GIANT Terrarium

Check out this giant terrarium at the University of Arizona in Tucson called the Biosphere 2. It uses solar panels and the sun to create this lush landscape in an arid desert.

Just like a giant terrarium!

http://www.b2science.org/

Lo vs. the Vines 2009 - round 1

Bella watching the sunset over the orange trees.  End of round 1.

I am definitely realizing that I am a greenhorn gardener in a very mature yard.  So I worked like a dog all weekend yanking decades old vines out of our citrus trees and off our fences.  I pruned some of the undergrowth out of our lemon tree and it looks adorable now.   I must have cut a whole dumpster's worth of dead growth with loppers and hauled it to the back corner of the yard.  Bella the Cat watched interestedly from inside the whole weekend.

After cutting for hours in the sun I really developed an intuitive feeling for the vines.  They are so old- at least 30 years or more- and I couldn't help but marvel that due to their unchecked growth over the years they had really established themselves.  It's an example of the great lengths (literally) such an invasive plant with 0 impediment can reach. I could start following long tendrils back to the source branch, which made my cuts more effective.  I didn't event get a chance to rake all the dead growth out of the weeds on the ground.  At least the overhead growth is cut back and sunlight will start reaching the potted plants more effectively.

Round 1: Lo wins.  

Spring Garden Plans

I am excitedly planing the back courtyard garden of our house in Santa Barbara.  A roommate with a penchant for leaving dead plants all over the yard recently moved out.  While she lived in the house I was very un-motivated to keep the yard "up" as it looked horrible back there with all her junk anyways.  Now that she is gone I am interested in it again.

 Our garden is unique in that we have a.) a large perma-shade area below mature orange trees overgrown with vines and 2.) a large patio with little opportunity for plants to be in full day sun and most importantly 3.) 60 years of citrus trees growing as tall as they want coupled with hugely invasive overgrown vines makes the area a constant battle ground.  It's an uphill battle all the time to keep things in check.  But I think I am finally ready to invest myself into it as it's my second year in the house and I think I'd like to stay for a while.

For the shaded area I am thinking fuchsias, calla lilies and ferns.  Growing up we had a double fuchsia like one pictured above and my favorite pass time was popping the buds.  

I would also like to focus on evergreen plants that will provide scent.  My parents have a lovely jasmine plant growing up a trellis against a wall (like one above) that I might want to try on the patio.

For what little part of the yard that does get ample sun I would like to do native plants and plants that will attract birds and butterflies.  I love white sage, honeysuckle and butterfly bush.

Latana also grows like a weed in zone 24 and attracts many bees and butterflies.  I think I'd like to do these in pots on the patio as they are so pretty but grow so low to the ground.

While I'd love to start thinking about patio furniture - ultimately the next step is a lot of vine cutting and earth-hoeing.  Wish me luck!

Welcome

More on Madame Ganna Walska of Lotusland, Santa Barbara

The warm spring air in California seems to be bringing out the garden interest in the general public. The Santa Barbara Independent had a wonderful article on the public and private gardens in the area and had a blurb and this photo of Madame Ganna Walska, visionary behind Lotusland.

Bzzz.

I have a love/love relationship with bees so when I came across this I had to share.  Although this lil' fella is a bumblebee I'm still inspired.

Original post at Jezebel.

Wine Bottle Terrarium

This is one of my older terrariums in a wine bottle. It's lasted for about a year and has really filled in. In this photo you can really see the layers of gravel, charcoal, dried moss and soil in the bottle.

My sister has been asking for a terrarium for ever now. I was hesitant to give her a terrarium that hadn't properly settled for fear it would dry out or die or get diseased. However as this one has lasted so long I am proud to give it to her.

The sword fern [nephrolepis cordifolia] is doing so well that runner plants are growing off the parent plant and on the side of the bottle. Some of the older fronds are turning brown and dying but I think the decomposition will not harm the eco balance in the bottle.

Cymbidium in Bloom

In sunny zone 10 my cymbidium is kicking into high-gear. One spike is opening up and the other one is waiting in the wings.

Nearly all the blooms on the first spike are starting to open.

I love the creamy color combo.

Lotusland Santa Barbara

Fern Garden at Lotusland, Santa Barbara

Madame Ganna Walska was an eccentric polish opera starlet with a penchant for marrying rich (an apparently repeatedly), taking morning swims in the nude, and a fascination with the occult and the bizarre. Needless to say she sounds like an awesome old bird and I wish I could have attended one of her famed seannce soirees back in the day. She founded the vast estate now-known as "Lotusland" in 1941 and used the grounds, her money and her connections to create a lush fantasy land of gardens.

The grounds feature 17 themed gardens over 37 acres and house some rare and fantastical plants - inclouding the last known pair of "bachelor" primordial trees in existence in the Cycad garden.

My favorite of the gardens is of course the fern garden- a whimsical arrangement of ferns, mosses and mushrooms.

However the namesake garden on the property is the lotus garden- planted in an old swimming pool. I have never been lucky enough to catch the loti(?) in bloom. However I will be doing a tour of the garden in March so maybe this time around....

I promise to take lots of photos!

Lotusland Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara International Orchid Show Coming Soon!

CalOrchid display at past orchid show

Spring is in the air in Santa Barbara as the days are growing balmy and my new creamy cymbidium is opening it's blooms (photos soon!)  Spring also means a special time for flower-lovers in SB: less then a month to go to the SB International Orchid Show at Earl Warren!  

The show includes judged categories, flower arranging and fantastical displays by local orchid collectives.  Some displays are over 40 feet long and the whole showroom is filled with the heady scent of these truly magic plants.  

My favorite display is always the miniature orchid case - a beautiful terrarium in it's own right! I promise I will take many photos!  

March 20-22, 2009  - SB International Orchid Show

Terrarium in Vase

Zero week old terrarium in glass bud vase.  

I just planted the specimens before I took this photo and the arrangement is still very messy and very wet.  I hope to swab out the bottle once it dries out a bit.  The fern was not the healthiest-looking in the batch but I was feeling impatient and wanted to plant a specimen with fronds already formed.  

Impatience in terrarium-making nearly always ends in disaster.  The old adage "a stitch in time saves nine" is completely true when it comes to bottle gardens.  I can't tell you how many bottles I hastily planted only to have to empty and start from the beginning again down the road due to some oversight in the planting process.

Gaviota Wind Caves Hike

The Gaviota Wind Caves is an intermediate hike near the coast about 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara proper.  The area was burned in a brushfire about 5 years ago and the native plants that require sunlight provided to the lower levels of the brush are thriving this time of year.  The caves are carved out of sandstone by the salty ocean air and there is beach access about half a mile from the caves.  The unique combination of sandy beach bluff, elevation and protection from the wind provides a unique little ecosystem for local plants.  Many of the caves are big enough for several people to sit in and it's a great place to picnic. 

I found this plant growing at the foot of the caves.  Looks a lot like my spike moss but it is less translucent and more stiff.  I put some in an incubator terrarium to see how it handles the conditions but as it was growing in very dry powdery sand I am not sure it will like the soil in my terrariums.

Check out the full album of photos from the hike here.

Macro

I'm working on getting my macro shots down: playing with lighting, tripod etc.