Lake County

My husband and I had the opportunity for an end-of-summer visit to Clear Lake in Lake County, about 90 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Clear Lake is the largest natural fresh water lake (43,000 acres) in California. It is located inland, and is accessible from both Interstate 5 and Highway 101. The whole area is an ancient volcanic field, with the dormant Mount Konocti (3,200 ft.) located near the southwest shore of the lake. The Geysers steam field is tapped by geothermal power plants to provide electricity. The soil is rich from ancient volcanic ash, and very productive. The climate is mild, sunny, and typically fog-free.

Clear Lake - classic golden hills dotted with oaks

Lake County region is in Climate Zone 7 - California’s Gray Pine Belt  in the Central Valley (or incense cedars to the north and south). According to Sunset, Zone 7 is characterized by hot summers and mild winters, with sharply defined seasons yet without severe winter cold or humidity. Plants that require a distinct seasonal pattern thrive, such as flower bulbs, peonies, lilacs, and flowering cherries. Deciduous fruit trees also do well, such as apples, cherries, peaches, and pears. Typical winter lows range from 35 to 26°F (2 to –3°C), with record lows averaging from 18 to -0° F (–8 to –18°C).

 

Clear Lake - shoreline wetlands

I loved the contrast of the classic golden hills dotted with oaks, the lush shoreline, and the productive farms and wineries, all in close proximity. We enjoyed learning about the geology of the area, visiting wineries, purchasing fruits and vegetables from roadside stands, and eating a delicious dinner of local ingredients in the town of Clear Lake. The area reminded of me of Napa and Sonoma, but without the crowds, congestion, and commercialization.

Clear Lake - productive farms and wineries

Hortus Third

Hortus Third is a reference of economically important plants in North America, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The book was authored by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858 – 1954) and his daughter Ethel Zoe Bailey (1889 – 1983), and published by MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. (New York, 1976). Liberty Hyde Bailey joined Cornell University in 1888 and expanded its botanical, nature, and agricultural programs; he became Dean in 1903 and established new departments, an experiment station, an arboretum, and new courses of study. He was a plants man and avid collector of plant specimens and seed catalogs. He was a botanist, taxonomist, horticulturist, and writer.

The introduction describes the book and its scope, arrangement of content, classification system (a few things have changed since 1976), botanical names, and the abbreviations used to describe plants and geographical origin. The appendix provides a list of authors cited, a glossary of botanical terms (including leaf-shape diagrams), and an index by common name. The endplates show minimal temperature ranges for USDA plant hardiness zones in the continental United States.

The bulk of the book is devoted to describing the plants. Entries are ordered alphabetically, by genus and species, and describe the plant or tree in detail. Using abbreviations, the descriptions are concise and dense with information about names, origin, leaves, flowers, fruit, stems, bark, and so forth. Many descriptions are accompanied by illustrations and exploded diagrams, especially useful for complex flower parts. Here is a sample description, for Quercus agrifolia:

Agrifolia Née [Q. oxyadenia Torr.]. CALIFORNIA LIVE O., CALIFORNIA FIELD O. Evergreen, to 100 ft.; lvs. elliptic, to 3 in. long, spiny-toothed, convex above, somewhat stellate-pubescent, especially in axils of veins beneath; fr. maturing the first season, cup enclosing ¼-⅓ of nut. Me. to Fla. and Tex. Zone 4. Furnishes one of the most important commercial woods.

I refer to this book all the time to learn about trees and plants, and the language to describe them. My copy is second hand – from Chuck Konigsberg, a plants man and educator whom I interviewed a few years ago for a Sunset post (he, in turn, had obtained it second hand from one of his students). The book is almost 40 years old, but is still very accurate (much of the reclassification over the years has occurred in the realm of bacteria and fungi). Interestingly, the book refers to changes in classification that were occurring at the time it was published, indicating that classification is in continual flux as we learn more about the world around us! I especially like that Hortus Third was authored by a father-daughter team.

Working Goats in Alameda County

I love interesting and creative solutions to difficult problems. One of my favorites is the use of goat herds in Alameda County to combat dry vegetation that would otherwise pose a fire risk. I’ve seen goat herds in the hills behind Oakland and out in Dublin, California.

Goat herd on assignment in Dublin, California

The goats are transported around the county, and get to work eating vegetation (eliminating the need for herbicides to kill it). When the site is under control, the goats move on to the next site. Brilliant!

Manito Park – Highlights of Duncan Garden

The Duncan Garden at Manito Park in Spokane has many of the traditional features you expect in a Renaissance garden. We have already noted one of the most significant features – the garden is laid out on a main axis, with a smaller intersecting axis. The horizon line provides a distant focal point, in this case using the gazebo. The garden design is symmetrical and geometrical.

Water elements are important in the Renaissance Garden, here the fountain provides a focal point for the intersecting axes. The flower beds are designed as parterres, using color and geometric shapes, and are best viewed from above. The trees along the side avenues are pruned into geometric shapes, and placed symmetrically.

 Gazebo provides a focal point, and a destination	 Elevated fountain provides the sound of running water
 Flower beds are planted in geometric shapes	 An avenue of trees that are pruned into geometrical shapes

HTML Tables

A tunnel of trees on the intersecting axis provides a shady path, an invitation to explore, and a different view of the garden. Here, you can see the fountain, which is placed where the axes meet.

An allée of trees provides tunnel on the intersecting axis

 The trees are trained over wrought iron arches

HTML Tables

The Duncan Garden implements some of the main design features of the Renaissance garden, without being overly formal. This is a great example of a Renaissance-inspired garden that has been adapted to the local climate and culture.

Manito Park – Duncan Garden

Last year my family and I visited Manito Park in Spokane, Washington, and I reported on the beautiful Nishinomiya Japanese Garden. Manito Park is a collection of gardens that also includes a rose garden, perennial garden, lilac garden, conservatory, and a formal Renaissance garden. Manito Park covers 90 acres and is located in Spokane’s South Hill district. The land for the park was donated to Spokane in 1903.

Looking south from the Conservatory to the gazebo. The sunken nature
of the  garden enables you to view the parterre pattern from above.

Duncan Garden is the Renaissance garden in Manito Park. The three-acre garden is laid out on a north-south axis, with the Conservatory at the northern end, the granite gazebo at the southern end, and the fountain at the smaller intersecting axis. A series of clipped Yews borders the garden, pulling the eye to the horizon line, and a tunnel of trees provide an allée on the intersecting axis. The flowerbeds are arranged in parterres, forming a tapestry of color. When we visited in May, the flower beds had just been planted so they were just getting started, but during the growing season the beds are full of color. Walking paths are wide, enabling unhurried ambles through the garden.

Granite fountain at the intersection of the two axes

Duncan Garden was originally named the Sunken Garden, because its loamy soil had been excavated for use in other park gardens around the city. In 1912, John Duncan envisioned a Renaissance style garden in the location, and in 1941 the garden was renamed to Duncan Gardens in his honor. The granite fountain was a private gift given in honor of Louis Davenport in 1956, and the gazebo was a commemorative gift from Friends of Manito to mark the park’s 100^th anniversary. This is a lovely garden to visit, and highlights the powerful influence of Renaissance garden design principles.

Looking north from the gazebo to the Conservatory.

 

Trashy Cover Ups

Trash, in whatever form, can be an eyesore, and good trash management can be elevated to an art form.



Utilities can be an eyesore

A charming cover up

It is a pleasure to find creative solutions to the problem.

 

Comfort station behind a cover up

A simple wood screen and vine provides the cover

Use your imagination to come up with a good trashy cover up for your garden. What are you trying to hide?

Grape Leafroll Associated Virus (GLRaV)

The Grape Leafroll Associated Virus (GLRaV) colonizes the phloem in the plant’s vascular system, cutting off distribution of nutrients to leaves, shoots and fruit. This delays maturity of the grapes, reduces fruit yield, and lowers accumulation of sugars (the Brix), affecting wine quality. Symptoms include reduced vigor, yellowing of the leaf margin and veins, and the characteristic under curl of the leaves. The symptoms are more noticeable in red varieties than white varieties. Symptoms are typically most evident in mid-August, but, in some cases, there are no visible symptoms. The virus is a group of ten strains, identified as GLRaV- followed by a number. Take a look at the symptoms on a variety of grape types:

http://youtu.be/Es41Tdgd9L0

According to the brochure, "Grapevine Leafroll – an Increasing Problem in the Finger Lakes, the US and the World", published by the Cornell University Cooperative Extension, this is a worldwide problem threatening many grape-growing regions. The virus has been found in both eastern and western United States grape growing regions, including California. Even the San Francisco Bay Area backyard gardener may encounter the virus.

The virus spreads through infected bud wood cuttings and graft unions. If the grafts are not clean, infected starter plants can be distributed unwittingly around the globe. European researchers discovered the virus is also spread through insect vector - Pseudococcus mealy bugs (grape, obscure, and longtailed) and soft scales (Parthenolecanium corni and Pulvinaria innumerabilis). The vectors hitch hike on farm workers, equipment, and plant debris, and can quickly spread from an infected field to a neighboring clean field.

Since vines cannot be cured once they are infected, the best strategy is preventing infection. Plant only certified clean root stock. Inspect the plants routinely, looking for symptoms and signs. Manage mealy bugs and soft scales using organic methods. Once infection is detected, replace the infected vines with certified clean stock at once. Testing is available for several strains of the Grape Leafroll associated viruses; see the U.C. Davis Integrated Pest Management (IPM) site for information.

Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV)

The Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) infects tomato plants, and sometimes other hosts in the Solanaceace family (nightshade and jimsonweed). Symptoms include small leaves that curl upward, crumpling, and yellowing on the margins and veins. Flowers fall off the plant, reducing the crop. The plants themselves look stunted—due to shortened internodes—giving the plant a bushy appearance. Other hosts may exhibit minimal symptoms, or no symptoms.

According to the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl brochure, published by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Statewide IPM Program, the disease was first observed in Israel in the 1940s; spread to the Caribbean islands and southeastern United States in the 1990s; moved to northern Mexico, Texas, and Arizona in the 2005-2006; and was found in a greenhouse in Imperial County in 2007. The disease thrives in tropical and subtropical environments, and in Mediterranean climates.

Upward leaf curling and reduction in internode length in tomato infected with TYLCV.
Copyright, ASPnet

Bemisia whiteflies and some leafhoppers are the main vectors for the disease. After feeding on an infected plant, the insect is infected for its lifetime and spreads the virus by feeding on uninfected plants. When tomato plant hosts are not available, it is thought that the virus can exist in weed hosts. The virus is not transmitted in seeds or mechanically (by touch), but can be transmitted if infected plants are transported to uninfected areas. If the virus spreads to California, it could have a significant negative impact for commercial tomato growers, and for backyard tomato enthusiast

For management tips, see the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) site. In general, recommendations include planting TYLCV-resistant varieties, maintaining “tomato-free” periods when there is no host, eliminating weeds that could be hosts during tomato-free periods, removing diseased plants, avoiding transport of infected plants to uninfected areas, and managing whiteflies. TYLCV symptoms resemble symptoms for other diseases, but accurate tests are available to identify the virus.

Plant Diseases – Viruses

Viruses are an interesting classification of plant diseases, though they differ from the kingdoms we have looked into so far (bacteria, plant parasites, and water molds).  Viruses are comprised of bits of nucleic acid (genetic code) encased in protein. They cannot live or reproduce outside of a host cell, but they can orchestrate their reproduction in host cells and can cause disease. Viruses can infect bacteria, algae, fungi, plants, and animals. Viruses are typically host- specific, and are very small (20 – 2,000 nanometers).  Virus shapes can be rod-like, spherical, or icosahedral (20 facets). Nearly 1,000 virus species infect plants.

According the Essentials of Plant Pathology (by Dr. Gail L Schumann and Dr. Cleora J. D’Arcy), virus origin theories includes:

• Descendants of genes that escaped from host cells. (Interestingly, Lynn Margulis and Karlene V. Schwartz observe in Five Kingdoms An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth that viruses seem more closely related to their hosts than to other members of their species).
• Evolved as independent life forms, likely predating other forms of life.

Viruses are typically named after the first economically important host in which they were found, and the symptom they induce. The initials of the name are used to identify it. For example, the first well-studied plant virus was the Tobacco Mosaic Virus, or TMV.  Mosaic refers to the yellow and green mosaic pattern the virus exhibits in the tobacco plant leaves (the symptom). In the San Francisco Bay Area, several viruses are a threat, including the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV), and the Grape Leafroll Virus (GLRaV).

Fig Mosaic Virus (FMV) - in residential garden in Berkeley, California

Since viruses are not mobile, they are typically spread via insect vector or nematodes, especially those with piercing-sucking mouth pieces (stylettes). When an insect  or nematode pierces a plant for the sap, viruses may be sucked up and stored in the vector's body, and then deposited in the sap of other plants as it feeds. When deposited into a plant cell, the virus is replicated. Variability may arise from mutation. Viruses rarely kill the plant, but may cause symptoms such as stunting and dwarfing, chlorosis (yellowing), mosaic patterns, ringspot, flower break, leaf roll, and fruit deformation. Viruses do not produce survival structures, but many can exist as inanimate molecules for years in the soil or leaf debris without a living host (others can exist only for a few hours or minutes). Since we have no cure for viruses, prevention is the best course of action, including managing insect vectors that transport the virus.