars of hot pepper than I am with music that I do not appreciate. I happen to appreciate some types of peppers, and some of them happen to be hot peppers. However, I have not bothered to get acquainted with those that are so ridiculously hot that I do not want to grow them.

Why should I? What are they good for? Why waste my time, limited garden space and other resources on something that no one wants to eat or add to any recipe? They are not particularly productive. If they were, they would only make more of something that is just as useless as the few that each plant produces. I can not even justify putting effort into finding a picture of one.

Those who indulge in this fad brag about it profusely. They post pictures of their few tiny hot peppers online, with sensational claims that there is nothing hotter. Some post selfies with their free hand dangling one of their weird peppers over their extended Gene Simmons tongue. Some even post videos of their drunken friends tasting their peppers, as if it can not be done sober.

I suppose that, regardless of how pointless it seems to me, it is one way to enjoy gardening.