Meet one of my new favorite plants– Cuphea melvillea

by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 2, 2007 | Uncategorized

Weeder gave me this Cigar Plant (Cuphea melvillea) for my birthday in July of ’06. Look how well it’s done in dappled sun next to the house. I love its tubular pinky yellow flowers and so do hummingbirds. I also love its height range of 4-6 ft. It’s kinda floppy and not at all formal which just makes me love it even more. We’re pretty sure it came from Windmill Nursery, but which grower? Annie’s? Blooms? Proven Winners? Where’s that damned plant tag?

January 16 edit: I now think this is C. micropetala.

Tree dahlia bud watch, 2007

by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 2, 2007 | Uncategorized

My tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) have grown taller and taller each year. Yikes! Of my three main canes, one snapped but two remain. Threats against this November bloomer include wind and frost. Both fingers way crossed.

I’d like to train them to bloom a little lower to the ground, but I’m not sure of the best time to head them back.

Wish me luck!

Not sure about this Fall thing…

by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 1, 2007 | Uncategorized

Dan and Annie have run of the yard, but this morning they seemed unable to budge from this sun-soaked doormat.

Visit to the Sacramento Old City Cemetery Native Plant Demo Garden

by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 1, 2007 | Uncategorized

As I sit in my living room recliner trying not to think about the fact that my fourteen-year-old boy is out wandering dark streets dressed– in a rather impromptu fashion– as a “frat boy”, complete with toga (bed sheet) and sideways tie-on-the-head… I welcome the distraction of blogging about why I spent a few hours Sunday at the Old City Cemetery.

When I was in college, I did an internship at the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), Sacramento Chapter’s Native Plant Demonstration Garden at the cemetery. Having recently reconnected with my internship sponsor, she invited me to come by for one of their organized tours and asked if I’d take some pictures.

Seeds for sale, refreshments and literature

The tour

Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)

The demo garden is an interpretive garden designed to show the public how native plants can be grown in an urban environment and how they provide much-needed wildlife habitat. It’s a win-win situation because many of the plots being cared for by CNPS volunteers are no longer maintained by family members of the departed.

Woolly Blue curls (Trichostema lanatum) and Bush/Golden Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus)

Many of the garden’s natives are attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, creating a much-needed refuge right off busy Broadway and Riverside. Most of the natives are also extremely drought-tolerant and can exist on natural rainfall once established.

Bee on Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum)

Bird’s nest in a manzanita shrub

Aristolochia californica
Dutchman’s Pipe Vine

Epilobium canum
California fuchsia, Hummingbird Trumpet

Heteromeles arbutifolia
Christmasberry, Toyon, California Holly

Heteromeles arbutifolia ‘Davis Gold’
Yellow Berry Toyon

Gardeners and photographers love the cemetery because not only is it a very restful place– extremely restful… doesn’t get any more restful– it also contains a beautiful Historic Rose Garden, the CNPS Demo Garden and many very tenderly cared for plots exploding with life and color. And there’s history there. And events. It’s actually a pretty happenin’ place.

If you’re interested in Sacramento history, California native plants, or roses, it’s also a great place to volunteer.