Far Out Flora

Gardening in the Outerlands of San Francisco

Strybing All Day Long

November 22, 2011 by Matti | 3 Comments

Salpiglossis - Painted Tongue

Gotta love the SF Botanical Garden at Strybing. There’s always something to check out year round. How adorable is this Salpiglossis? Also known as Painted Tongue, it was popping in the beds. Found a great write up on Salpiglossis over at Life on the Balcony.

Fuchsia boliviana

I’ve a love hate relationship with this Fuchsia. About a year ago gophers attacked and we lost a couple plants. Then requested you to help pick out our replacement plant. Well, the Fuchsia boliviana ‘Alba’ just squeaked in as the winner and I am a huge fan. However as I recall, F. b ‘Alba’ wasn’t available and we ended up planting F. boliviana instead…no Alba. Ours is getting big and I can always pop over to Strybing to get my Alba fix.

Amaryllis belladonna

Every time I see Amaryllis belladonna, I think it’s gonna be the last of the season. Then I’ve got to bust out the camera and document. Just how late in the season will these guys bloom? Dirt Du Jour Northern California has an cool pick showing how it looks in the garden.

Dahlia tenuicaulis - Tree Dahlia

I’ve been hearing a lot of stories about this plant, Dahlia tenuicaulis (aka Tree Dahlia). Early last spring while up in Mendocino, I just missed seeing them in flower. I mean, can it really be…a Dahlia that is a tree. Well, it’s true. We even scored a couple plants this past summer, which we planted up in a big container and they’re just about to flush out its first bloom. I just hope that the wind doesn’t snap off the main trunk before ours flowers. There’s a mystery what color they’ll be as it was unmarked. Stay tuned.

Salvia ‘Anthony Parker’

So many Salvias…so little time. Glad Strybing has ample space to grow out a bunch of them including this Salvia ‘Anthony Parker’. Gorgeous contrast between the purple and green.

Melianthus major

We’re in the search for our own Melianthus major ‘Purple Haze’. So far no luck, but we’ve put out the feelers. I suspect that if we get off our seats and head down to a Strybing plant sale…we’ll likely find one. Until then, just need to drool over this guy.

Canna edulis

Another dazzling display. Canna edulis you look like fireworks shooting off into the sky.

Crinum moorei

Frankly, I know nothing about Crinum moorei. I didn’t even know the name until I found the tag. (shh… don’t tell Megan). What I do know is that Derek over at Plantgasm has the Coolest time-laps video EVER! of it blooming. Man, that was the best 90 seconds I’ve spent in a long time. Thanks for doing what you do…Derek!

– Far Out Flora

September Strybing

September 7, 2011 by Megan | 7 Comments

Bomarea caldasii

It’s been over a month since we were last at the SF Botanical Garden, so we headed up last Sunday afternoon in the fog. I was hoping to see some nice Meso-American Cloud Forest action, and was sweetly rewarded. I have no idea why we don’t have a Bomarea planted out back. I think I’m secretly afraid they’re finicky, but in reality they don’t seem that tough to keep alive. One would be right at home in Fuchsialand out back. There’s a trellis with a half-dead sweet pea and sad looking, heat/sun deprived pitiful Mina lobata that could use a new plant.

Foxy Fuchsia boliviana

The Fuchsia bolivianas were going nuts. Huge trees are covered in blooms which means I’ll most likely be hanging out near these fabulous plants next Saturday from 1:30-3:30 at my Interpretive Station as a docent. Wanna be a docent? Get more info and sign up for the upcoming fall training class here. It’s a fun way to learn more about plants.

Deppea splendens

Just a short stroll down from Fuchsiaville is a Deppea splendens getting ready to bloom like crazy. It’s covered with buds. Anyone know if there’s another Deppea besides this guy? I’ll most likely be setting up my Interpretive Station very near this plant on September 24th from 11:30-1:30 for the show.

Geranium 'Rozanne'

I have to admit, I didn’t understand what the all the fuss about this plant was for earlier this spring at Annie’s (there are a bunch available right now). Customers were getting into fist fights for the few we had available. Well, maybe not that extreme. I get it now. I’ve been watching a mass that’s been blooming its head off for months now. It’s impressive.

Haemanthus coccineus

At first I thought someone had thrown some trash in this bed, but it was really full of fiery little red flowers. They’re cute little South African natives related to the Naked Lady pictured below.

Amaryllis belladonna

Eucomis bicolor

Eriogonum giganteum

We took a little stroll through the California native section where we caught this ginormous Erigonum giganteum going crazy.

Eriogonum grande var. rubescens

The little native/dry section in front of the County Fair Building is starting to fill in. To check out baby pictures of this garden check out our post from last October when it was first installed. All our pics from Strybing are right here on flickr.

September 2, 2010
by Megan
12 Comments

Sunny SF Botanical Garden

We just went to our very first UCCE Master Gardener class at the County Fair building next to SF Botanical Gardens. We’re officially trainees! We’ll be posting more cool information about our new adventure in becoming masters in a couple … Continue reading →