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Page 7
The bloom of tulip bulbs is a favorite sign of spring
Usually, Marin is finished with the chilly weather by the end of January, but it was 50 degrees out a few times in February and recently this month, with the windchill making it seem much cooler. Now I’m wondering if the tulips that were left in the ground last winter after reblooming will bloom yet again. They need about 12-14 weeks of 55 degrees or cooler soil. I’m guessing last winter we had close to that, which explains why my tulips came up and bloomed last spring after years of sitting...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Be on the lookout for eye-catching mushroom
Calling Amanita muscaria “eye-catching” is an understatement. This mushroom sports a bright red cap with small white spots, called warts. It can be seen in various shades of red, as well as orange and lighter colors. Highly toxic, it is found under planted trees. It favors fir, spruce, birch and pine and is commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita. The season for fruiting varies in different climates. Fruiting occurs in summer and autumn across most of North America, but later in...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Stunning deciduous redwood can be found in Ross
We are fortunate, indeed, to have a colorful, stunning example of a living fossil species —the dawn redwood tree. It is deciduous, while other redwoods do not drop their leaves and needles or turn colors. A visual feast of autumn-red needles on this tree awaits you at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Enter through the main black iron gate and walk on the path toward the nearby white gazebo. Look to the right of the gazebo, and there it is. You will be looking at the dawn redwood, an...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Find the perfect gift for every gardener at Marin’s nurseries
Every year I make a pilgrimage to many of the local nurseries to see what’s new or interesting. I do get some shopping done, but unfortunately a lot of it is stuff I can’t pass up, even though I’m at the stage of my life when I’m trying to outsource things instead of accumulate more. But it’s fun anyway and will keep my kids busy someday. I started in Fairfax this year and found a sturdy homemade umbrella stand at O’Donnells Fairfax Nursery at 1700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. This small plot has...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Replace invasives with low-water plants this fall
As soon as the rains start — and it won’t be soon enough for my very dry garden — it’s time to remove unwanted plants and put in new plants that use less water or maybe just more mulch. Because my water bill has doubled and I’m now in the third tier of usage, I’m getting really serious about water conservation. The first thing to consider in the garden is to remove any invasives with the goal of leaving more moisture in the soil for the plants we actually want to grow. Our top invasives...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Experiment with container gardens in small spaces
Just because you live in an apartment doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden. If you have a deck, there’s something you can grow. Or maybe you only have a front stoop that could hold a few pots. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, as my dad used to say. My problem is that I have several decks, so I actually have too many pots — but that’s another kind of problem. The first thing you’ll need to do to get your garden going is to pay attention to how much sun you have. This will vary by the...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Bugs, insects, spiders an important part of garden ecosystem
About half of life on earth is concentrated in the insect class, which is in the Arthropod phylum. Insects are characterized by having an exoskeleton, a three-part body, three pairs of jointed legs, a pair of antennae and compound eyes. There are an estimated 6 million to 10 million species, and about a million have been described, meaning that more than 90% of animal forms on earth are insects. Think dragonflies, moths, butterflies, ants, termites, bees, worms, beetles — the list goes on and...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Grandeur of the Gold Rush at Columbia State Historic Park
California has the nation’s largest state park system, with 280 parks that encompass stunning rivers, waterfalls, sprawling forests, more than a million acres of wildlife reserves, and historic towns. Recently, my husband, Gary, and I rediscovered Columbia State Historic Park, a 2½-hour drive from the Bay Area in Tuolumne County. As we drove through the almond orchards of the Central Valley toward the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, I was wowed from the get-go: a brilliant landscape of...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
Now’s the time to try these fall-blooming bulbs
Most of us think of bulbs, corms and tubers as spring bloomers. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths (Muscari) and crocus almost all bloom in spring. But there are autumn-blooming crocuses, for instance, and one of them is where saffron (C. sativus) comes from. Saffron is used to flavor paella, turning the rice a lovely rich gold color, along with other Mediterranean dishes and Indian curries. Each little flower produces three red stigmas, or female parts, and it will take 75,000 of...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Opportunities for adventure, leisure on trip to Switzerland
If you like snow-capped mountains, meadows carpeted in wildflowers, bubbling fondue, divine gelato, medieval castles and sundrenched lakes, look no further than the Jungfrau and Ticino regions of Switzerland. Like an expansive breakfast buffet in a five-star hotel, I found everything I could want on a recent trip to the two regions. At the Zurich International Airport, I jumped on a train and three hours later stepped off in the fairy-tale town of Grindelwald in the Jungfrau region, nestled...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
Monterey aquarium’s new exhibit a fascinating look at sea life
Every time my husband and I travel to the Monterey Peninsula, we try to spend a couple hours at the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. We are always awed by the playful sea otters, the adorable penguins, the mysterious and magical jellyfish and the hypnotizing beauty of the deep kelp forest. Before we leave, we are drawn to the outdoor deck perched on the Monterey Bay, and we wonder what lives in the depths of the Monterey Canyon, which begins at Moss Landing, extends 95 miles under the...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
Harvey’s Garden blooms at Blackie’s Pasture thanks to volunteers
A lot is happening right now in Harvey’s Garden at Blackie’s Pasture. Dazzling colors of a variety of flowers are attracting bees and other insects, and the UC Masters Gardeners and other community volunteers are on their knees tenderly caring for this small plot of land that brings joy to many hikers and cyclists every day. Woolly yarrow, Achillea tomentosa, blooms in dense small canary-yellow clusters at the tops of soft, feathery gray-green foliage. It thrives in full sun. A native to...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
The bird’s-eyes gilia may be California’s prettiest native
I can’t think of a prettier California native wildflower than this one! Called bird’s eyes or bird’s-eyes gilia, the Gilia tricolor displays bold colors — pale blue or violet flowers with baby blue stamens, contrasted with a yellow throat decorated with purple spots. It is an annual herb with a long blooming season and is cultivated all over the world, endemic to California. You’ll see it in Marin as well as many other counties. The plant grows on slopes, Sierra foothills, woodlands and...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Variety of indoor plants can spruce up the home
My garden isn’t heavy on flowers, especially in the winter months. One of the things I missed most during the pandemic was having fresh flowers in the house. I wasn’t comfortable having someone select my flowers for me, so I went without. My son sent me six monthly flower deliveries, which were nice but somewhat monotonous with the same tropical foliage and a few flowers. Houseplants can substitute for flowers and sometimes they’ll rebloom, a nice added benefit. Potted orchids are...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Take care of your tomatoes to ensure bountiful harvest
Your tomato plants are in the ground and starting to grow up. As you anticipate a nice yield late this summer, there are some diseases that could upset your tomato cart. The good news is that tomatoes, especially hybrids, are usually a pretty healthy crop, and some diseases won’t kill the whole plant. For the complete story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery.
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Central coast, Channel Islands make for fun road trip
Scratch your travel itch by exploring California. What could be easier than hopping into your car for a road trip south along Highway 1? A 100-mile stretch of the most iconic roadway in California, known as the Highway 1 Discovery Route, weaves through San Luis Obispo County along the uncrowded white sand beaches and connects artist communities and award-wining wineries. It also includes Hearst Castle, 13 state parks and an elephant seal rookery. The portion of Highway 1 that travels through...
By MARYBETH BOND SHEPPARD ·
Pride of Madeira traces roots to Portuguese islands
A very showy purplish-blue conical shaped flowering plant, pride of Madeira, Echium candicans, joins other show-stoppers from its native Madeira, a Portuguese island group off the northwestern coast of Africa, just 320 miles from Morocco. The region is called Macaronesia. The Palheiro and Madeira botanical gardens in Funchal on Madeira feature a stunning variety of flowers including Strelitzia, the official flower of Madeira, a native of South Africa that we call Bird of Paradise. You’ll also...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Watch for signs of spittlebugs on walks or in the garden
Whether on a hiking trail or in your garden, you have probably seen small white sticky, frothy masses on plants. These are the bubble homes of spittlebugs, related to aphids and cicadas in the order of Hemiptera, identified by botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. On a recent hike on Mount Tamalpais, I noted healthy young coyote bushes on both sides of the trail. At a distance, they appeared to be covered with small white flowers. A puzzle — this couldn’t be. On closer examination, I discovered...
By JOAN LINN BEKINS ·
Invasives can wreak havoc on the garden
I’m not sure if I’m just seeing my garden with renewed interest or if it really is having a very nice spring, better than many others. I’ve had two amaryllis produce giant blossoms this year and don’t recall them blooming in the past. The nasturtiums decided to clamber up one of my stone pillars and on to the climbing hydrangea, which has produced a couple of blooms for the first time in its 15 years or so in the garden. I ordered it from Heronswood, a nursery in Washington, and it arrived in...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Shelter-in-place allows time to watch garden spring to life
My last foray into the world as we once knew it was a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show and a visit to New Hope, Penn., to see the ethereal property where George Nakashima lived and created his exquisite furniture. I jettisoned the last half of the trip to come home on March 10 and, due to the coronavirus, have been sheltering in place since. The Philadelphia Flower Show is something to behold and makes a trip to the East Coast worthwhile. Add in the American history aspects of...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
