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Tours of Half Moon Bay's flower industry available
By Tony Tomeo
Many of us here in Silicon Valley do not realize the close proximity of horticultural production industries. Much of the coastal agricultural areas between Monterey and Montara are devoted to growing nursery and cut-flower crops. It is a tradition of which the area is proud, which is why, on Saturday, July 24, the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Bureau, along with the Coastal Flower Market, presents Tour des Fleurs. This is a great opportunity for the public to tour nurseries that are not normally open to the public.
Because the tour is spread over a large area, the tour package includes three of the seven nurseries. At Oku Nursery you can see production of roses and other cut flowers. Yerba Buena Nursery grows native plants and ferns in a very scenic location in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Vlasic Farms was originally the Campbell's mushroom farm, and now grows white agaricus, brown crimini and portabella mushrooms.
Orchid production can be seen at Premier Horticulture. At Pastorino Gifts and Plants, you can tour through cut flower fields, hot houses and pumpkins. Bay City is one of the largest commercial growers of potted plants, employing the most modern production technology. Even more potted plants and cut-flower fields may be seen at Daylight Gardens. All of these businesses are family-owned, with many in the second or third generation of ownership.
Tickets are available for $15, and box lunches are available for $11. Guests drive between each location. For information and descriptions of the package tours, call the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Bureau, (650) 726-8380, or fax (650) 726- 8389.
Closer to home, if you have more free time than you can spend in your own garden, the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in the Guadalupe River Park is in need of volunteers to help maintain their roses. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are scheduled workdays. Volunteers are encouraged to arrive at the garden around 8:30 a.m. and are usually done by 11 a.m. However, those who are proficient with certain jobs may stay later or make arrangements to work on other days. The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden is on the southeast corner of Spring and Taylor streets. For more information call 298-7657.
Some of you may be aware of the public grove plantings my former college roommate, Brent Green, and I have been planting since about 1988. His career has been in landscaping, and mine is in nursery production. Of course all of my crops produce some trees which are not marketable and are eventually disposed of; Brent, always eager to plant something, was able to use many of these trees as street trees in his hometown of Los Angeles. A tradition of planting a number of trees corresponding to our age on our birthdays in our respective areas eventually developed.
In fact, last Monday was my turn to plant 32 incense cedar trees in Scotts Valley. On Jan. 18, Brent will be 32; so he'll plant 32 trees somewhere in Los Angeles. I try not to grow 32 bad trees, so we had a problem keeping this tradition going. Fortunately, Brent found Sonoma County Jail Industries, which will be able to supply our public planting projects no matter how old we get. This nursery, located in Santa Rosa, supplies free trees and other limited landscape material for noncommercial planting in public areas. The only requirement for material taken is that it must be given back to the public at no charge; however, material can be purchased for commercial use.
I realize that Santa Rosa is too far to go for a few trees, but this is an excellent source for large projects. The public works departments of many communities often have more work than they can keep up with and rarely replace street trees in established neighborhoods. If you live in a neighborhood which lacks street trees, or if there is any other public space you believe could use trees, I highly recommend discussing the possibility of planting "theme" trees with your neighbors. It is amazing what communities can do with a little organization.
Unfortunately, the number of species Sonoma County Jail Industries grows is limited, so it is advisable to request an availability list. I also recommend calling ahead for hours of operation and directions. Their telephone number is (707) 525-8310. It is also necessary, when planning public planting, to obtain permission from your department of public works.
Perennial of the Week: Daylily
Daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, H. flava and the various hybrids are classic brightly colored summer-blooming perennials. The three- to five-inch-wide flowers occur on stems up to five feet tall between June and late September, depending on the cultivar. Many flowers are produced by each stem, but not all at once. As old flowers fade, new flowers are opening. Individual flowers last about one day, which is why they are called daylilies.
As the flowers fade, they should be snapped off so that energy can be diverted to developing flowers. Color ranges from yellow to orange and red, including pink, apricot and creamy white, with many bicolored varieties. The plants are either evergreen or deciduous. The deciduous plants are actually cleaner, because all of the foliage can be removed in the winter.
Because heat can fade flowers and cause yellow foliage, the plants look best with some afternoon shade, or in dense planting. Daylily is available during summer in almost every nursery, although the more unusual cultivars are found only at speciality nurseries.
Contact horticulturist Tony Tomeo at 358-2574.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
