Calceolaria integrifolia ‘Kentish Hero’

So Long San Francisco

May 4, 2012 by Megan | 18 Comments

Last view from above

We left town last Sunday and have been on a whirlwind road trip to Big Sur, the Central Coast, Santa Barbara, Yosemite and now South Lake Tahoe. In a couple hours we’ll be leaving the beautiful state of California for a day long drive through Nevada, on to Moab, UT and then Summit County & Denver Colorado, before making it back to Wisconsin. Here are a few pics of the remaining plants of our old garden right before we left just for the heck of it (I’m being a bit of a roadtrip photo uploading/labeling slacker right now).

Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird'

All the broken surfboards are on their way to Wisconsin We’re thinking of going with a beach theme for the new nursery.

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars

So my caterpillar babies didn’t make it to this size, but wonderful Tim brought over a bunch we released on our vine about a week before we left. I must have spent hours watching them eat away on the pipevine.

Calceolaria integrifolia 'Kentish Hero'

Papaver hybridum 'Black Swan'

Eccremocarpus scaber 'Tresco Gold'

Cerinthe major purpurascens

Matti mowing one last time

June Blooms

June 14, 2011 by Megan | 27 Comments

Calceolaria integrifolia 'Kentish Hero'

Happy June Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day! We’ve never had so many bloomiferous happenings out back before. A big shout out to Annie’s Annuals for offering a plant employee discount so generous I’ve tried out TONS of plants I never would have given a shot. My current fave that’s covered in buds and blooms is Calceolaria integrifolia ‘Kentish Hero’. How can you not love the freaky lip like orange blooms? I apologize in advance for the mass quantities of flower pictures.

Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird'

This is my first year growing Papavers. My favorite is hands down Papaver commutatum ‘Ladybird’. I’m sad to report that our Papaver ‘Greek‘ died an early death due to a gopher incident we’d like to forget, but it was pretty for the few weeks we had with it. This one’s safe and sound in a container.

Papaver 'Drama Queen'

Named appropriately, Papaver ‘Drama Queen’ almost got eaten by the gopher, too! I definitely would have staked this puppy if I knew how big and floppy it was going to be. The gopher action right next to it didn’t help the situation, along with the RAIN IN JUNE. I think I’m going to replace it with Dahlias this weekend. It’s squashing stuff.

Bulbine bloom

Gosh darn it. I forget which one this is. Love that it has peachy orange blooms.

Delphinium belladonna 'Bellamosum'

I was curious to see if Delphinium belladonna ‘Bellamosum’ could hack it in the cold, windy, foggy Outer Sunset. It went a wee bit sideways, but still pretty.

Fuchsia 'Fanfare'

The fuchsias are all freaking out, but ‘Fanfare’ is freaking out with wild abandon. It’s kind of out of control. Most of the canes are at least ten feet tall flopping all over the place. If I had carefully read the description I would have seen, “I have seen it espaliered to fill up the entire side of a house”. Wholly crap! I’ve been chopping it back a little to promote some bushiness. Maybe it’s just going through it’s gawky stage?

Fuchsia Mystery

Here’s the mystery fuchsia. It’s been looking kind of sick (yellow leaves), but still busting out flowers. My best guess is that it’s getting sunburned. In the winter this side of the yard gets almost no direct light. The blue stuff is a Cerinthe major purpurascens seedling we let stick around.

Scyphanthus elegans

Scyphanthus elegans is a cute little vine from Chile. I planted Eccremocarpus scaber ‘Cherry Red’ next to it and they’re just starting to play with each other. I just realized they’re both Chilean. We have TONS of Eccremocarpus scaber ‘Tresco Gold’ from reseeding action on our shady side. It’s one of my favorite plants. The hummingbirds go crazy.

Clarkia concinna

Clarkia concinna gives the native section a little splash o’ pink. The native middle section continues to rock.

Poppy Attack!

Caterpillars have been having a ball with the California poppy blooms. This weekend I watched as flocks of little birds came in and went to town on the little flower eaters.

Camissonia cheiranthifolia

Still loving California native Camissonia cheiranthifolia. The flower action never ends. I’m going to shut up now, and post more pictures since it’s getting late.