The Coastal Gardener - May, 2005
A Spring Miscellany
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"The novice among gardeners is often annoyed by the way his more accomplished brothers insist on using botanical names. He-often it is a she-remarks that the good old fashioned names should be used and not these high-falutin' and teeth cracking titles."
From "The Gardener's Bed-Book" by Richard Wright,1929
During the month of May the flowerbeds around my front gate really shine. A trio of 'Graham Thomas' roses greets visitors with yellow petals on cup-shaped blooms that exude a strong old rose fragrance. Echoing the yellow color are the centers of buff 'Sally Holmes' Musk Roses under-planted with blue Scabiosa and backed by Erigonum giganteum, the Giant Island Buckwheat. The drought tolerant Buckwheat is from the Channel Islands, bearing large flat flower heads in cream fading to tan like a big dried flower arrangement that lasts for months. Among the silver foliage of Oat Grass (Helictotrichon) I have set in some Bird of Paradise, whose large paddle-shaped leaves and exotic orange and blue flowers are a strong contrast to the finer foliage of the roses. But the focal point of the bed is at the sunny dry end where a red-tipped Arctostaphylos 'Paradise' presides over a low carpet of gazania, germander and blue flowered Convolvulus. I am proud of this specimen and always recommend this cultivar of the dune-dwelling Pajaro Manzanita to all my friends who grow natives.
Now you might have noticed that I often speak of specific cultivars of plants. These are the names in quotes that you see above. A cultivar or cultivated variety is a plant, often created through hybridization, which exhibits certain distinct qualities not found in the pure species. Cultivars are often selected out of a population of plants where some sort of genetic mutation creates a new color, leaf form or growth habit. Cultivars also appear as chance mutations called a "sport" where a single stem on a shrub may suddenly flower in a totally different color. Each resulting cultivar may be very different from the species, often radically so. Each year dozens of new cultivars are introduced, some stay some don't stand up to the test of good garden performance.
If you have not been an adventurous plant shopper, let me recommend a few excellent sources for incredible plants. First is Sierra Azul Nursery and Gardens in Watsonville. Located on East Lake across from the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds, the nursery includes a beautiful Mediterranean display garden and lots of unusual plants while the owner, Jeff Rosendale, is an acknowledged expert on Southern Hemisphere plants and well known for his leadership in the Mediterranean Garden Society. Since you are near Santa Cruz, travel up Hwy 1 to River Street to visit the excellent garden center at San Lorenzo Lumber. Beside a huge selection of plant material, garden supplies, tools hardware and books the most significant offering is the display of Annie's Annuals. Annie's has gotten a faithful following (myself among them) recently for growing unusual annuals, perennials and vegetables that simply cannot be found anywhere else. She really has an eye for outstanding cultivars that have not been available in the US or heirloom varieties that outperform trendy modern hybrids. Of course your visit would not be complete without a tour of the UCSC Arboretum displays just off Empire Grade Road on the UCSC campus. Their gift shop/nursery is well stocked with plants from their Southern Hemisphere collection.
Back in the garden, watch for drying soil and water accordingly. Apply a mulch which can be chopped leaves, chipped bark, composted garden clippings or well rotted manure to conserve moisture, keep the soil cool and protect it from becoming hard and cracked. Among vegetables and annuals I use thick layer of manure and chopped leaves that feeds and protects. Among shrubs and trees a less nutritious mulch of chipped wood will do just fine to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. Good mulch can add several inches of new soil to garden beds each year, if your beds are getting lower, not higher, then you need to learn the gospel of mulch.
Check your drip and sprinkler systems for leaks before setting your water timers for regular duty and wash out any accumulated sediment. Hedges should be sheared now to allow them time to recover before any hot, dry weather comes. Don't cut too far, never to bare wood, the scars often don't recover. In the vegetable patch prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes, soft rotten brown spots caused by a lack of calcium, with a foliar spray of seaweed fertilizer. Avoid too much nitrogen (the first of the three numbers on the fertilizer box) and make sure that you water deeply and regularly. Moisture should penetrate into the soil deeply; mulch will help here too!
Enjoy! Dave Egbert
