In the garden…March 31, 2015: Gathering onion seeds
Today I gather seeds from the green onions we let go in the container garden
Music: “Hustle” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) under Creative Commons License
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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As the end of March approaches, so does our sponsorship by Monrovia Plants. Thanks to all who clicked through to check out the offerings on their web site and thanks for following me here on A Gardener’s Notebook.
Your opinion on sponsorships
I’m interested in hearing your opinions on sponsorship like this. I love getting to try out new plants while also providing you a bit of added value by checking out new plants, products and vendors. I have forwarded a couple of my own comments to the agency arranging the sponsorship to help fine tune programs like this and make them as useful as possible to everyone involved. What are your thoughts and advice?
Link: Monrovia Home and Garden Information
Link: Shop Online at Shop.Monrovia.com
The end of March, but Summer is already arriving!
As for March here in the garden, everything is moving forward into Summer mode here. The bulbs have mostly finished flowering, the leaves have returned on the deciduous trees, unwanted grass is popping up everywhere and temperatures in the 90’s has meant that our watering regimen is in full swing again. I need to patch up or replace a soaker hose here and there, but otherwise I think we are ready for whatever Summer brings.
I’ll have information on these topics — and more — in the coming weeks here in A Gardener’s Notebook and on the YouTube Channel.
Here is a recap of all the posts in this sponsorship, in chronological order, in case you missed anything or want to watch or read them again.
What Monrovia Plants should I try in my garden? California Buckwheat, New Zealand Tea Tree or something completely different?
Video: Spring Beauty That Lasts – Sponsored by #Monrovia – My 2 New Plants
Two more plant ideas from Monrovia – Clivia and Stonerop
Information tags from my Monrovia Plants I hope to install this weekend, once I get over this cold
Video: In the garden…March 15, 2015: Setting out our new plants – Sponsored by #Monrovia
Two More Plant Ideas from Monrovia — Indian Hawthorne and Dwarf Bottlebrush
Two More Plant Ideas from Monrovia — Christmas Carol Aloe and Desert Rose Paddle Plant #sponsored
If you are looking for garden information or new plants to add your your garden, check out Monrovia Plants online.
Link: Monrovia Home and Garden Information
Link: Shop Online at Shop.Monrovia.com
Products: Pink Hibiscus — my photography on smartphone cases, cards, totes and more!
Video: In the garden…March 23, 2015: Planting a new blueberry bush
What Monrovia Plants should I try in my garden? California Buckwheat, New Zealand Tea Tree or something completely different?
Interesting Plant: California Lilac (Ceanothus) via BeWaterWise (@bewaterwiseh2o)
Morning in the garden office
iPhone and Samsung Cases | Cards and Wall-sized photographic prints
Mug | Travel Mug | Tote Bags
This photo, and more, available on a variety of products from RedBubble. Order directly online.
See my entire portfolio on RedBubble
Interesting Plant: Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) via BeWaterWise (@bewaterwiseh2o)
Information tags from my Monrovia Plants I hope to install this weekend, once I get over this cold
Video: In the garden…February 22, 2015: Birds, planting a new pomegranate tree and more!
Photos/Video: LA DWP Tree Giveaway Today
Interesting Plant: Malva Rosa (Lavatera assurgentiflora) via BeWaterWise (@bewaterwiseh2o)
Using the new Layout app from Instagram to combine some photos into a collage. California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are part of our Springtime bloom here in Southern California.
As I was looking for my new plants at the nursery and in the Monrovia online catalog, I came across many plants that attracted my attention in some way. I’ll be highlighting a few of the other plants that might eventually find a place in my garden. Here are my next two selections in this series.
Christmas Carol Aloe (Aloe hybrid ‘Christmas Carol’ P.P.A.F.)
Shop.Monrovia.com | Direct Link
Aloes have always been interesting to me, but more so over the last several years. As mentioned before, drought-tolerant plants are the future for most Southern California gardens, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have lots of variety and lots of beauty, too.
A petite Aloe with festive color! Dark green succulent leaves feature deep crimson raised spots and are trimmed in bright red. Vibrant pink to reddish-orange flowers add to the show. This drought tolerant plant is a great selection for use in rock gardens, as a small scale groundcover, or in containers. – Monrovia
Desert Rose Paddle Plant (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora ‘Desert Rose’)
Shop.Monrovia.com | Direct Link
While we are looking at succulents, this lovely kalanchoe would be another great addition to the garden. This multicolored succulent would look great alone or in combination with others of a similar shade. This might be something for a collection of containers lining a walkway or driveway.
Noted for its distinctive round foliage, this succulent has chalky blue-green leaves tinged with red. Color intensifies in full sun. Clusters of yellow flowers on spikes appear on mature plants. Provides dramatic color and texture in rock gardens or xeriscapes. Easily grown in containers, indoors or out. — Monrovia
Previously in this sponsored program:
Event: Mushrooms and Fungi of the Santa Monica Mountains, Encino, March 10, 2015
Morning in the garden office
Products: Pink Hibiscus — my photography on smartphone cases, cards, totes and more!
What Monrovia Plants should I try in my garden? California Buckwheat, New Zealand Tea Tree or something completely different?
I Like This – December 19, 2010
Planting our new blueberry bush
Link: Monrovia Home and Garden Information
Link: Shop Online at Shop.Monrovia.com
Follow @MonroviaPlants on Twitter
Music: “Hustle” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) under Creative Commons License
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Two More Plant Ideas from Monrovia — Indian Hawthorne and Dwarf Bottlebrush
Products: Pink Hibiscus — my photography on smartphone cases, cards, totes and more!
What Monrovia Plants should I try in my garden? California Buckwheat, New Zealand Tea Tree or something completely different?
Event: Mushrooms and Fungi of the Santa Monica Mountains, Encino, March 10, 2015
Video: In the garden…January 23, 2015: Replanting after frost damage and more sweet potatoes harvested
Seaside Daisy, Beach Aster (Erigeron glaucus) via BeWaterWise.com
A few months ago I was invited down the office of the Metropolitan Water District to meet a number of people involved in their BeWaterWise.com project to help reduce water usage in California. As part of their efforts, they focus on providing plant alternatives to water hungry lawns. Over the next several weeks, I will be highlighting some of their garden alternatives as part of this series. For more information on these plants and other water conservation ideas and programs, vist BeWaterWise.com. Follow the MWD on Twitter at BeWaterWiseH2O — Douglas
“Erigeron Glaucus” by JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Another native Californian, this free-blooming plant has purple daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. It flowers in the spring and summer and grows in clumps about 1 foot high and 2 feet wide. It likes full sun or light shade and requires moderate water in warmer areas.. — BeWaterWise.com
Erigeron glaucus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name seaside fleabane, beach aster, or seaside daisy.
This wildflower is native to the coastline of Oregon and California where it grows on beaches, coastal bluffs and dunes. This is a perennial daisy reaching heights between 5 and 30 centimetres (2.0 and 11.8 in) with branching, nodding stems which may be glandular and hairy to hairless. It grows from a stout rhizome and produces thick, firm, rounded to spoon-shaped leaves, sometimes with a few teeth along the edges, each two to 13 centimeters long.[1] Its stems bear inflorescences of one to 15 flower heads which are variable in size from one to over three centimeters wide. The centers contain golden yellow disc florets and the edges are fringed with ray florets which may be long or quite short, and are shades of deep blue and purple to nearly white. While typical habitats include coastal bluffs, one highly specialised plant association is found within the two Cupressus macrocarpa dominant forests in Monterey County, California. — Wikipedia
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
Photos: In the neighborhood…March 9, 2015 – Van Nuys, California
Video: First Daffodil of 2015
Photo: Gerbera Daily from the garden today via #instagram
Video: In the garden…March 15, 2015: Setting out our new plants – Sponsored by #Monrovia
Free Sherman Oaks Tree Giveaway on Valentine’s Day – Plant a little love in your garden!
Link: Monrovia Home and Garden Information
Link: Shop Online at Shop.Monrovia.com
Follow @MonroviaPlants on Twitter
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Video: In the garden…December 28, 2013: Planting onion sets and harvesting some sweet potatoes
Two more plant ideas from Monrovia – Clivia and Stonerop
Horticulture/Garden Jobs Available – Search by location and keyword
Video: In the garden…May 3, 2013: Poor drainage makes for potato problems
Video: In the garden…September 24, 2014: Bauhinia
As I was looking for my new plants at the nursery and in the Monrovia online catalog, I came across many plants that attracted my attention in some way. I’ll be highlighting a few of the other plants that might eventually find a place in my garden. Here are my next two selections in this series.
Majestic Beauty® Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis x ‘Montic’)
Shop.Monrovia.com | Direct Link
I have some lovely Rhaphiolepis here in my garden, planted by the previous owners. They are a common, yet reliable and beautiful planting here in Southern California. Mine don’t seem to require much water, now that they are mature and established and that is always a great benefit here. They are covered with small pink flowers each Spring which then give way to dark purple to black berries a month or so later. I haven’t noticed any particular animal feeding on the berries although some quick research indicates they can be a food source for some birds.
Easy-to-grow evergreen shrub produces huge clusters of fragrant, pearl-pink flowers. Perfect for planting along driveways and parking medians where reflected heat is an issue. Useful as a background shrub, screen or small tree with single or multiple trunks. – Monrovia
Dwarf Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus ‘Little John’)
Shop.Monrovia.com | Direct Link
This Dwarf Callistemon was on the short list of plants to buy for this sponsorship as my wife is quite taken with them. Here in Southern California they are usually grown a large trees, which we don’t really have the space to add, but we recently saw these dwarf varieties used against a wall — almost like you would espalier fruit trees. That gave us some great ideas about how we might be able to use them here in our garden. This is one plant I will definitely keep in mind for future additions to the garden.
Blood red blooms cover the top of this dwarf grower for an extended season. Dense branches are covered with blue-green leaves. Versatile compact size is perfect for today’s smaller gardens. Evergreen. — Monrovia
Previously in this sponsored program:
Event: Mushrooms and Fungi of the Santa Monica Mountains, Encino, March 10, 2015
Products: Pink Hibiscus — my photography on smartphone cases, cards, totes and more!
Interesting Plant: California Lilac (Ceanothus) via BeWaterWise (@bewaterwiseh2o)
What Monrovia Plants should I try in my garden? California Buckwheat, New Zealand Tea Tree or something completely different?
Video: In the garden…March 4, 2015: Wisteria cutting takes off from A Gardener’s Notebook
A photo from my time I my garden “office” this morning made with Waterlogue app.
Morning in the garden office — Douglas E. Welch
Garden History: Every garden deserves a lovely garden gate – Wellington Stanley Morse House 1917
Interesting Plant: California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Photos: Peaceful garden, home office and waiting room
Video: What Douglas Dug…Show 009 – March 11, 2013 – Photoshopped flowers, carrots, rosemary topiaries and more!
Event: Encino Cactus Festival To Highlight Fire Safe Vegetation
