Filoli, Gardens, and Tours - Canceled!

Many of our favorite spring garden activities here in the San Francisco Bay have been canceled. Filoli Gardens and its spring blooms; Mountain View Cemetery and its tulip exhibition; U.C. Botanical Garden and its blooms from around the world; and the annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour are all shuttered. This is not surprising as we continue to shelter in place to protect our families, colleagues, and community from the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, I miss enjoying spring in our beautiful Bay Area, in the company of fellow nature and garden lovers!

Ornamental cherry tree

Flowering tree

For some of us, sheltering in place has its silver linings. It means more time home with family, a chance to slow down, less time on the road, opportunity to fit it weeding and pruning between other tasks, and a chance to count our blessings. Another upside is seeing all the creativity that folks bring to the situation. The internet, virtual events, Zoom calls, texting, phone calls, YouTube, and Facebook sustain us until we can return to "normal". Our technology and inventiveness can be used for good!

Pleasant stroll in the dappled shade

I'm using my extra time to take long walks and observe the spring transformation right here in the neighborhood. I'm also brushing up on some of my "Zombie apocalypse" skills, like learning how to sew face masks using what I have on hand. Take care and stay well!

Field of greens

Where to Shop: California Natives

In the last few months we've decided to swap out our lawns for a drought tolerant alternative; researched native plants that thrive in Bay Area conditions; and spotted interesting dry garden examples. Now we need some plants. Luckily, we have some excellent native plant sources here in the Bay Area. Nurseries are one option.

Nursery	Details
Berkeley Horticultural Nursery	This nursery has been at the same Bay Area site since 1922, and has grown along with its community. "Berkeley Hort" carries a full line of plants, including California natives. Check the website for new arrivals, edibles, speakers, demonstrations, and plant care information. Address: 1310 McGee Avenue; Berkeley, California 94703; (510) 526-4704 Web: http://berkeleyhort.com/index.html
Annie's Annuals and Perennials	Annie Hayes, a former Berkeley Hort employee, started this nursery in the 1980s. They carry annuals and perennials, from all over the world, and California. Plants are sold in four-inch starters, to insure healthy roots, and useful plant care information is available.   Address: 740 Market Avenue; Richmond, CA 94801; (510) 215-3301 Web: http://www.anniesannuals.com/
The Watershed Nursery	This small nursery specializes in native plants, and restoration projects. They grow their plants in deep containers for healthy roots. Plant lists are published on their website. Check availability before you go, or order plants online and pick them up once they are available.   Address: 601 A Canal Boulevard; Richmond, CA 94801; (510) 234-2222 Web: http://www.watershednursery.com/
Bay Natives Nursery	This nursery, on Pier 96 in the Port of San Francisco, offers rare and endemic plants from the Bay Area, and drought tolerant plants from across the state. View their extensive online catalog for ideas, and order plants for pickup. They do not ship, but can deliver large orders (and they have parking)!   Address: 10 Cargo Way; San Francisco 94124; (415) 287-6755 Web: http://www.baynatives.com/

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Another source is the native plant sales held periodically at colleges, universities, and botanical gardens. For example, Merritt College hosts spring and fall plant sales, as does University of California, Berkeley. San Francisco Botanical Garden offers a plant sale most months.

Even hardware stores and nurseries offer native plants. You may need to march past the brilliant petunias and marigolds that beckon, to the back of the plant section, where you find the small-leaved, muted colored natives. But that is changing as gardeners get savvy about the drought, and distributors begin to offer exciting drought-tolerant plants.

Botanical Gardens: University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum

Our first botanical garden of focus is the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, located on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus about 75 miles south of the San Francisco Bay Area. It specializes in Mediterranean plants from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and California. I visited the garden when I took a Mediterranean Plant ID class at Merritt College, and reported on some of the fascinating flowers (see Aliens from Down Under).

 

The Santa Cruz Arboretum covers 135 acres, which enables them to accommodate group tours, and individual wandering.

Botanist Glenn Keator leads a group tour

An inviting path at the arboretum

The ample space provides room for plant communities, so you can view plants in situ and with other plants. What conditions, such as sun exposure, drainage, and aspect, ensure a thriving plant?

Plant communities provide layers of plants

Natural terrain for plants

Plants can spread to their mature size, which can be very valuable when researching plants for a particular garden design. Is there space for the plant to reach maturity? Would the plant require excessive maintenance if not?

These plants require lots of room to spread

Plants are labeled, making it easy to identify and learn.

Labels clearly identify plants at the arboretum

Many plants are offered for sale in Norrie’s Gift and Garden Shop, or in seasonal plant sales. The Arboretum also participates in the Koala Blooms plant introduction project, which is a joint venture with growers in California and Australia for introducing plants to the California market. This program enables them to evaluate plants for disease, hardiness, and invasiveness, before introducing them to the California market.

Succulents	Multi-generation flowers
South African daisies	Beautiful textures

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I recommend this arboretum for finding out more about Mediterranean plants, and seeing some pretty spectacular flowers in the process. Think of Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander while you’re there – these are some of the plants they may have encountered as they visited Australia while circumnavigating the globe in the 1700s.

Address: UC Santa Cruz Arboretum; Arboretum Road (use for newer GPS devices); Santa Cruz, CA Web Site: http://arboretum.ucsc.edu/ Downloadable Map: http://arboretum.ucsc.edu/pdfs/JoanMap.pdf For other botanical collections in the San Francisco Bay Area see: http://www.edenbythebay.blogspot.com/2015/02/botanical-collections-of-bay-area.html

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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.

Aliens From Down Under

This is a great time of year to visit the University of Santa Cruz Arboretum. They have a wonderful collection of Mediterranean plants from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Many of them bloom between January and April, because of the winter rains. I say “alien plants” because many of them are so exotic, fun, startling, and completely different from plants we are used to in the Bay Area. Australians may call our plants “alien” as well!

Here are a few of my favorites from my last visit:

Eucalyptus caesia ssp. magna Silver Princess
Australian collection

Protea neriifolia Pink Mink
African collection

Banksia ericifolia Heath Banksia
Australian collection

To find out how to visit the Arboretum: http://arboretum.ucsc.edu/. You can help support the Arboretum through donations, membership, and volunteer work. You can also purchase items from Norrie's, the gift store, and from plant sales. The plants have been tested for growing in the Bay Area.