Reflections on 2011

This has been a great year for gardens, gardening, and learning about gardens. The Eden By The Bay blog focuses on gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area, but gardening is so much more than simply tending a garden (which is pleasure enough). It is also about nature, seasons, plants, people, relationships, exploration, migration, and history.

In 2011, Eden By The Bay explored gardening and gardening resources in the Bay Area, with topics ranging from the Mediterranean climate and Sunset-defined microclimates, to native plants, local garden visits, books and resources, soil and trees, seasons, local agriculture, and my own vegetable gardening experiences in Montclair. But we roamed farther afield as well – exploring desert climates in Southern California and Bend, Oregon; gardens and habitat in the Pacific Northwest; Mediterranean plants; landscape ideas, and fruits and spices used in holiday cooking. For fun, we went to the movies for a glimpse of plants as movie stars.

Explore – find adventures close to home or far away.	Experiment – use what you have; try something new.
Enjoy – stop and smell the tulips, with friends.	Educate – keep learning and discovering new things.

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Exploration in one area often leads to exploration in another. Surprising connections exist between people, places, and facts. The garden journey may begin in a local garden, but it can lead to the gardens of the world.

The Lore of Spices

The Lore of Spices explores familiar and exotic spices from Europe, East Indies, and the New World, as well as salt and sugar. The author is Jan-Öjvind Swahn, and the publisher is Barnes & Noble, Inc. (1997). The book was a gift from my sister, who knows of my interests in cooking and plants, and is a wonderful reference for many of the spices we use to flavor food, drink, perfume, and other products.

The overview to the book defines the term “spices” and provides a brief history of spices and the spice trade. The rest of the book provides interesting botanical information and cultural history for each of the spices. The cultural history includes plenty of intrigue, price-fixing, imperialism, and lore. The book is lavish with graphics, photos, botanical art, maps, charts, and facts.

I used The Lore of Spices, as one of my sources to research all of this month’s articles on holiday cooking (starting with, Holiday Cooking – Vanilla). I was especially intrigued with the “new world” spices, and how they have been introduced as crops in other countries in the world with similar climates. If you are interested in cooking, plants, or history, you may be interested in The Lore of Spices.

O Holy Night

The Christmas season is not complete until I hear some version of this carol. The words paint a picture of a starry night blanketing a labored and oppressed world, into which the Divine is inserted (Emmanuel - God with us) causing a ripple of hope; a worshipful response; and a call to our better and intended selves. The music soars, and the best voices soar with it in clear, unwavering tones.

The original poem was written by Placide Cappeau in 1847, and called Cantique de Noёl, or Minuit, Chretiens (Midnight, Christians). Cappeau was a wine merchant in Roquemaure, France, who wrote poems for a hobby. The local parish priest asked him to compose a poem for Christmas. Cappeau wrote the poem on a business trip to Paris; while in Paris he took the poem to composer Adolphe-Charles Adam (a friend of friends). Adam was a successful composer, having written Giselle in 1841 and many other stage works. Adam obliged, and the song was performed at midnight mass on Christmas Eve in Roquemaure in 1847.

Sheet Music for "Cantique de Noel," written by Adolphe Adam.
Cited by Douglas D. Anderson.

The version we are most familiar with was translated in 1855 by an American Unitarian minister and music critic/journalist, the Reverend John Sullivan Dwight. Both Cappeau and Dwight were anti-slavery, and Dwight’s English translation clearly reflects this:

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

With those noble thoughts in mind, seek the Divine, enjoy the people and blessings in your life, and have a Merry Christmas!

Holiday Cooking - Cacao

This month I have researched some of the plants that flavor my holiday baking. Today I’m learning about cacao (or cocoa, when it is processed into a powder). Recall that cacao was mentioned earlier, in conjunction with vanilla (Holiday Cooking – Vanilla). Hot chocolate, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered almonds, and Grand Mariner truffles are just a few of my culinary favorites made with chocolate. Chocolate can be light or dark (with higher cacao content).

Theobroma cacao is in the Byttneriaceae (or Malvaceae) family, and native to wet lowland tropical areas of Central and South America. Cacao is thought to have originated in the Amazon, and was cultivated in Central America by the Mayans and Aztecs. Christopher Columbus was served hot chocolate in Nicaragua by a local chieftain on one of his expeditions to find India; Hernando Cortez was served hot chocolate in Mexico by Montezuma (Cortez reported that cacao beans were used as currency instead of gold). Cacao is now grown in places such as Madagascar, Polynesia, Tahiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uganda, and Guatemala with similar climates. The Spaniards introduced cocoa (and vanilla) to Europe.

Botanical illustration of Theobroma cacao
from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published before
1923 and public domain in the United States).

Cacao is harvested from the fruit pod of an evergreen tree that grows to 25 feet or more in the wild, in the shade of taller trees. Its leaves are leathery and oblong to 12 inches long. Flowers are borne on the trunk and branches in long pedicels, with yellow petals surround by a pinkish calyx. Fruits are yellow, purple or brown, with 10-ribs to one foot long. The seeds are elliptical to one inch long, and borne within the fruit pulp. Propagation is by seed. The seeds are fermented and dried to yield cocoa and chocolate.

Winter

Winter is another subtle season in the San Francisco Bay Area. Days are shorter now, and we have had several of our seasonal rains. Temperatures hover in the 50 degree range, but may spike during the day or plummet at night. Fog, or even frost, may be on the car windows in the early morning. The sun is lower in the sky, and somehow always seems to be in my eyes.

The garden is neglected – it is typically dark when I get up in the morning and dark when I get off work in the evening; and cold enough during the weekends that any garden task can wait until the weather is warmer. The garden seems to be “dormant.” I recently took a stroll through our small garden. In truth, I found signs that nature is very active, and many things are happening in the garden.

Azalea bud	Hydrangea bud
Ivy florals	Magnolia bud
Rhododendron bud	Tulip tree bud

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Gifts for the World Garden

Christmas would not be Christmas without dreaming about peace on earth and good will towards humankind. Here are some ideas that take the dream into action.

This year my husband and I signed up as members of the Zion National Park Foundation, which helps support Zion National Park. We enjoyed our week in the park last fall, and want to help support it.

Holiday Cooking – Nutmeg

This week’s spice is nutmeg, which is sold as a dried “nut,” and served freshly grated. During the holidays, we grate it over eggnog, and whipped cream on pumpkin pie. Nutmeg can be used as flavoring for sweet and savory dishes, including squash soup, creamy spinach, vegetable dishes, cakes and cookies, and bread pudding.

Myristica fragrans is in the Myristicaceae family, and native to Grenada in the Caribbean, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and the Banda Islands in Indonesia. It thrives in a hot moist climate, in rich, well-drained soil. It is also cultivated in Malaysia, and southern India.

Botanical illustration of Myristica fragrans from
Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published before
1923 and public domain in the United States).

Nutmeg is harvested from the fruit of an evergreen tree that grows to 70 feet high in the wild. Its leaves are alternate, oblong-lanceolate to 5 inches, veined, and glaucous on the underside; flowers are small and unisexual, with a lobed corolla; propagation is from seeds and grafting. The tree is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers grow on separate trees. The fruit is yellow, to 2 inches long, and splits into two halves. M. fragrans produces two spices – nutmeg from the seed pod, and mace from the red aril that surrounds the seed (100 pounds of nutmeg yields one pound of mace). The brown seed is dried and sold as a “nut” or ground; mace is dried and ground.

Gifts for the Garden

I'm working on my list of Christmas gift ideas, thinking of the wonderful people in my life. Of course I think of the garden.

A gift doesn't need to be extravagant or expensive. Sometimes the smallest, most personal item is the best.

Stick Wreaths

As I mentioned in Fall Foliage Arrangements, I like to follow the code of “using what you have,” instead of always buying new stuff. My husband and I made two stick wreaths early in our marriage, when we had more time, energy, and ideas than we had money. A friend of ours from work, Paul Sharaba (computer programmer by day, light-opera singer by night), pruned his yard one fall weekend, and brought us a truckload of long, slender, flexible sticks.

Over several weeks, we formed the sticks into wreaths, holding them in place with clear fishing line. We visited a craft store for ribbons, ornaments, and artificial cones, berries, holly, and nuts; then decorated the wreaths. The smaller wreath is about a foot across with a red theme, the larger one is about three feet across with a purple theme.

Stick wreath decorated with artificial foliage from the craft store.

Over the years, the sticks have hardened into shape, and the wreaths have been reworked with new lights, ribbons, ornaments, and themes. Now you can purchase commercially-made stick wreathes at craft stores. They are very handy, economical, and have a uniform appearance. But they don't have the same charm as our stick wreathes, with their uneven shape, buds frozen in time, and wisps of fishing line.

Holiday Cooking – Cinnamon

This month I’m learning more about the plants that favor my holiday baking. Today, I’m taking a look at cinnamon, which I use to flavor pumpkin pie, zucchini bread, molasses cookies, and apple sauce. While growing up, Dad made the best cinnamon and sugar toast, placing the toast under the broiler until the butter, cinnamon, and sugar mixture bubbled, but did not burn. Cinnamon sticks make great stir-sticks for hot apple cider, spice up holiday potpourri, and look pretty tied to a wrapped gift or jar of jam.

Cinnamomum verum (formerly called C. zeylanicum) is in the Lauraceae family (same family as laurel or bay leaves). Cinnamon originated in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and is distinct from but similar to Cinnamomum aromaticum (cassia), which originated in China. Cinnamon was traded throughout Persia, the Mediterranean, and Middle East in ancient times (as early as 2000 B.C.in Egypt), and used for cooking, medicine, perfume, anointing oil, and embalming. The spice factored into Christopher Columbus’s quest for an alternate spice route; and became more available to Europe in the 1600s. Cinnamon is now grown in tropical and subtropical climates, such as Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. Scholarly research is currently being done for medicinal purposes, such as boosting the immune system, as an antiviral, and to combat Alzheimer's disease.

Botanical illustration of Cinnamomum verum
from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published
before 1923 and public domain in the United States).

Cinnamon is harvested from the inner bark of an evergreen tree. Its leaves are ovate or ovate-lancelot, to 7 inches long, aromatic, shiny green above, and lighter green below; flowers are tiny and yellowish, bunched at the branch tips in panicles; propagation is from seeds or cuttings. Once the tree is established, the tree is cut back severely. In two years, six to eight shoots are ready for harvest, and the tree is cut back again. Harvesters use sharp knives to strip the outer bark and harvest the inner bark during the rainy season. The inner bark is dried, first in the shade and then the sun. The rolls are telescoped into meter long (39 inches) quills. The quills are later cut into shorter lengths, or ground for retail distribution.

Christmas Trees

Last weekend I passed the Lucky Supermarket loading dock as they were unloading Christmas trees. I was enveloped with the sweet fragrance of pine while I loaded my groceries into my trunk. Decorating the Christmas tree is one of the fun projects of the season. We drag out the boxes of decorations, set up the tree, and cover it with amber lights, beautiful glass balls from Germany, and tiny angels and musical instrumentals. We typically play the DVD “It’s a Wonderful Life” while we decorate, reminisce about Christmases past, and snack on fresh-baked cookies and eggnog.

Growing up in Alaska, we typically hiked into the woods to find our Christmas tree. Dad brought the saw or ax, Mom brought a thermos of hot chocolate, and my brother, sister, and I trudged through the fresh snow considering the merits of each tree. Some years, our clan came to visit from Southern California. Together we—from my Grandmother down to the youngest cousin—picked the right tree, chopped it down, and hauled it back to the car. Sitka spruce and pine were the best. Hemlock dried out and lost its needles too early. We decorated the tree with colored lights, tinsel, and ornaments, some of which were homemade.

Selecting a Christmas tree in Southeast Alaska.

After my husband and I married and settled in Southern California, we visited Christmas tree lots to find our tree. Our favorite was the Noble Fir, grown in Oregon, with its distinct lateral branches, which showcase ornaments so well. When our son was born, we discovered local, urban Christmas tree farms, where they actually grew the trees, typically under massive power lines. Our rambling ranch-style house had a high ceiling, so we bought the tallest tree we could afford.

Later we moved to Northern California, and started buying our trees from the Boy Scouts in Montclair. We had great times sorting through their collection of pines, to find the perfect tree for our small Bay Area cottage. Now, my husband and I are content to pull out our artificial tree that is pre-wired for lights. It takes just a few minutes to assemble, and looks beautiful once decorated. But it does not have the heavenly fragrance of a fresh evergreen.

Forcing Amaryllis Bulbs

By December, most of my gardening activity and yard work has ceased, and my attention turns toward preparing for the Christmas holiday. One of my traditions is forcing Amaryllis bulbs to bloom off-season. Amaryllis bulbs are easy to force indoors, grow very fast, and produce multiple bodacious blooms per bulb. The stems grow right before your eyes (adding half an inch in height a day), and then the flowers unfurl in succession for an ongoing dramatic display. The whole process takes four to six weeks. The flowers are large and showy, and colors range from deep red, to white, with many colors and patterns in between. Forced Amaryllis bulbs make a great decoration for Christmas, or gift for someone special. Kids enjoy watching them grow.

Hippeastrum spp are in the Amaryllidaceae family, and originated in the tropical and subtropical areas of South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. They are typically marketed as Amaryllis around the holidays, with names like “Red Lion,” “Minerva,” and “White Giant. They are different from Amaryllis spp that originated in South Africa.

Amaryllis is a monocot, and perennial. The bulb is tunicate (a papery tunic protects the bulb from drying out) and 3 – 5 inches wide; the leaves are linear and glossy; the stem is a hollow tube; the inflorescence is an umbel (with three or more short flower stalks, or pedicels, originating from a common point), and sheathed in a bract at the origin. Each flower has six petals formed in a trumpet, with multiple stamens of different lengths, and a single, longer stigma. Propagation is by seed or bulb division.

Holiday Cooking – Vanilla

Baking is one of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday season. I pull out my favorite recipes (add a few new ones), and fill the house with delicious aromas. This month I’ll be taking a look at the plants that season some of my favorite recipes. None of them are native to the San Francisco Bay Area, but several of them are “new world” plants that were exported and are now cultivated around the world.

First up is vanilla, a favorite flavoring for cookies, cakes, and candies. Vanilla is from the Orchidaceae family, and the species most used for cooking is Vanilla planifolia (also known as Vanilla fragrans). Two other species used are Vanilla pampona and Vanilla tahitiensis, both of which contain a third less of the substance “vanillin” that provides the distinctive flavor. Vanilla planifolia originated in Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America. The Aztecs used vanilla to flavor a chocolate drink called tlilxochitl that was served only to royalty. The Spaniards introduced vanilla and cacao to Europe.

Botanical illustration of Vanilla planifolia
from Koehler's Medicinal Plants
(published before 1923 and public domain in the United States).

In the wild, Vanilla planifolia grows as a long vine (80-100 feet) on tall trees in the rainforest. Leaves are short-petioled, oblong-lancelot to eight inches; flowers grow on a raceme, with each flower lasting for a day unless pollinated; the fruit is a seed pod that resembles a green bean. When cultivated, the flowers must be pollinated by hand. The vanillin is extracted from the seed pod in a labor-intensive process that involves sweating, drying, and fermenting the pod (hence the cost). Vanilla is sold as an extract, a paste, and as a bean. To find out about the best vanilla for your holiday baking and gift-giving: 
http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/wheretobuygourmetfoods/tp/topvanillabrand.htm

Welcome to Eden: Wrap Up

Learn about gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond!

Winter rain drops off a Juniper tree

Getting Started 

Get to know the San Francisco Bay Area climate.

Welcome to Eden
Our Wonderful Climate
What's Your Climate Zone

Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area 

Start gardening in the Bay Area.

Clay Soil Shocker
Building a Raised Garden Bed
Gopher Proofing
Drip Irrigation
Seeds and Starters
Soil Compaction
The Harvest
Shady Ideas

Visit Parks and Gardens 

Visit local parks and gardens of the Bay Area to enjoy nature and get some ideas.

Hayward Japanese Garden
Leona Canyon Preserve
POPOS
The Ruth Bancroft Garden
Oak Hill Farm
The Butchart Gardens
Mountain View Cemetery
Sunset Magazine Headquarters
Sunset Magazine Test Gardens
Trees at Mills College
U.C. Botanical Gardens at Berkeley
Kaiser Meditation Garden in Pleasanton

Travels 

Experience a variety of beautiful parks and gardens away from home.

Anza-Borrego Desert Park
Whitewater Preserve
Desert Plant Wrapup
Ranching in Bend
Beautiful Bend
Marine Influence
Monarchs and Milkweed

Resources 

Discover great local resources to support and inspire your garden habit.

San Francisco Garden Show
East Bay Regional Park District
Farm Trails
Community Supported Agriculture
History of Sunset Magazine
Sunset Magazine Contributions to Western Gardening

Books 

Portals to great ideas and places.

Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates
Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction
Beatrix Potter
Designing California Native Gardens
Gardens are for People
Botany for Gardeners

Botany for Gardeners

This is a great botany reference for gardeners. The book describes the basics of growth (cells, seeds, roots, and shoots), organization (inside stems, roots, and leaves), adaptations (for survival), functions (growth, water uptake, photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen fixing, soil), and reproduction (flowers, pollination, propagation, genetics). The author is Brian Capon; the publisher is Timber Press (2005, third printing).

Some of my favorite sections:

• Adaptations – strategies for surviving poor soil, drought, short seasons, grazing
• Alkaloid-producing plants – plants with nitrogen-containing substances, used in medicine
• Meristems – bundles of cells that divide to produce stems, leaves, and roots
• Mycorrhizae – the beneficial soil fungi that forms symbiotic processes with roots

The book celebrates and acknowledges plants, and our reliance on them. It describes basic information in an accessible and understandable way, and inspires you to learn more. The book  scratches the surface for a botanist, but it is fascinating reading for a gardener who wants to know more.

Volunteering in the Regional Parks

Being grateful and counting your blessings is one way to make you feel better in tough times; another way is to do something for someone else. Volunteering your time is a great way to do something for others. The San Francisco Bay Area has many volunteer opportunities – serving food in a homeless shelter, working with at-risk youth, leading tours as a docent in a museum or gallery, or raising funds for scholarships or charity. Another option is to volunteer your skills and labor at a historical, botanical, or non-profit garden. With funding being cut at every level of government, organizations rely heavily on volunteers. You can help.

Non-native ice plant, brought in for freeway plantings, has "travelled" and
become invasive at Crown Beach in Alameda.

I spent a Saturday morning volunteering for the East Bay Regional Park, at Crown Beach in Alameda. I worked side-by-side with two high school students – one was an exemplary exchange student from Germany, another was a local student doing community service while reflecting on some poor choices. Together we faced the challenge of removing invasive, non-native ice plant from the beach. We worked out a system and removed 70 bags of plant material. At the end of four hours, I was exhausted, but I think we made the world a better place. Learn more: http://www.ebparks.org/getinvolved/volunteer.

Bags of ice plant removed from Crown Beach.

Thanksgiving

Rarely does life go according to plan; in fact, it is frequently the opposite! Let’s face it, life is hard as we face financial hardships, sickness, death, depression, and life-changing events. Add to that social and political upheaval on a global scale; fast-paced life styles with 24x7 demands, and instant communication anywhere, anytime. In seasons of sustained duress, it may seem impossible to be thankful.

But psychologists recommend just that – to practice being thankful. Gratitude can alter your physiology and emotions, and actually make you feel better. Being grateful forces you to slow down and reflect on all the good things and people in your life. This is what is behind the Thanksgiving holiday – to stop, take stock, thank God, and enjoy a feast with family, friends, and even strangers.



Several of the things on my "grateful list" - God and nature, family, and
shared adventures!

Add to that - interesting work, life-long learning, and friends with a sense
of humor. My husband keeps me laughing with his dry, clever wit.

Pumpkins

Pumpkin pie is a must-have at our Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoy the rich, spicy filling, baked in a crust, and topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Nothing fancy for us - the recipe is straight from the Libby’s can. I’ve tried baking and mashing my own pumpkin; but it tastes the same, so I’m sticking with Libby’s.

Pumpkin vines can reach 10 - 25 feet, depending on the type.

Pumpkins are a warm-season, frost tender annual from the Cucurbitaceae family. Two major types are the Cucurbita pepo (small to medium size, used for Jack o’ Lanterns and pies) and C. maxima (the variety of winter squash that is often grown as a giant pumpkin). Pumpkins grow on prostrate vines with prickly stems and triangular leaves. Male and female flowers grow on the same plant – the male flowers supply pollen, female flowers bear fruit (look for the small bulb shape at the base of the flower). Bees pollinate the flowers. Pumpkins require the soil and air to be above 60°F (16° C), and take 95-120 days to mature.

Pumpkin flowers, seeds, and fruit are all edible. 

Pumpkins are “new world” plants – indigenous to the Western hemisphere, and thought to have been grown in North America for 5,000 years. The gourd family—Cucurbitaceae—is native to Central America and Mexico, and includes melons, cucumbers, and watermelons. Pumpkin-based dishes, such as soup, toasted seeds, baked or pureed fruit, pumpkin oil for dipping, and pumpkin pie, are fitting dishes at the American Thanksgiving feast.

Fall Foliage Arrangements

I follow the code of “use what you have” whenever possible. If you have a need, look around the house or yard, and see what you already have. Of course it is fun to buy “new stuff”, which I do, but it is also satisfying to take a look at what you already have, and put it to use.

Fall foliage cut from the yard.

Fall foliage arrangements fall into this category – take a look at your garden, and see what might make a good fall arrangement. You might use colored leaves, branches with berries or seed pods, dried grasses, herbs, cones. With a little imagination, plant material, an attractive vase, and floral wire or tape, you can assemble an attractive arrangement.

Dip the fall foliage in water to remove dust and insects,
and place in a bucket of water to keep fresh.

I had fun coming up with fall arrangements using plant material from my own yard – red Toyon berries, green ivy berries, hydrangea and maple leaves, and some green, glossy leaves. I'm ready to bring the outdoors inside, just in time for Thanksgiving.



Variations on a theme - four different arrangements.

Kaiser Meditation Garden in Pleasanton

That’s what I call it—the Kaiser Meditation Garden—but Kaiser may have another name for it (if it even belongs to Kaiser). I’m talking about the small landscaped area behind the Kaiser Pleasanton facility, that boarders Macy’s parking lot in the Stoneridge Mall. The garden includes a covered picnic table, paved walkway, and attractive planting of trees, shrubs, and lawn.



Meditation Garden at Kaiser in Pleasanton.
(Screenshot from Google map Street View).

I visited the garden as part of a class I attended at Kaiser about using breathing, meditation, and being present in the moment to mitigate stress. The garden provided a great spot to practice all three skills.

Paved walkway in the Kaiser Meditation Garden
in Pleasanton.

This is a great idea – for a business or corporation to provide a landscaped area as a type of “break room” for employees. Kaiser may have other uses as well, such as a therapeutic area to help patients recover from illness or injury. Shoppers or drivers also benefit by seeing the break in concrete, with a glimpse of trees and shrubs. Green zones benefit everyone, and provide space for relaxing, thinking, and reconnecting with nature.

U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley

The San Francisco Bay Area is fortunate to have several botanical gardens available, each with its own specialization. Typically plants are grouped, categorized, and marked with signs that identify the genus and species. Botanical gardens often offer classes, host plant sales, and rely on volunteer services.

Succulent collection at U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

The University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley includes specimens from all over the world, with a concentration of plants from Mediterranean climates (California, Chile, Australia, Mediterranean basin, and South Africa). It also includes specialty gardens for old roses, herbs, Chinese healing herbs, cycads, and palms. Green houses display carnivorous plants, succulents, ferns, orchids, and other tender plants.

New World desert collection.

Botanical gardens provide a great way to view a living specimen of a plant, and see an established plant throughout the seasons. This is a useful resource to learn more about a plant before adding it to your landscape. On my excursion to U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley, I was especially drawn to Arid House for the succulents, new world desert plants, and the Asian collection. To plan your visit: http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/.

Monkey Puzzle tree.

Trees at Mills College

My Arboriculture class from Merritt College visited Mills College to learn how to evaluate trees (mature trees can add thousands of dollars to the price of a home), and how to assess trees that present a danger. Our guide was Judy Thomas, who worked at Merritt College for many years, developed much of its landscape horticulture curriculum, and now works as a professional tree evaluator. Our class was fortunate to have the opportunity to see the historic campus, known for its botanical collection and heritage.

Rothwell College Center at Mills College

Tree-lined path that follows Richards Road into the campus

Mills College was founded in 1852 as a Young Ladies’ Seminary, originally in Benicia, California, and then moved in 1865 to its present site in the Oakland foothills with the new name Mills College. The college developed a collection of native and exotic plants. In 1919, Mill’s botany professor, Howard E. McMinn, wrote A Manual of Trees, Shrubs and Vines of Mills College Campus, which provides plant identification for its 263 species collection. The book was updated in 2011 (both edititions are available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Amanual%20trees%5Cc%20shrubs%20vines%20Mills%20College%20Campus&page=1).

Leona Creek restored with native plants



A Eucalyptus tree that still remains

Mills College worked with Robert Sabbatini, ASLA, from 2006 to 2009 to update their landscape. They developed the Mills College Landscape Heritage Plan, which embraces current ideas in landscape architecture, and retains the College’s sense of place and botanical history. Part of this plan included restoring Leona Creek, which courses through the property, and replacing a landmark double-row of blue gum Eucalyptus trees, planted a hundred years ago, with another type of tree. To view the plan: http://www.sabbatini-loyd.com/r-Mills-Summary.pdf.

Sunset Magazine Contributions to Western Gardening

In 2008, I had the opportunity to interview a former Sunset writer who worked at the magazine in the 1960s. Charles (Chuck) Konigsberg has had a long career in landscape horticulture—as a writer, teacher, and landscaper. Chuck studied landscape horticulture at Cal Poly, then was hired by Sunset editor, Joe Williamson, to update the Sunset Pruning book in the early 1960s. Chuck worked at Sunset in Menlo Park for several years as a writer, and then moved into teaching. He taught landscape horticulture at Foothill College for over 30 years, and taught similar classes at Merritt College.

Chuck Konigsberg worked at Sunset magazine in the 1960s.

Based on our interview, we came up with a list of some of Sunset Magazine’s contributions to Western gardening:

• Modernized gardening – moved out of the realm of popular wisdom to scientific accuracy.
• Accurate plant names – insisted on accurate naming of plants (Joe Williamson, editor, hired a botanist).
• Sticklers for accuracy – writers sent articles to experts for review; cross checked facts.
• Promoted ecology – from 1970s to the present, have moved from old-style gardening (pesticides, lots of lawn, high water usage) to a more earth-friendly style.
• Promoted networking – encouraged networking between writers, landscapers, horticulturist, designers and experts in various fields.
• Regional publications – adapted information to regional climates where necessary.
• Promoted climate zones – moved to climate zones that reflected microclimates in the West, in addition to the USDA’s hardiness zones .

Sunset Magazine Test Gardens

I was curious to see the test garden at the Sunset Magazine headquarters. I wasn’t sure what to expect – a scientific lab, test tubes, and researchers wearing lab coats?

In the test gardens at Sunset Magazine - rose garden, turf,
garden art, and raised beds are all visible.

Instead we found an intriguing plot of land set apart from the regional gardens. The test garden was surprisingly small—about 3,000 feet square—but filled with container plants, and experiments in irrigation, hardscape, and interesting plantings. A small team of magazine employees discussed the details of an upcoming photo shoot. According to A Walking Tour of the Sunset Gardens, ideas are rigorously tested in the test garden; they use organic gardening methods; and about 50% of their pictures are shot in the test garden.

Flower beds, mulch, and a unique, circular raised bed in the
Sunset Magazine test garden.

A unique garden bed configuration with irrigation. The path in the middle
enables easy access to future plantings - a great idea for a vegetable garden.



Containers and experimental raised beds.

I suppose my garden is a test garden of sorts, with many experiments, some successes, and many failures! But the point is to envision, try, and learn.