Sunday, April 27, 2008

More late April blooms...

Ah, Spring...






New to the garden... 'Summertime Blueberry' Osteospermum, next to Babiana stricta.


Calandrinia grandiflora... just now starting to bloom. Great plant-- pretty, drought-tolerant, easy to propagate (just pluck a sprig and stick in a pot).


Chinese ground orchids (Bletilla striata)

Bearded Iris



Weeder, the bearded iris you gave me is blooming. Any idea which cultivar it is? Do you remember where you got it? Any bearded iris aficionados recognize this beauty?

Friday, April 18, 2008

'Sunny Sheila' Osteospermum companions




Cloverann got me thinking about plant combos for Osteospermum 'Sunny Sheila'. Whattya think?

Top row: Royal Purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple')

Bottom row (left to right):

Good news for nurseries?



Will more people-- of all ages, not just Gen X/Yers nursery consultants are urging nursery owners to woo-- start growing their own food? Gardening? Yup.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the recession

The market's in a slump and America's heyday is long gone. But I've found comfort in being a coupon clipper.
By Heather Havrilesky, Salon.com

Store-bought vs. homemade

Sometimes convenience makes sense -- and can even save cents
By Gwen Schoen - gschoen@sacbee.com, SacBee.com


Bring back the WWII-era victory garden

Philip S. Wenz
Saturday, April 12, 2008, SFGate.com

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Saved


Thought I'd pass this along...

You are receiving this because you signed the online petition at
savethecowpalace.com...



Dear Friend of the Cow Palace,

Great news!

The Senate Agricultural Committee today (4/15/08) voted to "approve" SB 1527
with amendments that protect the Cow Palace and most of it's parking lots,
and allow the potential sale of ONLY the 13 acres that the Cow Palace Board
has been working to lease to Daly City from the beginning!

In other words, the Cow Palace is saved and the Senate will continue to work
on lease or sale of 13 acres of the Cow Palace parking lot for a retail
center.

You, along with thousands of others, made your voice heard.
You helped save the Cow Palace! All 5 Senators were delivered a BOUND copy
of all 2,800 signatures (and your comments!) received by
savethecowpalace.com

Thank you for signing the petition and for everything you did to help!


So, we can breathe a sigh of relief and perhaps write letters of thanks to
the 5 Agriculture committee members, but this is not the end of the issue
forever.

The amended bill has now moved to the Government Organizational Committee.
If the language is not amended again to require a lease of the 13 acres
instead of an outright sale, the Cow Palace will not have enough money over
time to pay for needed upgrades to it's facility and operations.

We will keep you posted and let you know if there is anything else you can
do once we have seen the actual amendment language.

In the meanwhile, say "Yeeee-Haaaaa".

We will continue to communicate about ways to assure a bright future for OUR
Cow Palace.

Spread the word! If your friends that you tell the good news have signed
the online petition too, they will automatically receive updates as a
"Friend of the Cow Palace".

If they have not signed the petition, please tell them to do so! It will
stay up for a while and will put them on the email list for the ongoing
"Friends of the Cow Palace"!

Thank you again for everything you did to help!

Sincerely,

Kevin

Kevin Patterson
Friends of the Cow Palace
(formerly the Coalition to Save the Cow Palace)
http://www.savethecowpalace.com/
Email: info@savethecowpalace.com
--

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Osteospermum 'Nuanza Copper Purple'

During a much-needed plant-fondling trip to Berkeley Hort yesterday, I spied another gorgeous Osteospermum, 'Nuanza Copper Purple', in a planter. It's very reminiscent of 'Sunny Sheila' in its jewel-toned color blend and iridescence, but here purple dominates with just a hint of copper. Didn't take a pic, but here's a link to a pic. None in stock at B.H. that day, unfortunately, but I'll keep my eye out for it locally.

When Weeder and I left Sac, it was downright chilly; bizarrely, Berkeley was experiencing a scorcher! Note to Berkeley... we like you better when we need a sweater.

Fun site: http://www.capedaisy.com/

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Osteospermum hybrid Sunny 'Sheila'



I'm still loving Osteospermum hybrid Sunny 'Sheila'. The colors are amazing... much more intense and coppery in person than in photos and the way light plays with the petals is really fun.