Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
Garden
Strawflowers, like these grown by avid gardener Pam Manes, are summer annuals with distinctively crispy petals. They bloom in white, pink, red, orange or yellow. Multi-city event has garden tours, master gardener talks By Tony Tomeo 
I have finally received information concerning the Tour des Fleurs that several garden enthusiasts have been calling and emailing to me to inquire about. The Tour des Fleurs, conducted by the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors' Bureau, will be July 27. I will discuss the event in detail in two weeks, but thought some people might want more information prior to that. If so, details are available online at www.halfmoonbaychamber.org or by calling 650.726.8380. The Organic Garden Tour on June 29 is of more imminent concern because it is only three days away. Six home vegetable gardens in Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Mountain View will be open to participants during this tour, which begins at the Arboretum at the Sunnyvale Community center at 550 E. Remington Ave. A morning tour begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. with a talk by Nancy Garrison, Urban Horticulture Advisor of the Master Gardeners' Program for the University of California Cooperative Extension. (That is a really big title!) The afternoon tour begins at noon in time for the talk and continues through 5 p.m. One of the gardens on the tour produces almost all the produce consumed by the corresponding household, including interesting Asian vegetables. Another garden features vegetable plots grown by the children of the household and their friends. A household orchard exhibits various fruit trees, including some with several types of fruit grafted onto single trunks. Permaculture and greenhouse culture are demonstrated by other gardens. Participants may also visit the historical exhibits created by the City of Sunnyvale at the adjacent Orchard Heritage Park. These exhibits commemorate the agricultural heritage the Santa Clara Valley was once famous for (before less pleasant industries moved in.) Demonstration gardens in the Arboretum can also be visited, and some of the members of the Master Gardeners who work in the gardens will be available to discuss their work. Tickets are available in advance, along with additional information about the Organic Garden Tour, from Debbie Mytels at 650.328.7756 ext. 635 or by email at dmytels@globalcommunity.org. Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance or $12 at the beginning of either of the tours. Participants are encouraged to bring water, sunscreen, hats and an optional bag lunch to eat at the Arboretum. The Organic Garden Tour is organized by the Valley of Heart's Delight Project which "endeavors to reconnect people with our sources of food." (As a 4th-generation native of the Santa Clara Valley, I think the name of the project is totally rad!) Flower of the Week: Strawflower Much of the art of the Mexican impressionist, Diego Rivera, features scenes of the agriculture that was once so common throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Rivera maintained a studio in San Francisco and often painted scenes of the cut flower industry that is still prevalent in coastal San Mateo County. (Anyone doubting this prevalence should attend the Tour des Fleurs that will be discussed in two weeks!) While I was in college, I spent the summer quarters at the home my father built in Montara, surrounded by the cut flower fields that provided so much inspiration for Rivera's paintings. One of the most impressive crops that grew just to the east of my father's home was that of the strawflower, Helichrysum bracteatum. More contemporary "garden variety" strawflowers are summer annuals about two or three feet high. Many two- to three-inch wide 'pompon' flowers are produced at the tops of each plant that may appear dry and defoliated lower down. These white, pink, red, orange or yellow flowers are more common dry than fresh. If hung upside down in small groups, they will dry on their own stems without "kinking." The two- to four-inch long lanceolate leaves are not remarkable and usually removed from dried flower stems. Dwarf varieties are available, including "Dargan Hill Monarch" and "Diamond Head." Dargan Hill Monarch is less than two feet tall and exhibits gray foliage with three-inch wide gold flowers. Diamond Head is shorter and more compact with bright yellow flowers. Otherwise, seed includes a mixture of colors. Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408-358-2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com. |
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