Cactus, Education, Interesting Plant, Plants, Succulents No comments yet

Interesting Plant: Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)

By on March 10th, 2014

Interesting Plant: Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)

After living in Southern California for so long (nearly 28 years), I have really come to love succulents of all sorts. The dudleya always catch my eye when we are out and about and at our local succulent show, which takes places just about a mile from our house. The chalky, white leaves of this dudleya is such a unique look and I could easily find a place for it in my garden. Maybe you could find a place in yours.

dudleya-brittonii
Discovered via Root Simple
Dudleya brittonii (DUD-lee-yuh brit-TON-ee-eye), with common names Britton’s dudleya and Giant Chalk Dudleya, is a succulent plant in the Crassulaceae family. It is native to Baja California, Mexico.

The leaves of Dudleya brittonii grow in a basal rosette and are covered with a dusty, chalky, mealy white epicuticular “wax”. The wax in its mealy state on the leaves is attracted to water and coats drops on the leaves and prevents their evaporation. The wax has the highest measured ultraviolet reflectivity of any plant.[1]

Dudleya brittonii is similar in appearance to Dudleya pulverulenta, native to California. — Wikipedia

More information on Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii):

From Amazon.com:
 

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Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas

Food, Fruit, Photos, Plants No comments yet

Photo: Tomatoes on the vine in HDR

By on March 9th, 2014

Tomatoes on the vine in HDR from Google+ Auto Awesome

Previously in my Instagram Photos…

Education, Flowers, Garden Alphabet, Herbs, Photos, Plants No comments yet

Garden Alphabet: Lavender (Lavendula)

By on March 8th, 2014

Garden Alphabet: Lavender (Lavendula)

A closeup of a lavender harvest from my own garden. Lavender seems to do very well here in our Mediterranean climate, if we can get it enough sun, It deals well with our hot and dry summers and never fails to impress with its smell. I love the purple flowers too, and it fits in well with my casually applied love for combinations of purple and gold.

Garden Alphabet: Lavender | A Gardener's Notebook with Douglas E. Welch

Lavender (Lavendula)

Lavandula (common name Lavender) is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, southern Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India. Many members of the genus are cultivated extensively in temperate climates as ornamental plants for garden and landscape use, for use as culinary herbs, and also commercially for the extraction of essential oils. The most widely cultivated species, Lavandula angustifolia is often referred to as lavender, and there is a colour named for the shade of the flowers of this species. – Wikipedia

More information on Lavender (Lavendula):

 

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Design, Elsewhere, Landscape, Link Focus, Shared, UK/Europe, Urban No comments yet

Link Focus: Garden | Garden Bridge Over The Thames Moves Forward from Londonist

By on March 7th, 2014

Link focus logo

Garden | Garden Bridge Over The Thames Moves Forward from Londonist

London, as busy a city as it is, already has some wonderful gardens and parks throughout the city. I was so pleased when I was able to walk from Westminster back to Kensington almost continuously in parks and under shady trees. That said, every city can always use more nature and this concept to create a nature-covered pedestrian bridge over the Thames sounds wonderful. The views of the river are amazing nearly anywhere along its length, but bringing scenes from the more natural parts of the river upstream down to the city would benefit both residents and tourists. I have walked across the Millennium Bridge and found its design beautiful and striking but it is a bit stark and exposed. Maybe it could benefit from some greenery, too.

London garden bridge

More info on London Gardens:

London Gardens from Amazon.com:


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Link Focus is a series that comments on some of the links I share on my social media accounts and here on the web site. To get these links as I find them, subscribe to me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and elsewhere. Also look for the “My Favorite Things” posts that appear regularly in the blog. These include collections of links for each calendar month.

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Garden Decor: Crema Piatto Bird Bath

By on March 6th, 2014

Crema Piatto Bird Bath

An elegant statement for any garden, formal or informal. Since it is ceramic this would need to be brought for Winter in colder climes, but would be OK year round here in Southern California.

Piatta birdbath

Discovered via Pinterest User Marie Soda

More bird bath ideas from Amazon.com: 

 

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Education, Flowers, Interesting Plant, Landscape, Plants No comments yet

Interesting Plant: Sunrose (Helianthemum nummularium)

By on March 5th, 2014

Interesting Plant: Sunrose (Helianthemum nummularium)

I discovered Sunrose through this post on Houzz.com (Great Design Plant: Sunrose Dazzles on Dry Slopes). Since I live here in sunny (and currently, drought plagued) Southern California, anything that can stand up to our hot and dry summer is great appreciated. I think this might fit in the bed that lines the street in front of the house. It would cover nicely without taking over everything like the current lantana tends to do.

Landscape by Arcata Landscape Architects & Designers Genevieve Schmidt

From Europe and Asia Minor. A number of forms of this species are commonly sold under this name, as well as hybrids between it and other species. Plant grows 3 to 8 in. tall. Leaves are 1/2–1 in. long; they may be gray on both surfaces, or glossy green above and fuzzy gray beneath. Midspring to early summer display of 1-in.-wide, single or double flowers in bright or pastel colors–flame red, apricot, orange, yellow, pink, rose, peach, salmon, or white. Each blossom lasts only a day, but new buds continue to open. Shear plants back after flowering to neaten appearance and encourage repeat bloom. — Sunset.com

More information on Leptospermum scoparium:

From Amazon.com:
 

Previously in the Interesting Plant series: 

Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas

Food, Fruit, Photos, Plants No comments yet

Photo: Strawberries #garden via Instagram

By on March 4th, 2014

Photo posted via Instagram

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Flowers, Food, In the garden, Podcast, Show, Video No comments yet

Video: In the garden…March 2, 2014: Potatoes coming up and I have a cold

By on March 3rd, 2014

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Agn artwork

White potatoes coming up — finally — and I notice new sweet potatoes, too.Strawberries are fruiting in their container, too.

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Check out what was happening in the garden a year ago: “Container Garden Update 017 – Strawberries and preparing a recycled container into a seeding flat”

Check out my collection of gardening essays, “From A Gardener’s Notebook” now available as a Kindle eBook. (You don’t need a Kindle to read it, though. Read it on your PC, Link: http://j.mp/fagnbook

 

Watch all past episodes of “In the garden…” in this YouTube Playlist

Music: “The One” by the Woodshedders (http://musicalley.com)

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“In the garden…” is a series for A Gardener’s Notebook highlighting what is happening in my garden, my friend’s gardens and California gardens throughout the seasons. 

In the garden, Photos No comments yet

Photo: Panorama from my wet, wet, wet, SoCal Garden

By on March 2nd, 2014

Several inches of rain over the last several days have change the character of the garden today. I even had to wear my “wellies” to keep my feet dry and not track mud into the house.

Here are a few panorama photos shot with my iPhone to give you a view. Click each one to view full-sized version.

After the storm garden panoramas - 1

After the storm garden panoramas - 2

After the storm garden panoramas - 3

Food, Fruit, Garden Alphabet, Photos, Plants No comments yet

Garden Alphabet: Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

By on February 28th, 2014

Garden Alphabet: Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

We have visited Hawaii only once, but since we were driving right past the Dole Plantation it made sense to stop in for a bit. The one sight that attracted my attention most was the test garden which contained a wide variety of pineapples, including the example. Some were red, some were golden and others bright yellow. It was quite eye-opening to see the wide variety available when I grew up knowing nothing but pineapple in a can. (LAUGH)

Garden Alphabet: Pineapple from the Dole Test Garden, Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii

 

Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries,[1] and the most economically significant plant in the Bromeliaceae family.[2] Pineapples may be cultivated from a crown cutting of the fruit,[3] possibly flowering in 20–24 months and fruiting in the following six months.[3][4] Pineapple does not ripen significantly post-harvest.[5]

Pineapples are consumed fresh, cooked, juiced, and preserved, and are found in a wide array of cuisines. In addition to consumption, in the Philippines the pineapple’s leaves are used to produce the textile fiber piña- employed as a component of wall paper and furnishings, amongst other uses.[6]

The word “pineapple” in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). The term “pine cone” for the reproductive organ of conifer trees was first recorded in 1694. When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them “pineapples” (first so referenced in 1664 due to resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone).[7][8]

In the scientific binomial Ananas comosus, ananas, the original name of the fruit, comes from the Tupi word nanas, meaning “excellent fruit”,[9] as recorded by André Thevet in 1555, and comosus, “tufted”, refers to the stem of the fruit. Other members of the Ananas genus are often called “pine”, as well, in other languages. In Spanish, pineapples are called piña (“pine cone”), or ananá (ananás) (example, the piña colada drink). – Wikipedia

More information on Pineapple (Ananas comosus):

 

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