Summer Vacation Highlights: Boston & Cambridge, part I

Glass Flowers at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

Created between the years of 1887 and 1936 in Dresden, Germany made entirely from glass, wire and metal oxide, this is one of the most stunning displays of botanical knowledge in existence.  The 847 species collection was created as a teaching aide for the Botanical Museum.  The craftsmen were  Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, a father and son team of glass artisans who came from a long line of jewelry makers.  This exhibit has been available to the public since 1893.

Not surprisingly, California natives make a good showing in the exhibit - off hand, there were at least 50-60 different species in display, including cacti.  Here are a few favorites (shown with an example of a living plant for comparison)...

Encelia californica, California Sunflower

Fountains for Birds

Birds are a large part of our Southern California gardens.  We have a plethora of native plants that attract them and if you design your garden correctly, you can have them around all year. But once they have their food, they will always appreciate some water (especially once the rains have stopped).  At our Topanga office, we have several different fountains which attract many visitors.  During the dry season, we have to fill them up on a daily basis. Hummingbirds and finches are the most common.  During the migratory season there are all different kinds of birds.  Occasionally, the mourning doves will come over, scare all the smaller birds away and take over the prime real estate of our largest fountain.  It's funny we haven't ever been able (or had the patience) to photo document the constant activity.  But one day, a few years ago during a particularly hot, dry summer, we had a very special, rare visitor, what we think was a juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk!  (Who subsequently ate our favorite squirrel, go figure!)

Hawk on Lava Fountain

So far, so good!

Today is June the First and it's sunny!  Go figure.  Here's to sun-kissed gardens in the month of June, (although we love the coastal fog) it's a nice break!

Euphorbia characias 'Bruce's Dwarf', Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paw) & Platanus racemosa (California Sycamore)

Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama) meadow pictured above stairs

We're not out of the woods, yet. (And probably never will be.)

Even though we've received record rain in the past year doesn't mean can just forget about the ever present Southern California drought.  We all still need to remain vigilant with our water usage, especially because on average 70% of a home's water is used in the landscape (although our goal is to get it as close to zero as possible).  A few of our local water purveyors, especially LADWP and Los Angeles County DPW, are creating more user-friendly billing strategies to help us visualize our usage through graphs and charts.   

Below is a sample of the new LADWP bill

This is what the water bill portion will look like. 

Here is the LA County DPW bill which shows what the tiered billing looks like.  They describe HCF (hundred cubic feet) as "units".

In our G3LA training, we were taught that when thinking about HCF (hundred cubic feet) which equals 748 gallons, we should understand how much water a person needs to survive in a year.  If a person needs 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day that equals 183 gallons a year...how many people could you care for with your garden's water?

Santa Monica AltBuild Expo 2011

Last Friday and Saturday, Santa Monica hosted its annual AltBuild Expo.  Here are a few of our favorite exhibitors:

1. Netafim.  If you know us, you know we LOVE their products and have been using Techline since the mid '90s.  They are the leader in efficient sub-surface and on-surface inline drip irrigation.  Their newest product is called Techline EZ.  It is an extremely user friendly drip line requiring minimal parts and experience; perfect for homeowners.  AND (rumor has it) they will be coming out with a recycled dripperline product very soon! 
http://www.netafimusa.com/landscape/products/dripperline

 2.  The Green Station.  These people are revolutionizing the Los Angeles' landscape maintenance industry through more efficient tools.  They were displaying all electric mower, sweeper and blower which are all great for air quality and noise pollution.  (Of course, we all know that the ultimate solution to the plethora of problems that arise with lawn maintenance would be to use turf only when necessary.) 
http://thegreenstationla.com

3.  The ReUse People. At their storage facility in Pacoima, this non profit sells salvaged parts of homes they've dismantled in the LA area.  We can't wait to visit!
http://thereusepeople.org/

4. LA Box Collective.  This group of local furniture makers sources sustainable, salvaged and local wood for their creations.  C'mon, who isn't a sucker for beautiful wood furniture?
http://laboxcollective.wordpress.com/

Keep it Interesting

Here are some photos of one of our Pacific Palisades gardens taken last year...it's fun to see how dramatic a garden can be in such a short amount of time.

March

What was blooming?  Penstemon 'Margarita BOP', Heuchera 'Canyon Belle', Escholzia californica, Carex pansa  (all CA Natives) & Erigeron karvniskianus (native to Mexico).

May

What was blooming?  Achillea 'Terracotta' & 'Moonshine', Stachys byzanitna, Lavandula detnata & Penstemon (still) 

August

What was blooming?  Achillea 'Terra Cotta', Bulbinella 'Hallmark', Stachys byzantina & Lavandula dentata.

February, before

What was blooming?  Not much.

MWD Spring Green Expo

Today, in Downtown LA, the Metropolitan Water District had its Spring Green Expo.  The event dealt with the joys and challenges of gardening in Southern California given our current water restrictions and climate.  Exhibits showed the latest in water conservation technology and speakers included Pamela Bearstler of G3LA (http://www.greengardensgroup.com/), Bart O'Brien of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd.com.  We absolutely love these people and what they stand for.  It would be wonderful if this event had been on a weekend so professionals and homeowners alike would have been able to attend!