west coast | Far Out Flora

Foredune Beach Plants

January 21, 2012 by Matti | 2 Comments

Astragalus nuttallii - Ocean Bluff Milk Vetch

We found these salt tolerant gems down at the Asilomar State Beach along the foredune. I’m always amazed that plants can grow in such harsh conditions such as this Astragalus nuttallii (Ocean Bluff Milk Vetch). I fell in love with the highly textured leaves, but its seed pods made me giggle.

Astragalus nuttallii - Nattall's Milkvetch

Here’s another pic of Astagalus nuttallii gripping on between the sand and a rock. You’ve seen foredune before if you lived near a salty beach and even some fresh water lakes. There’s a moment when the sandy beach stops and vegetation starts. Basically, that’s called the foredune.

Abronia latifolia - Sand Verbena

Here’s another foredune trooper, Abronia latifolia (Sand Verbena). It more succulent than herbaceous when you see it on the beach. Seems Abronias come in yellow or lavender blooming forms…and probably others that I’m just not yet familiar with.

Asilomar State Beach

Oh BTW…all these pics were taken down in Asilomar Beach in Monterey Bay, but we see these beach plants along our beaches too here in SF.

Erigeron glaucus - Seaside Daisy

A couple of Erigeron glaucus (Seaside Daisy) were poking their heads out of the beach scrub. We found these blooming up closer to the road than along the crashing ocean waves.

Erigeron glaucus - Seaside Daisy

We just received our first big rains of winter which means that wildflower season is just around the corner. We can’t wait to see some mega patches of wildflowers. I think this year we definitely want to hit the Edgewood Preserve a little earlier this year, as we missed all the action in 2011. Do any of you have sweet spots you wanna share?

– Far Out Flora

TED’s Garden

December 20, 2011 by Matti | 5 Comments

Dudleya attenuata

You know the term, a man’s man? Well if there’s such thing as a gardener’s garden…this is the place. What a treat it was to visit Ted Kipping’s private oasis over in the Glen Park neighborhood. When Ted isn’t traveling to exotic locations seeking out rare plants in habitat or working his business at Tree Shapers, he’s constantly tweeking his garden.

Scleranthus biflorus

Ted has several hypertufaesque containers tucked in throughout his space. After I stopped drooling over that first pic of the Dudleya attenuata, I saw his Scleranthus biflorus, which was looking lusher than ours.

Lewisia cotyledon

I had a bunch of those…wow, why didn’t I think of that moments. Here’s a plant we have in our garden, but his Lewisia cotyledon looked way more cooler than ours. He does some amazing mini landscapes, and certainly influenced us to make our alpine container about a month back.

Dierama bee love

Megan tells me that Dierama are hot right now. The bee and me would have to agree. Sometimes called Fairy’s Fishing Rods, they fall in the same family as Crocosmia and put on quite a show.

Begonia foliosa var. miniata

Agave parryi

Agave parryi, always a fav. Slow growing, its gray spiky foliage spans to about a 30-inch diameter. Stunning accent plant, indeed.

Bromeliad fence

His Bro Fence was sweet. Ted shared with us a little trick. He uses a variety of Bromeliads to fill in holes and gaps within his garden until he finds just the right plant for that space. Since many Bros are easy to transplant and move around…they work well for his technique. Small potted plants work the same way. Brilliant.

Brugmansia & Blue Sky

Gratuitous Brugmansia and blue sky shot. It was one of those gorgeous fall days.

Plectranthus awesomus

Score! Ted dropped us a couple cuttings including a pinch of this shady loving limy Plectranthus. It’s gonna look great on our shady side.

Hey, if you get a moment, you must check out Ted’s Tree Shapers and see what makes him one of the most skilled Arborist in the Bay Area and beyond. You rock Ted!

– Far Out Flora

Far Out Flora

Gardening in the Outerlands of San Francisco

Tag Archives: west coast

Foredune Beach Plants

TED’s Garden