Saint Francis Woods Garden - April Flowers

This is the start of the second spring for this newly plants residential backyard.  The layers of bulbs, annuals, flowering perennials and shrubs fill two rectangular beds.  

Narcissus, Geum and Leptospermum (Tea Tree)

Bernal Hill Garden - April Flowers

 

Wisteria trained up a thin pole. 

Curious Flora Nursery (Reincarnation of Annie’s Annuals)

 

With much anxiety Angele and I drove up to Richmond, California to the new nursery called Curious Flora.   I was curious.  I was hoping for the best but prepared to be disappointed and ashamed.  The best being a thriving commercial nursery producing fun and new things along with those successful heirlooms. The worst, a possible commercial implosion and the loss of a great gardening resource.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden & Nursery

I took BART over to Oakland to eat lunch with Frank.  We both have been traveling recently and haven’t hung out in weeks.  After lunch we decide to drive to The Ruth Bancroft Garden & Nursery.   Frank has a project that requires a lot of drought tough plants.   Here’s what I saw and a few of my thoughts. 

MUG’s Personal Garden with Nursery

 This is my small urban garden located in the Mission Delores neighborhood of San Francisco.   I have gardened this small strip since 2003.   Lots has happened here over this period and its current theme in the long border is spring pinks, blues and whites moving into summer reds, yellows and blues.  

Some still photos of the long Spring/Summer border.

Potrero Hill Cottage Garden

 In 2018, I started maintaining this front cottage garden.  It was planted with the typical one-offs that survived our dry summers, that included horrible things like phormiums and loropetalum with the ever present tibochina.   But I took on this space for its potential.   A single story Victorian with stereotypical San Francisco wood details with the white picket fence.  

Now the days have overtaken the night, things have gone boom. 

This was taken last year on May 30, peak bloom.

More stills from May 30, 2023:

Dearborn Community Garden

 

This is my plot in the nearby community garden. It is a raised bed 11 feet by 8 feet or so. This year I am testing some new plants. A layer of bulbs including: Allium schubertii 'Arctic Snow', A. Schubertii, A. aflatunense ‘Purple Sensation’, NoID Hyacinthoides (Spanish Bluebells), Freesia, Sparaxis, Narcissus ‘tête-à-tête’. A second layer of self-sowing annuals Papaver dubium subsp. Lecoqii ‘Albiflorum’, Lobularia maritima, Nigella damascena, NoID bread seed poppy and Atriplex hortensis var rubra (Purple Orach).

SPRING Flowers of San Francisco

Twenty-five plants in blossom in my 12' x 7' raised bed.

So our seasons or climate are not like everyone else's. Forget your New England Lilac. English Tulips.  No.  We have distinctive growing seasons. Mainly growth, slumber, muted growth and finally rest. Those translate to spring summer, fall and winter of most of the rest of North American and Europe.

In San Francisco, you may see Dahlias blooming in the ground in February. Or Asters in May. Most perennials shrubs I work with will bloom twice every year. We have SPRING, dry, spring, water.

Dearborn Bouquet and Bounty

We are currently reaping the wonderful bounty from our community garden plot.   This bouquet includes the unusual April Dahlia, Ranunuculus asiaticus 'White', white velarian and parsley.

I like to pack it in.  I don't want to see the soil.   I've combined the French intensive technique with my passive aggressive algorithm of editing annual seeds and perennial plants.   It's a tournament of the flowers;  May the best plant win.  But of course I stick my nose into the process, limiting those that are too vigorous and making sure there's an even succession of flowers.  It's all about the process.  I'm in control for a couple hours every Sunday.   Then Nature has her way for a week.

Rosa 'Queen of Sweden'

This lovely, so lovely pink rose with matte glaucus leaves is just starting it's first flush of 2018.  Along with Wisteria, Santa Barbara Daisy, Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina' and a blue Forget-Me-Not.   

Hollywood Juniper Hedge

Along with Pittosporum 'Golf Ball', Sesleria autumnalis, Achillea millefolium 'Paprika' and the Calla Lily.

Valencia Street Rain Catchment

Over the last 10 years, the city of San Francisco has been installing rain catchments to slow the rainfall that hits the treatment plants during storms.  This one is looking good with Salvias, Irises, Grasses, reeds, or are the rushes, and yarrow.

Roses in Glen Park

This week the roses busted out!  Wow!   Five rose bushes in the perennial garden are starting or are well into their first flush of the year. 

Dearborn Community Garden Spring Meeting and Fashion Show.

Our community garden's Spring meeting and my plot is looking fantastic.  We rebuilt our bed in November adding six inches of soil and completely redecorated the bed.

Today we see the end of the spring showing of the white dahlias.  Dinner Plate?  I'm not sure, they're big and lovely in a freaky February showing.   The purple poppies are starting to bloom and the foxglove is producing well.  Everything is staked well and should be well supported.

Spring in the Marina District of San Francisco

Dearborn After Atmosphere River Delivered Over 2 Inches of Rain

Most notable new entry blossum is the Ranunuculus asiaticus 'White'.   I started from bulbs from Flowercraft, a local retail nursery.  One of the four I planted turned out to be pink. 

Early April Glen Park Rose

First week of April we have a rose blossom.   I planted this Rosa 'Mme Alfred Carriere' in February 2016.  This is the first of dozens of blooms on 7 vigorous canes, some up to 17 feet long.   This rose from David Austin in Texas, established itself in 18 months.  

Spring & Summer MUG Gardens

Here's a posting showing my professional gardens (MUG) for Spring & Summer this year, 2017. Starting in March, this garden is in Glen Park with lush green growth from a phenomenal season of rain. This years additions include the blue Dutch iris, Orlaya, Magnolia and Exochorda.

Low-Impact Lawn Substitute

You would never know from our rainy winter that last year everyone was thinking severe drought.   This was installed last year one of our driest years.

Eureka Valley Terraced Garden

After a most glorious rainy winter, spring 2017 will be excessively floral. Above is Winchester Cathedral, a David Austin rose with erigeron, Scottish thistle and a orange poppy. Below is Forget-Me-Nots blooming just below a cottoneaster crown just leaving out.