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Bay Area 5: Stanford and Palo Alto

During the final leg of my week-long stay in California, I greatly enjoyed a couple days at Stanford University, which I had never visited before. I was given an hours-long bicycle tour by a fantastic tour guide, and pretty rapidly determined that it is a gorgeous campus:

But, buildings aside, there was another surprise awaiting me: the Arizona Cactus Garden, which is on campus. Turns out it is a hidden treasure–one that not many Stanford students even know exists because it is in a more secluded area, hidden behind a grove of trees. When we arrived, we had the garden to ourselves, with only the occasional lizard and woodpecker to distract our attention from the cacti.

The final treat was a stop in Palo Alto at the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, a lovely oasis full of gorgeous flowers. It was truly a memorable visit.

Tags: architecture, Arizona Cactus Garden, cacti, California, campus, Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, lizard, Neomarica caerulea, Palo Alto, Stanford, Stanford Memorial Church, Stanford University, Sunflower Velvet Queen, Twelve Apostles, Walking Iris

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Categories Architecture/Buildings, Gardens, Travel

Bay Area 4: Tilden Botanic Garden, Berkeley Rose Garden

24 Aug

Gardening enthusiasts and plant lovers are spoiled for choice in Berkeley. Not only can visitors spend days wandering through the UC Botanical Garden, but the city is also home to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden at Tilden, and the famous Rose Garden. What joy!

I wrote about my lovely perambulation through the UC Garden, complete with a “Secret Paths” tour. It was magical. And while the garden at Tilden is smaller and is solely devoted to plants native to California, it is no less enchanting. Here are just a few of the plants that captured my attention: the towering Humboldt Lily (I have never seen lilies that grow so tall–I had to aim upward and zoom in to take the photo), the aptly named Fried Egg Flower (Romneya), and an unknown fern.

We passed by the Berkeley Rose Garden right around lunch time–a hard time of day to take photographs unless there is a bit of shade somewhere–but here is a lovely magenta rose whose name I never discovered, and an overview of the garden itself, which is set amphitheater style into the hillside:

Tags: Berkeley Rose Garden, Fern, Fried Egg Flower, Humboldt Lily, magenta rose, Matilija Poppy, Regional Parks Botanic Garden at Tilden, Romneya

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Categories Gardens, Travel

Photo of the Month: July 2013 (Japanese Holly Fern)

31 Jul

Japanese Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum). Bright green foliage against a dark background, from the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

Tags: Cyrtomium Falcatum, Japanese Holly Fern, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley

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Categories Gardens, Photo of the Month

Bay Area 3: UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley

30 Jul

What is it about botanical gardens or other large, planned gardens that makes them magical places? The kind of place where you can wander in relative silence, revel in the beauty of plants that you have never seen before (or even ones you have seen, though now viewed in a different light), where you can stop and sit on a bench in a hidden spot to soak it all in, or even read, or think? Who designed the spaces, mapped out what types of plants would be featured where, and planned the spots that would lure people and bees and butterflies and birds? They, and the current-day keepers of those gardens, are magicians.

If not already obvious, I love wandering in those kinds of gardens. I like everything about them: the flora, the fauna, the paths and stairs and benches and arches and bridges and streams. The University of California Botanical Garden has many of those features, and is a veritable outdoor museum. It is home to collections of plants from nine major geographic regions around the world, including a large area devoted to California–a biodiversity hotspot that contains more than 40 percent of the world’s plant species. To all this, add special collections including orchids, ferns, cycads, palms, roses, and herbs.

A plant lover could spend days roaming the 34 acres. I only had 5 hours, but I made the best of it; I signed up for a 1.5-hour tour that was being offered (Secret Paths of the Garden), which got me off to a great start via paths less traveled, and then I spent the remaining time wandering to my heart’s content. It really was a magical day.

Here are some of my favorite photos (and plants) from the Garden:

Manzanita Tree Bark

Dudleya Pulverulenta (Chalk Lettuce, Chalk Liveforever)

Encephalartos arenarius (Alexandria cycad)

Opuntia Kuehnrichiana Opuntia microdasys (Polka-dot cactus)

Tags: Alexandria cycad, Bunny Cactus, Bunny Ears Cactus, cactus, California, Chalk Lettuce, Chalk Liveforever, Dudleya Pulverulenta, Encephalartos arenarius, Manzanita Tree Bark, Opuntia Kuehnrichiana, Opuntia microdasys, Polka-dot cactus, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, University of California

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Categories Gardening, Gardens, Travel

Postcard from Montpellier, France: Jardin des Plantes

10 Jun

The second leg of my work trip involved going to Montpellier, France for another round of meetings. I headed there straight from Senegal, which meant I arrived a bit early and could do some sightseeing. Montpellier has many lovely things to see, but I had to prioritize. And truthfully, my heart was set on one main attraction: the Jardin des Plantes–France’s oldest botanic garden, established in 1593 by King Henry IV and managed by the University of Montpellier. Armed with a bottle of water and my camera, I explored every inch of the Garden, spending almost 5 hours there; in fact, I was the first person to arrive that morning. It was so peaceful and beautiful (and a very welcome change from sitting in meetings all day). As the day wore on, people arrived to picnic on grassy areas, read books in shady nooks, and wander around admiring the plants–all in an environment that seemed far removed from the normal bustle of Montpellier life.

Here are a few sights from the Jardin des Plantes: the Garden’s arches, benches, staircases, and pathways; the famous Wish Tree (a phylliria) where lovers leave messages; and a few other plants (a pink Cistus, a spiky Agave stricta Salm-Dyck, and a close-up of the polka-dotted Opuntia microdasys cactus).

Tags: Agave stricta Salm-Dyck, arches, benches, botanic garden, Cistus, France, Jardin des Plantes, letterbox for lovers, Montpellier, Opuntia microdasys, paths, phylliria, pink, rock rose, stairs, Wish Tree

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Categories Gardens, Travel

Photo of the Month: May 2013 (Poppy Bud)

31 May

Red Poppy Bud, unfurling
Montpellier, France: Jardin des Plantes

Tags: bud, France, Jardin des Plantes, Montpellier, opening, photo of the month, poppy, red, unfurling

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Categories Gardens, Photo of the Month

Beyond Flowers

6 Apr

Yesterday, a daffodil finally bloomed in my garden–the very first flower of the season. Because of the cold snaps we have had, the garden is weeks behind schedule. There are buds aplenty, but with only one lone flower, there isn’t a great deal of interest just yet.

So we went to see what was happening at the US Botanic Garden, where the Conservatory was brimming with tropical plants in bloom, and the outdoor gardens featured an assortment of early-spring flowers. As lovely as they all were, I found myself drawn to other parts of the plants–the peeling, ribbed, spiked, thorny, and veined bits.

They reminded me that flowers aren’t the only things that add excitement to a garden: bark, branches, foliage, and many other parts can be just as captivating. Especially when there are no flowers to be had…. And, admittedly, even when there are.

Iris Rhizomes Leaf of the Quinine Tree

Branch of the Madagascan Ocotillo Tree

Bark of the Quiver Tree

Tags: bark, branch, Iris rhizomes, ocotillo tree, Quiver tree, spikes, spiky, thorns, thorny, United States Botanic Garden

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Categories Gardening, Gardens

Japanese Flowering Apricot

16 Mar

Washington DC is gearing up for this year’s Cherry Blossom festival from March 20 to April 14. It is not only an annual celebration of the capital’s famous cherry trees, but also a key indicator that spring might finally be here. The peak bloom period is expected to be March 26-30.

As gorgeous as the cherry blossoms are, there is an equally gorgeous ornamental tree that is in bloom earlier, from January through March, and that can be seen in the relative calm of Maryland’s Brookside Gardens. It is the Japanese Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume), which puts on a quite a show at a fairly monochromatic time of year in the Northern Hemisphere–a time of year when we are all becoming a bit desperate for some color.

Despite its striking beauty, this tree is not as well known in the United States as other ornamental trees, though more nurseries are now stocking it. Aside from the wonderful attribute of being in bloom when almost nothing else is, the tree is also ideal for smaller gardens, since it only gets to about 20-25 feet. I am now sorely tempted to re-evaluate my garden plan.

Tags: Brookside Gardens, cherry blossom festival, deep pink, delicate, fragrant, fuchsia, Japanese Flowering Apricot, magenta, ornamental, Prunus meme, spring, tree, Washington DC, winter

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Categories Gardening, Gardens

Witch Hazel

9 Mar

Until today, I knew next to nothing about Witch Hazel. I had a vague idea it could be found in a bottle at the pharmacy, but thought of it as something from a bygone era, like cod liver oil. Not that it didn’t have its uses –I just wasn’t sure what those uses were….

But an absolutely glorious day propelled me to nearby Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland to see what might be of interest there. Turns out, there was a great deal of interest, not the least of which was Witch Hazel (Hamamelis). As I came around a bend I noticed a tree (ok, technically a very large shrub) with the most delicate, spidery looking flowers on it. It was striking not only because it was in bloom, but because the flowers were almost ethereal. I bent to read the sign beneath and learned it was a Witch Hazel, something I had not see before. But once I saw that one, I noticed many others, in different colors, all equally stunning. I immediately experienced garden envy. Or perhaps garden regret–there is only so much I can pack into my own small garden, and Witch Hazel will just have to be admired from afar.

Below are a few photos of a remarkable plant, the extract of which helps control blemishes, soothe burns (including sunburns and razor burns) and cuts and bruises, relieve insect bites and itchy poison ivy/poison oak, and relieve tired eyes. Now that I know this, I will certainly get some extract from the pharmacy in the near future, but for now I will feast my eyes on the lovely Witch Hazel flowers and feel glad that I learned something new today.

‘Diane’