Re: Prostanthera Identity/Nursery Availability, and musings on localclimate

david feix wrote:

Hi Moira,

Thanks for the identification of the Prostanthera, I
looked it up in my most comprehensive book on
Australian natives, Australian Native Plants, authors
John Wrigley and Murray Fagg, Reed New Holland
Publishers, ISBN 1 876334 30 4, and didn't recognize
it in any of the 20 or so species listed.  I highly
recommend this book for those interested in Australian
natives, and it can be purchased at San Marcos Growers
Nursery in Santa Barbara for anyone here in
California.
My favourite Ozzie reference is "The Australian Gardener's Wildflower Catalogue" By Denise Greig. This is quite an old publication (1987)but is vey comprehensive with lots of good clear illustrations. It has a good picture of P cuneata which is easily recognisable.


As to lack of popularity of Prostanthera, it has never
been common here, and is rare to see in gardens around
town, but there are more and more species and
cultivars being offered for sale here in northern
California all the time, so someone must be buying
them all. (Or maybe Nevin Smith at Suncrest just has
a major jones for Prostantheras...) Very few shrubs
surpass the most floriferous species for stop you in
your tracks floral display in late spring, although
most species are rather anonymous background shrubs
that get rather too large for small gardens the rest
of the year.
They used to be popular here quite a long time ago, but perhaps others found as I did that they are rather short-lived. Anyway I haven't come across any beng offered for sale in recent years.


Regarding the dumbing down of the nursery industry in
New Zealand, I am glad to say that this is not the
case here in California. We do find this so in the
larger chain nurseries and mass marketers like Home
Depot Stores, but the local independent nurseries here
in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area have
some of the best selection in the state, if not the
world. If anything, it can be a bit overwhelming with
all the choices, and we have specialist nurseries
focusing on old fashioned plants to the most exotic
foreign plants, as well as an everwidening selection
of cultivars and selections of California natives and
appropriate mediterranean species. 
I am certainly envious.


Moira

--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
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