Banana

Banana plants are often mistaken to be trees but they are not. Bananas are the largest herbaceous flowering plant. They can grow as tall as eight meters high and the leaves which grow at the top of the trunk can grow as long as 9 feet.

Bananas grow fruits in hanging clusters. The hanging clusters are called bunch or commercially known as “banana stem”. Most ripe banana fruit turns yellow in color.

The tropics is where most bananas grow in commercial quantity. In regions where it is colder, bananas are cultivated as an ornament.

Last year, I planted a sapling I bought from a local nursery. I wasn’t sure that it will survive. The weather in Southern California is drier than the tropics but with constant watering it not only survived but thrived and is now bearing fruit. 

The one I planted is not as tall as the bananas found in the tropics and the leaves are not as long and as wide either. Other than the size, the plant is very healthy.

I hope the fruit will be sweet.  

Gertrude Jekyll Rose

Gertrude Jekyll rose is an English rose by David Austin. It is a deep pink English rose with a very fragrant sweet old English rose scent. Like atypical English rose, the flower is very double with lots of petals. The scent of the blooms are so strong a vase of of it's flowers will perfume an entire room. 

In Southern California, the  rose will continue to bloom from early spring until late summer. The bush is tall and strong, the foliage are healthy and I never have any problem.

 
This rose is named after Gertrude Jekyll, a famous English gardener and writer. She is remembered for her subtle approach to the arrangement of plants in the gardens she created.She arranged the plants by colors that look like Impressionistic paintings. She arranged plants for color effect.Some suggested that she arranges plants according to color because of her deteriorating eyesight. In a border, lighter colored plants are planted in front and darker colored plants are planted at the back.

I have planted three of this roses and I have not pruned one of them last spring. I was surprised that it had lateral shoots although the blooms from the lateral shoots are not as big. Gertrude Jekyll is a perfect climbing  rose for small gardens.

Peony, May 23, 2012

I bought and planted 3 herbaceous peonies almost 8 years ago. One of them survived and grows back every spring but it never bloomed. This spring it finally bloomed. The flower is huge, almost 5 inches across when it fully opened after a few days.

The flower is off-white with a streak of pale salmon pink towards the center. It is fully double with lots of petals. Peony flower is not usually available in flower shops in Southern California. Trader Joe’s sometimes sell the flower in spring but they are rather tiny with only a few petals. Not the one that I planted.

The leaves are dark green with reddish veins and they look very healthy. The flower stem is about a foot long.

I usually keep the label of plants I plant but I have somehow misplaced the label for this peony since I bought it almost eight years ago. In fact I almost dug it out as it was bearing no flower. Tried to look it up in the internet but I couldn’t find a similar one; so I don’t know what variety is this peony.  

Roses

Garden roses are the most popular and widely planted flowering plants especially in mild and temperate climates like Southern California.

It is believed that roses have been cultivated since 5,000 years ago. Records exist of roses being grown in ancient Chinese and Greek gardens, including gardens in ancient Babylon. Paintings of roses have also been discovered in Egyptian pyramids.

The modern rose as we know it today was bred from wild roses hybridized with cultivars of the China rose. Hybridizing started in Europe with Empress Josephine of France patronizing the development of rose breeding in her Malmaison garden.

There are three main group classifications of roses namely wild rose, old garden and modern garden. Wild roses also known as species roses are low maintenance and have one flush of bloom per year. Old garden roses are roses that existed before the introduction of modern roses; they are also known as heritage roses. Modern roses are hybrids of wild and old garden roses.

Modern roses are further classified into hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda, polyantha, miniature, climbers, pillars, English, shrub and rugosas.

Hybrid Teas are the most popular class with their characteristic high centered blooms. Most Hybrid Teas produce large high centered blooms on long stems. Many are fragrant and are disease resistant. Although most Hybrid Teas sold at nurseries are no longer fragrant. They need hard pruning every spring in order to produce large and healthy blooms. In Southern California, hard pruning can be done almost any time of the year. 

Another popular modern rose are the Floribunda roses. They produce clusters of blooms that are smaller than Hybrid Tea blooms. In Southern California they tend to bloom continuously. They are shorter and are great when planted in groups. The Iceberg rose is a  Floribunda.

English rose is a hybrid of Hybrid Tea and Old Rose. English roses are very fragrant and hundreds of petals. This type of rose is hybridized by David Austen.

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens is a botanic garden dedicated to California native plants. If you love nature, gardening and plants, this is a must see garden for native California plants. The garden contains thousands of native species and cultivars.

The garden is located in Claremont, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is about 60 from downtown Los Angeles, take the 10 or 210 freeways going east.

At 84 acres, this is a smaller garden compared the other Southern California gardens like the Descanso Gardens,  Huntington Gardens and the and LA County Arboretm. Although it is smaller in size, the amount of native California plants are enormous. The garden is dedicated to preserving native plants. It has an active research department which specializes in systemic botany and floristic. Combined with the herbarium of the neighboring Pomona College, it has millions of specimens.

The landscaping is done to showcase the natural habitat of the native plants. Plants are categorized according to the plant's ecosystem. Unlike typical gardens, it has no big areas with lawns and landscaping. It has very minimal human influence, it doesn't look artificial like most gardens. The plants are the attractions, not the view. Hardscapes including administrative buildings are few.

To the untrained gardener, the botanic garden may look like a jungle of unmaintained plants and trees. Trees are not pruned and are made to  grow naturally. Palm trees are allowed to keep their skirt of brown and dried fronds.

Although it is a non-profit organization, the garden requires a modest entrance fee. Like most gardens, it is best to visit in the spring and fall.
This garden is definitely worth seeing for gardeners, nature and plant lovers.

 

Peony

Peonies do not thrive very well in the Southern California climate. There are three classifications of Peony, Herbaceus, Tree and Intersectional otherwise known as Itoh Peony.

I bought a Harbaceus Peony at Armstrong Garden Center almost 8 years ago but it has not yet produced a flower until this year. It dies back every winter but grows back back year after year in early spring but has not produced any flower. It only has one eye when I planted it 8 years ago and it became bigger and healthier every year it grows back.

I still don't know what the color at this time as it is still a bud as of now.

Last February I bought one at Mt. Fuji Garden Centers. This one is already potted and a few stem are growing when I bought it. It bloomed around April and continues to have flowers as of early May. The flower is semi-double and butter-yellow in color.
 

 
Peony needs the deep cold of winter for it to bloom but they do sometime thrive in milder climates

Mt. Fuji Garden Center

Mt. Fuji Garden Center in Upland, San Bernardino County is a garden center specializing in the finest quality plant material and garden ornaments.

Mt. Fuji Garden Center is for serious gardeners. They have great selection of plants that cannot be found in big box home centers like Home Depot or Lowes. They have plants that cannot be found at these big box stores.

They have great selection for fruit trees, California native plants, bonsai, heritage vegetables (heirloom tomatoes) and other specialty plants.

The prices are a little higher than big box stores but you can get solid advice and tips from the staff. It is hard to get this service from the big box stores.

The place looks run down but serious gardeners are not for the store looks. They patronize this kind of nurseries because of the plant selections and service they offer. They carry hard to find plant species.

For my visit, I bought a peony. Other than ordering on-line or thru a catalog, where in Southern California can you buy a peony? I hope it will bloom in the Southern California weather.

If you are a serious gardener and love gardening, this place is for you.

Address: 1555 W. Foothill, Upland, CA 91786.

Their website is www.mtfujigardencenter.com.http://www.mtfujigardencenter.com/

Armstrong Garden Centers

Armstrong Garden Centers is a nursery based in Southern California. The nursery is well known for its roses and other ornamental plants, fruit trees, and outdoor furniture. Most of its stores are in Southern California and some in Northern California.

Armstrong Garden is not your typical big box nursery. Their prices are more expensive but they sell only quality plants and the service is exceptional. There’s always somebody to help and answer questions.

All the plants they sell are top quality. They guarantee that the plants they are selling will thrive, if not you can return it. They have very good selection of good healthy plants. You can tell their bedding plants are always fresh; there are no roots coming out at the bottom of containers.

Pottery selections are extensive and they come in all sizes and shape. They are more expensive than big box stores but like their plants, the quality is also exceptional.

I have shopped at several of their nurseries and all of the stores are in top condition and very well maintained. I have yet to meet an employee that is not nice. All of them are nice, patient and ready to help. They have very solid customer service. Another service they offer is delivery.

Armstrong garden is the best garden center in the Southland.

Their website is www.armstronggarden.com