Diamond Heights

 

Salesforce Park Revisited (Transbay Terminal)

 

Just south of Market Street in San Francisco a five block long bus and rail station has a public park on the roof in the forest of skyscrapers.   A friend and I decided to ride our bikes downtown to wander around this park after work.  

Growing Milkweeds in SF for The Monarch Butterfly

Today many people are concerned about our butterfly populations and particularly the western Monarch.   Overwhelming use of herbicides has decimated the milkweed, the Monarch butterfly sole food source.  Once in the millions, now down in the thousands.  

I was asked to plant some milkweed in my Noe Valley garden to help support the Monarch butterfly.  I recalled reading that some species of milkweed are not appropriate to plant in our area.  So I had to do some research and here's what I found.  I was looking for milkweeds that grow here and are easily available from local nurseries.

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Weed), two cultivars available at Digging Dog Nursery in Mendocino. 

Going by its common name, this plant likes moisture.  Something that is not readily available in our California climate.  Only for the very few moist areas in San Francisco.

English Gardens Tour w/ Mike & Frank - Summer 2022

So here it is.  I've been queried about my trip to England for the past three weeks and what are my main take aways from the trip.  What did I learn and make me inspired to try something new?   One of the reasons I love these trips is the introduction to new ideas, styles and plants.  But the one thing that I really like about the English and is another reason I travel there.  They appreciate, as a nation and culture, their love of nature.  Where that intersects the individual Brits own garden space is wonderful to experience.  I love how they have made gardening an art form.  

The list below is our itinerary and a short description or thought about my visit.  Click on the titles or photo to see more photos of that location:

Chelsea flower Show - London

Five hours walking around Chelsea looking at show gardens, tools, products and lots of design ideas.   What stuck with me, those small planting areas with pollinator friendly annuals and perennials.  Here’s a couple of the more natural displays. 

Burgundy lysmachia and apricot geum was the most interesting color combination for me.

Ibiza

Paul, Alex, sabrina juniper, carob, wild rosemary, pine, short mountain laurels?, beach Salinas, San Miguel, large pine, red oleanders, topped italian cypress, beaches, road side food, sun bleached wood, Claudia, jacaranda, avocado, red clay, no cattle, goats or sheep, few chickens, vodka and lemon sorbet, 900 yo pine?, couple types of palms, throbbing disco music, bougainvillea, outdoor church, 

Great Dixter

 Great Dixter, nursery, Cephalaria alpina J sidewalk, grass roof tops, 15thc timber frame hall house, Lutyens 1912, fergus, sounds of school girls, tractors, workmanship, gardeners, roof, hedges and topiaries, orchids, exotic garden, giant fennel, roofer, experiment, colorful long border, Briza maximum, path guards,high garden, narrow paths, sambucus trained as small tree.

Scotney Castle

 Scotney Castle, picturesque, Kalmia, green winged orchid, sandstone, agapanthus Gayles Lilac, wire support, 

queen’s inn - Hawkhurst:  good room and food. 

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

Delos garden Dan Pearson, Dianthus cortunsian or cruentus?, Phlomis, white garden artemisia, absinthium, Allium moly, Luzula nivea, astrantia, evening primrose, 

Wakehurst

 Royal Botanical Garden Kew, giant sequoia, find prostanthera

Sheffield Park

 Sheffield Park, Montezumae Pine, Kalmia latifolia, very large rhododendrons, root system of felled tree, large beech with bluebells, old yews, Giant Sequoia, 125 year old maple, Bodant rhododendron, scenes for painting, chamaecypris nana, Cirsium atropurpureum, 

Nymans

Wollemia nobilis, sequoia, orchids, Cedrus lobebii, kornus and handerchief, Craspedia globosa, phyllocladus glauca, leptosperum?, curry plant, ixia?, pittosporum alchemillia, geranium, burgundy alliums, dark rutabeckia, verbena, eryiron, Catalpa, pink and yellow, cornus kousa Satomi, orange and purple, rose garden, columns of Queen of Sweden, rosa white pet, delphinium and euphorbia, 

Borde Hill Garden - England

Catalpa fargesii duclouxii, italian garden, leaf patterns, palm flowers with bees, yew ground cover, Garraya, Liriodendron?, bumblebees on Rhododendron, reuse green waste, Stephanie's glade, roses, Rogue Valley Rose nursery in Oregon, make plant stakes metal with seed pods, 

Jubilee celebration, Platy Jubes in Cuckfield

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

Set in the countryside of the southern county of Hampshire, this gardens has over 600 champion trees.   A collection of some the biggest and rarest trees in the UK.  

Allee dawn redwood, wisteria on pillars, Quercus robur ‘Totem’, metal colors, eryngium blue waves, iris rip city, laburnum, Tilia montcola, Deutzia x rosea, 

Montisfont - England

National collection of 19th century roses, largest plane tree in uk, Plantain?, wier, meadow, roses, campanula, comte du Chambord, Lady Hillingdon, Alliums, Irises, blue magenta, macedonia, white forb?, petite de Hollande, Crambe and Thalicrum, Complicata, Fru Dagmar Hastrup, 

Cranborne Manor

Nepeta and alliums, meadow in apple orchard, apple training, containers, yew towers, clematis structure, mirror, big chair in meadow, allium mollie.

Hestercombe Gardens

 Hestercombe, Iris, country life mag 1908, planting scheme from a fine gardener, victorian 6500 bedding plants, 4days work to edge edwardian lawns, Argyranthemums, geranium pratense ‘black beauty’, duck pond, chinese bridge, meadow schemes, mediterranean patio, pink iceberg?, bedding, plant structures, sidewalk planting scheme, 

East Lambrook Manor

East Lambrook Manor is the garden and home of Margery Fish, writer and plantswoman.   This garden is described as the quintessential English cottage garden.

 sumac? seeds, astrantia, gladiolus, color, artemisia, bronze fennel M2, mint?, yellow iris, silver and gold, 

Special Plants Nursery and Garden

 We are back to Derry Watkins’ nursery and garden.  Tuesdays she offers a talk and today's is self-sowing plants.  Then we go outside in her personal garden looking at those possibilities.   

Bath Botanical Gardens

Walking around Bath, England: The Raven, meat pie with mash and gravy, sunken topiary garden circus, variegated tulip tree, big ginkgoes, gladiolus, Chamaecyparis obtusa, apple maple tree?, purple magenta borders.

The Raven

Crowe Hall

We were lucky to be staying at Crowe Hall in Bath, England.  

The Courts Gardens

 The Courts, square yew hedges, long grass and stunted daisies, iris, orange and megenta, long grass, meadow rue, pinks and purples, 

Iford Manor Gardens

 Iford Manor, wisteria, very large boxwood,theater, salvia, Geum, alpine snapdragon, rose arbor J, Cecil Brunner, look up photos of boxwood topiaries, Nepeta and wisteria, 

Rodmarton Manor Gardens

I was impressed with how this garden looked.  Last time we were here was 2014 and since then the son has moved in and I assume taken over the garden and house maintenance.  It was thriving.  I recall some areas looking tired but not any more.  Most notable, the alpine troughs.  

We ran into Simon, now retired and 90.

Snowshill

Snowshill, Charles Wade, natural material on fence, bird houses, sambucus, William Hodge gardener,cephalaria?, Nectaroscordum siculum

Sezincote

 

A garden with strong Mughal influences.

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Large part of Hidcote’s greatness is attributed to the small formal rooms created with hedges close to the house.  Along with a reputation has a good source and trial of new plants in the Johnson’s days.  

Kitfsgate Court Gardens

 Kiftsgate, abelia, irises, calycanthus?, galvanized mess for vine support.

apple orchard, bush clematis, rosa gluaca, tulips in pots?,gladiolus byzantine, Astrantia, 

Rousham House and Gardens - England

Drove out of London today to Rousham, 

rill, unaltered William Kent design, wisteria, Artichokes or Cardoons?

Flower Marquee at Chelsea Flower Show

 So here’s the deal.  I am restarting my blog as a true log of my adventures and today I in London, England for the 2022 Chelsea Flower Show.  Yesterday’s post was from the same location but was of the show gardens and vendors outside.  

Today we’re going inside the big tent.  At one of the first displays of agapanthus and nerines, there was Mary Berry giving an interview.  I love her on the British Bake Off show and here she was talking about nerines. WOW!

Chelsea Flower Show - Designer Showcase

Five hours walking around Chelsea looking at show gardens, tools, products and lots of design ideas.   What struck me, those small planting areas with pollinator friendly annuals and perennials.  Here’s a couple of the more natural displays. 

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.