Succulents and More™

As I said in part 1 of this post , Casper and Daryl's hillside garden in Oakland would be impressive enough if it only consisted of the lower portion. But there was a lot more to come.  As I was climbing the stairs, I had no clear idea what I would see. Frankly, that's my favorite way of experiencing a garden I'm visiting for the first time: with no expectations and no preconceived ideas. The less I know ahead of time, the more exciting it becomes; there's always time to find out more later on. On that note, let's start a few steps up from where part 1 left off: As you know, I'm not biggest fan of  Agave americana , but this specimen is magnificent. It might be the variety  expansa , the largest of the species.

This is part 2 of my recent visit to the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Part 1 is here . As I mentioned in my previous post , you need to make a reservation before you can visit the UC Botanical Garden (UCBG). My reservation was for 2:30 pm so I only had 2½ hours until closing—not a lot of time, considering the garden is a sprawling 34 acres in size. My friends Max and Justin and I focused on the Mexico & Central America Collection , but on the way there, we walked by the Australasia Collection . Among many things, it contains beautiful specimens from Australia, like these Tasmanian tree ferns: Tasmanian tree ferns ( Dicksonia antarctica ) More tree ferns are in the Cycad & Palm Garden  surrounding the Conference Center and Tropical House, but that section is closed (unfortunately) because the paths there are narrow and social distancing would be difficult. I was disappointed because it's one my favorite spots at the UCBG.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and this year I'm thankful that I got to spend time in Lotusland without being tied to a guided tour. Generally, that's the only way to see the gardens unless you have a membership . At the 2019 Bromeliad Summit , we were fortunate to have free roam before and after the day's activities and during breaks. Here are the other installments of this 3-part series: part 1 |  part 2 . Part 3 starts in the Water Garden , originally the swimming pool of the estate’s second owners. It was built in 1925; the pool house was designed by George Washington Smith, a leading proponent of the Spanish Colonial Revival style that gives much of Santa Barbara its distinctive look. Ganna Walska transformed the swimming pool into a pond and stocked it with Asian lotus, the inspiration for the name “Lotusland.”

Vista Garden was the second property I visited last Saturday as part of Marin County Open Garden Day sponsored by The Garden Conservancy. The description in the official program sounded fantastic: Sited on a plateau with sweeping views of Mt. Tamalpais and surrounding canyons, Vista Garden is a balance of engaging outdoor rooms and dramatic sub-tropical plantings. The entry features a heritage oak and unique use of Arbutus marina as privacy screening. A grove of Australian tree ferns and specimen agaves suggest something more eccentric is ahead. The front garden is framed by native quercus and specimen olive trees that sit within a modern framework of bold, textural sweeps of foliage including asplenium, miscanthus, liriope, equisetum, and a ‘meadow mix’ of sun-loving perennials and exotics. The hidden sitting area is tucked behind a prehistoric equisetum hedge and showcases an agave collection that leads guests to the Vista Walk.  This quiet, shady, path lined with bambusa and...

While most of the plants in our garden are appropriate for where we live— succulents and bamboos included—I have a weakness for plants that aren’t fond of our Mediterranean climate. Tree ferns are one case in point. Their native habitats are generally cool and misty—much like San Francisco and Berkeley where they thrive. Here in Davis, the summers are typically too hot and dry and the winters a bit too cold for them (heck, for me too!). I know I shouldn’t spend my energy trying to grow tree ferns here, but I still do. And when I removed the frost cloths from my tree ferns last week, I was pleased to find them in reasonably good shape. This Tasmanian tree fern ( Dicksonia antartica ) had a little bit of freeze damage but nothing severe: Dicksonia antartica , our backyard