Summer plantings in a balmy Bay Area Garden

I thought I might do one of the rambling  essays I used to compose about what is going on in the garden(s) I work in, dealing with the joys of summer in such a balmy gardening climate(San Francisco Bay Area), but dealing less with politically correct summer dormant/drought tolerant plantings and more with the various tender cloudforest subtropicals that also do so well here.  So if you'd like a virtual walk through such a setting, greatly influenced by trips to Mexico and long note taking walks through by UC Berkeley and San Francisco Botanical Gardens and their cloud forest sections, read on...

I've been meditating on the special joys of working on gardens here in the cooler parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, knowing that most everywhere else it would be hot and miserable to be spending all day outside working in the garden.  I first started working in this Oakland Hills garden and fantasy Hollywood Hills looking home,  and designing new parts of it about 8 years ago now, and appreciate it more and more every year as it comes into its own.  The house and garden were already distinctive with large mature plantings before I even touched it, with many large specimen Agave americana, Opuntia that were over 15 feet tall, lots of Yucca gloriosa as a screen from the street, etc.  Over the years, I have added both sun/drought tolerant plantings such as Protea 'Pink Ice', Leucospermum cordifolium, Isopogon formosus, Anigozanthus 'Harmony', Erythrina x bidwillii, Calandrinia grandiflora, Agave bracteosa and Agave celsii for the sunnier areas near
 the
 street, in combination with two specimen Chorisia speciosa underplanted with Cotyledon orbiculata v. orbiculata, which are so incredibly showy in full bloom this time of year.  

I have just finished up doing some rehabbing of this long term client's garden, and have really enjoyed being able to add some new plants to the mix.  Finally I have decided to plant out some rarer things I've had parked in my driveway/nursery such as blooming Helmholtzia glaberimma which will keep in bloom for up to 6 months here, in combination with some of our native giant Elk Clover, Aralia californica which are finally starting to bulk up after 3 years growing on from seed, in combination with  an understory of Asparagus densiflorua 'Meyers' to plug some holes in a deeply shaded hillside slope screened from the street by mature Mexican Weeping Bamboo, and already full of mass ground cover plantings of Acanthus spinossimus, Aeonium canariense subplanum, Oxalis spiralis volcanicola(virtually everblooming here), Trachelospermum jasminoides in mass and massive full bloom, all bordered by Bergenia crassifolia at the lawn's edge.  In the same garden, I
 also finally yanked out some rather dull, always thrip infested/original to the house Rhododendrons and replaced them with a blooming Deppia splendens, a 10 foot tall clump of Chamaedorea plumosa, Carex baccans, Actnistis australis blue form, and an understory of various Vreisea and Neoregelia bromeliads to join in with the 20 foot tall existing Cyathea cooperi and its understory of Dicksonia fibrosa.  It was also fun to use some new to me plants for containers at the front steps; combining Stromanthe sanguinea with a variegated Trachelospermum asiaticum with its yellow/pink and green trailing foliage, playing off other pots with dark maroon foliaged Nidularium innocentii, Strobilanthes dyerana, and Neoregelia cruenta with some contrasting mini yellow blooming hybrid Guzmania bromeliads, all draped at the pot rims with various Rhipsalis species.  As this entry is glimpsed through the foliage from the street above, and has wonderful stone steps and tile
 work on the risers, I like to keep the entry interesting and colorful with year round foliage at all seasons, and the bromeliads in particular work well in this respect, as they keep their color for up to 2 years before I replace them with new ones. 

On the rear terrace of this house, I had a chance to refresh various container plantings with new Dioon edule, Zamia floridana, Dioon spinulossimum, a nice 6 foot tall blooming Juanulloa aurantiaca, blooming Begonia sutherlandii to join with the 8 foot tall Begonia 'Paul Hernandez' and cane type Begonia 'Little Prince William' with the beautifully mottled pewter and bronze leaves, along with the golden haired over a silver foliage leaf of some Strobilanthes gossipinus in combination with Persian Shield/Strobilanthes dyerana, again in combination with various colorful bromeliads of mostly Vreieseas, Alcantareas, Neoregelias and my favorite at the moment, the Matchstick Bromeliad/Aechmea gamosepala in full bloom.  I also added some potted Mandevilla Sun Parasol Giant Crimson vines(a new selection with extra large velvety ruby flowers, so much more interesting than the old pink Alice DuPont),  to twine amongst the wrought iron balcony railings in
 combination with the existing blooming Bomaria caldasii which must have 2 dozen flower clusters getting ready to bloom.  Other pots on this terrace already had some succulents such as Aloe plicatilis, various Echeverias,  Cereus peruvianus, Kalanchoe pumila and Golden Barrel Cactus in the sunniest corner, contrasting with the more shade loving Kentia palms, a multi-trunked pot of Chamaedorea tepelijote and Monstera deliciosa, and all backed at the back side of the terrace by an arching veranda covered with Bougainvillea 'Barbara Karst' interplanted with Clytostoma callistegioides.   For fragrance in the garden, there are already a large existing Navel orange, a potted Meyer lemon, and some extravagantly huge Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' which never stop blooming in this garden and are at least 25 feet tall.  Other things added for fragrance include purple Heliotrope in the pots.  Other tropical appearing elements in the garden are the 30 foot
 tall
 clumping Strelitzia nicholai to either side of a large spanish tiled wall fountain and small pool and patio, the various Strelitzia reginae spread around the garden in combination with more Foxtail Asparagus ferns, Alpinia zerumbet variegata, large clumps of the yellow Clivia miniata, Abutilons, the tall ferny Asparagus retrofractus to 8 foot tall, and variegated yellow and  green Aucuba japonica, chartreuse foliaged Choysia ternata 'Sundance', Heliconia scheideana, purple leafed Ageratum corymbosa, and Illicium floridanum, and ground cover of Black Mondo Grass and Mentha requenii.  Some Archontophoenix cunninghamiana palms that were first added about 8 years ago when the fountain/patio at the lowest garden were added, are now reaching up to 25 feet tall with their perfect deep green arching fronds, which a robin has nested upon and is currently raising her brood, and close enough to the veranda and stairs down to the lower garden that one can see into
 the nest just 6 feet away.  I particularly enjoy the spring blooms of the added Tabebuia chrysotricha tree and the large tropical foliage and blooms of the Bartlettina sordidum off the back side of the house, which stand out against the deep green of the background Pittosporum undulatum. 

It was also a joy the other day to see a family of Quail and babies wander into the garden as we were working, and the baby quail had gotten stuck on the stairs down from the street, and could not jump/fly/hop up the steps.  One of my helpers quickly scooped them up and placed them back into the planted slopes adjacent.  I marveled at this, as I so rarely see any Quail locally.  While elsewhere around the country it is most likely hot or muggy, it is almost always pleasant in this hillside garden high up in the hills of Oakland, surrounded by 100 year old Monterey Pines, Monterey Cypresses, Deodar Cedars and mature Phoenix canarienses, along with a forest of fragrant Pittosporum undulatum trees that nicely shade the whole garden with dappled shade and keep it balmy.  Summer is my favorite time to be in this garden when it best achieves the look of endless summer of a tropical high elevation retreat, surrounding a rambling 3 story spanish
 hacienda/Hollywood hills style home as it steps down the fairly steep lot which has been terraced to create some flat garden areas.  In the 1920's, this home was one of the original houses in the neighborhood, and contained over 8 acres of gardens, now down to 1/2 an acre.  The location was so isolated, that it was used as a speakeasy during prohibition, and who knows what all went on there.  I love the various terraces, verandas, balconies that over look the various parts of the garden and give it such a great connection to views of the garden from the various levels.  It also feels special because the gardens give a glimpse of themselves from the street high above, yet are so private and self contained once inside them.   It is also wonderful to have clients that appreciate what they have, and also enjoy tweaking it occasionally to keep it fresh.  It was only after I finished installing all the various new plantings that I realized how many of
 these
 plants all came from southern Mexico, and in particular Oaxaca, where my clients like to vacation, and I had also seen some of these plants in habitat.  As it is tough right now taking overseas vacations when new garden design work is more limited, being surrounded by the plants I love to visit is a nice alternative...
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