Here's where I make notes to self regarding future plantings: plant mizuna in October at the latest! I started the seeds on my windowsill in late November. It's January and are obviously nowhere near ready to be transferred to my garden. My seeds are not as viable so it will also be time to get new seeds.
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.It has been unnaturally colder than normal the last week, with the lows in the mid 30s, F, a lovely visit from the jet stream which normally doesn't traverse our way. I am not used to cold like this. Amazingly, I still have green plants in my garden, and these include fava beans, peas, chard, parsley, potato plants and cilantro.~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878~
Not surprisingly, weeds continue to do well despite our cold spell, and right now, the toadflax is just coming up. I keep toadflax around for the dainty Easter egg colored flowers. Family Plantaginaceace, species Linaria. They were originally in the Scrophulariaceae family, which was my first guess. I don't think they do well as a cut flower because they only seem to last a day in the vase, after which the tiny flowers fall off and form a mess both on the table and in the water. Still, I occassionally bring them home for the table, if only for a day.
With our colder weather now upon us, and I am talking 37 F at the coldest, the sweet potato vines have started to look awful. Finally time to pull out the vines.
I didn't get too many but will place these carefully in the dark, my closet, to cure for a few weeks. Maybe we'll have sweet potatoes for Valentines Day!
I have been like Johnny Appleseed these last few weeks and dispersed some of my California poppy seeds which I have collected. I don't know what subspecies these are but they are the yellow variants which grow in my garden. Family Papaveraceae, species Eschscholzia californica. These are drought-tolerant but they seem to need rain to kick them off to a good start, which we've had. It's also been chilly for us, which is around 40 F at the worst. It seems they like the colder weather for germinating.
I find poppy seedlings to be distinctive, with the two-pronged needle like cotyledons. You can see the more classic feathery look emerging. They seem to like disturbed soil. I also find they seem to pop up after a winter rain, classic fire ecology traits for living in the chapparal, our native flora.
The green veggies in my garden such as chard, peas and fava beans are growing well but the peas and fava have yet to bloom. As I don't have any blooms in my garden, I thought I would trot out these I spotted on my daily walks around town. January is camellia time in Southern California. Although the camellia is far from drought tolerant, they can fill out the corner in partial shade gardens. They prefer acidic soil. Family Theaceae, same family that provides green tea.
Lavender early in the morning still has rain drops from the storm which blew through overnight. They are not in bloom yet. Lavendar is great for the drought tolerant garden. Even without blooms, the foliage is a treasure. I don't know what species these are but I'm sure these are not native. Family Lamiaceae.
Lantana seems to always be in bloom in Southern California. This should be a great book title. I believe lantana is drought tolerant and not native. They are somewhat sensitive to cold but do fine, generally. Family Verbenaceae.
These provide loads of color in the winter, our winter, that is. I used to know what these were called. I believe these non-native but drought tolerant. All I know is they are in the Lamiaceae family.
