California!

In mid-September I met a girlfriend in California for a brief get-away. The start of our trip was a drive to Sacramento to visit some of her childhood haunts. I was impressed by all of the Italian cypress in that part of the state. They were so beautiful and I once again wished I could grow them in Virginia. We spent the night near the Capitol building and visited the building and its lovely grounds before hitting the road. This was my first trip to California and I was very excited to see orange trees.

and redwoods!

The grounds were filled with many other beautiful, old trees including this Atlas Cedar.

There was one section with boxwood, aucuba and rhododendron that felt and smelled (thanks to the boxwoods) just like home. Turns out it was! The garden was a recreation of East Coast flora to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Civil War.

Of course inside the building itself, I couldn't resist taking a picture of another amazing sight

After that early morning tour we headed toward Point Reyes National Seashore Park. Beside the sandy beach were waves of colors that turned out to be a variety of succulents.

Our trip ended in San Francisco where my friend had a conference and I spent two days exploring the city on my own. The first day I of course ended up at Golden Gate Park known for its gardens. The Japanese gardens were my favorite. Look at this beautiful gingko to the right of the Tea House. It was unlabeled, but one of the gardeners told me it was the species.

I had been leaning toward planting the 'Autumn Gold' variety along the street, at Michael Dirr's recommendation, but I'm already rethinking. This may be why I don't progress very quickly in my garden. It takes me forever to come up with what I think will be the perfect variety and then I see or learn something that changes my mind!

Throughout the garden they used heavily pruned bamboo to both divide rooms and create movement. Bamboo is a plant I love, but can't bring myself to plant because of its invasive nature and our proximity to natural woodlands. The idea of using it in this way make me think maybe...

Doesn't it look like boxwood in a formal garden from this distance?

Water was throughout the garden all connected to a large pond you didn't discover until the end

with beautiful, old koi.

There were a number of unusual bridges, many of which seemed solid until you got up close and saw the water or a glimpse of a fish passing underneath.

There was also a beautiful collection of dwarf conifers with a sad history. The collection originally belonged to a Japanese couple, the original caretakers of the garden. According to the sign "during World War II" the couple "was forced to relocate to other areas of the country." Sounds like they were sent to an internement camp to me. Do they really think the public is so stupid they can't figure out the truth? Why not just be honest and show respect for the Hagiwara family by acknowledging their experience. Perhaps, I'm assuming too much; read the sign and decide for yourself.

Here's a picture of their beautiful collection in its current home. The good thing I took away from the sign was proof that "miniature" conifers really are, well, miniature. If these plants are really from the 40's they're growing as slowly as promised. Not that I thought the books were lying, but it's nice to see an actual example with a year for reference.

Some other details I found inspirational:

Check out this little piece of wood with a plant growing inside. Such a simple thing became something fun to discover and such a pretty way to draw attention to an attractive piece of wood.

Checkout this manmade hill creating height in an otherwise flat area. I love its variegated topper!

This grass was beautiful, especially when the light shone on it highlighting the red; it would look gorgeous by my pond. The botanical gardens had it labeled as Imperata Cylindrica Santintail. I thought I remembered this from a controversial Horitculture cover where it first caught my eye. Readers wrote in incensed that they would feature such an invasive plant in such a prominent way! My initial research indicates my memory is correct. It's listed on the Invasive Alien Plant Species of Virginia list. Oh well, it was fun to dream about however briefly. Of course, now I still don't know what to plant near the pond...

This bench looks simple enough to create at home. Won't my Dad be thrilled with this inspiration.

I loved too that they used these simple wood boxes for their pond plants. I always reuse black, plastic pots, but this was interesting.

I walked around Stowe Lake to reach these waterfalls.

Notice yet another bridge, this one crossing the falls, that allows water to flow freely.

This dead tree on the other side of the lake looks exactly like a giant heron stalking its prey...

The botanical gardens had a few impressive specimens and I took photos of lots of trees and perennials that were new to me and that I want to learn more about. I won't bore you with all of the pictures in this already long posting, but check out the trunk on this Lemon Verbena.


Macondray Lane was tucked between two streets in the Russian Hill area of downtown. After climbing up more steep hills than I would ever have liked, I found it closed in and a more secluded area than I usually venture into alone in a big city. Looking back from where I'd come and looking forward to the woodland-like path I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. It was completely unexpected in the middle of a city.

I liked this little seating area one homeowner had created along the way.