Succulents and More™

I went to the Ruth Bancroft Garden  (RBG) yesterday with a group of volunteers from the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery . The first thing I noticed was this wildflower meadow in the new bed along Bancroft Road. Poppies, phacelias, and all kinds of clarkias – all annuals native to California. I thought it looked fantastic paired with cacti, agaves, and the like. As it turns out, this carpet of wildflowers was not created by the RBG staff. Brian Kemble, the curator of the RBG, told me that somebody seed-bombed this bed in the fall. That would be easy to do, seeing how it’s located next to the sidewalk, outside the garden wall. The result, while completely unexpected, was very much appreciated. Brian said that they would let the flowers go to seed in hopes of a repeat performance next year. Seed bombing is a classic form of guerrilla gardening. Check out this article ; I had no idea there were that many different kinds of seed bombs! I wonder if the person responsible for the wild...

The 2017 Succulent Extravaganza at  Succulent Gardens  in Castroville, CA took place this past Friday and Saturday, September 29 and 30. Both days were jam-packed with presentations, socalizing, looking at plants, and of course shopping. I didn't arrive until late afternoon on Friday so I missed out on Friday's activities. But I enjoyed a full day on Saturday visiting with old succulent friends and meeting new ones, taking photos of the wonderful plants at Succulents Gardens (the demonstration gardens looked better than ever), and listening to four presentations. I bought a few things, too, but oddly enough none of them were succulents.