Re: Misc

In response to Loretta in Fairfax....
 
I'm in San Anselmo, with my backyard bordering on Fairfax. The microclimates are amazing here and it gets rubbed in my face daily since I work in
San Francisco.  Still, I've been able to take advantage of south-facing stucco walls and overhangs in order to grow cold-hardy cultivars of bananas, mountain papayas, guavas, tamarillos,white sapote, et cetera. The foliage on some of these plants do get toasted in a bad freeze but come back in the spring.  Having lived in a temperate zones where almost everything is completely dormant in winter, I find I can live with it. The key is really in the combination of hardy evergreens and tender plants (I'm still working on finding that balance...).
 
Brugsmania...
 
I grew a cutting from a Brugsmania and was disappointed with the lack of fragrance when the first flower bloomed. One of the successive blooms was picked for a flower arrangement and nothing unusual was noticed at first.  By the evening however, the entire house was filled with fragrance.
 
regards,
Richard Wanberg
San Anselmo, CA (San Francisco)
----- Original Message -----
From: l*@home.com
To: m*@ucdavis.edu
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 10:13 AM
Subject: saying hello, (with my new sig file) ;-)

Thank you Tony!
As it says in the sig file, while most of the Bay Area seems to be in a growth splurge right now, my  plants are struggling and clinging to life over here, with great difficulty. Before the last big rain (and snow!) storm, we had nearly a 2 week freeze every single night. In the 20's, frost on the cars in the morning. the whole thing. I believe my angel trumpet is dead, even though I moved it to a more protected place. Lots of little transplants that I put out died, and even some tough plants, like foxglove, have struggled. Lot's of stuff, seedlings, gave up long ago, probably just too early,  now I'm starting things in the house. What drives me crazy is to go just a few miles , usually towards the bay or across a bridge, and see the same stuff just thriving, blooming like crazy. The micro-climate thing here is nothing to be taken lightly. Moving 12 miles north, and inland, from MIll Valley to Fairfax has changed the whole way I garden. It's much harder to grow things here.
Oh well, I guess this is just a whine....
I was quite ill this winter, and am recovering slowly, but doing much better. Thanks to all who emailed me. It meant a lot. I lost track of this group for a while, and now I'm back , and it's great.
Recent threads regarding fragrant plants was interesting. I too had NO fragrance from the giant nicotiana (sylvestrie), and as far as that goes, neither did the Angels Trumpet, when it was in bloom. This summer I'm doing a lot more salvias and agastache's. Go for the butterfiles and hummers.

--
loretta in fairfax
20 miles (as the crow flies)
from the Golden Gate
...where the winters are colder
...and the summers are hot,hot,hot!
 

Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index