A Bit of Earth2698 Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 550 – 9498
Case: House on Virginia Way, La Jolla, CA 92037
Date of Consultation: November 15, 2001
Projected Installation and Treatment: Immediately, and Ongoing
Background: The couple has lived and gardened in the home for 20 years. They have a regular gardener to do large, heavy maintenance, but they do all the real gardening themselves. Challenges include a lot of heavy shade, narrow passages with planter boxes, occasional vandals (!), and several very small but highly-visible spaces including a small window box all along the west window. The goal is to find very colorful, fragrant, low-growing, neat plants that will look beautiful all year without needing much care or seasonal replacement. Preference is for strong, saturated colors.
Although I normally provide more detailed instructions and drawings for people less familiar with their gardens and less decisive about their desires, for this couple it was clear that they just needed some new, spicy suggestions for year-round garden entertainment. The suggestions are open-ended, and no sketches were required. They could then choose from the list, depending on whether they liked the plants when they met them in person at the nursery. As I walked around the property, I noted outstanding problems and I provide in this document brief suggestions for correction. But the focus of this work was on several very small but central beds and planters, some of which had proven problematic over the years. During our first two hours of consultation, we discussed the couple's tastes and concerns, and looked at photographs of possible candidates and listed their merits. At the office, I brainstormed some more to find just the right plants and listed local nurseries and stores where I have seen them recently. (Upon delivery of this document, it turned out that the clients had gone ahead and purchased a few of my preliminary suggestions that they had originally declined. I hadn't included these plants in the final document because they seemed to the couple to be too large or not quite pretty enough; when they saw them in the nursery, however, the plants proved as irresistible to them as they always are to me. These unexpected additions included a double white New Zealand Tea Tree (Leptospermum scoparium "Snow White") and Euryops. The Euryops blooms non-stop all year in a sunny or partly sunny location; the Leptospermum blooms two or three times a year, most heavily from November to April. Both make charming small trees, and while the Euryops sometimes has a brief struggle with aphids in the spring, the Tea Tree is highly resistant to all of La Jolla's most troublesome pests.)
REMINDERS:
Ask the gardener to stop shearing the bougainvillea and instead cut it back artfully into a sparse espalier, and give it a low-nitrogen fertilizer to make it bloom. I can give you an estimate, if your gardener isn't able to do it and you'd like me to do it instead.
CHEMICALS:
Paraffinic Oil for mites on Brush Cherry hedge and brunfelsias on the balcony. Will also kill any other insect or disease by smothering it. Safe for people and animals. Be careful to start with a low dose to see whether the plant will be adversely affected. Start at a rate of 2 tablespoons per gallon of water; try a higher rate if this doesn't kill the pest, up to 5 tablespoons per gallon. Spray undersides of leaves to runoff. Wait two weeks between treatments to make sure oil isn't building up on the plants. Never mix this oil with any other chemical, as doing so may harm the plant.
Fish Emulsion for Brunfelsias (purple leaves are due to phosphorus deficiency), and for Rhododendron (pale leaves are due to nitrogen deficiency).
Iron granules and organic matter for chlorotic plants.
AMENDMENTS:
Many of the plants I am recommending like light, acid soil. For beds, I recommend sphagnum peat moss and Gro-Mulch mixed into the existing soil. Keep in mind that using these amendments will increase the plants' need for nitrogen. The exception is the Chrysanthemum, which wants alkaline soil.
PLANT SUGGESTIONS:
Unless marked with a store name, the plants on these lists are widely available. Some are not in stores yet but are really worth looking/waiting for; I have marked these with expected availability dates and stores where I have found them in the past or talked to the managers about them during the week of December 16th, 2001.
LONG WEST WINDOW BOX:
These low-growing or trailing plants take full west and noon sun and have either a long bloom period or bloom all year, or else they have scented foliage which makes them worth the space. All have similar watering needs and so make good companions in the box. They are also generally pest-resistant.
FRAGRANT:
Alyssum (all year)Scented Geranium (Pacific Beach Nursery)
Pennyroyal (tiny leafed trailing mint) (Armstrong, Miramar Wholesale Nursery Yard)
Purple Petunias
Carnations
Trailing Rosemary (Armstrong, sometimes Home Depot)
Nicotiana (great reds!)
Heliotrope
JUST COLOR:
Scaevola (blue fan-shaped flowers on trailing stems, all year)
Diascia barberae (striking peach or raspberry flowers)
Lithodora (blue or blue and white striped, trailing; Armstrong, not available yet)
Gypsophila paniculata, Baby's Breath (Armstrong, Walter Anderson)
Mouse Ear Coreopsis (Armstrong; small, cute dark green leaves, bright yellow flowers)
Felicia (periwinkle blue daisies with yellow centers, all year)
Russellia (wispy stems/foliage, bright orange-red blossoms all year; Armstrong)
Ivy Geranium
Convolvulus Tricolor "Blue Ensign" (deep blue with yellow centers; seeds:Armstrong)
Verbena (great deep reds!)
Lotus (soft needle-like gray-green foliage, bright orange flowers spring/summer; Armstrong)
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UNDER WEST WINDOW BOX:
Small, very fragrant, flexible specimens for pots along the west balcony:
Boronia (long winter/spring bloom, powerful fragrance, bright flowers; leaves are scented too). Species and varieties: 'Carousel', heterophylla, megastima, molloyae. Not available yet; try in January and February, at Armstrong or Walter Anderson.
Trachelospermum; prune back hard to keep shrubby, or train along the wall on wires.
Primroses can be scattered among the planter boxes for extended bright color in the shade behind the wall. Bloom begins in December and continues well into summer; plants remain green and rebloom year after year without much attention.
A tall Tibouchina (Princess flower) would love to live at the south end of the balcony, in a 10 or 15 gallon pot. The leafy crown tends to be open and airy, and the plants prefers to have its top in full sun and its roots in cool shade, which is exactly what you have there. Large blue-violet blooms from late spring to late winter; loses half its leaves during its cold weather rest; thus you'd have a bit of shade from it in the summer and it would clear out for winter and leave you with a charming twiggy accent. Won't block the view. Find tree-form tibouchinas at Armstrong, Home Depot, Miramar Wholesale.
(Have you ever considered using a heavily blooming vine along the eves above the west window? Bougainvillea could be placed in a 15 gallon pot near the door and trained along the eves. Or an orange clock vine. Just a thought.)
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GARAGE VINE BOX:
Evergreen vine suggestions. Mix freely for year-round bloom and fragrance. They will do nicely in this somewhat light-challenged spot.
FRAGRANT:
Pink Jasmine (feathery foliage, fragrant blossoms from December to March)
Beaumontia "Easter Lily Vine (huge fragrant flowers in spring/summer, large leaves)
Stephanotis (leathery foliage, fragrant blossoms from June to September; not always in good supply, so grab it now at Armstrong, Walter Anderson, Home Depot, Miramar Wholesale, Green Gardens Nursery, Pacific Beach Nursery)
Distictis Riversii (purple trumpets with yellow centers)
JUST COLOR:
Thunbergia gregorii (orange clock vine) or battiscombei (blue with yellow center) blooms heavily all year. See a very fine example on display at Green Gardens Nursery, where they are also sold. ________________________________________________________________________
THE NEIGHBOR'S FENCE
There might be just enough sun for either trachelospermum (star jasmine) or pink jasmine. You could mix them for a longer period of bloom. ________________________________________________________________________
BEDS
Pennyroyal can be a very low fragrant groundcover for all areas of the beds.
LOW BLOOMERS FOR BED AT NORTH SIDE OF PATIO
Aquilegia (columbine)
Carnation
Convolvulus Tricolor "Blue Ensign"
Coreopsis, Mouse Ear
Senna artemisioidies (Feathery Cassia) (continuous fragrant yellow blooms among soft, wispy silver-green needles; pinch back to keep low; Armstrong)
LOW BLOOMERS FOR EAST BED
SUNNY EDGE:
Kalanchoe (long winter/spring bloom, second bloom in summer)
Stock (strongly perfumed winter bloom)
Verbena (very good cherry reds available)
Torenia fournieri (similar to small blue gloxinias; Armstrong)
Erica (small and dwarf species, such as carnea, casta, doliiformis; Armstrong, Home Depot, Walter Anderson; Trader Joe's has some lovely specimens)
Martha Washington Geraniums (available January or February; forms a mound 2 feet in diameter and blooms heavily and continuously from February until fall; cut back to rejuvenate)
SLIGHTLY TALLER BLOOMERS FOR LIGHTLY SHADED BACK PORTION:
Fuchsia "Winston Churchill" (upright; large double red and purple all year)
Fuchsia "Southgate" (upright; large double light pink all year)
Fuchsia "Nicci's Findling" (upright; small single orange and raspberry all year)
Fuchsia "White Pixie" (upright; small single white and bright pink all year)
Chrysanthemum (very long spring/summer/fall bloom in dappled shade)
Boronia, taller, fragrant backdrop for east edge of bed)
Epidendrum orchid (continuous bloom in purple, red, orange, or yellow; Armstrong, Home Depot, Green Gardens Nursery) ________________________________________________________________________
PATIO PLANTERS IN MOSTLY SHADE, TO REPLACE PRIVET AND COMPLEMENT FERNS:
Osmanthus fragrans (fragrant blossoms November through spring)
Murraya exotica (fragrant blossoms fall and winter)
Brunfelsia grandiflora (winter bloom)
PATIO PLANTERS IN DEEPEST SHADE:
Ternstromia (fragrant yellow blossoms (Walter Anderson, Miramar Wholesale)
Sarcoccoca (fragrant white blossoms; Walter Anderson)
Spathiphyllum Peace Lily (large, fragrant blossoms all year)
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WEST GARAGE DOOR PLANTERS
Combine any of the following with a trailer such as rosemary, scaevola, burrow's tail, star jasmine (trachelospermum):
An upright Carissa will add rich greenery and year-round scented clean white flowers while the thieves with long nasty thorns. Tolerates shade and some dryness. Don't get one of the sprawling varieties or you will have a neverending maintenance project to keep it out of the way.
Ternstromia is perfect for this spot, and the thieves might it find less interesting for their bouquets. It's mostly carefree, thrives in full shade or full sun, and in spring produces scented yellow flowers. Needs watering. Can be left as a rounded shrub or limbed up to make a cute small tree.
Michaelia figo is a small spring bloomer with glossy foliage. The flowers are extremely fragrant but visually inconspicuous and so might be less attractive to marauders than Impatiens.
Pink Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) would also be suitable though it may be a little more work (you'll have to train it to a trellis or pole). This would be a good choice if you enjoy bringing fragrant flowers into the house--small bouquets are very powerful and can last a week or two.
Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) would also work well here, though due to the showy flowers it might be wise to wait until the vandals have grown out of their destructive age.
Jade plants do quite well in shade and might even bloom in this spot. Completely maintenance free except for a little water now and then.
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If you need any further explanation of any of this material, or if there are any issues I've missed, please feel free to give me a call! 858-550-9498
I will do a brief (15-minute) follow-up in one month to check for problems with these suggestions. If you will delay the installation of the plants, please just let me know and I'll move the follow-up date. I'll give you a call to schedule a convenient time.
Thanks for letting me work with you on this project. May your gardens be amazing!
Carolyn Ray