Succulents and More™

California gained statehood in 1850 and Sacramento became its capital in 1854. (Between 1850 and 1854, the government had tried out several cities—San Jose, Vallejo and Benicia—and found each one inadequate as a capital.) Construction on the California State Capitol, modeled after the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., began in 1860 and was completed in 1874.                                                                                                         ...

Like many flowering shrubs, Western redbud ( Cercis occidentalis ) looks fairly plain most of the year, but for a few weeks in the spring, it’s a head turner. Right now, the greenbelt near our house—and many yards in town—is a riot of magenta. The rain we’ve been having for a couple of days makes the color pop even more. Here are the photos I came back with when I grabbed my camera and dashed out into the noontime drizzle. I love how the redbud stands out both against the California buckeyes that have already leafed out and against the majestic oaks that are still bare. In my book, there are few shrubs can can compete with Western redbud when it comes to spring color! Great contrast with bare valley oak ( Quercus lobata ) Western redbud is a popular landscaping shrub in our area It is native to the Sierra foothills and coastal ranges of California where it grows on dry slopes The leaves are heart-shaped This specimen has barely started to leaf out,,, ...

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...

The other day I was at a friend’s house and I was admiring the Mediterranean spurge ( Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii ) in their front yard. It was in full bloom and it stole the show from all the other plants in its vicinity. It turns out that their plant is a seedling courtesy of the plant in their neighbor’s yard: That plant, in turn, is a volunteer from seed that came from further down the street. That should answer the question whether Mediterranean spurge self-sows. I’m not sure I’d call it invasive (quite a few people do), but it certainly gets around. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii is hardy to zone 7 and can grow 5 ft tall and 4 ft wide. It prefers full sun and isn’t particular about soil as long as there is good drainage. It its native habitat (Greece and Turkey) it grows on rocky hillsides. In cultivation, I think it looks best as a solitary specimen.

As you know, I live in a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and cool but mild winters. According to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map , we’re in zone 9b. This means that I can grow a wide variety of plants that might be considered exotic elsewhere, such as citrus and subtropical clumper bamboos. The flip side of the coin is that perennials that make gardeners yawn in the states like Missouri—like lilacs, peonies and hostas—are amazingly difficult to grow here because it just doesn’t get cold enough. I dream of having gunneras of monster proportions in my yard, but it will never happen! Lenten roses, or hellebores, fall in the same category. I’ve tried several over the years, but the result was always the same: eventual demise. The UC Davis Aboretum appears to have better luck than I do! I had just about given up on hellebores when I came across this listing on SequimRarePlants.com : Helleborus 'Janet Starnes' Named by Phillip Curtis Farms (a wholesale nursery no longer in b...