Spring 2013 San Diego County Garden Events

A hillside butterfly garden on display in the 2012 Clairemont Garden Tour

It is officially Spring and it’s time to think about attending one or more of this season’s garden events. I encourage you to attend a tour and plant sale in your neighborhood or explore a new neighborhood! Here is a list of events for the San Diego county area:

Through May 12: Visit the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, CA – See the Ranunculus flowers bloom in patterns yet unseen in the 15 year history of the event. Cost $11 for adult, $6 for child. Event website

March 22 - 24, Orchid Show at Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley. Event website

April 6, 9 AM to 4 PM San Diego Horticultural Society 25th Annual Garden Tour of seven diverse Poway gardens sponsored by San Diego Home and Garden Magazine. Rumor has it that this is one of the best garden tours in the county. Event website 

April 6 - 7, Southern California Plumeria Cutting Sale at Room 101, Casa del Prado, Balboa Park. This free admission event is a cutting sale (cash and check only) with demonstrators and vendors on hand to offer advice on caring for plumeria. Event website

April 13,  9 AM to 3 PM, Fallbrook Garden Tour displays seven gardens featuring water conservation and native vegetation. Tour begins at Fallbrook Historical Society. Event website

April 20, 9 AM to 12 PM, Point Loma Garden Club Annual Plant Sale at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Event website

April 20 - 21, San Diego Rose Show at Liberty Station, Point Loma. Amateur and expert presentation of roses. Cost is $5 per adult, children under 12 are free. Event website

April 20, 10 AM to 4:30 PM, 8th Annual Encinitas Garden Festival and Tour displays eighteen gardens focusing on the use of space. Gardening Sale and exhibitions will take place as well. Event Website

 April 21,  2 PM, 11th Annual Seaside Native Plant Garden Tour, St. Mary's School, Oceanside. Tour will showcase eighteen front yard gardens that focus on native plants. Event website

April 27, 10 AM to 4 PM, 12th Annual Point Loma Garden Walk will feature ten neighborhood gardens and a large plant sale. Event Website

April 27, 9 AM to 3 PM, Friends of East County 18th Annual Garden Tour features six gardens and a craft show. Event website

April 27, 9 AM to 3 PM, 6th Annual Ramona Garden Club Tour and Sale, Ramona Library. This tour will feature six gardens and a large Plant Sale. Event website

April 27,  9 AM to 4 PM, 19th Annual Spring Garden Festival, Cuyamaca College. Learn about urban farming and sustainability. Loads of activities for all ages and gardening skill levels. Please review website because there is some discrepancy between on-line resources of the actual date. Some sites say April 27, others April 28. Event Website

May 4, 10 AM to 4 PM, Clairemont Garden Tour. This 17th Annual event features twelve homes in Clairemont, Bay Park, and Bay Ho. Check out the cool gardens in central San Diego, in the neighborhood I call home! Event website

May 4, Master Gardener Spring Seminar, County of San Diego Operation Center, Kearney Mesa. Take a class from the San Diego Master Gardeners, view demonstrations, and purchase items at the garden market place. Event Website

May 11, 10 AM to 4 PM, Mission Hills Garden Club Walk, Mission Hills Nursery. One of the most highly regarded garden tours in the county in the area of historic Mission Hills. Information is currently forthcoming on garden club website.

May 18, 10 AM to 4 PM, 15th Annual Secret Garden Tour, La Jolla and Muirlands features six secluded, old-growth gardens. The garden locations are a tightly maintained secret until the day of the tour. Event website

May 18, San Diego Floral Association Historic Garden Tour  and Plant Sale will showcase eight gardens in the eclectic and historic neighborhoods of Burlingame and North Park. Event Website

Take a stroll through the garden gate - you'll never know what you'll find!

In Fear of the Deep Freeze

Plumeria lose there leaves in winter

The last few nights, we have experienced bitterly cold temperatures, the mercury dipping low enough to create ice that has caked car windows and the tops of flat-roofed buildings. While the temperatures have been uncomfortably cold for us, Hubby and I declare a four cat night and toss a heating blanket on the bed and are none the worse for wear. The real danger is not to us, but to the tropical and some subtropical plants that call our garden (and many neighboring gardens) home. 

The last time we had such a cold snap was in early 2007; that cold nearly killed my beloved plumeria. The green wood of plumeria is very susceptible to cold; should the water in the green wood freeze, that stem will shrivel up and die. The rot will continue down the stem of the plant until a caretaker cuts off the dead portion. Many plumeria died in the 2007 cold snap, and mine were reduced from over six feet tall to little more than stumps. Luckily, the stumps survived and lived to produce new branches. Gardeners must take action to protect frost sensitive plants when temperatures dip to 39 F and below.

The solutions are simple, but are sometimes a gamble in terms of ensuring the survival of the plants. If tender tropical and sub-tropicals are in pots, move them into a garage or shed so that the frost cannot touch them. Papi Tomato employs this tactic, moving all his plumeria (cuttings from my plants!), orchids and cymbidiums into his garage/ studio. This is the best bet for saving your plants. However, If you are unable to move the plants (planted in the ground like my plumeria) or do not have space to bring them into the garage, cover plants with swaths of burlap before the sun sets. I like to cover the plumeria by four PM. The idea is to try to capture as much warmth as possible before the sun sets. Remove the burlap the following morning and check for damage. Amputate frost damaged stems and branches so the rot does not travel toward the heart of the plant. Repeat plant coverage until temperatures increase and frost is no longer in the forecast.

Temperatures should hopefully increase in the next day or two, hopefully before there is widespread damage to the California citrus crop.

*Frost can damage or kill plumeria, orchids, cymbidiums, bananas, citrus, warm weather vegetables, fuchsia and many others. Please do your research and protect your delicate plants!

A Little Privacy Please

I live on a busy street and contend with need to establish privacy without appearing unwelcoming. In research process of my privacy project, I found inspiration in a beautifully illustrated gardening book, Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat, by Marty Wingate.  The author addresses garden intrusion in many forms, but I will be focusing on the privacy needs of my front and side yard gardens.

Solution 1: Buffers

Pride of Madeira cover up the unwanted view of alley.

Buffers help the homeowners avoid seeing things they don’t want to see or hearing things they don’t want to hear. When we bought our home, our three established plumerias acted as a buffer between our property and our neighbor’s property to the west. They also buffer some of the road noise and the road dust that blows toward the house on that side. The east side of our home had no such buffer. Approximately 2 years ago, Hubby planted a half dozen Pride of Madeira along the east side of our yard to buffer traffic noise and dust from the alley that runs along that side of our property.  With the plumerias on the west and the Pride of Madeira on the east, we informally established the boundaries of our property and removed the site lines directly into our neighbor’s yard and the alley. 

Solution 2: Barriers

Japanese variegated mock orange non-hedge

Barriers can be a touchy subject. On one hand, the homeowners want exclusivity, but do not want to appear unwelcoming to their guests and neighbors. Fences are the logical choice and there are a wealth of materials, heights, and styles to accommodate any garden. However, fencing is expensive and must comply with city codes and HOA restrictions. My solution to the expense of fencing was a hedgerow of my favorite shrub, Japanese variegated mock orange. Hubby indulged my whim in removing the kangaroo paws, succulents, and tea trees from the beds facing the sidewalk. The mock orange will create a lovely barrier to digging (and pooping) dogs, plumeria pickers, and road dust and debris . . . once they grow.  Mock orange have a slow to moderate rate of growth compared to other options, but I insisted on this plant because I love the bright appearance and the gorgeous fragrance their blooms release starting in February.  For now, I am stuck waiting for the individual plants to grow into a hedge and create the barrier I desire.

Solution 3: Screens

Fourth of July are climbing roses that will make good screens.

Screens are an ideal means to provide partial coverage but retain accessibility. I would love to create a screen of sorts that covers the garbage and recycling cans we keep on the east side of the front yard, but I have yet to devise a cost effective solution that works for the space. I have also contemplated creating a jasmine trellis to enclose the north side of the backyard patio. I am unsure if I want to create division in that part of the garden, but I would love to cover the compost container.  Lastly, Hubby and I would like to screen our cinder block wall near our fruit trees with Fourth of July Roses. Thorns will be a good barrier to incursion, but be prepared to deal with them effectively. Thorn plants are not good choices for families with children and inquisitive dogs, and there is much care involved in thorn plants so they do not become unruly. Word to the wise: Always do your research!

Good barriers make for better security, vistas, sounds, and ultimately, better peace of mind. The key is to complete these privacy modifications in an esthetically pleasing way that hopefully impresses the neighbors and guests without appearing unwelcoming. To better address your privacy needs, I recommend reading Landscaping for Privacy as a starting point for ideas and an extensive plant list that will accommodate all North American climates.

Pilfered Plumeria!

I sincerely believe that gardeners are generous folk. We love to share big, beefsteak tomatoes with our co-workers, succulent cuttings with our neighbors, and dried herbs with our friends. Need gardening tips or help? Please ask! We’d love to lend a hand or provide you with experienced insight! We have a wealth of intellectual and material resources and our well-being grows every time we share it.

But please, oh please, do not take from our private gardens without permission! Yes, it may seem like there is plenty to go around. But unthinking scavengers may not understand that certain resources may be specifically earmarked for other people or other endeavors. Even worse, ripping, tearing, or pulling on delicate plants can be very harmful or lethal!

Deliberate cuts were made on the right and left side of the plant.

On Thursday morning, I pulled out of my driveway and as I drove past my front yard, I noticed that my plumeria closest to the street was missing two large branches! I pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the damage. This was not a simple break of small fingerling limbs I have experienced in the past. Some ne had very deliberately sawed off two large branches that would have yielded approximately a dozen cuttings!* I was furious, just flat out spitting mad! I glowered in my office with my door shut until mid-morning, hoping that no poor, hapless co-worker had the misfortune to walk through my door.

Someone thoughtlessly broke this branch by hand.

After I got over my anger, I felt hurt. I have been very generous offering cuttings to my neighbors. I handed out cuttings to visitors when I participated in the Clairemont Garden Tour in 2010. When I trim my plumeria, I leave a bucket of cuttings in the driveway for passers-by to take. I love giving thank-you plumeria cuttings to my co-workers in appreciation for all the ways they support me and our company. These thieves took branches I had earmarked as “thank you cuttings.” They stole, not understanding that those cuttings were meant for someone else. Plumeria cuttings are a hot commodity and can earn between five dollars and thirty dollars (and up!) per cutting depending on the kind and quality. If I make a conservative estimate that my twelve cuttings were worth ten dollars apiece, the thieves stole $120.00 worth of product from me. 

More damage to green wood

I sadly feel a whole lot less generous than I did previously about sharing my plumeria cuttings.  I even contemplated installing a vinyl privacy fence. Barriers may deter the thoughtless pilferer, but they will not stop a determined thief. I don’t want to be one of those crotchety neighbors constantly screaming, “Get off my lawn!” But I would like some privacy and respect for my property, especially when I have been so generous in the past. If you would like a cutting or a piece of fruit, please knock on my door and ask. Chances are, I’ll say yes. If I don’t, then you need to respect my answer and understand that I have my reasons for refusing. 

We are very tempting, especially in our gorgeous, late fall bloom, but please leave us alone!

 *Plumeria plants are propagated by removing a small portion of green wood called a cutting. Cuttings can then be planted, and with proper care, will grow into another plumeria plant.

September Bloomday

As we head towards true fall, the garden continues to both burst with color and begins to fade into the obscurity of impending winter. My list of garden clean-up chores from last post is nearing completion. I am so excited to have a guest blogger recruited to carry the torch of garden writing while I recover from foot surgery. Look for his posts towards the end of September!

All my tomatoes are gone, except for the cherry and Sprite plants. I don't even like cherry tomatoes; I grow them to give away to Hubby's co-workers. They can't get enough of them; it is such a simple thing to garner such good will.

The lantanas are attracting the Monarch Butterflies, but I wish there were more of them stopping by. Time to plant a true butterfly garden?

The final surge of rose blooms

Coleus, cool season greens, and lemon verbena

More Plumeria - I know I always include the plumeria, but I am so proud of it. I have never seem such specimens in any other private garden. I know that the former home owner, Mildred, used to sell their cuttings to people as far away as Japan! 

I consider the plumeria good luck and their scent reminds me of a dear fried who has passed from this earth. I miss you, Jack: I know you are swimming to the quarter mile buoy in the next reality.