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Correa 'Sister Dawn': Subtle Aussie evergreen

We are blessed in our Bay Area's Mediterranean climate to be able to grow plants from around the world. Increasingly, Australian plants are becoming available in full-service nurseries. One of the most versatile of the Aussie imports is the evergreen ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  22 Nov 2009

Aloe varietal is both hardy, attractive

Near the top of this most welcome list is Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid.' This modest-size succulent makes dense clumps to 1 foot high and 2 feet wide, with short stems bearing narrow leaves to 8 inches in length. These bright green, white-spotted leaves, ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  15 Nov 2009

Pandorea jasminoides a good coverage vine

Gardeners are familiar with potato vine, climbing jasmine, passion flower vines and royal trumpet vine but may have overlooked another excellent coverage vine: Pandorea jasminoides. Commonly called bower vine, this evergreen twining vine native to ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  8 Nov 2009

Serenade, a garden-friendly treatment

Eco-friendly gardening products are increasing in popularity these days and proving to be as effective as many chemical treatments. Such is the case for the Environmental Protection Agency-approved fungicide treatment Serenade, made by AgraQuest of ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  25 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Environmental Protection Agency,  Barack Obama

Shrub Choisya ternata is a bouquet of snowfall

An evergreen shrub hailing from - where else? - northern Mexico and the American Southwest, it features attractively glossy dark green leaves consisting of three stalkless, obovate leaflets to 3 inches long. Specimens can reach 8 feet tall and wide ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  25 Oct 2009

Scary plants to make your Halloween grow

blades of Phormium "Platt's Black" as a background, or the much shorter black mondo grass to provide a witching hour "sea bed." The problem with Halloween is that we tend to overdo it, what with the severed hands and headless bodies. For something a ...

From ERLE NICKEL, Inside Bay Area,  23 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Tim Burton

Garden of earthly frights

class="bodytext">If you embrace Halloween for the weird and the macabre, the plant kingdom has you covered. The problem with Halloween is that we tend to overdo it, what with the severed hands and headless bodies. For something a bit lower on the gore ...

From ERLE NICKEL FOR THE BAY AREA NEWS GROUP, The San Jose Mercury News,  22 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Tim Burton

Asarina vine offers soft backdrop

There is a vine that may go unnoticed, however, especially since you probably won't find it in the vine section of your local nursery. It's Asarina scandens, sometimes known as climbing snapdragon or figwort. This delicate, some say sophisticated, ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  18 Oct 2009

D. scandens - a bleeding heart in yellow

Better yet, D. scandens is often a fairly reliable deciduous perennial in our milder Bay Area zones. In early summer it produces masses of deeply lobed, ovate to lance-shaped leaves, which from a distance resemble maidenhair ferns or corydalis ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  11 Oct 2009

Pick of the Week: Begonias

Cane-type begonias have been enjoying a renewed popularity over the last few years, and that should come as no surprise to any gardener lucky enough to find one at his or her local nursery. For those used to bedding begonias or even the lovely ...

From ERLE NICKEL, San Francisco Chronicle,  4 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Brad Thompson

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