Monthly Archives: August 2019

El Nino, fog drip, weather

Summer Fog & Winter Rain

Morning fog captured by redwood trees

I?m not sure how the subject changed from heirloom tomatoes to the the number of gallons of water that a redwood tree uses daily but over lunch the other day with my friend, Colly, the food writer for the Press Banner, and Susan, another friend of ours, this discussion got me thinking about the weather. Is it too early for winter precipitation predictions when the snow has barely melted in the Sierra?

Weather shapes our lives. We celebrate when the weather is good although that might mean mild and sunny for the soccer game or a rainy day when we desperately need it. We watch the Weather Channel forecast and the satellite image for what?s headed our way. Our climate is changing but it?s the seasonal weather that gets out attention.

There have been several heat waves this summer. Recently the temps soared to the high 90?s and low 100?s in some places and remained high even at night. The next couple of days brought fog so thick it dripped from the trees. We know that redwoods thrive along the coast because of the fog. Have you ever wondered how much water a tree can get from this source?

Fog drip is precipitation that forms when fog droplets condense on the needles or leaves of trees. Redwoods especially are extremely efficient producers of fog drip but other conifers like Douglas fir and pines can collect quite a bit as do large madrone leaves. According to Dr. Todd Dawson, author of ?Redwood? by the National Park Service, ?A relatively small 100 foot tall redwood can gather the equivalent of four inches of rain in a single evening.?

Dawson?s studies have found that Doug firs along our coast produce anywhere from 7-27 inches of fog drip each year. He measured the fog drip below a single tanoak at a whopping 59 inches of precipitation along the Northern California coast. This summer moisture can provide as much as half the water coming into a forest for over a year. Trees can absorb a small amount of water through their needles and leaves, too. A redwood tree needs about 150 gallons of water each day. Every little bit helps in our summer dry climate.

Understory native plants in a redwood fairy ring.

Because of the water that accumulates below the trees many plants like our native Western Sword fern, the small Epipactis orchid and Phantom orchid are found in these unique conditions.

Fog drip occurs every summer. Ask Mark Twain who said ?The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco?.

But what about this upcoming winter?s rainfall forecast? What?s the latest on our chances of El Nino coming to visit and bringing more nice soaking rainfall with it?

According to the National Weather Service at NOAA, ? All in all, El Nino is still present, but just barely?. Winter is still a long way off and there are many possible outcomes from the current conditions. Hopefully, we?ll be on the winning side of these forecasts. Water conservation will always be a part of our lives. Start planning now the changes you want to make in your garden this fall.

Chocolate Flower Farm

Chocolate in the Garden?

Chocolate Flower Farm – Whidbey Island, WA.

I was at a nursery the other day viewing the eye candy and saw some chocolate cosmos. Naturally I had to take a whiff. Chocolate cosmos looks and smells just like a dark chocolate bar. The warmth of the day released this delicious fragrance reminding me of a day spent several years ago on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound with my sister, Evan. She?s no longer here, passing away 3 years ago this month, but the memories we shared at the Chocolate Flower Farm with be with me forever.

As a landscape designer I often get requests for certain colors to be included in the plant palette. Mahogany, burgundy, deep magenta and eggplant often make the list. Many people like dark flowers or foliage paired with ivory, others prefer peach or chartreuse. I marveled at all the combinations at the Chocolate Flower Farm.

In addition to chocolate cosmos, a wildflower called chocolate flower or berlandiera lyrata grew at the farm. I also enjoyed the fragrance of warm chocolate in the flowers of chocolate akebia, chocolate mint and chocolate snakeroot.

Ducks enjoy the Chocolate Flower Farm, too.

Strolling the grassy paths at the Chocolate Flower Farm I admired a Sparkling Burgundy pineapple lily. The foliage, nearly black, glistened in the sun growing next to a white-flowering Nine Bark called Summer Wine.
Nearby a clump of two-tone chocolate and ivory daylilies bloomed. With grazing horses nearby and a dozen ducks taking turns bathing in a kiddie pool the scene was idyllic. At every turn a different pairing of chocolate flowers and foliage caught my attention.

One section featured plants for a kid’s chocolate garden. Easy to grow chocolate pincushion flower, chocolate viola, chocolate nasturtium, chocolate snapdragon, chocolate sunflower, chocolate painted tongue and, of course, chocolate cosmos would be fun for any child to have in their own garden.

Black Knight sweet peas

I loved a penstemon called Chocolate Drop as well as a Mahogany monarda the color of deepest magenta. Blooming black sweet peas grew up and and over an old bed frame. A dark purple-black clematis from Russia called Negritanka intertwined with lime green hops covering an arbor. Toffee Twist sedge, Royal Purple smokebush, Chocolate Sundae dahlia, Sweet Hot Chocolate daylily, Chocolate Plant and Hot Cocoa roses grew in many of the flower beds.

Burgundy daylilies wtih rusted garden art

What makes dark foliage or dark flowers pop? At The Chocolate Farm each bed pairs the deep rich chocolate color with another contrasting shade. I don’t know which was my favorite. One area featured peach, pink and silver to offset the darker shades. Pink dahlia and fairy wand, blue oat grass and rose colored sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ made a lovely vignette. Another bed paired the yellow flowers of phygelius ‘Moonraker’ and digitalis grandiflora with white anemone and ivory dahlias set among Chocolate Baby New Zealand flax.

Not to be ignored the dark chocolate shade of black sambucus growing next to a golden Himalayan Pheasant Berry made an impression. All-gold Japanese Forest grass at the base of dark leaved Tropicana canna lily was also a show stopper.

If you are up on Whidbey Island, the Chocolate Flower Farm is a great place to spend an afternoon. If your vacation plans don’t include the Pacific Northwest, plant some chocolate in your own garden.

hardy geraniums, perennials

Hardy Geraniums in the Garden

Geranium ‘Orion’

I feel sorry for them. They are the wallflowers of the nursery. Shoppers barely glancing their way before moving on to attention getters like dinner-plate dahlias. In the garden, though, they shine. They are the work horses of the perennial border. I’m talking about true geraniums- those hardy, versatile, long blooming plants for edgings, borders and ground covers.

Most people use the common name geranium to describe what is actually a pelargonium. Ivy geraniums, Martha Washington pelargoniums and zonal geraniums are all pelargoniums. Hardy geraniums, also called cranesbill, look very different. Leaves are roundish or kidney-shaped and usually lobed or deeply cut. Flower colors include beautiful blue, purple, magenta, pink or white and often completely cover the plant with color. I’ll bet if you visited a garden on a tour or admired a picture in a garden magazine it contained true geraniums. Here are just a few strong performers available among the dozens of species.

Geranium ‘Maderense’

Geranium maderense grows best in shade. This dramatic native of Madeira is the largest geranium with huge 1-2 foot long leaves shaped like giant snowflakes. Clusters of thousands of rose tinted flowers form on a 3 foot trunk. This perennial is short-lived but self sows freely. Add some of these architectural plants to your border for color and structure.

Blue flowers in the garden are always a hit as they combine so well with other colors. Geranium Orion’s abundant clear blue flower clusters bloom over a long season. Use this 2 foot spreading plant in sun or part shade in a mixed border or as a groundcover. There are other blue flowering geraniums. I grow geranium ?Brookside? on my own garden. It?s on it?s second round of blooms. It?s large bright blue flowers are larger than ?Johnson?s Blue?. ?Rozanne? is another common favorite with stunning blue flowers.

Another fast growing variety is geranium incanum which covers itself spring through fall with rosy violet flowers. Cut back every 2-3 years to keep neat. This variety endures heat and drought better than other types but needs some summer water. It self seed profusely which might be exactly what you want as a groundcover in a problem area.

Geranium ‘Biokovo’

If pale pink is your color, plant geranium x cantabrigiense ?Biokova?. This excellent groundcover spreads slowly. The numerous one inch flowers are long lasting and cover the plant from late spring to early summer. Their soft pink color is indispensable when tying together stronger colors in the border and the lacy foliage is slightly scented.

Gernaium ‘Karmina’

Another geranium in the same family is ?Karmina?. I?ve been growing this dark pink flowering variety for several years. With lush green leaves on a low spreading plant it?s pretty even when not in bloom.

There are a couple other varieties that are popular and deserve a try. They are Award Winning Mavis Simpson? and Russell Pritchard?. Both have bright pink or purple flowers and make good additions to your perennials.

Give a hardy geranium a place in your garden.

California Native Plants, irrigation, perennials, shrubs, watering

Make Every Drop Count:Best Watering Practices

Low water-use leucospermum or Pincushion.

Water is our most precious resource. One of the Apollo 11 astronauts recently said that the look back from the moon at our planet and blue oceans to be even more impressive than the moon itself. Life can?t exist without water. You are the steward of your own piece of planet earth. How you water can make it thrive and you can save water at the same time.

With summer water bills arriving this is a good time to re-visit how often and how much to water that landscape you?ve spent so much money to create. Basically, you?re wasting water if you water too shallow or too often. Here are some guidelines.

Photosynthesis is one of the most remarkable biochemical processes on earth and allows plants to use sunlight to make food from water and carbon dioxide. At temperatures about 104 degrees, however, the enzymes that carry out photosynthesis lose their shape and functionality. A garden that provides optimum light and water but gets too hot will be less vigorous.

California native Fremontodendron

Plants have natural systems that respond to heat problems. Plants can cool themselves by pumping water out through the leaves for a kind of swamp cooler effect. They can also make ?heat-shock? proteins which reduces problems from over heating. All these strategies can take resources away from a plant?s other needs like growth, flowering and fruiting.

So how much water do different types of plants need during the heat of summer?

Be sure that you water trees and shrubs deeply checking soil moisture first with a trowel. Established small to medium shrubs should be watered when the top 3-6″ is dry, large shrubs and trees when the top 6-12″ is dry.

As a rule of thumb, trees and large shrubs need deep but infrequent watering. They should be on a separate valve than your smaller shrubs and perennials. Water ornamental trees 1-3 times per month depending on the type and soil. Tree roots grow 12-36? deep and require 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter.

Apply water with a soaker hose, drip system emitters or hand held hose with shut off and soft spray attachment according to your water district?s restrictions. Don?t dig holes in the ground in an effort to water deeply. This dries out roots even more. Be sure to water the root zone to the indicated root depth every time you water. Watering deeper than the root zone only means you are wasting water. You can test how deep you watered by pushing a thin, smooth rod into the ground soon after you irrigate. The soil probe should easily slide through the wet soil but become difficult to push when reaching dry soil.

The roots of smaller shrubs are 12-24? deep in the soil. Established native shrubs may need only monthly waterings to keep them looking their best while other shrubs may need watering every 7-10 days during the heat of the summer. Perennial roots only go down 12? or so and may need watering once or twice a week depending on type.

grevillea lanigera ‘Mt. Tamboritha’ groundcover

When is the best time to water? Watering in the morning is the most efficient whether you water by sprinkler, drip system, soaker hose or by hand. The water soaks deep in the soil without risk of evaporation. It bolsters the plant for the day and has dried from leaves by evening reducing the risk for foliar diseases like mildew. Plant roots are also more receptive to watering in the morning.

Is it true that water droplets will scorch leaves in the midday sun? According to a study, fuzzy-leaved plants hold water droplets above the leaf surface and act as a magnifying glass to the light beaming through them so there is a very slight chance of scorch. The study also reported that water droplets on smooth leaves, such as maples, cannot cause leaf burn, regardless of the time of day.

Crape myrtle, Dog Days of Summer, gardening tips, late summer to-do's

The Dog Days of Summer

A swallowtail visits a butterfly bush

Just when I thought this summer wasn?t going to be as hot as last, the weather changed. With so many different microclimates in our area, one can always find a cool spot, though. Where did the term ?Dog Days of Summer? come from?

The Romans associated the hot weather from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction “the dog days of summer” because it coincidentally fell at the time of year when it was very hot. This falls between July 24th and August 24th.The Old Farmer?s Almanac uses slightly different dates but the Dog Days of summer are definitely here.

The name “dog star” comes from the ancient Egyptians who called Sirius, the dog star, after their god, Osiris. His head in pictograms resembles that of a dog. When the Dog Star rises in conjunction with the sun some felt the combination of the brightest luminary of the day – the sun – and and brightest star of the night – Sirius – was responsible for the extreme heat experienced during the middle of the summertime. Since Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky it’s reasonable to guess that it adds some heat to the earth but the amount is insignificant.

We now know the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth’s tilt, but now you know? the rest of the story.

As summer rolls along you may become more aware of the different microclimates in your garden. With the drier and hotter weather some of your plants that used to get along just fine might be showing signs of stress. Taking note of these changes in the performance of your plants is what makes for a more successful landscape. When the weather cools towards the end of September you will want to move or eliminate those plants that aren?t thriving. Be sure to keep a thick layer of mulch on the soil around your plants to conserve that precious water you do allocate to each of your irrigation zones.

Deadhead flowering annuals and perennials as often as you can. Annuals like marigolds, petunias, zinnia and cosmos will stop blooming if you allow them to go to seed. The same is true of repeat blooming perennials like dahlia, scabiosa and lantana.

Lagerstroemia ‘Purple Magic’

One of my favorite plants of summer is Crape Myrtle. They bloom in the summer when we are outside more. Their fall foliage is spectacular and the bark is beautiful during the winter. Plant growers have hybridized new varieties that are more mildew resistant and smaller in size. I have my eye on a variety called Purple Magic that grows 6-10 feet tall and as wide. You can keep it as a multi-stemmed shrub or select several stems to train as a small tree. I also like Rhapsody in Pink, a slightly taller variety and Dynamite with its red flowers and orange-red fall color.

Swallowtail butterflies are regular visitors to the garden at this time of year. They especially like butterfly bush as well as zinnias and many other flowers. They are easy to photograph if you move slowly.

Fertilize shrubs lightly one last time in August or early September. All shrubs, especially broad-leaved evergreens such as rhododendron, pieris, camellia, hebe, need to calm down, stop growing and harden off to get ready for the winter cold. Some plants have already set next year’s buds.

Angel Face rose

Roses especially appreciate a bit of fertilizer now, encouraging them to bloom another round in September and October. To keep them blooming make a habit of pinching and pruning off old flowers. Always cut back to an outward facing branchlet with five leaves. There are hormones there that will cause a new rose to grow much sooner than if you cut to one with only three leaves.