Spotted Bells

Fig. 1     Spotted bellflower (Campanula punctata)

Campanula punctata.   Bell-shaped flowers that dangled from slender stalks periodically grabbed my attention as I roamed my mother (in-law)'s country garden in Fortuna, California.  Campanula punctata (Fig. 1) has flowers (either white or pink) that are tinged with fine purplish dots which make them appear delicately translucent.  (These dots are the distinguishing characteristic of the species punctata).  The scalloped edges of the corolla are lined with delightful trichomes.  I suppose that they function, among others, to aid pollinators in reaching their desired destination. 

 

Fig.  2     Campanula punctata grows in the shade.

 Sun Exposure.   I observed that the plant was growing in both full sun and shady areas of the garden with no obvious growth difference.   When it comes to determining whether a plant is good for the shade or full sun areas, the determining factor is usually their water requirement.  When a gardener can assure that the plants get enough (not too much) water regardless of position in the garden, then the plants can perform well regardless of sun exposure.  The plant has soft tissues hence drainage is important in order to avoid rotting of the stems. 

Fig. 3      Showy display of white flowers

Growth Habit.  This perennial plant is a moderate grower and a vigorous self-seeder.  (I know this for sure because when I visited the garden a year ago, they were not there, but this time they were all over the place.)  The plant multiplies itself in two ways - creeping rhizomes and traveling seeds.  Regular division is necessary to promote good plant vigor.  In as much as blooming occurs in spring to summer, it is best to divide the plants in the fall. 

I brought home some rhizomes of this plant for my garden.  I imagined that they would look great in the shady "Down Under".  Unfortunately, the voles got to them before they had a chance to get established.  Sad.

 

There are hundreds of species in the genus Campanula; which one have you tried in your garden? 

Abutilon

Fig. 1      Abutilon x hybridum - solitary and pendent flower. (February 15, 2012)

 

New Plant for My Garden

Last fall, I bought a foot-tall blooming Abutilon plant from the Farmer's Market in Placerville. Winter is almost over and the same plant remains blooming and seemingly unrelenting (Fig.1). The plant has flower buds that come out wrapped in a blackish red calyx (Fig. 2) which eventually opens into a bell-shaped pendent flower with overlapping dark scarlet petals and even a red peduncle (Fig. 1).

Twelve years ago when there were no tall trees in my backyard, I planted my first Abutilon and I was very pleased with its vigor. Sadly, on its third year, it began to shade some important plants round it. It had to go in favor of the other ones. But because of its desirable characteristics as a plant, I bought this new plant (Fig.1) as a replacement for the old one.

Fig. 2     Unopened Abutilon flower

About Abutilon

Common names include: Flowering maple; Parlor maple; Indian mallow; Chinese lantern, etc.  They are closely related to Hibiscus (Malvaceae family).  They are occasionally referred to as "maple" because of the resemblance to the actual maple trees in the shape of the leaves being palmate.  

Abutilons are evergreen small trees that can grow up to about eight feet tall. They are fast growing  plants. Given the right conditions they can reach their potential height on the second year.   They bloom almost year round in our area. Of the numerous varieties, the most popular ones bear solitary and pendent flowers like the one I have now (Fig. 1 and Fig.2). There are some that bear flowers in panicles - dangling like their solitary counterparts.   Green Acres, the mega nursery in the area, currently offers a wide selection of Abutilon.

 

Tips in Growing Abutilon

1.  Microclimate.   Abutilons like places with a lot of light up a point when temperature interferes with its growth.  In hot and dry areas like here near the Sacramento area, the plant prefers to grow in a sheltered south-facing location.  Afternoon shade helps reduce excessive transpiration and scorching of the flowers.  On the other hand, in places with cooler temperatures and more rains, full sun would work well.  Always remember to garden with microclimate instead of the generic recommendations for your plants.

2. Fertilization.  Being fast-growing and ever-blooming,  the plant benefits from adequate fertilization.  Phosphorous fertilization during the first and second year of growth ensures a strong root system.  If it is grown in a container then regular application of a slow release balanced fertilizer is more important than those planted in the ground.  The plant is responsive to fetilization as much as it is expressive of nutritional deficiency.  Chlorosis is the first sign of nitrogen deficiency but make sure that it is not caused by insufficient or excessive watering.  In general, I withhold fertilization starting in late fall to allow my evergreen plants to rest a little. 

3.  Pruning.  The plant may be pruned to regulate its shape and size. In the spring it is best to prune the tree, removing all branches that have died during the previous season, before the temperatures warm up.  Pruning may be done anytime to remove branches that stick out of place and also to encourage branching for a fuller shrub. 

   

Abutilon: evergreen and ever-blooming perennial for the protected sunny location in the garden.

Trifolium

Fig. 1    Trifolium repens 'Atropurpureum'

Trifolium repens L. 'Atropurpureum' (Fig.1) is one of many varieties of the plant that is commonly known as clover.  It is a spreading perennial plant primarily grown for its purple foliage that floats above the long spindly petioles.  This plant is supposedly valuable as a ground cover for hot and dry areas making it a good choice for erosion control. 

This plant (Fig. 1) was available at our local nursery last week and I decided to try it in my garden.  Initially, it will be planted in a container for observation to determine its growth vigor before releasing it to the ground.  One can never be too cautious about plant families that have a reputation of being weeds.  

The dark purple leaves (Fig. 2) provided the reason for this variety to be called Atropurpureum.  I am curious to see whether the color will change under higher light intensity in the summer.    

Fig. 2    Trifolium repens 'Atropurporeum'

 

This is as close as I can get to presenting you all a sprig of shamrock for luck...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Gardening and Microclimate

Fig. 1  Mature plant communities at Filoli Gardens.

Gardening is all about harnessing microclimate.  After so many years of studying, observing, and putting all techniques learned into practical use in growing plants, I've arrived to the conclusion that the complexity of gardening boils down to understanding microclimate.  The magnitude of the effects of genetics and management practices on the overall success of gardening can be enhanced or diminished by the immediate growing environment - microclimate.  Microclimate is the unique condition within the immediate surroundings of a given small area. It takes into account the interaction of the following factors: light (intensity, duration), temperature, wind/turbulence, moisture, soil condition, and topography.  It is affected by the presence or absence of structures such buildings, pavements, trees, slopes, orientation, and plants around the area.  

Gardening on the basis of the USDA Hardiness Zone alone is not enough.  Every gardener knows that different plants require different conditions for optimum growth.  The plants we buy from nurseries come with labels that indicate the most basic and generic condition for growth.  The terms full sun, partial sun, partial shade, shade, all suggest a preferred microclimate for the specific plant.  Some plants need direct full sunlight while others prefer attenuated sunlight light allowing them to perform best under tall trees (Fig. 1).  However, one must consider that a full sun in Seattle may not the same as that in Sacramento.  

Fig. 2  Eastern side: Growing trees and hedges affect the amount of sunlight and wind turbulence in the garden.

Microclimates in My Backyard.  Even small backyard gardens like mine have several distinct microclimates.  The eastern side (Fig. 2) of the house is a lot different from the southern side (Fig. 3).  The former gets an early but short exposure to sunlight while the latter gets a later, prolonged and higher-intensity sunlight.  At the western side of the house light reflects from the white wall and wind circulation is limited because of the close distance between the house and the fence.  The north side is still another microclimate where the sun comes only late in the afternoon.  The best performing plant on this side is the Cecile Brunner rose which has extended itself to reach the top of the roof where it can get enough sunlight  (Fig. 4).  My garden is now a lot shadier than it was twelve years ago.  The trees have matured and the place where I used to plant strawberries now gets only two hours of  dappled sunlight during a summer day.  (One good effect of the lack of sunlight is that there are no more weeds growing there.)

 

Fig. 3 Southern side of the garden.

Fig.  4  Northern side: Cecile Brunner rose

  

Fig.  5.  Location for a bench -  shade or sun?

The Bench Comparison.  In gardening, finding the right microclimate is like finding the right place for a bench (Fig. 5).  Depending on the location, one can either enjoy sitting on it or suffer.  But then again, it also depends on the goal of the person sitting on the bench.  My friend, Sue, would like her bench to be in the sun while I like it to be in the shade.  With restraint, both bench positions are good depending on the desired effect.  

 Crassula argentea 'Compacta' under two microclimates. 

Fig. 6   Grown on the eastern side of the yard.

Two years ago  I bought a compact mini jade plant (Crassula argentea 'Compacta') in a 3 inch pot.  Since then the plant has grown and been divided into two separate plants in 6" pots.  One of them (Fig. 6) was located on the east-facing side of the yard.  The other one (Fig. 7) was positioned in the south-facing side of the yard where it was exposed to prolonged direct sunlight. It was definitely hotter on this side of the yard; the soil also dried up faster than its east-facing counterpart.

Fig. 7  Grown on the the southern side of the yard.

There was a sharp contrast between the two plants when it comes to color.  More sunlight (Fig 7) resulted in yellowish leaves with very pronounced red leaf margins.  Shorter direct sunlight resulted in darker green leaves (Fig. 6).  As long as the needs of the plants are all met at the right amount, the two plants function normally but to the naked eye, microclimate within their growing area is reflected through their coloration.   These are occurrences that we so often take for granted.  But if you think about it, a gardener can actually manipulate the color of these jade plants to suit their preferences by strategically planting them in the right microclimate. 

Spring is right around the corner and planting season is here.  Make sure to re-acquaint yourself with the ever-changing microclimates around your garden.  It is the most important consideration in your choice of plants and even timing of activities in your garden.

"Sufficient knowledge of your microclimates will help you understand your gardening successes and failures."

The Front Yard in June

Every year is different.  We have had a lot of rain this year. Normally in the month of June my garden is somewhat starting to wear out the chlorophyll effect.  In other word, our place starts to get really hot in May.  So far, I have not seen a sign of global warming in my garden this year - or else it came camouflaged in low temperatures and high precipitation.

Since this has been an unusual year, I thought that I'd take pictures of the front yard before the blazing light intensity and soil-cracking low relative humidity turn the greenery into gray or golden brown.

So I stood in the middle of the driveway and took pictures of plants that surrounded me.

Rocks

Forgotten corner...

Trees in need of pruning.

Northwest - my neighbors carpet roses.

Eastern side...

Western side...

Roses in front of the house.

 Erigeron karvinskianus ('Santa Barbara' daisy)

'Zephirine Drouhin'

Have a great summer everyone!

Homegrown Mother's Day Offering

Rosa 'Eden'

Flowers are a necessary fixture in any special occasion and roses are the often the top choice.   In celebration of Mother's Day, I thought of presenting all my viewers pictures of the beautiful roses that are currently in bloom in my garden.

  

'Double Delight' Hybrid Tea Rose

 

Hybrid Tea Rose 'America'

 

Rosa 'Graham Thomas'

Rosa 'Abraham Darby'

Rosa 'Evelyn'

 

When my oldest child was in third grade she wrote these phrases about me:

My mom is like a rose

Sweet and beautiful,

She loves me.

But she is also thorny,

She disciplines me.

Happy Mother's Day

Vibrant Pink 'Zephirine Drouhin'

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin'

Like a celebrity at the peak of her stardom,  'Zephirine Drouhin' was the most photographed subject in my garden yesterday.  The warm sun seemed to have pulled the sepals away from the buds giving way to the petals to explode into beautiful cerise pink flowers. 

'Zephirine Drouhin' roses flank our garage doors - adding a romantic look to the otherwise drab section of the house.  When in bloom, they command a great deal of attention to passers-by.  Visitors who get close to them also notice the pleasing fragrance of the flowers. 

Technically speaking, climbing roses are not climbing plants.   When I say climbing plants - these are the plants that are naturally capable attach themselves to structures as they grow such as clematis and ivy.  Climbing roses on the other hand, have long canes that can be trained to grow upwards on structures.  This is the case with my 'Zephirine Drouhin' roses.   The canes are supported in place by thick wires that hang under the gutter.   

This rose has pale green leaves (I used to think that it was always in need of nitrogen fertilizer).   They seem to be tolerant to shade; my roses are plated on a north-facing side of the house which allows only the afternoon sun.    

 

 

This bourbon rose is a repeat bloomer.  But my observation is that is susceptible to aphids and sometimes black spot and leaf rust.  It could be attributed to the shorter period of exposure to sunlight. 

 'Zephirine Drouhin' - old fashioned, thornless, vibrant pink, and shade tolerant.

Lady Banks

Fig. 1    Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'

Lady Banks rose (Rosa banksiae 'Lutea')  is one of the first roses that blooms in my garden.   Its dainty, soft yellow flowers come in clusters on long arching canes.   This time of the year it provides a surprise spray of color in the 'Down Under' (part of the yard).  It blooms profusely but only once a year. 

Fig. 2     The fence provides a support for its arching slender canes.

 Some of the cane lean against the fence on the eastern side of the yard. This rose could be trained onto  an arbor or strong trellis.

Fig. 3      Canes drape on the nearby plum tree.

This year I allowed some canes to extend beyond to the height of the plum tree growing next to it.  The delicate flowers cascading on the  tree is a very pleasing sight (Fig. 3).  However, knowing how aggressive this rose is, I prune it down every year.  Discipline is required for this rose in order for the plum tree to thrive.   There is mulberry tree nearby which shades it during part of the day and thus regulates its growth a little bit.

Fig. 4    Clusters of tiny soft yellow flowers.

Rosa 'Lady Banks'  has small glossy leaves.  In our area, the plant is evergreen and almost pest-free.  The canes are vigorous growing more ten feet per growing season. The rose is almost thornless which makes it rank high on my list of preferred plants for my garden. 

Rosa banksiae near a creek;  my daughter following some ducks.

Named to honor the wife of an English botanist (Sir Joseph Banks 1743-1820), the Lady Banks rose is nobility in season.

Lipstick: Strawberry Flower

Ornamental Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa 'Lipstick')

'Lipstick' is an ornamental strawberry with flowers that bear the color of guess what?  Answer: A beautiful dark pink worthy to be a lipstick color.   

Although this flower is named by the attributes of its petals I can't resist mentioning about its other parts.  Apart from the color, this flower is representative of the other strawberry varieties.   It has five petals and five sepals seen in between the petals from the top view.  The tiny spoon-like structures are the stamens. In the center is yellow sponge-like gynoecium (ancient Greek gyne meaning woman; and oikos meaning house) which is made us of many free carpels.  In other words the sponge-like center is the female part of the flower. 

Happy Sunday everyone!

Appreciating Detail Through my Camera

Prominent stamens on Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) flowers.

 The details of the Spider-plant flowers are often unappreciated for several reasons.  First of all they are very tiny to appreciate and their color shows no contrast against the leaves of the variegated spider plant ('Variegatum').  With the use of a camera, we can all appreciate these miniature flowers.  The flower is well designed for pollination; the pistil which is the long white structure coming out of the green center (which is the ovary) extends out to the same distance as the stamens which are identified by their yellow color.  No wonder whenever the spider plant is allowed to flower, it reseeds profusely. 

Spider plant is a common houseplant and a very ideal plant for the shady areas outdoors.  It requires low maintenance that it is impossible to kill it.  They have specialized roots that allows them to store water.  That is why it can withstand prolonged periods of dry spells.

Fourth Of July

Rosa 'Fourth Of July' 

(Parentage:  Rosa 'Roller Coaster' x Rosa 'Altissimo')

Happy Fourth of July everyone!  My family just got back from watching the fireworks at the El Dorado Hills Town Center to celebrate the declaration of independence of this country from Britain.  It was then when democracy was born.  In July 4, 1776 the American flag, known as the red-white-and-blue, flew alone. 

 

Rosa 'Fourth Of July'.  There is a rose named after this eventful day because of its explosion of red/white color.   The flowers are composed of 15-petals with fruity fragrance.  The leaves are glossy dark green that are quite resistant to diseases. This climbing rose was winner of the coveted ARRS award in 1999. 

'Fourth Of July' in my garden.  Although this rose is climbing in nature, the one in my garden is a standard rose - it looks like a tree because of the way it was grafted.  It did very well in full sun but I moved it last year in order to open up a space in the grass area.   Now this rose grows along the southern fence where it gets a lot of the afternoon sun.  It is doing considerably fine but not as vigorous as when it was getting both morning and afternoon sun.  It could also be that it is just taking some time to get re-established in this new place.

'Fourth Of July' rose:  Red and white stripes with yellow center.

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin': Thornless Rose

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin': Unopened buds

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin': Cerise-pink flowers

The rose 'Zephirine Drouhin' is probably the only rose that would qualify to be planted in front of our house flanking our north-facing garage doors.  When I planted them (three plants) my children were small and played on the driveway a lot.   This rose is thornless and kids are safe around it.  I purchased three of them in Petaluma about eight years ago. 

This old Bourbon rose is overwhelmingly fragrant. It produces clusters of stunning cerise-pink old-fashioned flowers throughout spring, summer, and fall.   An excellent candidate to train on arbors, wall, trellises, or around pillars, it grows vigorously up to 10+ feet tall.   The front of our house gets the sun the later in afternoon and yet this rose is doing just fine.  Therefore, I can say that it can tolerate some shade.  This rose is very responsive to fertilizer.  A little complete fertilizer goes along way with this easy-to-grow and delightful rose.   

The problem I've noted with this rose is its tendency to attract aphids and its susceptibility to powdery mildew.  It is possible that the mildew problem could be less in full-sun growing environment.

Consider having 'Zephirine Drouhin' in your garden.  She will surely delight you.

Cymbidiums: Good Things are Happening

Transplanted pseudobulb with new shoots.

New Growths on Pseudobulb.  Pseudobulbs are the swollen orchid stems where leaves are attached to.  When the leaves die and abscise during the season, pseudobulb is not relieved of its function.   Leafless it may be it serves as a reservoir of water and nutrients for the plant.  The picture you see above is a product my one mistake.  I detached the pseudobulb from the plant and planted it to see if new plant comes out.   This is not recommended since it would deprive the rest of the plants from the good stuff stored in it.  

New growths showing up

My inexpensive potting mixture is working.  Last May I experimented on the potting mixture that I used to repot the orchids.  I observe that the plants seem to like it as indicated by the number of new pseudobulbs coming out.   Spike is the term used to refer to the inflorescence or the flowers in cymbidiums.  As a general rule, a spike comes out at the base of each new pseudobulb.  If these plants continue with their current growth trend then I can safely say that you and I can save a lot of money by making our own cymbidium potting mix.

Cooler spot.  Cymbidiums love the sunshine but the blazing summer light intensity is too much for these traditionally-understory plants to bear.  For now I have moved the orchids to a more shady part of the yard.   The good thing about potted plants is that the microclimate can be adjusted easily by moving them around.

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon'

This was one of the many plants that got trampled and broken when we had to replace the broken fence along the south-western side of the yard.   Fortunately, clematis 'Ville de Lyon' came back with no problem and it did not even seem like its growth was delayed by cutting back due to the mechanical damage earlier.   This variety blooms on the current year's growth therefore flowering was fine as usual. 

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' is an outstanding garden vine.  It is fast growing and blooms profusely in the spring.  For a draw-back, the vine seems to lose its older leaves later in the season exposing its unsightly legs.  However, this would not have any negative implication in the presence of low-growing and shallow-rooted perennials around its base.  It has long lasting flowers.

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' was named after an historic and enduring city in France.

 

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon': Rounded petals with dark carmine-red edges.

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' has medium sized (4-5 inches) flowers.   The petals look rounded and velvety. Some gardeners consider the flowers red but I think that they are deep pink with very bright carmine-red edges.   The color is hard to capture with my ordinary camera (meaning non-professional).   I tried to take pictures many times at different times of the day but the images always came out more pale than the actual shade of the petals.  Even my best shots are do not reflect the right color.  Some lessons in photography in the future might be helpful.  :)

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon':  Medium size flowers (4-5") with yellow-tip stamens.