Potrero Hill Entry Garden

 Third week of May and full of flowers.  Roses, Gerber Daisies, Asters, Scabiosa, Alliums and much more packed into this tiny garden in San Francisco. 

MUG Trial Garden and Nursery

An idea that came to me over the past couple years is to focus on sharing a few of my garden spaces that I have been cultivating for over 15 years.  This is an attempt to show my clients, friends and colleagues the places I have created in these private spaces.  

I have been tending to residential garden in San Francisco since 2003.  So many of my ideas come from visiting other gardens and I want to share these creations and ideas with you.  To start this new series of blog posts is the space in the back of my apartment building.   It is a narrow U shaped space that has both northern and southern sun exposure.  At first, I planted mostly greenery.  That evolved into a test plot for flowering plants.   

When I moved into this Mission Delores apartment there was not much here.   A few grassy weeds and calla lillies.  I first installed the patio pavers and then started what is now my trial garden and nusery.

Over the last decade, I have been growing more of the plants I use in my gardens.   Many I grow from seeds I collect along with other cultivated bulbs, vines and shrubs.   I tend to look for plants that bloom frequently and repeatedly in our mild Mediterranean climate.  And they must be friendly to pollinators.  

Below is the beginning of a new bed featuring select groups of bulbs, self-sowing annuals and perennials that tend to bloom twice a year.  It is about having a constant selection of nectar and pollen for our pollinator allies.  

Here's a pink chrysanthemum I wanted to test.  The color is lovely silvery pink.  This one may show up in your garden soon.  Let me know if you like it.

Other plants I'm testing are asters, irises, ixia, freesias, ....

The remainder of the photo show last years succession of my flowering selections.   This is an introduction to my space and next post will show what is in bloom now.  Each month will feature only those plants that show interest in the past 4 weeks.  Let me know what you think.

Reincarnation of MUG

 It has been a while since my last post and I a now ready to start this thing up again.   A new focus as emerged ...

Telling hte story of a single garden for the next year sharing with anyone these normally private spaces in San Francisco.

Lighting up my garden in the Marina.

Two Years On - Roof Top deck in Richmond

It's hard to see, but these two photos are of the same containers, two years apart.  French Lavender is growing through and completely obscuring the white picker railing.  The Hollywood Junipers are growing taller and filling out.  The windows of their back neighbor almost completely gone.

Check out the original 2016 Post.

A rainy day is a great time to write a new post.  Over the last three months I have been working on three new projects.  The first is a revival of a container deck planting I installed over 10 years ago. Here I replaced the aging containers and tired plants surrounding this kitchen garden.   The small 24" fiberclay containers were crumbling.  I designed a 30" box made of galvanized steel and locally fabricated by NuStar on Otis.

Planted to provide a green curtain on three side of the deck.  Sixteen Hollywood Junipers along the back accented with four Pittosporum "Golf Ball" and Orlaya.  The south side has four Taxus b. columns inter planted with Choisya ternata.  

Garden Wildlife

 Arriving late in the afternoon, I find Salsa already out in the garden.  This LoverBoy, Salsa, is not doing well.  His Cancer is taking its toll.   I love seeing him out in the garden "stalking" butterflies.  He doesn't kill.  Just watches.  I love his spirit.

Last of the Dahlias

I think this is the last week for Dahlias.   But it was a good week.   I really into the golden upper petal/burgundy under petal variety called Dahlia 'Gets Crazy' from Swan Island.   It's a big dahlia and I didn't adequately stake it this year but works well with Aster 'Little Carlow'.  

Other notable Dahlias this year: Dahlia 'Ripples' and Dahlia 'Nicholas'.

2018 Dahlias Blooming

Dearborn Community Garden Plot #12

Fall Asters with Dahlias and feverfew.  

Week in Mykonos - Travel Buddies Edition