Bewitched Rose

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Our rain has kicked off a heavy bloom on our Bewitched Roses. This is the first mass bloom in a long time due to the extended drought.

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First Daffodil 2017 — A Minute in the Garden 53 from A Gardener’s Notebook

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

A Minute in the Garden: A series from A Gardener’s Notebook

Here is Los Angeles Spring arrives early. The paperwhites have been up for a while, but here is the first daffodil in the garden.

Music: “Life of Riley” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) under Creative Commons License

See all the videos in “A minute in the garden” series in this YouTube playlist

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Interesting Plant: Cream Bush (Holodiscus discolor)

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Starting a series within a series, I will be highlighting shade plants that grow well underneath trees, especially California Live Oak. I have a deep shade area beneath many trees here in my own garden and i am constantly looking for plants that can help green this area. — Douglas

Cream Bush (Holodiscus discolor)

Another striking white plant that works in partial shade, according to the folks at Las Pilitas Nursery. white, of course, brings some evening and night interest to your garden, too.

By Walter Siegmund (talk) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

What are your thoughts on this Interesting Plant? Drop a note in the comments!

The plant is common in the Pacific Northwest, and throughout California in diverse habitats including California mixed evergreen forest, California oak woodlands, chaparral, Coast redwood forest, Douglas-fir forest, Yellow pine forest, Red fir forest, and Lodgepole pine forest. It is native to regions of California including the High Sierra Nevada, Northern and Southern California Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, Santa Cruz Mountains, Western Transverse Ranges, and the San Gabriel Mountains.

It is found in both openings and the common understory shrub in a variety of forest overstories from 300–1,300 metres (980–4,270 ft) in elevation. It is found in a variety of habitats, from moist coastal forests to drier, cooler mountains of inland California. The plant is found in areas prone to wildfire, and it is often the first green shoot to spring up in an area recovering from a burn. It is commonly found in chaparral communities, a fire ecology ecosystem which evolved with burning periodically. It also may grow in areas cleared by logging.
In the California black oak woodland plant community, common understory associate species include Western poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), and coastal wood fern (Dryopteris arguta).[6] — Wikipedia

More information on Cream Bush (Holodiscus discolor):

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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

Marigold with Raindrops

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Marigold with Raindrops

After the rain these double marigolds collect raindrops that shone in the sun.

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New Plant: Navaho Blackberry (Rubus)

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

In an effort to add more edible plants to the garden, I picked up this Navaho Blackberry at my local nursery during a recent visit to take photos.

Since I have been unable to do other work today as we are having new carpet laid in our combination office/family room, I decided to take a moment to get this into the ground. I placed it in one of sunniest spots in the front garden, in a bed where I have previously grown sweet potatoes. I still have more than enough space for growing potatoes and I am hoping this blackberry naturalizes well and grows into a sizeable clump. We love blackberries here and, much like the kale plant in the same bed, being able to pick fruit from our own garden would be marvelous.

From DaveWilson.com…

Navaho Blackberry
Upright, thornless. 1988 University of Arkansas introduction. Superb flavor in a small berry. Fruit is firm with significantly smaller seeds than other thornless varieties. Upright canes require no support. Popular with home gardeners and commercial producers alike. USDA Zone 6-10.

Purple and White

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Purple and White

Purple is one of my favorite colors, so how could I not like these flowers. I have a purple and gold theme in the front garden that I would like to build on too.

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Noted: My connected coop brings all the chickens to the IoT

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Read My connected coop brings all the chickens to the IoT via ReadWriteWeb

An interesting link found among my daily reading

Dianthus ‘Diabunda Red Picotee’

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Douglas E. Welch

Dianthus ‘Diabunda Red Picotee’

The trouble with making regular visits to the nursery is that I am constantly seeing new plants and varieties I would love to add to the garden. This exuberant dianthus was just one plant that caught my eye on my last trip.

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