Far Out Flora | Gardening in the Outerlands of San Francisco

Butterfly in the Sky

April 8, 2012 by Megan | 3 Comments

Pipevine Swallowtail babies

Three years ago I tracked down an Aristolochia californica from Bay Natives at the SF Garden Show. I had dreams of Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars chomping on it, but so far they haven’t found it. I’ve heard it can take years… unless you get an awesome flickr message offering up babies in exchange for some food cuttings. On Friday we became proud parents of a hungry little group of caterpillars thanks to butterfly guru Timtastic (the link will take you to his sweet pics on flickr).

Anise swallowtail

Since we won’t be able to see our babies turn in to butterflies, Tim brought over a pair of Anise swallowtails to release out back. I got to hold them while they warmed up and took flight.

Anise swallowtail & Erysimum franciscanum var. crassifolium

For the rest of the day they hung out on our ginormous (we’re talking nearly five feet wide) San Francisco Wallflower, (Erysimum franciscanum var. crassifolium). As we rip apart the garden it’s a sunny site in the middle of the yard, that I know isn’t going anywhere. We’re leaving all the California natives except for the Dudleyas and Lewisias.

Collecting Aristolochia californica

Our Aristolochia californica is huge and happy! This is one of my favorite plants we have, so being able to raise caterpillars that will use it is like a dream come true. That’s why I planted it. By the time we move, they’ll be big enough to release on the vine.

Caterpillar hotel

This is where the babies are living right now. They eat together in a big mass. So far they’ve gone through almost two leaves. I look at them at least once every three hours. They’re a great distraction to the stresses of packing and getting ready to move cross country in three weeks. I even made a butterfly garden pinterest board for Wisconsin. I admit it, I’m a pinterest addict. Where else would a find a recipe to make very realistic jello worms, or collect all my raised bed planter ideas in a pretty fashion? I’m starting all kinds of lists for plants I want to grow when we’re back in WI, too.

One last pretty pic

The Anise swallowtail hung out of the Phylica pubescens for a little bit. Thanks again to Tim for hooking us up! We’ll be posting lots of pics of all the plants and stuff we’ll have for the big plant sale soon.

Super Succulent Moving Sale

April 3, 2012 by Megan | 20 Comments

Anyone need some Aloe zanzibarica?

On Saturday, April 14th from 9-5 at 1344 La Playa Street we’ll be having our super succulent garage sale! This past Saturday after a mini-breakdown (thanks extra hormones, for making this process even more difficult) we started pulling apart the garden to get ready for the succulent sale. It’s kind of crazy how many plants we have including that lovely Aloe zanzibarica above. We broke it apart in to chunks so more people can enjoy it. Most of our succulents will be in cutting form as it was just easier to chop them out of the garden. Besides plants, we’ll also have tons of containers, some books and other random junk we need to get rid of before heading back to Wisconsin. Parking is usually pretty easy in these parts, unless it’s a ridiculously nice beach day. Don’t have a car? We’re only a half a block away from the N-Judah turnaround. If you have boxes or old flat trays, bring them with as we have limited options for carrying stuff away. Cash only please. Here are a few more pics of what we ripped out so far:

Senecio vitalis by the bucketload

Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' & Oscularia deltoides

Graptopetalum & bargain basement plants

Matti & one of many mystery Aeoniums

This is only a wee taste of the mass quantities of plants we’ll have available. Hope to see you!

Good-bye California, Hello Wisconsin!

March 31, 2012 by Megan | 45 Comments

Good-bye garden! (click for bigger pic)

No, this is not an early April Fools joke. We’re moving back to Madison, Wisconsin at the end of April. After nearly five exciting years of living in San Francisco we’re heading home to have a baby at the end of August (we find out if it’s a boy or girl next Friday). We’re still going to blog and we’re still going to garden, it will just be sconnie style (more beer, cheese and warm weather flowers and veggies). We’re confident there will be plenty of far out plants to grow in the midwest and you can count on us to find every succulent that can survive in zone 5. We’ve been researching it for a couple months now and the selection is surprisingly large. All of our sempervivums and cold hardy sedums are coming with, along with the others that can deal with freezing temps. Expect to see lots of alpine plants and Matti’s dream moss garden can finally become a reality! To keep ourselves sane in the winter, we’ll be starting lots of plants inside.

Lewisia cotyledon ‘Sunset Strain’ (cold hardy and coming with)

You’re probably wondering what we’re going to do with our current garden. We always knew it would come to an end at some point, which is one of the reasons we started a blog about it. Well, we’re going to sell it off in little pieces, along with containers and other gardeny things we won’t need, to raise funds for the move back and baby stuff. That’s right, on Saturday, April 14th you can come buy a little piece of Far Out Flora. There will be more info and pics coming soon. Another way to help us raise funds is to buy an ad on our blog. Click here for more info, they’re cheap. Feel free to just throw giant wads of cash at us, we wouldn’t turn away an all expense paid trip to Santa Barbara to visit Lotusland on our way back to Wisconsin, too. Okay, that’s getting greedy, but honestly living in SF (really the entire Bay Area) is crazy talk expensive. We’ve made it work, but it hasn’t been easy. Why do you think we spend so much time in the garden and outside looking at plants? It’s free!

Aloe polyphylla as a houseplant?

People of Madison keep an eye out for a 2-3 bedroom, border collie friendly house, within walking/biking distance to Olbrich Gardens and Lake Monona for $1000 or less. It’s possible, isn’t it? A fenced in backyard for Max, dishwasher and basement are all high on the list of wants, too. So that’s our dream place. In reality we’ll take space over location. We’ll be living with friends when we get back, turning their ginormous (we’re talking football field sized) backyard in to a garden paradise this summer and over the years. Right now we’re dreaming about making trellis forts with cool climbing plants for the kids (maybe even grown ups) to play in and growing happy tomatoes along with other warm weather loving veggies we’ve had to forgo living on the chilly coast. Maybe a small sunflower field and cutting garden… the possibilities are endless. Expect way more cool summery DIY projects and perhaps a spin-off kids gardening blog down the road. We’ve been missing the rock star thrift stores and garage sales in Madison. Thanks so much to everyone for all comments and follows along the way!

Matti, Megan & Max

Where it all started

Here are some more pics of the garden we took yesterday. We’re going to start ripping it out today. It will be well documented and sad, but we’re going to have tons of fun gardening in Wisconsin.

Graptoveria 'Crested Form' going to get chopped up

Erysimum franciscanum var. crassifolium isn't going anywhere

Primula auricula 'Angelo Hayes'

Aeonium town

Kalanchoe prolifera has all kinds of babies

Gardeny awesomeness

Pfeiffer, Plants and Beaches

March 29, 2012 by Matti | 7 Comments

Big Sur - over looking the Bixby Bridge

One of coolest drives you can take is Highway 1. Our favorite stretch is from Carmel by the Sea down to Big Sur. Every mile you want to pull the car over and stand in awe. For miles you can witness the Pacific Ocean splashing against the rocky cliffs, little pockets of cool plants and beaches which you never seem to be able to touch.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Waterfall

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park McWay Waterfall

About 38 miles south of Carmel by the Sea, you will stumble upon Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. If you are lucky enough, you may see McWay Waterfall in action. I say lucky, because the falls can dry up during parts of the year. It’s an easy hike to the falls and always some flowers and foliage worth checking out.

Baccharis pilularis - Coyote Brush

I admire the integrity of the Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis). It tolerates harsh, salty winds and long drought summers. Most of the year it usually looks like it’s on the verge of death. Late fall into the winter, it flushes out a delicate display yellow and fluffy white flowers. There’s a dwarfy Bay Area native called Baccharis pilularis Twin Peaks that I want to bring home.

Hesperoyucca whipplei - Our Lord's Candle

Megan was the first to spot these guys chilling along the rocky face. Hesperoyucca whipplei (syn. Yucca whipplei) goes by many names including Our Lord’s Candle and Spanish Bayonet. The common names are describing the 3-10 foot flower spike with a densely branched inflorescence (not seen here).

NOID - maybe Malacothrix saxatilis ?

We believe that this NOID is Malacothrix saxatilis. Anybody have thoughts or a better guess?

Epilobium canum (synonym Zauschneria californica) - California Fuchsia

The California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum) was putting on quite the show along the cliffs. Hummingbirds really dig this plant, and we spotted it many spots along our trek.

The McWay Waterfall is one of those many beaches along Hwy 1 that you can never reach because of steep cliffs. However, there is one beach that you can reach and we always visit. It’s 8 miles north of the McWay Falls (or 30 miles south of Carmel by the Sea)…

Pfeiffer Beach Big Sur

It’s called Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur…and it can be a real challenge to find. You need to look for a sharp turn that leads to a one-lane road called Sycamore Rd. At the end, you will find a $5 toll booth and a beach that does not disappoint the senses. Oh bonus, it’s semi dog friendly too. I say semi because I believe it’s on leash only, but many dogs run free after you get to the north end of the beach.

Abronia latifolia - Coastal Sand Verbena

Here’s a new old friend that we see a lot along the coast…Abronia latifolia (Coastal Verbena). It’s a cute little salty succulent. While Max the Border Collie stretches his legs, and Megan takes a bunch of pics….Matti loves too balance rocks.

Matti balancing rocks.

Yes, it is a little known fact that I love rock stacking.

Big Sur Spirit Garden

In Big Sur and still need more plant action? We highly recommend these two of our favorites, Big Sur Spirit Garden and Nepenthe. The Spirit Garden is this funky little watering hole that has a whole lot of charm, while Nepenthe will let you fill your more sophisticated needs. Either way, their plants are worth a stop. Anybody have other Big Sur or Hwy 1 plant stop favs? Would love to hear about them.

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– Far Out Flora

Succulent Table Spotted

March 24, 2012 by Matti | 6 Comments

Succulent Pallet Table

The San Francisco Garden Show is going full force this weekend. That’s where we found this beauty…succulents growing down the center of a table made with pallets. Okay, okay…it’s our Succulent Pallet Table that was first featured at the Sunset Celebration Weekend, and is still making the rounds. After all this time, we’re glad to see that the succulent babies are looking happy.

Matti and Megan with the Succulent Table

Wanna see the best parts of the show? You must check out Bamboo and More, where Gerhard Bock and Candy Sweetstuff captured the cream of the crop.

Succulent Gardens' Growing Wall Garden

Speaking of greatness, we never miss see Succulent Gardens when they are at a show. Here’s a peek at one of their Succulent Vertical Gardens that Robin Stockwell masterfully creates. BTW, all the plants for our Pallet Table came from Succulent Gardens…they grow the best succulents found anywhere.

Anne of Green Gardens

Another person we had the pleasure to meet for the first time was Anne of Green Gardens. Anne is filled with garden info and brought in some of our Mini gardens to the Show. Stop and say hello.

Sproutopia Horton Hears a Who

The first place we darted to was Sproutopia. Kids and gardening…what a perfect combo. I’m always impressed how children design there special 2×2 foot space. In two words…No Fear.

Succulent Pallet Table

There’s still plenty of weekend left to…..Go to the Show, See our DIY Pallet Table, then Head over to watch Star Apple Edible Gardens at 2:30PM Sun. Stefani and Leslie will amaze you how easy it can be to Grow Food in the City.

– Far Out Flora