Succulents and More™

I live and garden in Davis, about 15 miles west of Sacramento and 75 miles east of San Francisco. We have a Mediterranean climate typical of California's  Central Valley (Csa in the Köppen climate classification system ), characterized by dry hot summers and mild rainy winters. I have figured out what to plant in the areas the get sun all or most of the day--California and Southwestern natives thrive here, as do many Mediterranean, South African and Australian plants and, of course, cactus and succulents. Gardening in the sun is the easy part. What's not easy is gardening in the shade. Specifically, dry shade. Our backyard is dominated by four 30+ ft. bay trees that cast deep shade. Even areas away from the bay trees receive varying degrees of shade, be it from other trees and shrubs or simply from the 6-foot fence that encloses the backyard on three sides. Add to that the fact that from May to November we go 5 or 6 months without any significant rainfall (and we try to...

In the last few years we’ve focused on the front yard, largely ignoring the backyard. This is about to change. The first project is underway: removal of the bamboos outside the dining room. I didn’t take a current “before” photo because I thought I had one in my photo library. Unfortunately, the “newest” one is from April 2014: Since then, the chocolate bamboo ( Borinda fungosa ) had outgrown its space and needed frequent whacking back just to be able to walk to the sliding door. The Borinda angustissima to the right of it (which you never really saw) had flopped over so much that the compost tumbler was inaccessible. As much as I liked these bamboos—and they did remarkably well with what little water they got—the situation couldn’t go on. With very mixed feelings I took them out last weekend. Look how much space has been freed up:

I’ve always liked the name “cast-iron plant.” It’s perfect for a plant that has the reputation of growing even in dismally dark corners and in general being well nigh indestructible. Aspidistra elatior has been in cultivation for a very long time, most often as a house plant. In Victorian England it was a parlor main stay and later became a symbol of the middle class. George Orwell of 1984 fame even wrote a novel called Keep the Aspidistra Flying in which the protagonist, after years of espousing the noble virtues of poverty, finally gives up, gets a job, marries a woman he doesn’t really love and resigns himself to a life of mediocrity, symbolized by a cast-iron plant he puts in their new flat. I remember finding the book quite dull when I read it in college and that’s what my impression of aspidistras has been as well. Imagine my surprise when I came across this sexy variegated beauty at a local nursery and, after glancing at the label, realized that it was a variegated cast-iro...

Our backyard has many shady spots, and farfugiums are my favorite group of foliage plants for moist shade. Previously lumped into the genus Ligularia , farfugiums have large, leathery leaves that look both primal and exotic at the same time. In our climate they stay evergreen, but they can handle fairly harsh winters (at least down to zone 7) and come back reliably year after year. After all, they’re native to the mountains of Japan where it does get quite cold. Farfugium japonicum comes in different incarnations, and I’ve written several posts about them before ( 1 2   3 ). I love the giant variety ( Farfugium japonicum ‘Giganteum’), the variegated variety ( Farfugium japonicum ‘Argenteum’) and especially the mottled variety ( Farfugium japonicum ‘Aureomaculatum’) commonly called “leopard plant.” My leopard plant is in a 7-gallon terracotta pot and even though we’re at 40% of our normal precipitation right now, it looks better than it ever has. In the early morning and at...

As far as spectacular foliage goes, farfugiums are hard to beat. Most people have never heard of farfugiums before, but when they see one, they usually go “wow.”  Fellow bloggers Mark and Gaz at Alternative Eden recently featured an exhaustive survey of farfugiums in their collection , and I’ve blogged about our own farfugiums before ( 1 2 ). In recent years farfugiums have become more available in local nurseries, and the UC Davis Arboretum has several in their downtown Arboretum Terrace. On Sunday morning we were showing out-of-town friends around and got caught in the first rain of the season. As brief as it was, the rain really brought out the textures of the giant farfugiums ( Farfugium japonicum ‘Giganteum’) at the Demonstration Garden, especially in contrast to the delicate venus hair fern ( Adantium capillus-veneris ) growing underneath them. I was very glad I had a camera along to capture this small vignette of plant magic.       ...

Most gardeners have never heard of farfugiums. They are wonderful shade-tolerant foliage plants from Japan, and I’ve been in love with them for a number of years. I blogged about them several times before ( 1 2 ) and will do another post in the fall. My UK-based friends Mark and Gaz at Alternative Eden just published a fantastic post about their farfugium collection, which contains almost every cultivar currently available in the West. Rumor has it that Japanese breeders have developed other cultivars that haven’t made it to our shores yet so there’s definitely more to look forward to in the years to come. If you like large-leaved plants with exotic appeal, be sure to check out this post at Alternative Eden!

After taking a look at what our front yard looks like in mid-May I want to do the same for the back yard. It’s very useful having these photos as a reference to look back on six months or a year down the line. As is the case in the front yard, we’ve made a lot of progress over the last 4+ years. However, since a significant portion of our backyard is in dry shade, it’s proven to be relatively difficult to find the right mix of plants that thrive in these conditions. Competition from trees make matters worse, necessitating frequent irrigation or container plantings. Still, every challenge is an opportunity—or a riddle, as the case may be. While I’m happy with the state of the front yard, the backyard continues to be a work in progress. I know that eventually we’ll have that lush oasis I’m dreaming about, and in the meantime I’ll learn a thing or two about gardening in the face of adversity. The first set of photos are of our Asian-inspired area in the side yard just outside our dinin...

Even though our property is on the small side, I go exploring every day—sometimes twice a day—to see how things are coming along. Changes are coming fast and furious at this time of year, and I’m finally making a systematic effort to document as much of it as I can. While our climate isn’t really conducive to hostas, they are among my favorite shade plants so I keep trying. This is a cultivar called ‘June,’ surrounded by a sea of Lamium maculatum .’Purple Dragon’. This hosta ‘Sagae’ just came up a few weeks ago—really late because of the cooler than usual weather. To the right is a variegated farfugium ( Farfugium japonicum ‘Argentea’) just planted this spring. My favorite shade-loving grass, bar none: Japanese forest grass ( Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’). After four years in the ground, it’s finally put on some size (about 15 inches high). Meadow rue ( Thalictrum aquilegifolium ) starting to bloom First flowers on this columbine ‘McKana’s Giant’ ( Aquilegi...

Shibataea kumasaca , that’s quite a tongue-twister, isn’t it? If you feel daring, pronounce it three times fast! Shibataea kumasaca was one of the six varieties I picked up yesterday at Bamboo Sourcery in Sebastopol. My plant came in a 1-gallon container and from the rhizome growing out of the drain hole, it was clear that it needed a new home. Sometimes called “ruscus-leafed bamboo”, this is a beautiful shorter species that grows to 3-6 ft. Its leaves are short and stubby and quite distinct from other bamboos. This Japanese native is very useful as a ground cover or low hedge and makes a stunning specimen plant in a decorative pot. It is a running variety, although supposedly not very aggressive, but containment is still advised if planted in the ground in a small yard. According to the literature, it’s hardy to –10°F and can therefore be grown in most of the continental U.S. It likes shade, especially in hotter climates. Shibataea kumasaca prefers acidic soil and suffers from l...

A few weeks ago I wrote a post waxing poetic about my farfugiums . Since then, something has been chewing on them; in fact, half of the leaves of my variegated farfugium are now gone! This is a very slow growing plant as it is because of the lack of chlorophyll in the leaves, and having even two or three leaves missing will diminish the plant’s vitality even more. Needless to say I’m not happy! Farfugium japonicum 'Argenteum' in its heyday just a month ago Farfugium japonicum 'Argenteum' with chewed leaves My first line of defense was to put wire cages around the plants targeted by these pernicious attacks. I put a piece of plastic on top of this particular cage to make sure nothing could entered from the top. Wire cage around farfugium That worked in the spring when we had similar problems. Back then, I thought the damage was caused by rats, which we do have in our yard occasionally and which we have successfully caught with our trusty Rat Zapper ...

Recently I declared baby blue bamboo ( Bambusa chungii ‘Barbellata’) to be my favorite bamboo at the moment. Close runner up is a montane (or “mountain”) bamboo from Yunnan province in southwestern China: Borinda fungosa , or commonly called “chocolate bamboo”. This is a medium-sized clumper with a mature height of 14-18 ft., hardy to about 15°F, with lime green leaves that have the classic bamboo profile. When exposed to sun, the culms turn a rich reddish brown, hence the common name. After the branches are fully leaved out, the culms gently arch under the weight of the leaves, forming a lush canopy of green. Borinda fungosa culm turning a rich red when exposed to sun. This photo was taken at Man Man Bamboo nursery where I obtained my plant. The most beautiful specimen I’ve seen was at Bamboo Sourcery in Sebastopol; their 15- and 25-gallon plants had 0.5-inch culms that truly were chocolate-colored. Montane bamboos hail from higher elevations (often 7000 ft. or higher) where...