Xeriscape Ninjas

Huntington Library's Bonsai-a-Thon

2012-02-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

We just went to the Huntington Library's Bonsai-a-Thon event with a couple of friends this Saturday. There was a bazaar where you can buy trees of all kinds, tools, pots, and books at decent prices. There were how to workshops which filled up too fast for me to get into. I thought there was going to be a bigger exhibit but there was only a small room with about a dozen trees. They have a much nicer collection in their Japanese Garden which is still in construction, scheduled for reopening in April this year.

I actually took more photos of the Suiseki stones than I did of Bonsai. This little stone below was $600-$650 and is just a little bit bigger than my fist. It was my favorite stone there.

These were nice too but probably out of my budget.

After the event, I felt a little inspired so I went to a nursery near there and bought four stones for $17 total. I'm not sure what makes a stone $3 versus $600. Maybe I will find out one day. The first two stones are about half fist size, the bottom two are fist size.

I also went home and turned a gift Nana Juniper from last year that was in the form of a house plant into a semi-cascade style bonsai. This is how it looked like when I received it last March.

This is it in a growing pot. I'm going to let this grow for a while without wiring it just yet.

Succulent frame for vertical gardening

2012-02-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

I helped my wife create this beauty. Our idea was to make a piece of vertical gardening succulent frame that would excite the sense of touch. Therefore, we selected a few fuzzy looking succulents such as the Doris Taylor Echeverias. The main theme in this arrangement is symmetry and repetition. Simplicity in it's formal design, the final result came out quite nice.

Here's a nice close up of the Doris Taylor Echeveria.

Here's a shot of it next to the first one I made to see how it looks as a pair. The first frame has plenty of healthy looking new growth and is ready to hang on the wall. I will wait another month before hanging both of them up in our courtyard.

To read how we created these frames. See our previous posts by clicking below.
DIY Tutorial: Succulent Frame for Vertical Display!
Vertical Succulent Frame DIY Tutorial part 2

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Succulent strawberry pot planting

2011-11-14T00:59:00.001-08:00

I planted my first succulent strawberry pot today. To keep the weight light weight, I filled a large volume of the space with a 12" tall piece of PVC pipe with a cap on top. I used a circular saw to cut a longer piece of pipe down to fit the pot, making it 6" shorter than the top of the pot.

The drainage hole in the pot is big enough but if I put this pvc pipe in and water it, the water can't access the hole if I water the side pockets. Only the planting on top will have access to the only drainage hole. So I cut notches in the bottom with my dremel tool so that.

Here's the pot with the finished pcv pipe.

It took me an hour and a half to plant a couple of different types of sempervivums and echeveria elegans into the side pockets using my cactus mix.

I put a thin layer of 1/4" red lava rock on top of the plastic cover so that the soil for the top planting would not fall through the openings.

It took me about 2 hours from beginning to finish. I used the 1/4" red lava rock as a topping to fill in the gaps. In time the succulents will fill in that space and cover up the topping but for now, I'll give it some room to grow. Here is another side of the planting.

The finished pot is still heavy but considerable lighter than it would have been had I filled the whole thing with soil. This pot will be a nice addition to our container garden! :D

Potting Queen Victoria Reginae Agave

2011-11-12T22:46:00.001-08:00

I bought two of these Queen Victoria Reginae Agaves for $20 each by luck. They are not in pristine condition but still very acceptable for the price. They are about 9" wide each. They are extremely slow growing so they usually sell for much more. These agaves are known for their beautiful spherical symmetry. When they are under-watered, they maintain a compact form which looks nicer than the open form. I potted both of them tonight so I will share my notes on how I did that. Since they have a spherical form, I decided that the best pot shape should repeat this form. The color of the leaves are dark so I want to contrast the plant against a light colored pot. I wanted an understated pot so that it would not draw attention away from the plant.

I bought two terracotta pots for $7.50 each. These agaves like a well draining cactus mix so the first thing I did was use a diamond circular cutting bit to cut a bigger drainage hole. I bought this bit at Home Depot a while back to cut through tile. The hole is now 1" wide and it will improve drainage a lot.

Next, I put a plastic piece of screen to keep the soil from spilling out. If the pot had raised feet, I would wire it in but since it doesn't, I'll just let the soil hold it down.

I line the bottom inch with a drainage layer of 1/4" red lava rock. This will hold the screen down, add weight to the pot so it will be less likely to fall over, and improve drainage.

My cactus mix consists of 40% Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix and 60% perlite. I believe in the "more white than brown" rule because it will help prevent over-watering. Sometimes when it rains and the pot is exposed, you can just leave it there if your soil is fast draining like mine is. As long as it doesn't rain for several days continuously, the plant should be just fine. I'm in Los Angeles so we're not known to receive much precipitation but still... You never know. The last thing you want to worry about is root rot.

I removed most of the old soil from the plant's nursery pot. The roots looks mostly healthy, I only removed a few loose, dead roots. I left a little bit of the old soil near the base of the plant on it. I did not do any root pruning because I don't think it is necessary yet and it will fit in the new container just fine the way it is.

After packing the soil in around the roots and filling in the gaps, I made sure that it was as centered and upright positioned as possible. I used 1/4" California Gold gravel as a topping. This gravel is gold and turns into a deep orange when wet. It preserves the contrast between the pot and the plant which is nice and looks natural.

I am very happy with how these turned out.

Keep an eye out because sometimes you can find great bargains on plants and pots. If you fall in love with a plant immediately, be patient and don't buy it right away because you might be able to buy it elsewhere for much cheaper. I've seen these plants in this 9" size sell for over $100 each at another nursery before. These two are not in perfect condition because some of the leaf tips are a bit dinged but nothing major. However my total cost minus the soil and topping was only about $60 including tax.

Vertical Succulent Frame DIY Tutorial part 2

2011-10-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

This is part two of my Succulent Frame project. "It's all about the details." is what one of my great bonsai teachers told me. I will be covering the types of plants I used, construction details, and how to apply design concepts for the succulent arrangement.

This is an update with details from my vertical succulent frame DIY tutorial in the last post.

Specific plant names that were used include:

Aeonium Zwartkop

Anglicum Sedum

Echeveria Peacockii

My apologies for not knowing exactly what Sempervivum I used because there was no label on it ...

... but there are tons of them and most of them are very well suited to be used in these vertical succulent frames. Here is an example of several different kinds₁:

Sedum Makinoi 'Ogon'

and lastly but not least is Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg

Construction Details

This is the back side of the frame without the cement board covering it. This shows the rot proof heartwood spacer nailed to the sides. The cement board will sit directly on top of these spacers. This is an easy way to make an edge for the cement board to sit on without using a router. The backing board is cement board normally used for a support under tiling projects in the kitchen or bath room. This type of board will not rot or deteriorate when exposed to water.

Here you can see the galvanized L-Brackets I used to attach the side wall to the back of the frame. I also used a waterproof wood glue between the side wall and frame. If you look closely, you will see a staple holding the green plastic coated hardware cloth.

Using a compressor and pneumatic staple gun, I put a staple spaced about every 3" apart all the way around the edge of the hardware cloth. The wood frame is sealed with three coats of an outdoor grade decking wood sealer.

After that, you put the cement board on top. Pre-drill the holes into the cement board before you put the screws in. I used hardiebacker screws designed for the cement board here. They come with a specific screwdriver bit.

Every cutting fitted in between the 1/2" openings in the hardware cloth except for the Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg. I had to cut a bigger opening to fit the stem in. Notice the four sharp edges of the wire pointing towards the center of the opening. This might bite into the stem and that's not good. The black item above is a short section of 1/4" polytube drip line. Here's what you do with it...

Cut a slit on one side of the tube with a pair of pointy scissors. Then wrap it around all four sides of the opening. This will protect the sharp wire points from biting into the stem of your larger stems.

Design!

Most people think too hard and confuse themselves or have no clue where to put what. Some people just randomly put plants wherever they land. As for me, I like to apply design techniques because I learned them really well. Here's what the final arrangement looks like so you can see it before I draw over it to demonstrate how I applied design concepts:

Use a basic shape for example:

Three Perle von Nurnberg Echeverias represent pinks and purples form a triangle. :)

I placed Sedum Makinoi 'Ogon' along in a C shaped curve. This curve brings the bright yellows into the composition.

I arranged the Sempervivums in a S-Curve. These basic curves create an organic element to design and are very elegant. They are a good contrast against straight edged shapes. Speaking of contrast , the magic word...

Our vision scientifically tends to get drawn into areas with the highest contrast. This means as a designer, you can create contrast to guide your viewer's eyes! Where this red circled area is, I placed the highest tonal contrast putting the dark deep shiny purple Aeonium Zwartkop rosettes next to the chalky white Echeveria Peacockii. There is also a color contrast since Sedum Makinoi 'Ogon' is yellowish and surrounds the deep purple Aeonium Zwartkop.

Next in my mind is size, color, and texture contrast in this area under the blue circle. The largest succulent is the Echeveria Perle von nurnberg which is placed next to tiny strands of Anglicum sedum. Again, Sedum Makinoi 'Ogon' the yellow is placed next to the purples in the Echeveria Perle von nurnberg to provide a color contrast in addition to size contrast. And finally, the rough textures of the Sedum sets it apart from the large smooth petals on the Echeveria.

Click here to see the high resolution image of the final arrangement.

I think if you can use a few of these ideas in your designs, you will create a more well balanced, thought out, and harmoniously composed arrangement. I hope this will help you fellow succulent lovers out there. Good luck and don't forget to have fun while you work!

_{1. Image Source: https://www.simplysucculents.com/}

DIY Tutorial: Succulent Frame for Vertical Display!

2011-10-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my "how to build a vertical succulent frame and make a succulent arrangement" tutorial.

This is actually the first vertical succulent frame that I made complete with a plant arrangement.

The size is 20" x 16". The top frame is a 1" wide by 1/2" tall custom frame that i sealed with three coats of wood sealer a while ago.

I joined another wood frame using a 2" wide canvas stretcher bars to build a depth for the box to contain the soil. The two frames were combined to make a 2" deep box using rust free metal L-brackets and some waterproof glue.

A piece of hardware cloth (wire mesh) coated with a green plastic was cut a couple of inches bigger than the size of the frame opening so that I can cut out the four corners and fold the sides parallel to the box wall. I stapled to the folded sides of the hardware cloth to the side of the frame. The backing board is cement board normally used for a support under tiling projects in the kitchen or bath room. The board is screwed on to the back of the frame using rust free screws designed for the cement board. If you're handy with a router you can cut a rabbit to hide the side edge of the cement board.

You can see a little of the details in the frame I used here. I thought about drilling some drainage holes in the back but decided that it probably won't matter much. The soil is a mixture of 50% cactus mix and 50% perlite. Cactus mix already has perlite or pumice depending on which kind you buy but I like adding more perlite because it improves drainage and keeps the mix light weight which is important since we will eventually hang this vertically.

I pack the soil in with a chopstick and covered it with green sphagum moss. This holds the soil in and fills the surface with a nice green color which will fill in any areas that are left open in between the succulents. You can see that the moss really holds the soil in when you stand it up.

I wanted to make this succulent arrangement for my wife. She likes pinks and purples and floral shapes so I decided to go with that color scheme and use yellow as a complimentary color to make accents. The most affordable succulents I found were actually from The Home Depot. For pinks and purples, I used three Echeveria 'Perle Von Nurnberg' in a triangle shape'. The little green succulents on the bottom right is a kind of Sempervivum. For yellow, my plan was to use Ogon. Then the plan was to cover the rest of the frame with a ground cover Sedum. I left the plants in their little pots and roughly arranged them here using the idea of applying S-curves and or C-curves in groups of plants. You need tweezers and a steady hand to plant these little succulents.

It took me about three hours to remove all the soil from the plant containers, and plant everything. I decided to use a few Aeonium Zwartkops (Dark Prince) that are almost black with a deep purple sheen to add a bit of drama. The planting process is tedious but not difficult. Just remember to be patient and enjoy the process since you are making a masterpiece ;).

Here she is! I misted the surface only to take a nice photo. However, I will not water this for a week so that the cuttings have time to heal and form callouses. Now we will keep this in the shade and flat on a table for 3-6 months until every cutting is rooted into the soil. Once the succulents are rooted, they will not be easily pulled out of the frame. At that point, I will attach a couple of wall hangers and hang it up in our courtyard! In the mean time, we will enjoy it flat on a table for a while. Here is a high resolution image if you want to take a closer look!

California Cactus Center Nursery, Pasadena, CA

2011-09-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

California Cactus Center is an awesome nursery in Pasadena. Their nursery is organized and clean. It's a good idea if you're a succulent lover to take a day to visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens Desert Garden before you visit CCC to get some ideas on how you can design your residential xeriscape! However if you aren't sure if a plant is okay to use in landscaping, the friendly staff members will be happy to answer all of your questions.

There selection of succulents is gigantic here, but why not buy something you can't buy at your local Home Depot or Lowes? Like this Aloe ramossissima. :)

I was afraid to ask them how much some of the plants were because I think their prices are on the high side. Perhaps there is a high demand for succulents and cacti in the area and people in the local neighborhood have deep pockets. Nevertheless, this is a great place to get some inspiration for succulent dish gardens. We love succulents because they offer a very wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Look at this nice Discorea elephantipes:

They sold a couple of these plants that were a small fist size for $99 each. The cauldex has fissured textures and makes you just want to touch it. This guy will grow a vine, which sometimes people may consider putting it near a trellis so that it can climb up. This is very slow growing so big ones are very expensive if someone is willing to sell them.

The plant below is called Euphorbia lactea variegata. Now, I take it back. On your lucky day, you may be able to find this at Home Depot for a very reasonable price. Keep your eyes peeled. This plant is a beautiful organic modern sculpture built by nature. It looks very much like a piece of sea coral.

You can buy this at Home Depot but I just included it just for kicks. This funny cactus is called Old Man of the Mountains (not to be confused with Old man of the Andes which is more green with curvy spines). The rest is up to your own interpretation. ;)

Try to say this ten times fast, "Operculicarya decaryi", from a 3/4 top view.

Now we are getting into a controversial area in the subject of Bonsai. There is a term coined by Rudy Lime called S.M.O.L.A. which stands for succulents as a medium of living art, which brings us to a very interesting subject matter. This is a recent phenomenon that can be called "American Bonsai." The good news is that if you forget to water any of these succulent Bonsai for a couple of days, they will be A Okay! In fact some prefer to be watered very little compared to traditional Bonsai in a well draining soil. This is great news for Southern Californians. The tiny leaves make this awesome plant look like a giant tree! Here is a side view:

The word "caudiciform" simply means large form. These plants are also sometimes called "fat plants". Some are very slow growing and some aren't. I will now bombard you with one of my favorite caudiciforms called Fockea crispa and Fockea edulis.

These plants are rare so they are quite expensive! I love the outer-worldly look of these plants and their movement. I had to haggle the price down so that I could afford to buy a couple small ones shown below. The awesome thing about CCC is that if you buy a pot and plant, they offer to pot it for you free of charge or if you feel inclined, you can do it yourself right there at their potting station, which is what I did.

Fockea crispa looks the same as Fockea edulis except the edges of it's leaves are wavy. Fockea edulis is considered to be the more rare plant. CCC also has very nice pots, rocks, and toppings to dress your arrangement up. Don't forget that the plant will take the shape of the pot over time so if you want a wide bodied plant, put it in a wide pot. If you want it to grow the body downwards more, put it in a deeper pot. Each time your re-pot these guys (each year or two), you can raise them a little bit to show off more of the fat body. If you tilt the planting angle at every planting, eventually you can end up with a "reclining nude" style. Take that traditional Bonsai! :) It's fun isn't it?

Overall, whether you buy something special or not, this place is definitely worth a visit because of their wonderful succulent Bonsai displays and rare plants. To be honest, if you do plan to buy something, I recommend that you know what your Home Depot and Lowes stocks so that you don't pay premium for common succulents. Do your homework and save more money!

Cactus Jungle Nursery

2011-09-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

We visited what I think is the largest supplier of succulents in Berkley, CA in the Bay area, called Cactus Jungle on September 3rd, 2011.

The weather up there is much cooler than in Los Angeles especially in the Valley. The staff members were very nice and friendly. They had a couple of dogs under blankets that were also very friendly and well behaved.

The nursery is small but very very clean, extremely organized, and had a very good selection of plants. There were some nice little displays of terrarium containers, hanging baskets, air plants, and sand to decorate them with. We loved this little ornamental house with the succulent roof display.

They had some bigger stuff like these agaves, and both column and barrel cacti. One thing I wish I took a picture of is the Dr. Hurd Manzanitas they had. It was quite nice. I wasn't expecting it but they have veggie and herb garden plants there also.

I was very happy to see that Momma Lim had a very pleasant visit. She bought this iceplant with purple flowers and was very excited about it.

There was also a nice little room with rare plants including aloe dichotoma, adenium obesum (dessert roses), Cyphostemma juttae (the desert grape which I resisted buying) and several others. I bought a trichodiadema bulbosum in a tiny 2.5" container for $6.95. I think it will take several years before I will be able to see any raised roots. It will make an interesting little succulent Bonsai in the future.

It's interesting because with the weather being much cooler and more humid up there, I don't think they have to water nearly as much as where we are in L.A. When it rains hard, they might have to cover the cactus up to prevent root rot. It was a very nice nursery overall. I would definitely recommend visiting if you're in the area.

Fuji Bonsai Nursery in Sylmar, CA

2011-09-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is the best Bonsai nursery I've seen so far. It is owned by Roy Nagatoshi who has been working with Bonsai for forty four years. He teaches class worldwide and started learning Bonsai from his father. His classes are on Saturday and Thursday mornings starting at 9am and can go on as long as 2pm sometimes or whenever the last person is done working. Roy is a very friendly guy, not pushy to make a sale, and very informative and enthusiastic to chat even when he is in the middle of working on a tree. I felt bad about interrupting him with a bunch of questions but he was always smiling when he answered my questions. He was preparing six grafted Junipers to use as material for the 34th Golden State Bonsai Federation Convention. He had a genuine enthusiasm to meet other Bonsai enthusiasts so he kept the conversation alive by asking me some questions in return. There is a nice Bonsai Gallery in the front.

This is a very nice example of one of his root over rock style for Japanese black pine.

Having visited many Bonsai Nurseries, I notice that there is a shortage of stock of Japanese black pines. That is not the case here as you can see. Roy will not sell a tree if it is in a fragile condition or is in the process of recovering from work done. For example, today he had some nice boxwoods but the branches were very short and leaves sparse so he told me that they will be ready for sale in a year.

Seeing beautiful bougainvilleas like this one makes me want to grow some myself especially since they fit nicely into the drought tolerant group of plants. It's amazing how a vine can turn into a tree!

Some of his trees like this boxwood have a 2 feet wide diameter at the base of the trunk. Boxwood is a commonly acquired plant but it is spectacular when you can transform it into a $275 Bonsai. :)

Roy has an incredible collection of California Junipers. We all want one but they are extremely difficult to obtain. Some of these trees are over 200 years old and cost $18,000 if someone is willing to part with their precious tree. The natural deadwood gives these trees a very rough and ancient look. In my dreams I would buy one and never sell it.

Roy's Dad did grafting work on this California Juniper about 30 years ago and you can't see the scar any more. It's completely healed over and looks very natural. Most of these junipers have been grafted but there is one that is 100% pure California Juniper that is gigantic. Why didn't I take a picture of it? Perhaps, next time... I don't think any of his California Junipers are for sale.

There is a plethora of chinese elm here, but this is an exceptional example of rock clinging style mass planting. This stone is about 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall with tons of elms planted onto it. Very impressive that it is sustainable.

This nursery has the best selection of pomegranate pre-Bonsai material I've seen. The pomegranate I bought from San Gabriel Nursery looks like two straws coming out of the soil. It's quite sad in comparison. This is one of the most incredible Bonsai I've ever seen.

Finally, this is a one of the fine examples of Yaupon Holly Bonsai. Roy has a bunch of these little guys and they look great as small to medium Bonsai. I fell in love with them so I just had to get one.

I bought a 3 gallon Shimpaku Juniper for $45, a 1 gallon Yaupon Holly for $30, and a bag of All Purpose slow release granule Fertilizer 12-12-12 fertilizer for $8. Roy told me to put two teaspoons every 2 months for the 3 gallon juniper and 1 teaspoon for the Yaupon Holly every two months. The visit was very pleasant andI will definitely make an effort to come to his class sometime soon.

Kimura Bonsai Nursery

2011-09-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

I visited Kimura Bonsai Nursery in Northridge, California today. They have some nice starter stock there and some trees that particularly interested me.

This Operculicarya Decaryi caught my eye because of the nice size of the trunk. I'm glad to see that they have succulent Bonsai material even though this one is not for sale. I can't wait until my plant grows bigger. :)

The Yew since I have to train a Niwaki at home...

And, these two Atlas Cedar because I killed one and I really like the dense foliage. :(. I am looking for pre-Bonsai material so these were not a buying option although they were nice to admire. One was blue and one was green but now that I look at the pictures, I'm not sure which was which. I like the blue one more. Some day, I will buy another one.

I also really liked their Cork Bark Elm which I didn't take a photo of but I just couldn't justify spending $85 on a medium size starter stock at the moment. Bob Pressler is the owner there. He offers Bonsai classes and also does landscaping so he is very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions. He has a twisted trunk Pomegranate pre-Bonsai material that were cuttings from John Naka's tree. There is a nice large bonsai display area in the front of the nursery which is a great place to look for inspiration. There is a very good supply of Junipers as pre-Bonsai that is tempting to buy there like the San Jose Prostrata and the Foemina.
This is their webpage:

Kimura Bonsai Nursery

Has links to his Bonsai blog which is very well updated and to his landscaping portfolio page with nice photos.
I am currently growing pre-Bonsai material and nursing my Dad's Bonsais back into shape. The only bonsai that looks presentable is my Bougainvillea that I bought late last year. Here it is:

Chinese Yew Fukinaoshi

2011-09-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to begin training our Chinese Yew (Podocarpus macrophyllus) today. It is a 10ft. tall multi-trunk conifer. The ground around it is temporarily not level, it's right up against a tall wall and short fence, and one side (the right side) of it is hard to reach without stepping onto the neighbor's yard so the pruning process was very difficult. Since we bought the house a year and a half ago, it has been a tall shrubby box which is quite unattractive.

I found this description about the Yew tree:

"Known for its incredible longevity (estimated to be well over 1,000 years), the Yew can be commonly found growing on ancient sacred sites, that often predate the construction of its neighbouring church. The Yew is meant to protect the living from evil spirits and protect the dead on their journey to the other world, it also represents eternal life, death and rebirth. Simply being in the presence of an old Yew can fill a person with a sense of timeless awe and it is easy to see why pre-Christian Pagans worshipped these magnificent trees."

I used the method of Fukinaoshi as described in the Niwaki book by Jake Hobson with the intention of training it in the monkaburi style, where a branch is trained above the gate, or sometimes driveway, of the house. The basic idea is to remove dead branches, epicormic growth, water sprouts, suckers, undesirable small branches, and thinning out foliage. Then train the branches horizontal, and refine pads into zig-zag cloud shapes that taper upwards.

Monkaburi style

Cloud pruning

This is how far I got after 4 hours of pruning. Not done yet but almost there.

Drip irrigation set up

2011-08-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week learning how to set up a drip irrigation system for our back-yard using 1/2" poly tubing. Unlike a traditional sprinkler system that is expensive to set up, requires lots of trench digging, wastes more water than necessary, and complicated plumber skills, drip irrigation is very do-it-yourself friendly. This will save me some time so that I can spend it on other things like shaping and taking care of the trees and plants. It will also keep everything alive while we go on vacation.

We have no sprinkler system so I'm setting up a simple drip system connected directly to the hose bib with a 4-way manifold attached. I measured that our hose bib outputs 4.5 gallons per minute (or 270 gallons per hour). We have a clay-like soil. I am using all DIG brand drip irrigation parts bought from Home Depot. While you browse at HD, grab one of those free DIG pamphlets because they tell you everything you need to know to set your drip irrigation system up. We only have small trees and shrubs, potted plants, hanging baskets, a few window boxes, and we have a strip of ground cover in the front yard. I only read what applies to the kinds of plants we have. Setting up the drip irrigation system isn't rocket science, it just takes a little bit of research and is very inexpensive compared to hiring a professional to install a traditional sprinkler system. Here are some important notes I gathered from the free DIG pamphlet:

http://www.digcorp.com/

- You should not exceed 220 GPH (3.6 GPM) total through a 1/2" line, and no more than 25 GPH on a 1/4" line.

- For small trees and shrubs in clay soil, use one 1GPH dripper; for loamy and sandy soil, use one to two 1GPH drippers spaced every 12-18" apart.

- For hanging baskets, pots, and boxes 1-25 gallons, use one .5 gallon dripper. Or use one sprayer on a spike for a 5-25 gallon sized plants.

I'm using mist sprayers for my potted plants because most of my soil is so coarse that a drip emitter would pass the water straight through the soil to the drainage hole before the roots get to absorb any of it.

My hanging baskets have more dense soil that can hold more water so I will use a .5 gallon per hour drip emitter.

All the small trees and shrubs are using two 1 gallon per hour drip emitters except for the Manzanita because it's not recommended that they be watered by drip irrigation. I will hand water the Manzanita when it's thirsty.

I will use jet spray emitters for the ground cover in the front yard once I'm done with the back-yard.

To automate everything, I bought a 9001EZ, 3/4" Hose end timer connected to a 4 way hose bib manifold. This allows me to attach a hose to hand water anything that has special watering needs. In the future, I will call a professional to install a carbon water filter to remove the chlorine out of the garden water and use mycorrhizae applications to optimize tree and plant growth.

Useful resource links:

You can set up a very easy drip watering system by getting these parts at any Home Depot or Lowes. You can use drip emitters, micro sprinklers with all different kinds of spray patterns, misters which are good for pots, and even soaker hoses. In addition, you can get a timer and you're set to go on vacation!

http://www.digcorp.com/DIY/781-Drip_Irrigation_&_Micro_Sprinkler_Kits/jobs

For those of you who have a sprinkler system, you can get this retrofit adapter to attach to a sprinkler head and it will allow you to convert it to a drip system.

http://www.digcorp.com/DIY/782-Retrofit_Drip_Kits_&_Heads/jobs

Landscaping Momentum - Dry Japanese Garden

2011-08-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my neighbor Arnolfo came over and offered me a bunch of his big specimen, I should say landscape sized cacti. It was very kind of him. One of the cactus is called Ming thing (Cereus validus f. monstrose), another was something that looks like notocactus, and a blue column called pilocerus palmeri. I have to give him some avocados when they are ready.

I just can't stop thinking about our backyard so I worked on it a little bit on this long weekend of mine. I just can't focus on drawing anything else at the moment. I was sketching out some character designs for one of my comic book characters and the drawing was going nowhere. It just wasn't working. So I went out and bought five bougainvillea plants yesterday. Today my good friend Yuho helped me to go buy the last tree I need for the backyard; a juniper prostrata from Ben K bonsai nursery. Once I get the trees into the ground I can begin to train them into the shape and grow them to the size that I want. The sun has been scorching our backyard and that is what keeps us from being able to enjoy that really nice big space. We desperately need some shade trees. We're in temperature zone 9 and it gets hot!

This time, due to budget constraints, I have to start with only the bare essentials, which are just the trees. We'll save up for the gravel for the dry garden idea later. I still plan to create that Japanese garden look, but with plants that are hardy in our temperature zone 9. This means instead of Azelia shrub balls, I will substitute with bougainvillea. I am still using pines, a juniper, kaki persimmon,and camelias so those are still traditional. However, I'm also using a Dr. Hurd manzanita in the very back southeast corner so things will definitely be interesting. I'm excited to move forward. I think it'll take about ten years to grow everything to what I have in mind. :) I made this drawing to visualize what I want our dry Japanese Garden to look like on the south wall.

The blue balls are bougainvillea shrubs. The darker taller shrubs will be camelias. The two trees in the back are Japanese Black Pines and in the far back on the right side will be the Manzanita. The black silhouette of the tree in the front will be the juniper.

This is a prostrate Juniper in a 15 gallon pot that I paid $85 for from Ben K Nursery in Rosemead, CA. Bonsai benches or stands will be along the back wall. I drew a stone triad but again, that is maybe an idea for later when we have money.

Our first Plant sale!

2011-07-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

I have extra plants! This is the first plant sale I have on craigslist. If you are in Los Angeles or near the Van Nuys area in the valley and in need of some succulents, come take a look. :) I have everything from cactus, to aloes, agaves, euphorbias, and smaller succulents for sale.

Click here to see our Craigslist ad!

Dad's Bonsai regathered

2011-07-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

When my Dad had his stroke in February of 2006, his Bonsai collection was scattered among family and friends. The first one I inherited was from my Aunt on March 5th, 2011 when I visited her house. She gave me a plethora of plants, and the first of my Dad's Bonsai that I brought home was the Ficus Insipida below. I am waiting for the other two companion plants to leaf in order to identify them.

Besides my Aunt, a family friend offered to take care of most of my Dad's other bonsai trees. However, soon after he took them, his life got too busy and couldn't afford to give them consistent care. My Sister called him to ask if he could allow us to take one back since I was learning how to grow Bonsai. In the end, he decided to give us most of them back. We took ten trees back from him and my sister kept two. I offered my brother to take any that he likes but he didn't want to yet.

My Sister and brother in law drove eight of my Dad's trees to my house on June 25th. I ran out and bought some lumber and concrete blocks to make two 10' benches.

The bonsai has arrived. They were in my side-yard here but I've already moved them to the backyard where they are not visible from the side yard. I also built a new side yard gate that is 6' tall and put a lock on it for safety measures.

Ficus Insipida is below. This is the first one that I received from my Aunt. This was when the journey of gathering my Dad's Bonsais began.

The two little brown stumps are hard to ID with no leaves. My best guess is Cyphostemma Simulans or mestoklema tuberosa. It's a shot in the dark but it's hard to tell with no foliage.

The first thing was to do identify them. This is what I came up with. There could be some error because a lot of Ficus trees look similar to me.

Ficus Palmeri below:

The two little plants are Ficus Petiolaris and their roots seem to be attached to the Palmeri.

Below is Ficus Microcarpa.

Ficus Benjamina, also known as weeping fig is below.

This is a Holly tree but I'm not sure which kind exactly.

Finally an easy one; Wisteria. Same one in my earlier post of Dad's Bonsai. :)

And another easy one; Olive.

These are big bonsai! A couple of them are about 3 feet tall and wide. The smallest one is the Olive, which is about 18" tall. I cut them back a little since these photos to make them a bit more compact so that they can fit on the bench without too much over-crowding.

Ficus like lots of sunlight. I put the trees in an open space with full sun so the soil dries out quickly in the summer. I water the small pots about three times a week and the deeper pots twice a week. On very hot mornings, i give the leaves a light mist. There is new growth on every tree even though they are shaggy looking. They are very established and hardy plants so it's only a matter of time before they will look more consistently maintained. Once they are more healthy, I will change the soil, re-pot, and start fertilizing. It's exciting to be the care-taker of some of my Dad's plants. I am glad to be up to the task.

Huntington Botanical Gardens Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale 2011

2011-07-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

It was an awesome show. I am converting to Succulent Bonsai for sure.

These are my favorite photos from the show. Enjoy!

Don't worry be happy.

I love this tall plant in the back called Operculicarya decaryi.

Lithops dish. Living Stones.

Aloe Plicatilis

Ficus Lutea in rock clinging style.

Fockea edulis. Love the name, love the plant. Turn this plant sideways and I can call it a reclining nude style.

Last but not least is my favorite bromeliad called Deuterocohnia brevifolia. Air plants don't need soil and are related to pinneaples.

More Succulent Window Boxes :)

2011-07-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

The best way to get some mileage is to do it! So we made three more window boxes using the same ideas we shared with on a previous post. Mix different size succulents, vary the heights and shapes, use negative space, and we mulched this with black riverbed rocks and lava rock.

Graptoveria 'fred ives' in the foreground here. It's the biggest succulent in the boxes. On a side note, we saw a van at the Hungtington Library Succulent show that had a sticker that said "My succulents are bigger than your succulents."

Plants in Shades of Purple

2011-07-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

I love purple. It's sickening how much I love purple. (It's almost as bad as how much I love pink.) Right now, we're in the tail end of spring here in Southern California and many of our favorite plants are happy and in bloom. So while tending to the plants in the courtyard today, I realized how much PURPLE there is and I just had to snap a few photos to share. :)

Spanish Lavender - Of course, this is a no-brainer given its namesake. This stunning plant has pretty medium purple colored flowers. We keep them in a container at our gate and they have been thriving well. This particular type is a kind of Spanish Lavender which has a pineapple shaped flower.

Fuschias - The pink and purple variety is my favorite! Seeing the outer petals lift to reveal the deep purple interiors is breath-taking.

Pearle Von Neuremburg - This lovely echeveria is famous for its lavender and pink pastel tones. I'm certainly a fan.

Iresine "Blood Leaf" - It has bright tones of magenta interlacing with rich purple tones on the leaves. This particular photo shows it more of a jewel red, but in person, it's definitely more purple to me. In cool climates, they should be grown in a house or greenhouse, or they may be planted outside during the summer and brought in before frost. They should be grown in two-thirds loam, one-third leaf mold or peat moss and decayed manure. Water them abundantly while they are growing actively, otherwise moderately. Pinch the young growing tips to encourage bushiness.
Tradescantia 'Purple Sabre' - This plant with deep purple foliage has pretty tri-petaled flowers which popped up this weekend for us. This fun plant is great in full-sun or in partial shade with good drainage. I adore it and I'm still finding a place for it.

The Courtyard - a fresh canvas

2011-07-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on both the courtyard and the backyard. The courtyard is only about 15' wide and 15' deep. The backyard is about 60' x 60' so that's not going anywhere fast.

Here is our courtyard. There's a bunch of plants in nursery pots and I just installed a cover using shade cloth and some cedar lumber for the framing. Although we are using drought tolerant plants and succulents, many of them need partial shade or at least some protection from the hottest parts of L.A. summer. It gets quite toasty here.

The courtyard is so small, I don't think I will make a drawing to plan it out. On our travels to Europe a few years ago, we decided that Barcelona was our favorite place. It was the colorful mosaics, the energetic Spanish culture, their diversity, friendliness, gourmet seafood, sangria, and their art that attracted us. We decided to bring some of those Spanish influences into the design of our courtyard. It is a million degrees outside so this small project will probably take quite a while since we're not in a rush. There will be lots of crafty work including vertical succulent frames, perhaps acid etching the cement, and maybe install a console table or hang a piece of framed art. The ideas aren't set in stone yet.

Below are photos of a couple of plants that we're starting off with; Agave Victoria Reginae (Queen Victoria), and Portulaca grandiflora (moss rose). More to come later.

The Desert Garden of Ordinary Heroes

2011-06-06T00:26:00.000-07:00

Construction of our Desert Garden is complete! We agreed to name it The Garden of Ordinary Heroes because it is dedicated to our parents. Below are photos of the overall design. My plan for the planting area is to build a raised bed so that it would help the soil around each cactus drain better. Here is the general idea model of how I would sculpt the earth. The overall size of the garden is 40 feet wide by 20 feet deep. The raised areas for planting range from 6" - 12" varying depending on the size of the lava rock used. I tried to spread the rocks out so that no one area would have too many rocks . Smaller pieces of lava rock were lodged in the soil to help support the plants and keep a structure for the plants. The design is a compromise between formal and informal elements. Although I wanted to keep it looking very maintained and orderly, I did try to space things out in a more random and natural way in each smaller areas.

Here's what the finished construction looks like. On the little planting island on the bottom, there is a very small Mama Bear Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) tree. It is native to Santa Monica and is very drought tolerant once established.

In the photo below, you can see the purple leafed plum (krauter versuvius) in the top left corner.

You can see that every cactus is planted on a slightly raised bed from 6" - 8" taller than the ground level for better drainage. In the photo below there are three sticks on fire plants, one golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii), one fish-hook barrel cactus, a few dwarf blue chalk sticks (senecio serpens), a reddish flapjack (kalanchoe luciae), and some pork and beans (senecio rubrotinctum) to the bottom right.

In the photo below; in the front bottom is an agave shark skin (A. Ruth Bancroft), behind him is an agave paryii truncata. To the left of the Agave paryii, is an agave kissho kan. The white fuzzy columnar cacti in the back are wooly torches (cleistocactus strausii). The little green plant to right of it is an euphorbia resinifera. The purple paddle and ball cactus in the back is a prickly pear cactus called Opuntia Santa-Rita 'Tubac'.

The amazing flowers you see come out of a couple of kinds of Schick Hybrid Echinopsis Cacti. One is called Echinopsis Don Juan which has a magenta colored flower. The other is Echinopsis Sorceress, which has a deep red flower. These cacti are only about 2" in diameter across the body. They are globular in form and very easy to overlook when not in bloom.

The flowers are usually more than twice the size of the cactus.

The Old man of the Andes cactus is on the left of the island from this point of view. On the right is Cereus Peruvianus Monstroso, a cool night flowering cactus. In between them is a mammilaria cactus.

Here's a reverse shot with the old man of the andes on the front right. The textures and contrast of the different sized red lava rocks are very pleasant to the eyes. I used 3/8", 3/4" as a ground cover, and 4"-24" to build the borders and raised planting beds. I probably moved about 2 tons (4,000 lbs.) of rock, including the California Gold crushed rock, Malibu cobblestone, and lava rock around within the two and a half months that it took me to construct the garden. So guys, be prepared to lift if you are going to attempt to build one for yourself. There will be plenty of lifting to do and lots of tanning also.

I hope you enjoy my design. I would like to give thanks to my Aunt and Uncle Yoko Sato, and our friend Michelle Loon as well as Mr. and Mrs. Loon for donating so many of the plants that we used for our garden. This garden is dedicated to my wife and our parents.

Logistics of Building Materials for our Xeriscape Garden

2011-05-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

I'm the director, engineer, laborer, janitor, curator, gardener you name it. So I get right to it. I looked into irrigation systems; sprinklers, drip irrigation and the likes and decided that I'm going to hand water my plants since selecting drought tolerant plants will greatly reduce the need for frequent watering. As for drainage issues, I think that using 60% cactus mix and 40% pumice as a planting medium will be enough without me having to install french drains. Besides, it doesn't rain that much here in L.A.

I visited three companies that sell rocks to check prices and gather samples.

This is what we decided to use for the center gravel area. It's called California Gold 3/8" crushed rock.

I need to cover a little bit less than 510 square feet with 2" of California Gold 3/8" crushed rock. I needed 3.15 cubic yards worth of crushed rock according to a gravel calculator. I found a building supply company that sells to contractors but is open to public. I ended up using 82 bags (7/8 cubic yard) bags of crushed rock for the front yard, and 3 tons of 3/4" pea gravel for the side path. My crushed rock was only $4.73 per bag. Note that the side path is going to be packed four inches deep with the pea gravel ($55 per ton). I used half of it on the side path. I plan to use the extra for the backyard later. I bought two rolls of weed block landscape fabric with staples to hold it down. For the edging; I used 4" x 4" pressure treated wood in 8 feet lengths for the straight edges and a flexible plastic edging I found on Amazon for a very reasonable price. Some people said using wood stakes would be cheaper but I decided to give the plastic ones made by the same company a try.

Now I remove the organic top layer which was mostly weeds and a couple of wild mushrooms. I removed about 6" worth of soil just to make sure that I clear all of the roots of the weeds. This took me two weeks. I spent about 40 hours doing it. Then I sprayed weed killer in the gravel area, making sure to stay at least one foot away from the planting areas. Then I pin the weed block landscape fabric down. The company that sold me the gravel was quick to deliver my purchase on the next day after I placed my order. The delivery fee was only $65.

Their fork lift barely fit into my small driveway.

I sprayed the dirt with marking paint where my edgings were going and installed all of the edging first. I finished the gravel path to the side yard first because that was the easiest. My friend Yuho helped me fill the space in with 3/4" pea gravel.

Then the weed block landscape fabric was installed. I got excited and planted some plants in the front corner. Things are starting to look good.

I actually only put 74 bags of the crushed rock down and saved the extra 8 bags in anticipation that it will settle and sink a little bit over time. Done with the crushed rock! Man, that was HARD WORK! But well worth it. :)

Euphorbia Xantii: The Cherry Blossom of the Desert Garden

2011-05-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Euphorbia Xantii: The flowers, close up!

What I love most about the Euphorbia Xantii is how it reminds me so much of Japanese Cherry Blosoms (Sakura). The little pink flowers cluster on the branches and create sweet, delicate clouds. And while the flowers are much smaller than a regular sakura blossom, the 5-petaled bloom is reminiscent in shape. The branches are thin which give the overall plant a sort of airiness. And also, because this plant is also a rhizome, it reminds me of bamboo as well.

Sakura Blossoms: The Flowers Close Up!

I was so happy when I found this plant for sale. While I think it's common to see in the wild in Baja California / Mexico, I don't think it's very often seen in collections. Naturally, I had to grab this darling desert plant for our home. Since it has the potential to grow tall and shrub like, we intend to keep it in a skinny container and display it in the courtyard. Our hope is that it will grow in height while inhibiting it's sideways growth. Imagine a dreamy umbrella of little pink flowers! ::happy sigh!:: The best feature of the Euphorbia Xantii is that the flowers appear in spring and will last through until summer! (That's quite a long time!)

It is a drought tolerant plant which will require little watering and is native to Baja California. The common complaint is how invasive the plant is which is why we opted to keep it contained. If planted in the ground, it is not hard to remove excess growth, but the milky sap is difficult to avoid. (Remember, euphorbias contain a sap in their branches which is harmful to humans!) I think it is a rather scary looking shrub -- I couldn't imagine trying to maintain this mess:

To learn more about invasive desert plants, there is a great article on davesgarden.com. You can read it at this link: Invasive Succulents in My Yard by By Geoff Stein

Our plant ID tag says:
Euphorbia xantii
HBG 27819 ex Virginia Martin
Ed Gay coll.: Mexico, Baja Calif., Bahia
de Los Angeles. Shrub 2 to 3 m tall & wide.
Showy pink spring fls. Sun. Hardy 20's $12.50

Xeriscaping Ninjas

2011-05-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

Xeri is Greek for dry. Xeriscaping refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use.

We decided that our main goal was to create a beautiful garden without using as much water. Saving water is saving money, and our local law doesn't let us water often enough to keep the grass consistently green anyways.

We are ninja because we work in the night. Our neighbors wake up and see something new every once in a while. We thought it was a more fun than being Gnomes anyway.

Our first landscaping call to adventure comes from the need to improve our front yard. During a big rain storm, one giant branch from our Maple tree fell on the garage roof and put a two feet wide hole through the shingles. After I patched the roof up we saw that the tree was hollowed out by a gigantic bee hive. We didn't want to maintain the giant maple so we hired professionals to remove it. Then it was time to do some landscaping!

Other than looking at our parent's homes for inspiration and ideas, I bought some books to learn about drought tolerant plants. My favorite three are Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens by Debra Lee Baldwin, and Desert Gardens by Gary Lyons. These books were essential to teaching me not only what the names of each plants were, but also how to care for them, and how to display them in a setting. In addition, we looked at everyone's yard that we drove past. We looked at how businesses and schools had their landscape designed and looked at their plant selections.

My wife bought us a one year family membership to the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The funny thing is that one of my friend's father is the current curator for their Desert Garden. This happens to be the most important Desert Garden in the world!

We visited there often and took lots of photos and notes. This place was our main source of inspiration for designing our own private desert garden in the front yard. Our next step was to make a list of plants that we absolutely loved and had to use. We tried to choose plants with different shapes, sizes, textures, and colors. My wife wanted a very vibrant and colorful landscape design and I agreed. So we decided to use orange and blue because we loved this set of complimentary colors. The other options were red and green, or yellow and purple. Our main blue plant is senecio mandraliscae (blue chalk sticks) which we decided to place in the front and contrast it against our main orange plant which was euphorbia tirucalli (sticks on fire), the smaller shrubby form that often shows more orange. The plan was to place this orange plant in the back. There were two other plants we immediately knew that we must have, the Krauter Vesuvius (purple leaf plum) and the manzanita native to our area of Southern California. Both are very drought tolerant once established in the ground. The other plants we chose were more flexible depending on our budget.

So off to the drawing board I went! Here's what I came up with.

The next stage is plant aquisition, materials, budgeting, and construction. We needed plants, edging, and gravel. I provided the labor. We were on a shoe-string budget so we had to be flexible when it came to the secondary plants choices in our drawn out plan. More on this later.

Dad's Collection

2011-05-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dad had LOTS of plants! Euphorbias, cacti, traditional Bonsai trees, and even common nursery plants. Look at the amazing purple wisteria Bonsai! This was home to me for so many years until I moved out at the end of 1999. I don't ever remember a struggling plant. Home was always green, lush, and healthy. It was a mystery to me how he did it because I had no hand in it. It's funny because back when I was still living with my parents, I didn't know the names of the plants and now that I bought some for our own house it appears that we have the same tastes. I acquired many of the same kinds of plants my Dad had coincidentally. The only plant that I bought that I knew my Dad had was Old Man Cactus. I believe he had Old Man of the Mountains cactus, while I preferred Old Man of the Andes.

To the right with orange sticks on top is a tree form of Euphorbia tirucalli, related to the smaller sticks on fire shrub but this form will grow into a big and tall 15-20ft. tree if put into the ground. It is more green than sticks on fire also. Heat will make the sticks turn orange. On the left with the red flowers is Euphorbia Milii (Crown of thorns). Euphorbias will ooze a milky sap called latex when it is punctured or cut and that liquid is poisonous so don't eat it or rub it into your eyes.

Dad had plants I don't even know about.

Purple was Mom's favorite color.

Me and Dad. To the left in the back is Golden Bamboo. Between us is a Euphorbia Lambii. You can only see the top of it. To the right of the red leafed plant in the back is an Aloe plicatilis (fan aloe)

Look at the size of this beautiful Wisteria Bonsai!

This is called a Beaucarnea recurvata (bottle palm)

Growing up in this environment must have subliminally influenced my own interest and certainly gave me the seed of inspiration to create my own garden.

Succulent Window Box: How To DIY!

2011-05-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

LET'S BUILD A SUCCULENT WINDOW BOX!

Let's revisit that sad little window box, shall we? It's empty and IT NEEDS SOME PLANTS! Need some advice? Here's a photo gallery of how we did it.

Here are our cuttings of choice. A few large rosettes to offset the smaller cuttings. This is "xGraptoveria 'Fred Ives.'" "Graptopetalums work well as cascaders, providing they are shelter from wind and passerby. Their leaves fall off readily, which is one way the plant reproduces: roots form at the stem end! Fred Ives form large (up to 6") rosettes. Depending on the lighting, they can go from blues to rose or yellows. (In the shade, expect cooler colors, in full sun, expect warmer tones!) And in spring, they'll bloom pretty yellow flowers.

This second group of cuttings I found in our collection are: Crassula marginalis f. rubra. A cascading mass of thick pink, green and lemon variegated leaves. Wonderful in a hanging pot. White flowers. Sun/part sun. A couple long stemmed jade rosettes and baby aloes.

We filled the bottom of the window box with volcanic rock for easy and fast drainage. The cactus mix soil (which for this batch, we purchased from Home Depot) is mixed with more perlite. I mixed it into the soil well with my scoop.

Large plants first! First I placed the large Graptopetalums in first. Since they're large and focal pieces in the pot, I wanted them to be strategically placed. In the end, I placed one large "rose" on each end, with a smaller one closer to the left. Later on, you'll see that I place another in the middle.

Next, place your medium sized cuttings. I draped the bright green jade plants near the two rosettes on each end. I LOVED how the bright colors stood out against the white of the box.

Accent with draping succulents. We accented long stems of sedeveria around all sides of the box. These were given to us by a generous relative. They did have rosettes at the ends, but transport cause many of the "leaves" to break off. (While that is sad, many of the broken leaves have already started to root and sprout! So we're excited about that.) When it fills in, it should look fantastic. :)

Add a few more accent plants to balance the colors and space and you're done! We filled in the space above the sedeveria with a the deep pink sedum to give it a neat layered look and to also break up the large rosettes with bright color. I hope it won't weight the sedveria down too much, but we'll see how it holds up! I threw in an ice plant in the back (you can't see it) as well as a few aloe pups, so it should fill in nicely sooner than later! YAY!

CLOSE UP GALLERY

Whew! Thanks for reading! Ninja out!

Tech Specs:

Box size is 40" wide x 12" deep x 12" tall and can be bought at Home Depot but if you build your own, try to use cedar or redwood because they are rot resistant. Pressure treated boards are treated by chemicals so they are not the best for your plants to make contact with. We used heavy duty metal brackets and weather proof deck screws.

One bag of 3/4" .75 cubic foot red lava rock will fill the bottom half of the box keeping the whole box light-weight and speeds drainage.

Succulent Window Box: Inspirations!

2011-05-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our front yard design just isn't complete without a garden box in front of our lonely window. Right now, it looks just like this:

Pretty lonely and lame! (And I need some new shutters!) We do have quite a few cuttings from friends and family that I'm sure will look fabulous in the box, so I've got to go put my creative hat on now!

In any case, I still wanted some creative inspiration. So, I scoured the internet and came across these gorgeous photos:

_1.

I'm sure it's part photography skills that makes this photo a stunner, but the combination of zwartkop aeoniums, blue senecio and bright green aeoniums makes this a colorful delight. I'm sure even without Photoshop, this design would be breathtaking in person.

_2.

I particularly love how this one turned out. It looks like it is one of those half-oval iron baskets you can purchase at Home Depot. With a good helping of sphagnum moss, you can plant into the sides of your window box for a real Earthy look. I do love how that heavy echeveria is hanging out of the bottom. To me, it gives the basket a floating feel.

_3.

I don't know about you, but I took a great big gulp at the sight of these! I mean, look at this one! The way the senecio just drapes down over that wall? It's epic and so lush! The blue is just beautiful against the green. It's amazing how simple it is but it can makes such a great statement.

So, with inspirations like these, I'm pumped up to give it a try...

_{1. Unknown Source. 2. bwisegardening: Day 91 - A Succulent Sensation 3. Garden Dancing: The Amazing World of Succulents}

A New Hope

2011-05-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

"In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them." ~Aldo Leopold

Win and I emptied out a box of succulents today and I was delight to find that some of the fallen leaves have rooted and sprouted. There is no greater joy than finding hope for life in a little seedling in the palm of your hand.

The beginning

2011-05-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

My wife and I bought our house in Van Nuys, CA in November of 2009 and this is what it looked like from the front at that time. On the left is a Chinese Juniper, center was a giant green leaf maple, right is a chinese yew. The grass was yellow and when it grew back, we had a massive weed problem. In addition, random mushrooms would pop up out of the ground. Later on, I learned that there was a massive beehive in the maple and huge portions of it's thick branches were hollowed out because of the bees. The mushrooms were popping up because some of the maple tree's roots were rotting below the ground. Crabgrass and dandelions grew wildly and spread very aggressively.

Our yard was the ugly duckling in the neighborhood for a long time while I was fixing the interior of the house. At the end of May in 2010, my parents and Sister came to our house and stayed over for a night. My mom was very happy to take photos all around the house because she was excited and proud that we owned property. I felt bad because the landscape was terrible. From that moment even though I had no landscaping or even gardening experience I became very motivated to make things nicer outside so that she would be able to come back and take nicer photos. My Dad had a love for all kinds of plants but some of the most memorable to me were the bonsai and desert potted plants. This was my starting point.

Below are photos of Mom, Dad, and my sister at our house the summer of 2010.

My sister is on the left, my wife in the center, and Mom on the right.

2011 Annual Plant Sale at the Huntington Library

2011-05-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Win and I joined the army of other plant enthusiasts Saturday morning for the Huntington Botanical Garden's Annual Plant Sale. It was ALARMING at how incredibly long that line becomes at 10:30 a.m.! (They don't kid around when they tell you to arrive as early as 8 a.m. if you REALLY want first dibs!)

The plant sale is set-up right at the entrance giving it perfect access to the parking lot. This makes toting your plants home alot easier. I found the event to be very well organized. They even set-up a "holding area" for non purchased plants in case you feel like visiting the main gardens before heading home at the end of the day.

It seemed alot smaller than I expected, but the selection was unbelievable. I do suggest doing research on what you really want for your home and garden prior to visiting. Dilly dally too much, and someone will definitely snatch up the good specimens! They had separated areas for plant types: cactus/succulent tables, herbs & edibles, bromeliads/air-plants/orchids, annuals, perennials, shrubs, etc. After getting the lay of the land, it was easy to navigate the floor.

Try not to freeze in shock upon entering. You might waste precious time!

Roses to whet your appetite. These are a HUGE seller. Judging by the color variations alone, I can't blame them.

Look at the head on this one. Lovely.

Azaleas in bloom. I had to resist bringing a gallon home.

Edibles and noms! I kill fragile, edible plants, so I stayed away. They did, however, offer "Chocolate Mint!" I carried this plant around for a while before I wistfully put it back.

In case you're hoping to go next year, here are a few tips:
1. Bring a cart! Don't have one? No worries! We saw wheelbarrows, library book carts, tea carts, radio flyers, a dolly with plastic bins bungee corded to it. ::eyebrow raised?:: Pretty much, if it's on wheels and you can cart away your purchases on it, it's A-OK! The only trick is maneuvering yourself around tables and plants while not running into people's ankles.
1.5. DOH! Forgot your cart? No worries! They have a stack of boxes at the entrance for your shopping needs. Great for toting around smaller plants.
2. They do take credit card, so don't fret if you couldn't make it to an ATM!
3. Not sure if you like that plant? Cart it around for a while and give it some thought. If you walk away from a plant, it might not be there a few minutes later! If you decide against a purchase, just go put it back where you found it. (All of the plants come from the Huntington! You can pick up a plant and visit a different table if necessary. There's only one check-out and exit area, anyway. So, don't think you look suspicious leaving the table with a plant in hand!)
4. Some of the table volunteers aren't plant experts! Ask for the curator who might be around (and available) to answer your questions.
5. Bring a snack and some water! If you plan on being die-hard to stand in line at 8 a.m. before walking around at the sale, chances are you'll get hungry and thirsty!
6. Don't underestimate the size of your vehicle! They sell everything from large golden barrel cactus to Japanese Red Maple trees! Make sure your vehicle has proper storage room for your taller or wider purchases.

What is up with the colors on this one? Fantastic! (Cleistocactus Ferrari)

Win and I did come home with new treasures, but that's a post for another day. :)

Schick Hybrids from Huntington Botanical Gardens

2011-05-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

How to describe how incredible a "Schick" hybrid is? And no, it's not a razor for shaving! A schick hybrid is an Echinopsis cactus with stunning, showy flowers throughout the spring and summer. We purchased a few for our own garden at the 2011 Huntington Library Annual Plant Sale and during this time, it wasn't in bloom. It would have been SO easy to just pass by these lackluster cacti unless you knew how incredible the flowers would become. See the pictures below to see what I mean:

Echinopsis Schick Hybrid:
"Don Juan"

Echinopsis Schick Hybrid:
"Spring Symphony"

Echinopsis Schick Hybrid:
"Sorceress"

A few of our little wee ones have flower buds and I'm about ready to sit outside to watch them bloom! Win's intention is to get these little babies into the ground once our yard is ready for 'em. However, I did request for one of them to be a part of my courtyard haven. :)

From the website:

"The Schick hybrids are derived primarily from crosses of Harry Johnson’s Paramount hybrids,created in the 1930s and 40s, and from successive crosses of their progeny. Like the Paramount hybrids, the Schick hybrids can flower several times in a season and, with increasing age, can produce greater numbers of flowers. Under the Huntington’s growing conditions the first flush of flowers is typically in April with successive flushes occurring in May, June and July, and, in some hybrids, even into August, September and October. In our shade house, some stray flowers have been recorded for every month of the year. "

From Desert Gardens by Gary Lyons:

"When fully establish they will be one of the most colorful cactus displays ever planted. The hybrids were developed and meticulously documented over the past twenty years by Robert Schick, who began to make hybrid cactus crosses to create sensational floral color. The Schick echinopsis hybrids are introduced yearly through the Huntington;s International Succulent Introductions and are popular at the Annual Plant Sale. The intensely glowing oranges, reds, and yellow hybrid echinopsis flower in the spring through early summer; the blossom event is unparalleled in the history of the garden."

Our little collection:

Fortunately, for the out-of-state fan, these cacti are for sale at the following website. I think it's rather hard to navigate to from the main site so it's a bit like internet treasure hunting!
ISI Schick Hybrids: http://www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/Schick/catalogintro.html