Succulents and More™

Of all the shrubs in the garden, my favorite is Acacia aphylla . This oddball from Western Australia lacks traditional leaves (hence the common name “leafless rock wattle”). Instead, its zigzaggy blue-green stems perform photosynthesis. These stems, which give the plant its striking sculptural appearance, are adapted to reduce water loss in the dry, arid conditions where it naturally grows – not so different from here. From a distance, Acacia aphylla looks like a bluish cloud hovering over the sidewalk bed. In late winter, mid- to late-February, it’s covered with bright yellow ball-shaped flowers. This is what it looked like this year: The red-flowering shrub behind it is Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’, thought to be a hybrid of Grevillea rosmarinifolia and another unknown grevillea: I like the two together, but both were getting too large for this spot – or any spot in our small garden. This is what Acacia aphylla looked like yesterday morning: With curbside yard-waste pickup coming up ...

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you have heard me mention Troy McGregor. I first met Troy when he was the manager of the nursery at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, a good 10 years ago . He was instrumental in growing what used to be a small plant sale area into a specialty nursery known all over Northern California for its excellent selection of succulents and water-wise plants, including a large variety of shrubs from Australia and South Africa. Since then, he’s established Gondwana Flora , a landscape design and build company specializing in climate-appropriate front yard transformations. Waltzing Matilija Nursery began in 2018 as an extension of Gondwana Flora. “I was unable to find many of the plants I love to landscape (and garden) with,” Troy said when I spoke with him last year, “so I started to grow my own. One thing leads to another and now here we are.” Troy with Protea ‘Arctic Ice’ In 2021, Troy moved Waltzing Matilija to its current location, a ½ acre l...

In my recent end-of-April recap , there’s one plant I didn’t mention because I wanted it to have a solo post. That’s Alyogyne ‘Ruth Bancroft’, and it’s nearing peak bloom: Alyogyne ‘Ruth Bancroft’ in our garden, flanked on the left by Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ and Agave ovatifolia , and on the right by Eucalyptus macrocarpa Alyogyne , pronounced “alley-AWE-gin-nee”, is a small genus of Australian shrubs closely related to hibiscus. Only two species are commonly grown, Alyogyne hakeifolia from South Australia and Alyogyne huegelii from Western Australia. Both are commonly known as blue hibiscus. The stunning shrub in our garden is a hybrid between these two species. It was discovered at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA in a spot where both parents were growing near each other. Since both parents are from areas of Australia that have a Mediterranean climate similar to ours, Alyogyne ‘Ruth Bancroft’ is well adapted to our wet winters and dry summers. It’s hardy to ...

In April, I mentioned that East Bay landscape designer and plantsman Troy McGregor was opening his nursery, Waltzing Matilija , to walk-in customers every Friday and Saturday through July 8. ( Here is my post in case you missed it.) Last Friday, my friend Michele and I made the 1-hour drive to Pittsburg to pick up some plants Troy had put aside for us. That gave me the opportunity to take photos of the display garden and of the nursery itself. Waltzing Matilija Nursery is hard to miss as you drive down Central Avenue in Pittsburg: Just keep an eye out for the display beds on both side of the entrance. Troy installed them less than two years ago as a showcase for drought-tolerant plants, and they’re filling in nicely. The plants are a wonderfully eclectic combination of succulents and Australian and South African natives. (Troy is from Australia and propagates many rare plants from Down Under.) The display garden is a living business card for Troy’s business, advertising to potenti...