Let's Nerd Out on Caterpillars! (The Squishy Kind)

Is it my birthday?!  What did I do to deserve this amazing gift of Dr. Jerry Powell speaking at the next California Native Plant Society East Bay member meeting?!  And it's all about moth and butterfly caterpillars!  (insert teenage squeal here). 
Dr. Powell wrote my favorite insect field guide, California Insects, which helped me identify the little lovely above as a Western Tiger Swallowtail.  The photos are few and a tidge blurry at times, but the line drawings and descriptions always help me nail down their identities.  It doesn't hurt that it focuses solely on insects found in our fair state, which prevents me from thinking it's some rarity from Rhode Island and keeps me on track. 
The meeting, which is open to all, will be in the Orinda Public Library's Garden Room (how appropriate) on the 18th at 7:30pm.  Anyone want to carpool from Oakland?

Fictitious Animals and Their Gardens

Does anyone remember the days when Garden Design magazine came printed on brown paper?  Neither do I, but my Aunt Joyce gave me some vintage clippings (the 80's, I think) of a few enchanting articles and thought I would share.  This feature highlighted the gardens described in children's books and I couldn't help but be fascinated by two very different styles. 

One, the "Dear Old Briar-Patch" exemplifies exactly what a native habitat garden should do.  Bunnies, birds, spiders and mice (well, maybe the mice aren't so good) cavort under the safety of an overgrown garden.  I tend  to take two views of this- providing a space for wildlife to make a home in the garden, but also imagining making a little burrow for myself to hide away from the freeway noise.  In my design work, these somewhat opposing goals become part of a larger goal:  make a place for wildlife to play, but not at the expense of its human inhabitants. 

I have to admit, though that my absolute favorite is this illustration from "The Wind in the Willows" and I might just have to walk down to the library to check out and read for myself.  Here's an excerpt: 

     "On the walls hung wire baskets with ferns in them, alternating with brackets carrying plaster statuary-        Garibaldi, and the infant Samuel, and Queen Victoria, and other heroes of modern Italy.  Down one side of the fore-court ran a skittle alley, with benches along it and little wooden tables marked with rings that hinted at beer mugs.  In the middle was a small round pond containing goldfish and surrounded by a cockle-shell border.  Out of the centre of the pond rose a fanciful erection clothed in more cockle-shells and topped by a large silver glass ball that reflected everything all wrong and had a very pleasing effect."

Ok, that's it.  I'm going to have to make an underground garden with cockle-shells and plaster statues! 

A Tabletop Ghoul's Garden

Oh my gosh,  I'm excited beyond words about these Halloween centerpieces I just finished for a client's party on Saturday.  It's amazing what a little Spanish moss and fishing lures can do!

 

 

The Corokia cotoneaster (the tree-like thing) was a new find for me- not a California native, but quite striking.  If I have time tomorrow, I think I'll fill these empty spots with more purple Aeoniums.

I added a couple of muskrat skulls and some dried Clarkia seedpods. The muskrat looks like he's having a grand time!

 

 

 

The brown bottles strayed from the gray and purple theme, but they do add a little mystery.

Dyckia, a bromeliad (think pineapple plants and you get the general idea) might have to be added to my "I only plant California natives except...." list.

This was ridiculous fun to create.  Happy Halloween!

Delicious, Nutricious, and ...Decoractive?

Harvest time leaves little to be desired for those of us who enjoy cut flowers inside.  So wanting to make lemonade out of the remaining lemons we have left in the season, us gardener/florist types are getting creative with non-traditional plant material.  Edibles to be exact.  Persimmons on a Heath Ceramics tray provide an understated yet colorful composition.

Cabbages abound, as discovered by my design detective friend Olivia (who will probably be embarrassed that I'm using her picture phone picture, but I think it's still lovely).  This particular one looks like an old English posey all by itself, but I'm sure it could be successfully paired with a halo of English Lavender or Snowberries.
Design*Sponge recently posted about this brilliant use of carrots as a base for an arrangement.  Other inspired choices for arrangements might include Rainbow Chard, the frosty purple leaves of Kale, Apples, or Chestnuts.  Head over to your Farmer's Market and see what grabs you.  When you tire of it, make it into a tasty snack!

Plant of the Week: Deer Grass

What a sexy grass you are, Muhlenbergia rigens!  This native grass stole my heart at the Late Show Gardens in the exhibit created by Lucas & Lucas Landscape Architecture and Gary Ratway, pictured above.  It makes me so happy to see designers use native plants in modern settings, but I digress.  Muhlies (as I affectionately call them) tie the garden together, adding a contrasting texture and will fill in fast. In fact, it can help stabilize slopes with its deep, coarse root system.  But in all honesty I love the way it looks and couldn't let my garden go without a few. 

Soil:  I think it might prefer a light clay, but I don't think it's super picky.   Mine is in medium clay.
Sun:  Full sun to part shade
Plant:  Sow seeds now or plant now through to the spring
Buy it:  Try propagating it yourself by going through Larner Seeds, I also think I saw some at East Bay Nursery the other day.  For those down south, try Las Pilitas.
Good for:  Native American basket weaving (as if you needed another random hobby, right?), filling in a new garden, adding texture and drama, giving those caterpillars and mule deer something to chew on.

Insert Expletive about Oxalis pes-caprae Here

Google "oxalis weed" and you will find a slew of frustrated gardeners.  Oxalis makes nuns spit and pushes even the hippiest of hippies to search for nuclear arms in order to destroy it forever..  And for good reason:  Oxalis has a long, fragile taproot with the tiniest of bulblets at the end.  Pull out the root and I swear the next day you will find the same plant smiling back at you defiantly.  Let it flower and seed and the sucker will throw the seeds 6 feet away, distributing new nurseries of evil sulfur flowers. 
Some people go to the trouble of carting away the first few inches of their soil and starting fresh.  This usually doesn't work because the bulblets are typically deeper.  Some people break down and use Roundup.  This might not work as Roundup works in hot weather and Oxalis is a cool-season grower.  Some folks sift their soil and get rid of the bulblets that way!  Besides being backbreaking, the bulblets can be pretty tiny and clay soils would be difficult to put through a sieve!  Even I'm not that crazy!

 
As far as I know, pulling the weeds out by hand before they can flower might help if you're tenacious enough or sheet-mulching every few years can help, too.  Sheet mulching is a back-saving way of taking care of weeds.  Simply throw down cardboard or layers of newspaper, making sure to overlap seams sufficiently and cover with at least 3" of mulch.  It works with the mulch to suppress the weeds, but also disintegrates after awhile and fertilizes the soil beneath.  You can't say that about that weed barrier cloth. 
Use unwaxed cardboard and be sure to remove any tape or staples.  I've also used this technique to remove lawns to great effect.  You get some funny looks, but it's an opportunity to teach your neighbors about more sustainable methods of gardening.
I however, have already mulched and planted my little bed and will hand-pick the Oxalis until I lose my resolve.  The spoils of this morning's battle are above.  Wish me luck and may Oxalis never find you!

Portrait of the Artist in Her Wood Period

Way down in the comments somewhere, Michelle aka Deviant Deziner asked about my work while I was in the Wood/Furniture department at California College of Arts and Crafts.  So that explains this post!  The photo above was my senior thesis:  a bed fully enclosed by woven mohair yarn to provide a  place for metamorphosis.  I'm still obsessed with the major themes of this piece:  repetition, lush materials, pattern and its psychological effects, and of course the life cycle of moths.  (And yes, I sleep in it!)

This project also deals with pattern, as underneath each candle concentric circles bleed into their neighbor's.  The candles were hand-dipped and hand-braided and the candle holders were from an apricot branch pruned earlier that year.  I like it when people see different meanings in the same piece, but for me it discusses the odd combination of brotherhood and competition in the studio as we all toiled away in an attempt not to "burn out."

These tokens busied my hands to give my mind a rest while trying to get over designer's block when making my senior thesis project.  I love how they fit in the hand and the rings that appear during the sanding process.  It makes you think they have a higher purpose than just the output of nervous energy!