Designed Landscapes | Gordon's Gardens

September 5, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 9 Comments

Super trendy moss in a jar – You Can Grow That!

Everywhere I look these days I see those small glass terrariums featuring mosses mixed with lichens on remnants of bark or sticks. Some hang in store windows while others exist in fictitious internet lands where they sit on pristine, completely white desks where absolutely no real work ever happens. Unique, small, green, little living worlds – a reminder of what I’d rather be paying attention to rather than any of the work on my desk. They soothe the angst-ridden mind.

Growing up in dry Southern California, moss was something I only saw on PBS documentaries, so I am particularly drawn to the allure these terrariums offer. Whenever I see one when I’m out and about I stop and stare at them, inspecting their individual intricacies. Even the video rental store near my house sells them – “We’re out of Mad Men Season 4 dvds, but we have moss in a hanging globe. Want that instead?” My answer would be “Yes, please!” if these little balls of joy weren’t so darn expensive. Yes, you are buying living art and there’s always a price to pay for someone’s design aesthetic, but I have a hard time paying for something that I feel I can easily do myself. So I will…and you can, too!

Depending on where you live, you can most likely acquire some kind of small green life form or something reminiscent of one while on a hike out in nature. In areas that receive a lot of moisture, you should be able to find some kind of moss, lichen, or liverwort. You can go for succulents if you live in more desert-like conditions (or go to the local nursery if you can’t find any out and about). On my recent road trip from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, I imagined I would pick up some moss in a redwood grove near the foggy mists of the Oregon coast. It was very romantic in my mind. Instead I found some in the grass at rest stop just outside of Eugene. The dog needed to go take care of some business and I found a dead twig covered in dried moss and a few lichens in the grass along the way. The moss was dark and looked dead, but the lichens were pretty so I picked it up. Again, being from SoCal, I don’t know much about moss, so I was pleasantly surprised when the moss came alive and green after getting it wet. (I have a lot to learn! Anyone have any recommendations for helping me catch up on my bryology?)

The dream of the moss is alive in Portland! This pile of joy on a stick can’t wait for a proper container.

I have not yet purchased a glass globe or a nice enough jar to put it in, but I do recommend getting one if you are going to make your own moss terrarium. Right now, mine is sitting in a small dish (as you can see above) and the exposure causes it to dry out rather quickly. I give mine a quick soak every so often, but an even mist from a spray bottle works well, too.

If you want to make your own terrarium but don’t know where to find supplies or plant materials, you can take a terrarium class or just find what you need at many independent plant nurseries/retailers. The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers offers a terrarium building class as does Sloat Garden Center (both are approximately $35 each). Or better yet, you can visit Flora Grubb Gardens and build your own at their “terrarium bar.” Just grab one of the many hand-blown glass containers and choose from an assortment of branch pieces, lichens, and air plants to create your own custom soil-less terrarium. (They also have them pre-made there, too, if you don’t trust your creative instincts).

An example of what you can make or buy at Flora Grubb (picture courtesy of: http://www.casasugar.com/Flora-Grubb-Plant-Cube-Great-Succulents-9939450)

Or you can just say screw it and just buy an already made terrarium. Mosser offers a really cool, yet pricey, ball of moss in a jar for $36. It’s moss in a jar. Very simple in concept and design, but amazing in so many ways. http://www.mosserstore.com/

I’ll admit it, I’ve been tempted to pick up one of these extravagancies for my desk at work…my non-white desk with non-white accessories on it…but the moss just won’t have the presence it does here in this picture with the white background and simple, elegant glass container and label.

So yeah, you can make that!….or buy that!….and definitely, you can grow that!

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On the fourth day of each month, garden bloggers everywhere are coming together to post about what you can grow. Posts will be about anything from growing hops for your home brew to growing your own wedding bouquet. To see others, check out the You Can Grow That! Facebook Page. Soon the name will be changing, though. More on that can be found at C.L. Fornari’s blog.

Moss provides a sense of peace and tranquility even during these uncertain and stressful times, and one company is filling this niche by providing five varieties. (prweb.com)
Growing an Open Terrarium (dadsforlifesg.wordpress.com)

May 5, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 10 Comments

A Kitchen Herb Garden – You Can Grow That!

If you have enough natural light in your kitchen, you can grow an herb garden. Growing a variety of herbs you use on a semi-regular basis can be both easy and incredibly satisfying. All you need to grow an indoor herb garden in your kitchen is good light.

In years past, I attempted growing rosemary in my kitchen, but being a city dweller, I rarely ever lived in a place that received enough daylight to keep it alive. Our new house in the city has two skylights in the kitchen. The previous owners remodeled and put the refrigerator under one of the skylights, which we at first thought created a rather odd space above, but it’s actually been quite beneficial for growing herbs (with a pothos and a cactus). It’s a perfect platform for growing since it’s just the right distance from the skylight.

Parsley, mint, chives, rosemary……and a pothos and cactus, too!

But what if you don’t have a skylight? If you have a bright window, you can always put a flower box on the inside or outside of the window and grow your herbs there. Friends of ours have a kitchen with windows that open out into a light well (another anomaly of urban living) and they, too, are successfully able to grow basil and mint from the amount of sunlight peering overhead.

Fridge-top Garden

When selecting herbs for your own garden, keep in mind that they don’t all require the same light and water conditions. Do a little research prior to going to the garden center so you have a better idea of what will do well in your kitchen conditions. Also take note of the lifespan of each herb. Is it an annual? A biennial? A perennial? Plants such as parsley are biennials. They’ll look great for two seasons, but as soon as you see it has produced a long spike then its days are limited. Many people don’t realize that parsley is a biennial and then feel like they did something wrong when it dies. Don’t worry! You didn’t do anything wrong.

We’re growing chives, rosemary, parsley, and mint. I wasn’t sure that a woody rosemary plant would be able to grow well under the same conditions of the herbaceous herbs, but it’s doing well. Soon after we brought home the mint, I saw that there were little red spots under the leaf. Yes, mint rust. I figured it was only a matter of time before it was a gonner. Well, a month later and there are no signs of rust and the plant is looking as healthy as ever. I’ll continue to keep an eye on it, of course.

No rust, but there is some mark on one of the leaves. Other than that, it looks healthy again!

With a sunny enough spot, anyone can grow a great and useful herb garden in his or her kitchen. When reading a recipe and you see it calls for one of the fresh herbs you are growing, nothing is more satisfying than knowing you have it and you grew it yourself!

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April 11, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 2 Comments

Plant-centric Bathroom Makeover Ideas

As with every project we have done at this old house of ours, what appears to be a quick and easy task often turns into a long, drawn-out mess. Case-in-point: our 1940s Pepto-[Abysmal] pink tiled bathroom. We’re saving the complete makeover for a later date when we have the resources to do a good job (meaning replace the worn out pink tiles with anything not pink). In the mean time, we’re merely patching holes and repainting. This shouldn’t take too long to do, but with all the other requirements in our daily lives, this project has already taken about a week.

What a great place for a ladder. The Anthurium andraeanum doesn't seem to mind it, though.

I imagine all will be finished by this weekend, but in the mean time my sun-loving plants that typically call the bright, sky-lighted bathroom home have been displaced to the dark spare bedroom. They started their revolt on Monday by drooping their leaves or otherwise not looking too happy. To rectify this situation, I moved them back to their bathroom home amidst the construction. They are perking up already.

No medicine cabinet? No problem for this Euphorbia milii that loves getting all the sun from the skylight above it's new, temporary roost. (Don't worry, this plant will be removed before the medicine cabinet goes in.)

Moral of the story: don’t piss off your plants. They have the ability to self-destruct and sometimes will within a short amount of time. If they have to be moved from their preferred location, move them somewhere that has similar conditions to what they are accustomed to already. The same goes for moving plants from the green house to the open air, or from the conditions of the retail nursery center to your home – they need to be conditioned by slowly introducing them to any new environment that will be drastically different than where they were living prior. And even then, not all environments will be suitable (Read: don’t try to slowly adjust your favorite cactus to a water garden, obviously).

Well, my plant crisis is averted. Not only that, but these plants do perk up the otherwise hellacious construction zone now that they’re back. Who knows, if this project takes any longer I may have to grow a vine on the ladder in the bathtub. I can also fill up the bathtub with some dirt to grow a tropical garden….or better yet, fill it with water, plant some water lettuce or water lilies in there, and throw in a few gold fish! No one will notice the horrid pink tiles once they see that lush water garden.

Imagine this, but in your bathtub! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Don’t worry, the shower is a separate stall next to the bathtub….which would be a great place for shade-loving ferns and mosses (No, that’s not “mildew” between the tiles…it’s Funaria hygrometrica)! We could always resort to using the backyard garden hose for our daily showers.

Funaria hygrometrica (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

April 4, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 10 Comments

Family Bonds…You can grow that!

I have many childhood memories. Some of my strongest are associated with growing vegetables or otherwise enjoying the plants around me. You, too, can grow family bonds and influential memories by growing and enjoying plants together.

Tomatoes (Photo from Wikipedia)

I remember following my Grandpa around the backyard with a salt shaker. We’d pick ripe tomatoes off the vines and eat them like apples but with a few sprinkles of salt.

Pumpkin flower with incipient fruit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I remember my Grandpa picking off dying squash flowers so I could stomp on them. Yeah, I’m not sure why now, but at the time it made sense. They would pop!

A well-mowed lawn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I remember having to mow the lawn when I was a kid. Several times I would have to do it twice, then my Dad would do it again. Why? I don’t know. I did a great job the first time. (Maybe this is why I hate lawns now?)

Apricot tree

I remember picking apricots, figs, grapefruit, and loquats in my other Grandparents’ backyard. They were all delicious. Growing up in Southern California had its benefits.

A large mature east side Jeffrey Pine growing on volcanic table lands south of Mono Lake, Ca. Photo taken approximately one mile east north east of Deadman’s Pass, off of US HWY 395. The stand is composed of pure Jeffrey Pine with different age classes found through out. The large tree is approximately 27-30m tall, and 90cm in diameter at breast height.

I remember going to the Sierras with family every summer. The butterscotch and vanilla smells of the Jeffrey Pines (pinus jeffreyi) in the Mammoth Lakes area reminds me of camping trips, card games (they taught us young), early morning hiking, fishing, and laughing over inappropriate jokes Grandma would make.

Artemisia tridentata (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I always tell people I don’t have a great sense of smell. It’s true. I don’t. But I can identify the remarkable smells of the jeffrey pine and big sage brush (Artemisia tridentata) immediately. I recently bought a young Artemisia tridentata from Bay Natives in San Francisco to plant in my backyard as part of my “weeds to wonderful” backyard makeover. It might be a rather wild or boring looking plant to many, but my experiences with it over the years makes it one of my favorites.

Stacked rockmelons (cantaloupe) in a fruit and...

Cantaloupe AKA Muskmelon

Currently, my friend and co-worker Maureen is growing cantaloupe with her junior high students. They’re on a trip, so I’m minding them for the time being (seeds, if you’re reading this, please sprout!!!). She’s continuing an age-old tradition teaching the young to enjoy and respect nature. It’s an amazing thing how plants affect our lives. Whether the cantaloupe seeds sprout or not, these kids will always remember this project just like I will always remember the memories I’m sharing with you here.

Beer!

P.S. If you’re ever in the Mammoth Lakes area, go to Mammoth Brewing Company and try their IPA 395. Named after the central highway that runs through the Eastern Sierras, IPA 395 is made with mountain sage and juniper. What’s the best thing ever? Turning my childhood memories into beer. Try it if you can! It’s amazing whether you share my love of Eastern Sierra plants or not.

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March 19, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 2 Comments

How do you make a water treatment plant pretty? Turn it into a Japanese garden!

Bird's eye view

The City of Los Angeles figured out an interesting way to beautify an ugly industrial plant and re-use wastewater. Adjacent to the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, California is a impeccably manicured 6.5 acre Japanese garden. It is fittingly called Suiho-en, which means “Garden of Water and Fragrance.” I was in LA last weekend to attend the wedding of two of my best friends from high school and had some time to spare before my flight home, so I got to experience this water and fragrance first hand.

Prunus serrulata 'kwanzan'

The fragrance was especially strong nearest the processing plant over by the blooming Japanese flowering cherry trees (Prunus serrulata ’kwanzan’). They were all in full bloom, but the fragrance I could smell was coming over the fence from where the reclaimed water was actually being treated before going into the lakes and streams of the garden, nearby Balboa Lake, and the Los Angeles River. According to the pamphlet we received when entering the garden, no solids are treated here at this particular plant, but it sure didn’t smell that way.

But really, that fragrance was rather minor compared to the overall beauty of the entire garden. There were a few other areas that didn’t smell as fresh and crisp as I would have expected, but it was rather warm that day in LA. All joking aside, growing a garden with reclaimed water is a great and very eco-friendly thing to do. Water has always been a limited resource in LA, as it now is in so many areas across the US from our rather dry winter this year. Suiho-en shows that you still can have a beautiful garden with reclaimed water – and it’s been showing this for the last 25 years. For more information, check out their website at www.thejapanesegarden.com

I was quite impressed with Suiho-en. I visited several amazing gardens when I was in Japan two summers ago and this Southern California version was very reminiscent of what I saw there, although with definite California twist (such as the California redwoods – Sequoia sempervirens – instead of the traditional Japanese redwood - Cryptomeria japonica).

The balance of Yin and Yang was apparent. My few hours there with family was quite rejuvenating – exactly what I needed after all the stress of work, school, and traveling.

Here are some shots I took during my visit:

Waterfall with a Great Egret in the center

Shallow pond

View from the entrance

Close up with cormorant

Zen rock garden

Bamboo grove

Sad redwoods....they're coastal trees and don't do so well in the heat of the San Fernando Valley.

Bamboo fountain

View with treatment plant in the background. The building looked like something out of a 1970s dystopian movie...Logan's Run maybe?

The Kasuga Lantern

Ginkgo biloba - already leafed out!

Bamboo-lined walkway

Shade loving Clivia miniata - beautiful!

What a view!

March 4, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 12 Comments

A Tree in Your Sidewalk? You Can Grow That!

If you live in an urban environment like I do, your sidewalk might come up all the way to your front steps and garage door. No room for a patch of grass, a boring boxwood hedge, a wonderful native garden…nothing except the weeds that grow in the cracks. Concrete as far as the eye can see. What an eyesore! But thanks to Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF), we had a 4′x6′ square of concrete removed from our “yard” and planted a beautiful primrose tree (Lagunaria pattersonii). Ours was one of approximately 25 trees planted in sidewalks in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco on Saturday morning. Experienced tree planters led homeowners and volunteers in planting and appropriately staking our trees. Our particular group planted four trees: a bronze loquat (Eriobotrya deflexa), two evergreen pear trees (Pyrus kawakamii), and our primrose (L. pattersonii).

Here are some pictures from the plantings (click picture for larger image):

The urban environment is not the most hospitable place for trees, especially wind-blown San Francisco with its many micro-climates. What grows well in one neighborhood might not have a fighting chance in another. Choosing the right tree was difficult for us because of the combination of breezy afternoons and heavy clay soil. We also had the dilemma of not being able to plant our tree curbside because of underground utilities and city codes on sidewalk widths, so our tree had to closer to our house than most street trees. I looked for natives, but none would grow in our conditions (nor did any grow in San Francisco before it was a city – just chaparral plants grew here). We considered several different wind-tolerant trees that can handle clay soil and ended up choosing the primrose for its ability to handle these adverse conditions and it’s rather upright shape in its youth. We couldn’t be happier!

Lagunaria pattersonii has a variety of common names other than primrose. This Australian native is sometimes called the cow itch tree, Queensland pyramid tree, and Norfolk Island hibiscus. It’s in the same family as the hibiscus (Malvaceae) that grow so well in tropical locations, but it’s not in the same genus so the flowers are not nearly as flashy. L. pattersonii produces 1-2″ purple or pink (fading to white) 5-petaled flowers in late spring and summer. The seed pods have small hairs on them that can irritate your skin, so proceed with caution (or throw them at people you don’t like).

L. pattersonii flower (Image via Wikipedia)

The planting was such a great experience for all of us – meeting neighbors, learning how to trees, and, most of all, greening our city! Our block didn’t have any trees on our side of the street until today. We’re hoping that our neighbors will like what they see and want a plant in front of their homes, too!

: Post-Planting Pot Luck in Holly Park

Friends of the Urban Forest has been planting trees in San Francisco for the last 30 years. According to their executive director, of the approximately 108,000 trees in San Francisco, about 45% have been planted by FUF since 1981. These are amazing results from such a spectacular organization! And now that the City of San Francisco is handing over most of its street trees to individual property owners, FUF will play an even more integral role in informing the public on appropriate care and maintenance.

If you live in San Francisco and want a street tree or your cement broken up to put in some native plants, please contact Friends of the Urban Forest. If you live elsewhere, there are many other great organizations, such as Urban Releaf in Oakland, California, Forest Keepers in Missouri, Woodland Trust in the United Kingdom, and Friends of Trees in and around Portland, Oregon. There are more than I can list here, so do a Google search to find one nearest you so that you, too, can grow a tree in your sidewalk!

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S.F. begins turning tree care over to residents (sfgate.com)

February 26, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 1 Comment

Yerba Buena Nursery

With my week off from work I figured I would have a lot of time to write several interesting posts about many of the topics I’ve had on the back burner. Unfortunately, my two household repairs I had planned that were only going to take a day and a half to complete took significantly longer than expected. At least I have a new insulated door to the backyard (much more energy efficient and safer than the flimsy wooden that was there before) and a light above the stove so I can more readily see that I’ve burned dinner again.

I did take some time to check out a California native plant nursery called Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside, California between San Francisco and San Jose. It’s a bit of a trek from either of those locations, two miles down a dirt road into an ocean-facing ravine off of Skyline Boulevard/CA-35 just south of Woodside Road, but well worth it. It felt like I was on a mini-vacation! The adventure there was half the fun, driving on winding roads through grasslands with oaks and occasional redwood groves. By the time I arrived I was relaxed and in a great mood.

Yerba Buena Nursery's sign (yes, that's a giant fake chicken underneath the sign)

The nursery was worth the time it took to get there. The selection of natives was great. I saw many plants I have never been able to find anywhere, including a wild rose (Rosa californica) that I’ve unsuccessfully tried to grow myself from seed. Unlike the typical roses many people keep in their gardens, the stems of the wild rose is completely covered with small thorns and has simple pinkish 5-petaled flowers that smell amazing. I’ve never been a fan of most typical garden roses (and all the upkeep they require), but I do love these. They remind me of many stream-side locations along the Eastern Sierra that I enjoyed so much as a kid. I first discovered them because I would constantly get my fishing line caught in them when my Grandpa would take us out fishing in Lone Pine, CA for weeks at a time. One day I got up close and personal with one to remove my hook and line and realized just how amazing they are. I couldn’t hate them for tangling up my line after that. Anyway, I was so happy to see them at Yerba Buena Nursery that I almost bought one to take home …. well, until I realized that my mud pit of a back yard hasn’t been planned out yet so I better wait on buying any plants (no matter how tempting they were). The picture below is a good image of the flower, but the plant as a whole is really beautiful. I didn’t take any pictures of it, so this will have to suffice until next time I see one at the nursery or in the wild.

California Wild Rose, Rosa californica (Image via Wikipedia)

Even more impressive than the selection of plants were the demonstration gardens. I walked through them and yet I almost walked right by them and didn’t notice them. Native plants growing in a natural canyon don’t stand out that much, but that’s what made it so amazing. If it weren’t for the tags that told me what plant was what, I would have thought I had left the nursery and walked up the side of the hill.

Pond near the redwoods

Beautiful plants!

In addition to the beautiful plants and demonstration gardens, there is also a store for garden-related items. I was mostly drawn to the few native plant books they had on display, but there were plenty of other things that could help accentuate your garden, including native wildflower seeds.

Yerba Buena Nursery Storefront

Overall, while the nursery itself was a bit difficult to get to, it was well worth the adventure. I can’t wait to go back and spend more time there (once I can finally buy some plants for my yard)!

February 6, 2012
by Gordon's Gardens 2 Comments

The Many Magnolias to Enjoy in San Francisco Right Now

Magnolia campbellii, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park

Now is a great time to make it over to the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The deciduous Campbell’s Magnolia trees, AKA Cup-and-Saucer Magnolia, (Magnolia campbellii) are blooming, and they are a site to see. The branches high above are bursting with the pink and white tepals (see below), with a litter of them carpeting the bare ground beneath your feet. SF Botanical Garden has the largest collection of M. campbellii outside of the Himalayas, which makes it quite an enchanting experience this time of year. Even more impressive, the tree depicted in the image above was the first of its species to bloom in the United States (1940).

Close up of the M. campbellii flowers at the SF Botanical Garden

M. campbellii is considered a precocious-flowering tree. Take a look at the picture. What’s missing? Leaves! There are no leaves on this tree while it’s flowering, making the blooms all the more impressive. This particular species is one of many deciduous magnolias that flower, go into dormancy, grow leaves, go into dormancy again, and then flower again – a four stage yearly cycle.

Each beautiful flower is made up of 12 tepals that are white on the inside and a rich pink on the outside. These flower parts are called tepals rather than sepals and petals because they are almost completely identical in looks. The lower tepals that act like the sepal in a traditional flower are perpendicular to the flower base whereas the middle tepals are parallel, thus creating the “cup and saucer” look.

These trees only flower form February to March, so enjoy them while you can. If you’re in the Bay Area, they are well worth a trip out to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens (formerly Strybing Arboretum) in Golden Gate Park.

And when you’re done there, you can take a leisurely stroll (or a “colorful” ride in the 71 bus) to the corner of Haight and Masonic Streets to see another type of Magnolia. This Magnolia is of the pub variety and is well known for its many micro-brewed beers – all of which are just as intoxicating as the flowers, but in a different way (my favorite is Proving Ground IPA). Now’s the perfect time to go, since February is Strong Beer Month. Hey, might as well make the most of a trip over to Golden Gate Park and enjoy every type of Magnolia this month has to offer!

Cheers!

Gordon's Gardens

Exploring California's tended and untended landscapes

Category Archives: Designed Landscapes

Super trendy moss in a jar – You Can Grow That!

A Kitchen Herb Garden – You Can Grow That!

Plant-centric Bathroom Makeover Ideas

Family Bonds…You can grow that!

How do you make a water treatment plant pretty? Turn it into a Japanese garden!

A Tree in Your Sidewalk? You Can Grow That!

Yerba Buena Nursery

The Many Magnolias to Enjoy in San Francisco Right Now

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