Mendo Getaway

Back from a painfully brief 3-night Mendo getaway... didn't plan on any serious picture taking during such a short visit, but I managed to snap a few pics of things that caught my eye on Main Street the day I was leaving. How could I not, faced with the riot of floral color and sense of fun that is Mendocino in springtime. Most of the time, though, I just went with the flow, which this time happened to revolve around shopping, dining, and relaxing. Not that I'm complaining.

Mendocino was experiencing a rare heat wave during our stay. I think it was pushing 90, which for non-air-conditioned businesses, is rough. I joked to our waiter at dinner that, "We're not used to this heat because we're from Sacramento." He paused for a second and said, "That's funny." Actually, we're not used to this kind of heat, this early in the season. We need time to acclimate.

When we left Sacramento on Tuesday, temps were mild. They have been all spring. Upon our return, we suffered through several post 100 degree August-like days. When the heat spell broke, we couldn't really enjoy the milder temps because they were accompanied by a maddening wind that sucked the moisture and good humor out of everything and everyone. Then, finally... clouds and a night of gentle rain. What a refreshing relief. Today, it's cloudy and a cool 63 degrees. My bike ride is postponed until tomorrow, but that's OK. Very bizarre, this thing called weather.


Nice landscaping outside a local Mendo shop.


The flowers, totems, gargoyles and other decorations in this local garden make it very popular with tourists.






A sun with antlers? Sure, why not.


Hey, you can never have too many gargoyles, right?




Envy. Yep, that's what this garden inspires.


Down another little alcove, I spotted this display of driftwood garden art. It must be fairly new because I've never noticed it before. Fun stuff!


That's 707-937-3869.

More late April blooms...

Ah, Spring...






New to the garden... 'Summertime Blueberry' Osteospermum, next to Babiana stricta.


Calandrinia grandiflora... just now starting to bloom. Great plant-- pretty, drought-tolerant, easy to propagate (just pluck a sprig and stick in a pot).


Chinese ground orchids (Bletilla striata)

Bearded Iris

Weeder, the bearded iris you gave me is blooming. Any idea which cultivar it is? Do you remember where you got it? Any bearded iris aficionados recognize this beauty?

'Sunny Sheila' Osteospermum companions

Cloverann got me thinking about plant combos for Osteospermum 'Sunny Sheila'. Whattya think?

Top row: Royal Purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple')

Bottom row (left to right):

• Mexican lobelia (Lobelia laxiflora)
• Siberian Wallflower 'Apricot Delight' (Erysimum x marshallii)
• Osteospermum 'Sunny Sheila'
• Byzantine glad (Gladiolus byzantinus)
• Baboon flower (Babiana stricta)

Good news for nurseries?

Will more people-- of all ages, not just Gen X/Yers nursery consultants are urging nursery owners to woo-- start growing their own food? Gardening? Yup.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the recession
The market's in a slump and America's heyday is long gone. But I've found comfort in being a coupon clipper.
By Heather Havrilesky, Salon.com

Store-bought vs. homemade
Sometimes convenience makes sense -- and can even save cents
By Gwen Schoen - gschoen@sacbee.com, SacBee.com

Bring back the WWII-era victory garden
Philip S. Wenz
Saturday, April 12, 2008, SFGate.com

Saved

Thought I'd pass this along...

You are receiving this because you signed the online petition at
savethecowpalace.com...



Dear Friend of the Cow Palace,

Great news!

The Senate Agricultural Committee today (4/15/08) voted to "approve" SB 1527
with amendments that protect the Cow Palace and most of it's parking lots,
and allow the potential sale of ONLY the 13 acres that the Cow Palace Board
has been working to lease to Daly City from the beginning!

In other words, the Cow Palace is saved and the Senate will continue to work
on lease or sale of 13 acres of the Cow Palace parking lot for a retail
center.

You, along with thousands of others, made your voice heard.
You helped save the Cow Palace!  All 5 Senators were delivered a BOUND copy
of all 2,800 signatures (and your comments!) received by
savethecowpalace.com

Thank you for signing the petition and for everything you did to help!


So, we can breathe a sigh of relief and perhaps write letters of thanks to
the 5 Agriculture committee members, but this is not the end of the issue
forever.

The amended bill has now moved to the Government Organizational Committee.
If the language is not amended again to require a lease of the 13 acres
instead of an outright sale, the Cow Palace will not have enough money over
time to pay for needed upgrades to it's facility and operations.

We will keep you posted and let you know if there is anything else you can
do once we have seen the actual amendment language.

In the meanwhile, say "Yeeee-Haaaaa".

We will continue to communicate about ways to assure a bright future for OUR
Cow Palace.

Spread the word!  If your friends that you tell the good news have signed
the online petition too, they will automatically receive updates as a
"Friend of the Cow Palace".

If they have not signed the petition, please tell them to do so! It will
stay up for a while and will put them on the email list for the ongoing
"Friends of the Cow Palace"!

Thank you again for everything you did to help!

Sincerely,

Kevin

Kevin Patterson
Friends of the Cow Palace
(formerly the Coalition to Save the Cow Palace)
http://www.savethecowpalace.com/
Email: info@savethecowpalace.com
--

Osteospermum 'Nuanza Copper Purple'

During a much-needed plant-fondling trip to Berkeley Hort yesterday, I spied another gorgeous Osteospermum, 'Nuanza Copper Purple', in a planter. It's very reminiscent of 'Sunny Sheila' in its jewel-toned color blend and iridescence, but here purple dominates with just a hint of copper. Didn't take a pic, but here's a link to a pic. None in stock at B.H. that day, unfortunately, but I'll keep my eye out for it locally.

When Weeder and I left Sac, it was downright chilly; bizarrely, Berkeley was experiencing a scorcher! Note to Berkeley... we like you better when we need a sweater.

Fun site: http://www.capedaisy.com/

Osteospermum hybrid Sunny 'Sheila'

I'm still loving Osteospermum hybrid Sunny 'Sheila'. The colors are amazing... much more intense and coppery in person than in photos and the way light plays with the petals is really fun.

Incentive to hand wash the dishes

The secret to growing orchids? A sunny corner kitchen window. This magic orchid-growing window faces south and west. I water every few days with a quick squirt from the kitchen sprayer. For added humidity, the pots sit on pebble-filled drainage trays and I leave the accumulated water.

Every month or so, I rinse off my plants and give them a little liquid orchid food. I believe I've had the same container of orchid food my whole life. I should probably feed these guys more often, but likely won't. I would like to divide them soon; things are getting crowded, especially since I don't tie up my orchids like the pros do.

Hard to see, but on the lower right, my little Tillandsia plant is about to bloom! Other than these, I don't do houseplants.