When it comes to growing exotic hibiscus there is no better time of the year than right now to see them in bloom. As any gardener who cultivates these beautiful plants in the ground here will tell you, September and October are the best two months for hibiscus in Southern California. By now all the branches you artfully pruned late last…
Well the title says it all. My Brazilian Red Cloak really is going off this year. I believe the hard pruning I did two springs ago and the unseasonably warm weather all year are the main contributing factors. My neighbor even stopped over to ask what that plant was called in my backyard “that looks like it…
There are two easily confused Umbrella Trees that have been grown for many years in Mediterranean climate gardens. One is Schefflera actinophylla and the other is Schefflera pueckleri—if I were to label them with the most recent nomenclature. However, any old-time gardener will instead remember Schefflera pueckleri as Tupidanthus calyptratus instead. I actually still have an issue with the name change. So…
One of the benefits of being a rare plant collector is that you usually have some really valuable trade bait sitting around somewhere. After a fruitful trip to Florida in the spring of 2008, I had just that. I came home with a bunch of rare palms that people wanted and would be willing to trade…
One of the pleasures I get when touring a well thought-out garden is all the various fragrances you smell from a multitude of plantings. Many times gardeners overlook this in their landscape planning and focus on the two senses of sight and taste as their main effort. Their yards will have a lot of color with many fruit trees and vegetables planted,…
One of my goals with the blog is to provide some insight into new plants that you might not know about or didn’t think would grow in our Mediterranean climate. Today’s post is on Galphimia gracilis. The common name is Spray-of-Gold or Golden Thryallis. This eastern Mexico native is a popular plant in warmer parts of the US, particularly Florida,…
Tecoma stans has been cultivated as an ornamental since as far back as the mid-1800s. Cultivars and hybrids soon followed. So it goes without saying that the Yellow Bells is a very popular large shrub in Southern Californian gardens. And to prove I am no plant snob, I actually grow one in my yard. The two most commonly…
I first happened upon Dyschoriste hygrophyloides (Bridal Flower) during a visit to a friend’s house in Florida in the spring of 2007. He took me to a somewhat famous tropical plant hotspot called Jesse Durko’s Nursery in Davie. It was there that Dyschoriste hygrophyloides and many, many other tropical plants were for sale. Unfortunately for me it was a little like being…