 I suppose I didn't exactly look like the kind of guy who enjoys playing in the garden during the last garden tour my photographer and I attended in Saratoga and Los Gatos. I needed to deliver rhododendrons and roses to the Farmers' Market in Sunnyvale that morning and was barely able to fit the tour into my schedule. Although we were able to take Olive, the green minivan, to the first few sites, we had to go back to Sunnyvale and load what didn't sell and then do the remainder of the tour with Pollo Blanco, an ugly white delivery truck!
I doubt I conformed to anyone's stereotype of a horticulturist as I parked Pollo among sparkling sedans at lavishly landscaped homes and emerged, smelling like diesel and wearing a black-leather vest over a tank top! I certainly intend to be more tactful when we visit the sixth annual Monterey Bay Master Gardeners' and Masters' Garden Tour 2003. I will dress accordingly and take Salem, the rather old but very distinguished Ford truck. He's no Buick, but will have to do!
Six gardens that have been designed and maintained by graduates of the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners' Program in the Salinas and Monterey areas may be visited during this self-guided tour on Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Certified Master Gardeners at each of the six gardens will be available to discuss horticultural issues. The tour also features a plant sale at one garden and a raffle at another. Tickets include descriptions of the gardens and directions to each one.
Tickets may be purchased in advance for $12 or during the tour for $15. Groups of 10 or more may purchase tickets in advance for $10. Tickets may also be purchased at several horticultural establishments in the Salinas and Monterey Bay Area. Nurseries in the Santa Cruz area where tickets are available include: The Potting Shed and Native Revival & Hidden Gardens Nursery, both in Aptos; The Pergola in Soquel; The Garden Company and Far West Nursery in Santa Cruz; The Plant Works in Felton and Scarborough Gardens (one of my favorites) in Scotts Valley. (Will-call tickets may only be retrieved at two of the gardens, which must be visited first.) More information may be obtained at the University of California Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Program website at http://montereybaymg.ucdavis.edu.
Here in the Santa Clara Valley, the last evening deadheading blitz at the Heritage Rose Garden takes place Sept. 9 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This event has nothing to do with an obscure garage band from the 1960s, but helps remove the abundant spent blooms from the garden. Guests should bring pruning shears if available and gloves if preferred. Volunteers will be present to describe appropriate deadheading procedures. Free ice cream sundaes will be served afterwards at the Garden Center. The Heritage Rose Garden is across Taylor Street from Columbus Park, within Guadalupe River Park. For reservations or information, telephone Lucy Perez at 408.298.7657.
Flower of the Week: Cigar plant
Cigar plant, Cuphea ignea, may have formerly been more popular as a house plant, but now seems to be somewhat obscure, grown in planters with mixed annuals or perennials or as an individually potted specimen. It is actually a dwarf shrub, but is considered by some to be a "short-term" perennial.
Mature specimens are only approximately a foot tall and wide. Dark-green and dense foliage is composed of small, narrow leaves that are less than 11/2 inches long. The reddish-orange tubular flowers are approximately 3/4 inch long and resemble lit cigars, with white tips with brown bands. Bloom is typically during late summer and autumn.
Cigar plants prefer regular irrigation with adequate drainage. Complete sun exposure or reflective glare may burn foliage. Mature specimens may be rejuvenated if pruned rather aggressively early in spring, before growth resumes. New growth will be denser as it emerges from pruned stems instead of from tips of older stems.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be
contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.
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Photograph by Shari Kaplan