Category Archives: Garden Inventory

Garden Inventory: Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

Garden Inventory: Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

Honey locusts, Gleditsia triacanthos, can reach a height of 20–30 m (66–100 ft), with fast growth, and are relatively short-lived; their life spans are typically about 120 years, though some live up to 150 years. They are prone to losing large branches in windstorms. The leaves are pinnately compound on older trees but bipinnately compound on vigorous young trees. The leaflets are 1.5–2.5 cm (smaller on bipinnate leaves) and bright green. They turn yellow in the fall (autumn). Leafs out relatively late in spring, but generally slightly earlier than the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). The strongly scented cream-colored flowers appear in late spring, in clusters emerging from the base of the leaf axils.- Wikipedia.org

Another tree that was originally in the garden when we purchased the property. It is deciduous and is covered with bright yellow leaves each fall which then coat the ground when wind or rain arrives. It is one of the few colorful Fall trees here in Southern California.

This tree is probability a cultivated variety as it has no thorns, which are typical in the wild, native varieties of locust. It shows long, seed pods each Spring/early Summer and I have found that wasp love to feed on the stumpy flower stalks that form soon after the tree comes into leaf each Spring. I regularly see seedlings from this tree sprout up in the garden beds although I have not propagated any. Perhaps as part of my on-going propagation program I started a few weeks ago I might try and place one in a pot for further growth.

Photos of Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) with closeups of leaves, growing habit, and stems.

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Garden Inventory is a series where I begin an inventory of all the plants and trees in my garden. Along with some of my own pictures, I will link to various sources of information about each plant and tree so we can learn a little more together.

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Aucuba japonioca variegata (Gold Dust Plant)

Garden Inventory: Aucuba japonioca variegata (Gold Dust Plant)

Aucuba japonica, commonly called spotted laurel,[1] Japanese laurel,[1] Japanese aucuba[1] or gold dust plant (USA), is a shrub (1-5m) native to rich forest soils of moist valleys, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China and Japan. This is the species of Aucuba commonly seen in gardens – often in variegated form. The leaves are opposite, broad lanceolate, 5–8 cm long and 2–5 cm wide. Aucuba japonica are dioecious, they have separate male and female plants. The flowers are small, 4–8 mm diameter, with four purplish-brown petals; they are produced in clusters of 10-30 in a loose cyme. The fruit is a red berry approximately 1 cm in diameter, which is avoided by birds.[2] – Wikipedia.org

This is new addition to the garden, as we only planted it about 2-3 weeks ago. I placed 2 plants in a bed along the southern fence on our property where it is very shady. The back garden needs a lot of “greening up” so this was one of our first purchases to start that process. I love variegated plants, especially in the shade, so this one caught my eye immediately when I saw it at the nursery. Both plants appear to be settling into their new locations which new leaf growth showing on both.

Photos ofAucuba japonioca Variegata (Gold Dust Plant) with closeups of leaves, growing habit, and stems.

More information on Aucuba japonioca Variegata (Gold Dust Plant):

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I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Clytostoma callistegioides

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Clytostoma callistegioides

“Evergreen vine with rapid-growing woody branches. Glossy dark-green leaves are a lovely contrast to the light lavender, trumpet-like flowers over a long blooming period. Easily grown in sun or part shade. — Monrovia.com”

These vines have been in the garden since the beginning of our time here 16 years ago. Like most plants in the backyard, they don’t get nearly enough sun, but they seem to hang on and even flower on occasion. I am looking to make some cuttings from the existing vines so I can grow it in a more hospitable area, if possible.

This was one of the first Latin plant names I learned of the plants here in the garden when we first moved in. I have never really found a satisfactory common name and I sound fancy when I say it, so I use it to impress people. (LAUGH)

Photos of Clytostoma callistegioides with closeups of flowers, leaves, growing habit, and stems.

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Garden Inventory: Ficus repens

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Ficus repens

A rather unassuming plant that often hides the background, almost unnoticed in most gardens. In my case, it once used to cover our back wall until the car dealership behind us decided to rebuild both the wall and their parking lot. I tried to maintain as many of the plants as possible, but the new wall foundations ended up removing most of the plants. Still, I have a few plants and I am trying to recover the new wall, but it is slow going. The vine covers well, but slowly and I need many more individual plants to reestablish it fully. This is one of the plants I am planning on propagating in my (hopefully, soon to happen) Propagation Project. I want to propagate more of nearly everything I have in the garden at the moment.

I like this ficus because, while it covers well, it doesn’t try to take over your entire garden. It only grows a few inches off the surface of the wall and doesn’t seem to like growing across the ground. I can start to climb on adjacent plants, but along this large back wall there are nothing but mature trees, so it is easy to remove any runners that might appear.

Photos of Ficus repens with closeups of flowers, leaves, growing habit, and stems.

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Garden Inventory: Lantana

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Lantana

“Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both herbaceous plants and shrubs growing to 0.5–2 m (1.6–6.6 ft) tall. Their common names are shrub verbenas or lantanas. The generic name originated in Late Latin, where it refers to the unrelated Viburnum lantana.[2]

Lantana’s aromatic flower clusters (called umbels) are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white florets. Other colors exist as new varieties are being selected. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two- or three-colored. — Wikipedia.org

Lantana are a quite common landscaping plant here in Southern California and you are liable to see a wide variety simply driving around town. I have two types here — a yellow/gold variety with an upright habit that was here when we bought the property and a sprawling prostrate purple variety which I added to the streetside bed a few years ago. While I am happy with the upright habit lantana, the prostrate ones can quickly take over an area and smother out the other plants. I have cut back my purple lantana dramatically recently and will probably remove them entirely, to be replaced with more manageable and enjoyable lavender.

Some people find the smell of lantana horrible and can’t stand it in their garden. While it is indeed pungent, I don’t find it objectionable. There have also been reports of contact dermatitis (rash) in certain people when they handle or brush against the plant, so use caution if you think you might be sensitive to the plant.

Photos of Lantana with closeups of flowers, leaves, growing habit, and stems.

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Garden Inventory: Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

“Polystichum munitum (Western Sword Fern) is an evergreen fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeast Alaska south to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with isolated populations in interior northern British Columbia, the Black Hills in South Dakota, and on Guadalupe Island off Baja California. — Wikipedia.org

I have a couple of sword ferns in the garden, both imported from a friend’s hillside, where they have far too many. They are trying to remove quite a few to make more room for a few more natives that they would prefer to have in their garden. They focus heavily on native plants and native wildlife in their garden, so there are some plants that could provide more a food source for the birds and other wildlife win their garden.

I have a plant of spending a day collecting a large amount of these ferns to fill in some of the bare spots in the very shady back garden in an effort to green it up a bit, especially during the summer when many of the other plants tend to go dormant.

Photos of Sword Fern with closeups of leaves, growing habit, and stems.

More information on Lemon:

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Garden Inventory: Lemon

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Lemon

“The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree’s ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world, primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used in cooking and baking. The juice of the lemon is about 5% to 6% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice makes it a key ingredient in drinks and foods such as lemonade. — Wikipedia.org

This sad, little, lemon tree has been in the garden since our ownership began 16 years ago. It was planted in a bad location and heavily shaded and crowded by other trees. We recently removed one of the main trees shading this spot, so I am interested in seeing if the tree gets a little more robust. I am seeing many more flowers than previously, as you can see in some of the pictures below.

Here in Southern California, citrus trees are in almost every yard, but it is relatively few people who use even a portion of the fruit they produce. Lemons are probably the worst offender tree, as recipes use so little lemon juice of lemon rind that it can be difficult to put all your fruit to use. For me, I use about 15 lemons in my yearly batch of limoncello (see video on making your own limoncello here) and a few pitchers of lemonade, but a heavily producing tree, even a dwarf one, which I believe this is, can produce a grocery bag full of lemons very quickly.

Photos of Lemon tree with closeups of leaves, flowers, growing habit, trunk and bark

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Garden Inventory: Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

“Sequoia sempervirens (pronounced /sɨˈkɔɪ.ə sɛmpərˈvaɪrənz/)[1] is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, California redwood, and giant redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1200–1800 years or more.[2] This species includes the tallest trees on Earth, reaching up to 379 feet (115.5 m) in height (without the roots) and up to 26 feet (7.9 m) in diameter at breast height. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood forest has been cut down,[3] due to its excellent properties for use as lumber in construction.” — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens

We have 2 of these lovely trees in the garden and they are one of my favorite trees. First, their shaggy, dark red, bark is always attract and looks different from every angle. It requires almost no maintenance and survives well even in this heavily crowded back yard.

Of course, this tree will never reach the size of its native brothers and sisters growing in Northern California. For that they require a heavily organic soil and much more moisture than they would ever receive here in Los Angeles. That said, they are stately and attractive trees. There are a few other examples in the neighborhood which appear to be much older, yet they still remain compact and attractive even as they grow larger.

At the bottom of the trunk, the redwood throws off a variety of what I guess would be called saplings, arising from its roots. These bring an interest to the trunk and contrast nicely with the red bark without obscuring it. You can see examples of this in the photos of the trunk below.

It is a bit difficult to get a good picture of its upper branches, as it is crowded by one of the ficus growing nearby, but there are a few examples in the photos, too.

Photos of Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) closeups of leaves, fruit, growing habit, trunk and bark

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Garden Inventory: Ficus benjamina

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Ficus benjamina

“Ficus benjamina, commonly known as the weeping fig, Benjamin’s fig, or ficus tree and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to south and southeast Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. It is a tree reaching 30 metres (98 ft) tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6–13 cm (2–5 in), oval with an acuminate tip. In its native range, its small fruit are favored by some birds, such as the Superb Fruit Dove, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Ornate Fruit Dove, orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon (Frith et al. 1976).” — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_benjamina

Most people are familiar with Ficus as the ubiquitous houseplant and small tree that graces office buildings around the globe. Here in Los Angeles, though, they were also used a street trees for a number of years, but recently that decision has “come home to roost” in the form of destroyed sidewalks, curbs and streets. Ficus roots are quite strong and aggressive and will readily turn over any construction put in their path. You need to choose their location quite well to insure you aren’t regretting your decision to plant them down the road.

I have 3 large ficus in my garden and, to be honest, I have never really liked them that much. Their foliage is very dense and creates some spots of deep shade under their canopy. This canopy can be quite beneficial in the host summer months here in the San Fernando Valley. Ficus also drop quite a load of leaves, although being evergreen, they never drop all their leaves at once.

On the plus side, they don’t need much pruning and, except for a small amount of frost damage on occasion, they don’t seem to have any issues with disease or pests. They do provide a small green fruit, although I have never noticed any of my birds or wildlife eating them. You can see these fruits in the some of the pictures below.

Photos of Ficus benjamina closeups of leaves, fruit, growing habit, trunk and bark

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Garden Inventory: Ash Tree (Fraxinus)

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Ash (Fraxinus)

“Fraxinus (pron.: /ˈfræksɨnəs/)[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree’s common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name originated in Latin. Both words also meant “spear” in their respective languages.[3] The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as keys or helicopter seeds, are a type of fruit known as a samara. Rowans or Mountain Ashes are unrelated to true ashes and belong to the Genus Sorbus though the leaves and buds are superficially similar.” — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraxinus

I never knew there were so many different types of Ash trees, so I have no idea what particular variety this one is. Now that I know it is a Fraxinus, I will have to go through some “keying” and try to figure out its particulars. Ash trees grow all over Europe and most of the United States and Canada, with different varieties being prominent in different areas.

In the photos below, I have highlighted the bark, the general growing habit, trunk shape and size and, due to lucky timing, both the leaves and the flowers of the tree, which is just now coming back into leaf after a short period of deciduous dormancy. Maybe someone more knowledge about trees than myself can help me identify it.

The tree has a few issues. It is multi-trunked, which I don’t think is normal for an Ash. It probably means it was damaged sometime in its youth. When taking photos I noticed that this large crotch is collecting a good amount of rain water and a huge colony of ants. I hope it isn’t causing rot, but I will need to contact my tree experts online and see what I might do to prevent any damage in the future.

I love how I always learn a it about my plants when doing these inventory posts. I had no idea that Ash was related to olives and lilacs. One of the few facts I knew about Ash was that it was the traditional wood for baseball bats here in the US Major Leagues.

Emerald Ash Borer has been attacking Ash trees throughout the East Coast of the US and will probably spread across the continent eventually. There are a variety of treatments available. Find out more about Emerald Ash Borer via Wikipedia.