Blogs for September, 2014

Is it possible to have a spirit flower? You know, like the times a seemingly random animal keeps showing up in your life, those times you keep seeing peacock images or owls or wombats and someone tells you that the universe is trying to tell you something based on what your “spirit animal” portends.

I’m seeing dahlias. The boyfriend and I went to the Getty Center this weekend, taking my friend and colleague who is visiting California from Congo.  The grounds and architecture of the Getty are equally if not more a work of art as the fantastic collections the museum curates. The Getty perches atop the Santa Monica mountains directly off the 405, the travertine stone chosen for its look and history: “16,000 tons of travertine are from Bagni di Tivoli, Italy, 15 miles east of Rome. Many of the stones revealed fossilized leaves, feathers, and branches when they were split along their natural grain.”

We walked through the rounds of the circular garden, eying the dahlias that were bright against the grey morning sky, orangey pinks and rich eggplant-purples.  The boyfriend noted my love of the blowzy blooms, and picked up a pink bunch to add to my vase of sunflowers, one of my other favorite flowers.  And they may just be my spirit flower; researching the dahlia, I learned that they are in the same family as the sunflower.

Named in 1791 by Spanish botanist Antonio José Cavanilles for Anders Dahl (1751-1789), the Swedish botanist who saw the flower in Mexico in 1788. According to dictionary.com, no blue variety had ever been cultivated, thus the term “blue dahlia,” as an expression for “something impossible or unattainable.” Again with the coincidences – I’d JUST opened an article on Mother Nature Network that explains why blue is not a common color in the plant and flower world – “to make blue flowers, or foliage, plants perform a sort of floral trickery with common plant pigments called anthocyaninsj.” And while people have tried to use their chemistry sets to create the unnatural, a blue rose, they’ve only succeeded so far to use delphinidin, the pigment that makes delphiniums and violas blue, to make a purple rose.

I’ll have to pay closer attention to the floral signs in my life, to learn whether my spirit flower is trying to tell me something about the impossible or unobtainable, or to let my perfectionism go and be a bit more blowzy, disheveled, and unkempt in some areas of my life? For now, I’ll just stop to smell, photograph, and drink in the beauty of the dahlia.

Looking to add dahlias to your life?

• Plant the perennial tubers in the spring, after the last threat of frost has passed, once the soil has warmed to around 60 F.
• Pick a sunny spot, dahlias prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil and full sun. GardeningStepbyStep.com suggests a nitrogen rich fertilizer in the early summer, followed by a a high potash/potassium one in the mid-summer to promote flowering.
• Talk to your local nursery owner to decide how tall you want your dahlias to grow; the smaller (3 feet tall) flowering types can be planed 2 feet apart, while the taller types (4-5 feet tall) are best to space 3 feet apart.
• Speaking of growing tall, your flowers will need a bit of support: tie the growing stems to stakes to guide their growth.
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac discourages over-watering to avoid rot: after planting; wait to water until the sprouts have appeared above the soil.
• If you live in zone 8, dahlias are hardy and can survive the winter out of doors, but for those in colder climates, remove the tuberous roots and store during the winter.
• Wait around 8 weeks for your dahlias to bloom!  Are you one to cut flowers for your home, or leave them to enjoy outside?  Did you know that dahlias are edible?  In addition to the petals, you can eat the bulbs, adding crunch and a flavor often compared to water chestnuts.

Do you plan to plant dahlias?  Do you grow you own? Have you ever eaten one? Share your favorite photos or tips you’ve learned here or over on Twitter @TheCityFarm & @RebeccaSnavely.

(Photos: Rebecca Snavely)

The lemon cyrpess tree stopped me in my tracks as I walked into the store. Mission accomplished, Trader Joes: I *almost* bought one, its color reminding me of the lime popsicles that I bought from the corner store a quick bike ride from my childhood house.  And on a day that registered almost 100 in my part of L.A., anything that reminded me of a popsicle was a sure purchase.

But before I counted out those nine dollars and made the little bright green tree my own, I wanted to know more. SF Gate informed me that the lemon cypress is also known as the “’Golden Crest’ or “Goldcrest” cultivar of the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), a tree that has a native range limited to the Monterey bay on the coast of central California.”

So that is why it called to me.  I love the central coast of California, winding my way up the coast highway from L.A., the beautiful bridges, the cliffs down to the rocky beaches, the cypress trees that make every golden hour photo gorgeous against the setting sun and the blues of the sea.  On a road trip to Monterey with my mother, we took our time on that drive up the 1. We stopped for coffee or hikes as often as we wanted, explored Monterey by bus, went on a guided kayak tour of the bay, during which we were regularly reprimanded as the slow boat, dragging behind the rest of the kayaks while we exclaimed about the otters popping up around us, got lost in the beauty of the day and forgot to paddle, and in general wreaked havoc in the channel as a MUCH BIGGER BOAT made its way out of the bay.

Armed with the info about where the lemon cypress hails from and the golden glow of memory that it invokes, I plan to take one home with me on my next trip to Trader Joes.  Though in their native home they can grow as tall as 100 feet and keep their conical shape until they are over 30 feet, they can easily be cultivated as small topiaries, If you want to add one to your front stoop or living room. Snug Harbor Farm notes that they can grow to 12 inches to three feet in containers, and their photos are just BEGGING to be posted on Pinterest with as wee Christmas trees decked out with white lights or handmade ornaments.

Planting your lemon cypress in the wilds of your yard or garden?

• They thrive best in USDA zones 7-10.

• If you live in a hotter climate, choose a sunny spot that receives some shade, and if you’re in a coastal area, plant in a sunny area.

• Plant in the spring, before the summer heat, or early fall.

• SF Gate recommends you water regularly in the first growing season, to encourage your tree to establish deep roots, but do not let it become water-logged.

• Choose a well-draining, sandy soil, and use a general fertilizer in the spring.

Your new addition to your yard is low maintenance, so you can sit back and let it grow in its own way, unless you choose to prune it as a hedge.

Taking your tree inside, or planing in a container for your patio garden?

• Keep the soil moist, but not soaked.

• Choose its home near a window that gets lots of light, and Snug Harbor Farm suggests one that faces south.

• Add plant food every two weeks during the growing season, from April to September, and then only once a month during the colder months.

The lemon cypress is low-maintenance, but if it starts to lose its conical shape, prune it back to where you want it. Snug Harbor notes that pruning may bruise the tips and make them brown, but the plant will quickly heal.

Bonus: It smells like lemons!  Do you have a lemon cypress in your garden or house?  Tag us in photos of it on twitter: @TheCityFarm.

(Photo Credit: Snug Harbor Farm)