Posted on by tonytomeo · 36 Comments

Six on Saturday: Rock Concert

 

Designing a landscape is too artistic for me. I am just a horticulturist. I just grow things, and sometimes tell others how to grow them in a landscape.

Rocks sometimes get in the way when I grow things. They are not something that I often consider to be an asset to the sorts of landscapes that I typically work with; although I have worked with some landscapes in which boulders and stones work very well. I happen to think that they work well in this landscape. I did not design it of course. I merely helped with the installation of new plant material, and the salvage of old plant material.

1. The Rock Stars! It was not easy getting them here!P80407
2. The Concert Venue: This is not a big landscape, but happens to be in a prominent location.P80407+
3. Blue flowers were added in front, off the left edge of the previous picture. I do not remember what species this is, but it is common nowadays.P80407++
4. Escallonia was added just behind the blue flowers in the picture above. I do not remember what cultivar this escallonia is.P80407+++
5. ‘Winter Orchid’ Wallflower was added in front of the Rock Stars, just off the left edge of the first picture. It might be ‘Winter Party’. I do not remember.P80407++++
6. Yellow Freesia is a remnant from the original landscape. There are red freesias too. We like them too much to remove them.P80407+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 16 Comments

Six on Saturday: New Leaf

 

New foliage develops immediately after the earliest spring flowers. All six specie shown here are locally native to the San Lorenzo Valley in Santa Cruz County of California. With the exception of #4 (California) black oak, these specie are riparian specie found near the San Lorenzo River, which is the wet thing in the background behind #3 red willow. #4 (California) black oak naturally prefers drier situations a mile or so away, but happens to be in the area. #6 gooseberry is unidentified, and could have a color in the name like most of the others. #1 box elder has no color in the name, and is not related to #5 blue elderberry. Nor are #2 black cottonwood and #4 (California) black oak related to each other. #5 blue elderberry really is blue, unlike the black elderberries of eastern North America and elsewhere, which incidentally, are related to neither #2 nor #4. This is getting confusing. #3 red willow is also known by a few other names.

1. box elderP80331
2. black cottonwoodP80331+
3. red willowP80331++
4. (California) black oakP80331+++
5. blue elderberryP80331++++
6. gooseberryP80331+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: Vegetation Management

 

It sounds so unglamorous; probably because it is. We had been working on this project for three weeks, and just finished on Thursday. Most of the work was cutting back thickets of native (but installed) redtwig dogwood. It was neither coppicing nor pollarding, but something in between. They could not be coppiced completely because they are in trafficked areas where they might be tripping hazards until they regenerate. They were not quite pollarded because there were no real trunks remaining, just short stubs of canes. We also needed to removed brambles that were mixed with the redtwig dogwood, as well as a few exotic (non-native) plants that had grown in amongst the whole nasty mess. There were a few nice pyracanthas and privets that needed to be removed. In a better situation, they would have been nice specimens. This was not the right situation for any of them. Besides, privets seed profusely and are quite invasive.

1. Now you see it. This is a privet that needed to be removed.P80324
2. Now you don’t. This is the same privet noticeably absent.P80324+
3. Evidence. There really was a privet here.P80324++
4. And there it goes!P80324+++
5. Except for the foliage that just recently developed, this thicket of redtwig dogwood that will not be pruned is what the rest of it looked like.P80324++++
6. This is what it looks like now.P80324+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 16 Comments

Six on Saturday: Infirmary

 

Some of the plants that get recycled at work go to a small nursery next door to the shop until they find a new home. Many are out of season annuals that are really perennials. Some were not performing adequately, so got replaced. Some just needed to get out of the way for something else. Because most plants must recover from transplant, or whatever happened to them out in the landscape, the nursery is more of an infirmary. Only a few plants were recently purchased at a nursery for installation into a new project.

1. Primrose blooms in many colors besides white – the sequel to the sequel – https://tonytomeo.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/six-on-saturday-my-favorite-color-ii-the-sequel/P80317
2. African daisy works well in the sunnier parts of our unrefined landscapes.P80317+
3. ‘Sunset Gold’ breath of Heaven is a new acquisition for a newly landscaped area; but was not my choice. This picture makes it look even worse than it really is.P80317++
4. Wallflower will go with the ‘Sunset Gold’ breath of Heaven.P80317+++
5. Forsythia is rare here. Besides this one, there is only one other in the landscape. This picture was taken earlier, while the forsythia were still blooming.P80317++++
6. ‘Black Lace’ elderberry is starting to foliate. I really want to try the berries from this ornamental cultivar, if it fruits, to see how they compare to the native blue elderberry.P80317+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 20 Comments

Six on Saturday: Blackwood Acacia

 

Blackwood acacia, Acacia melanoxylon, happens to be one of my least favorite trees, but it does happen to be rather interesting. Mature trees have no leaves. Really. I don’t mean that they defoliate through winter and refoliate in spring. Only juvenile growth has bipinnately compound leaves. As growth matures, leaves are smaller, and are outfitted with distinctively winged petioles. As growth progresses, the winged petioles, known as ‘phyllodes’, become more prominent, and lack vestigial leaves. Therefore, once mature trees outgrow their juvenile growth, no leaves remain.

I dislike blackwood acacia because it is an invasive exotic species, like Acacia dealbata, but not as invasive. Mature trees sucker profusely from roots to form groves of several straight and vertical trunks. Where they are not a problem, groves of mature trees are rather handsome, but do not last long before they start to deteriorate. Foliar liter has an herbicidal effect that inhibits weed growth, but also inhibits the growth of desirable plants. It also produces an objectionable aroma.

1. Juvenile leaves are bipinnately compound, like those of Acacia dealbata.P80310
2. Leaves become more diminutive with distinctively distended petioles as growth matures.P80310+
3. Adult foliage is comprised exclusively of phyllodes, without leaves. The phyllodes function and look just like simple leaves.P80310++
4. Blackwood acacia flowers are not much to look at. Even in full bloom, they are grungy yellowish white.P80310+++
5. At least the bark is handsome.P80310++++
6. The best blackwood acacia is a dead blackwood acacia.P80310+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 34 Comments

Six on Saturday: My Favorite Color II – The Sequel!

 

WHITE!

These are a few more of the flowers I get to work with. The cool season annuals will eventually be replaced with warm season annuals. The English daisies are warm season annuals that replaced cyclamen. Candytuft stays as a perennial. The viola and dianthus are sparse because of the shade from the big redwoods.

If you are easily offended, you should not read this article I wrote earlier about my favorite color: https://tonytomeo.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/white-supremacy/

1. cyclamenP80303
2. violaP80303+
3. dianthusP80303++
4. primroseP80303+++
5. English daisyP80303++++
6. candytuftP80303+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 34 Comments

Six on Saturday: My Favorite Color

 

WHITE!

These are a few of the flowers I get to work with. I do not know any of the cultivars. Some are blooming a bit early because of the prior warm weather.

If you are easily offended, you should not read this article I wrote earlier about my favorite color: https://tonytomeo.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/white-supremacy/

1. American plumP80224
2. rhododendronP80224+
3. azaleaP80224++
4. camelliaP80224+++
5. zonal geraniumP80224++++
6. callaP80224+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 19 Comments

Six on Saturday: Big League

 

Again, my six pictures are not from my own garden, which incidentally, is not at all interesting. Instead, these pictures are from the biggest site I work at. It is many acres, with some very big features.
1. Big lawns are acres of turf. The kid in front of the building in the distance shows how big the building and lawn is. This is the biggest of three big lawns.P80217
2. Big trees are very common here. These are coastal redwoods. There are also big Douglas firs and ponderosa pines.P80217+
3. Big water features are not constructed backyard fountains or koi ponds. This is Bean Creek, which flows into Zayante Creek less than half a mile away. It is more than a hundred feet below where the picture was taken.P80217++
4. Big shovels are necessary for working in such big gardens.P80217+++
5. Big garden sheds and big garden carts made by Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet are also very important.P80217++++
6. Big insects are quite at home in such big gardens.P80217+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 8 Comments

Six on Saturday: Weeds of Felton Covered Bridge Park

 

Although it is not my own garden, I have obtained some of my plants here, and have planted a few here too. I write about or mention Felton Covered Bridge Park too often to bother posting links to other posts about it. #1 and #2 are not exactly weeds, but were not planted here either. They were likely taken by the San Lorenzo River from gardens upstream, and deposited here.

1. Snowdrop! It seems that everyone else has been posting pictures of theirs, and I had nothing to brag about. I did not know they were here. However, these are Leucojum aestivum rather than a species of Galanthus.

P80210
2. Daffodil foliage emerges annually, but gets cut down by the ‘gardeners’ with their weed whackers. This is only the second time they have bloomed.P80210+
3. Periwinkle is a prolific weed throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains.P80210++
4. English daisy is a prolific weed in lawns in mild climates. Most if not all of the lawns in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco are infested with it; but it is too pretty to dislike.P80210+++
5. Dandelion is another prolific lawn weed that is easier to dislike.P80210++++
6. Dandelion seed is very abundant and very easily blown about.P80210+++++
This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 17 Comments

Six on Saturday: Town Tree and Town Flower for the Kitty City

P80124I just can not resist; although I do not intend to make a habit of this.

I know I am sending this late, and that it is already Sunday east of India. It is still before noon on Saturday here. These pictures are not mine, but were used as illustrations for the selection of a town tree and a town flower for Los Gatos. There were more, but these are my six favorites; four trees and three flowers. I know that sounds like seven instead of six, but that is only because apricot can be either the town tree ‘or’ the town flower. Selection is limited to specie that are either native, or of cultural significance. The three trees besides apricot are native here, where the Santa Cruz Mountains meet the Santa Clara Valley, and the Los Gatos Creek forms a small alluvial plain. Apricot trees, which bloom with apricot ‘flowers’ were the main orchard crop here longer than anyone can remember, until only a few decades ago. Arroyo lupine is native on the alluvial plain of the Los Gatos Creek; and cat tails are native to the marsh surrounding Los Gatos Creek.

1 – California sycamorePLATANUSRACEMOSA

2 – valley oakQUERCUSLOBATA

3 – coast live oakQUERCUSAGRIFOLIA

4 – apricotPRUNUSARMENIACA

5 – arroyo lupineLUPINUSSUCCULENTUS

6 – cat tailTYPHALATIFOLIA

Cat tail would be my favorite choice for the town flower because this is the town of the Cats. Apricot would be my second favorite flower, only because cat tail is so appropriate, and also because apricot is my favorite for the town tree (and we can not have it do double duty). coast live oak is my second favorite for the town tree because it is native to both the Santa Clara Valley ‘and’ the Santa Cruz Mountains.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/