I am no fan of bulbs. They just don’t make much sense to me in a Southern California garden. I did have a bed of various Iris once. One winter a guy touring my yard noticed this large bare spot and asked what I was going to plant there. What? I had like 20 Iris planted there. Then it dawned on me. I…
Back in November I posted about a tree (Acacia leucophloea) that stood out to me while on my travels through Myanmar. In this week’s post I will introduce you to a tree that has done the same for me while in Thailand. That tree is Dipterocarpus alatus, commonly known in Thailand as the “Yaang Naa Tree.” What…
By the time this week’s post loads to the “Internets”, my wife and I will be on a plane heading to Thailand to celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary. All that last-minute rushing around in preparation limited my interest in even getting a post out. However, a quick mountain bike ride unexpectedly opened the door for a…
There are some plants that you just can’t seem to grow no matter the effort. You love them too much to quit, though. So you keep fighting the good fight. I am not talking about the plants that are just outside your zone and die with each passing winter. I am referring to plants that…
Until recently, winter was breezing by with evenings staying above the 40-degree fahrenheit Mendoza Line. Unfortunately, the new year ended my unrealistic dream of going through an entire winter without seeing temperatures drop into the thirties. Just about two weeks ago an Arctic storm pushed right through California and brought with it either frost or freezing temperatures for three straight nights. Looking…
While traveling throughout Myanmar you will find that there are a few trees that are really important to the Burmese people and can be found growing most everywhere we visited. One, of course, is the Thanaka Tree (Limonia acidissima). It is the tree from which Thanaka, which is used by most Burmese women for beauty and cosmetic purposes, is made….
If all goes well this post will automatically load from a pre-scheduled time right as I am touching down in Yangon, Myanmar. Between trip preparation this week and two days on a plane (thanks to the crossing of the International Dateline) I knew I wouldn’t be motivated to work on this week’s entry much. I had been asked by a few people…
For various reasons I do not like to grow that many fruiting trees in my garden. I do have a nice Red Malaysian Guava, but other than that I choose to avoid fruiting trees. If I do plant a fruiting tree, I like to have a few additional qualities in it past the fruit. Plants in…