2014 Garden Bloggers Fling - Old Germantown Gardens

By the time we got to Old Germantown Gardens I was hot and tired. And I'm afraid my photos reflect it. I've posted the least bleary looking ones. Old Germantown Gardens is an amazing place - an expansive garden, sloping away from the house, quite sunny at first and increasingly shady towards the borders. I naturally headed to the shadiest spot I could find as soon as we arrived. 

Eventually I emerged into the light, central garden space. The beds were bursting with profusions of color. I'm afraid the strong light was unflattering to my photos and I didn't linger in the heat long enough to get many decent photos. 

This tree caught my eye, or maybe I should say caught my nose. I could smell it's deliciously scented flowers throughout the garden and finally tracked the fragrance to the creamy blossoms of this fairly tall tree. The bees had obviously tracked it down too and its canopy was vibrating with hundreds of bees. I asked the owner the name of the tree and wrote it down but have misplaced my note somewhere. If anybody recognizes the tree let me know! 

To the side of the garden was the dry garden, even hotter, but full of well-drained-soil loving plants like Penstemons and Yuccas. I tend to like those scrappy, tough plants so I throughly enjoyed this section despite the heat. And the well-placed water fountain was a nice touch too. 

Just up the hill from the dry garden was a seating area with a fairly tropical feel. It was a nice contrast to the dryness below and quite refreshing. 

Closer to the house I found the greenhouse with lots of botanical treats inside. Some amazing old specimens looking fantastic against the clever, blue-walled backdrop. 

I'd love to visit Old Germantown Gardens again, preferably on a cooler day. I feel like there were so many lovelies I missed. Such a spectacular garden, I would have had so many more photos if the weather had been kinder. 

Bromiliad, Cactus and Succulent Show in SF

I was happened to be over by SF Botanical Garden when the Bromiliad, Cactus and Succulent Societies were having their plant sale. I've always been into succulents and I'm getting more and more interested in bromiliads so I thought I'd see if I could pick up any good deals.

The display section had some very nice specimens.

I don't know why but succulent growers always have the coolest pots!

These warty balls were my favorite though. That is some freaky stuff! And I love that the name of the plant is Mammillaria bocasana 'Fred'. Fred's warty balls. (Tee-hee!) Geesh, I can be so juvenile! And I should really keep in mind that my mom reads this blog.

Anyway, onto the sale part of the show. There were tables and tables of little pots of cuties.

Here is what I ended up taking home:

Succulents are (from left to right):

Kalanchoe synsepala dissectum

Aloe hybrid

Aloe hybrid

Gasteria prolifera

Bromiliads are (from top left down ending at bottom right):

Neotunisia

Tillandsia fasciculata x ionantha

Tillandsia concolor

(missing tag)

Tillandsia tenuifolia 'Amethyst'

Neoreglia cv.

Oh, and this one - Neoreglia hybrid.

Those Tillandsias I'm going to try growing on some palm trunks I've had in my garden for years and never know what to do with.

I also picked up this book, The History of Succulents by Gordon Douglas Rowley, which looks pretty interesting.

I was sold as soon as I saw the photo of this guy. Doesn't he look like some cooky neighbor that likes to garden naked, handing out divisions of his succulents to neighbors, whether they want them or not. Actually, he looks like his name could be Fred...

The Huntington Part II

After enjoying the succulent garden at the Huntington, we headed over to the children's garden. Definitely a departure from the typical brightly colored, veggie-based children's gardens that always seem to include a bean tepee and straw bales, the Huntington children's garden was edgier with a minimal color palate and high-end hardscape. One of the coolest structures was the nail and pebble music maker. By dropping small pebbles through a maze of nails set in concrete, kids could make a surprisingly lovely tinkly sound. Another favorite was the magnetic metal shavings. Kids could form the shavings into an arch and of course, smash it apart.

The plantings were simple and tough, but very lovely.

Other features included steam, mist and hiding places.

All in all, a really fun and cool looking children's garden. The only lame part was when twice I saw workers telling kids to quit splashing water from out of the water features. Kind of uptight for a children's garden, no?

We also had a great time exploring the plantings around the main lawn area. The unpruned cedars created such an amazing space.

And who can resist a giant grove of bamboo?

There are a lot of neoclassical and romantic parts of the garden too.

The mansion is impressively luxurious - crisp, white and formal contrasting with its tropical setting.

The Conservatory was quite an eyeful too. There were lots of educational exhibits that were engaging for kids and adults alike.

I love this Polygonum(?). I wonder if it can grow outside here?

With so many excellent features, the Huntington definitely has something to thrill everyone. There were many parts of the I didn't get a chance to see, I'm definitely going to have to go back.