Garden Report – December 2012
Happy Holidays
from our garden to yours
Mission Santa Barbara:
Mission Santa Barbara, also known as Santa Barbara Mission, is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order near present-day Santa Barbara, California. It was founded December 4, 1786, the feast day of Saint Barbara, as the tenth mission for the religious conversion of the indigenous local Chumash Barbareno tribe of Native American people. The mission is the namesake of the city of Santa Barbara as well as Santa Barbara County.
Plant of the Month: Christmas Tree
A Christmas tree is a festively decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as pine or fir. An artificial Christmas tree is usually made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The custom of the Christmas Tree developed in early modern Germany with predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and possibly the 15th century. It acquired popularity beyond Germany during the second half of the 19th century. The Christmas tree has also been known as the “Yule Tree“, especially in discussions of its folkloristic origins.
While it is clear that the modern Christmas tree originates in Renaissance and early modern Germany, there are a number of speculative theories as to its ultimate origin. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Martin Luther.
Wine Country: Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County is different than any other wine growing region in California. Here, the east-west orientation of the coastal mountains forms valleys opening directly to the Pacific Ocean. This unique topography allows the flow of fog and ocean breezes to shape distinct microclimates, perfect for the cultivation of classic grape varietals and world class wines.
The region has many microclimates, with climates influenced by proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Cool and moderate temperatures toward the west changes to warm days and cold nights to the east. There are four official appellations: Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Santa Rita Hills. Within the broad Santa Barbara County designation are several other micro-regions – these include the Los Alamos Valley region, Ballard Canyon, the Los Olivos District and the Santa Maria Bench. Slightly less than half of the grapes grown in Santa Barbara County are used by local vintners, with the balance exported to wineries outside the area. Content is courtesy of the Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Association.
News: A.C. Postel Rose Garden
Volunteers help maintain the A.C. Postel Rose Garden located at Plaza Rubio between Laguna St. and Emerson Ave. If you want to volunteer for the annual rose pruning event, call Robert Funai at 805-682-1160.
Container Plants:
This is not the largest container on the block, it is a potted plant in the diminutive form.
Sempervivum with its many cultivars has very delicate swirling fleshy leaves. Some leaves even turn deep purple. These succulents are perfect for rock and roof gardens. To Europeans they are known as ‘houseleeks’ because of their propensity to grow on the roofs of houses. We usually refer to them as ‘Hens and Chicks’. They are very cold hardy and spread by little offsets or pups that cluster around the parent rosette. Sempervivum require little water, excellent drainage, and protection from the hot sun in desert regions. They favor shallow gritty soil and thrive in cracks and crevices in stone walls and rocky gardens.
The only drawback to planting these in container gardens is that they are monocarpic i.e. each rosette can only flower once and then dies. The dead plants have to be removed and therefore leave holes in the clump.
Tradition: Sempervivums were considered sacred to Jupiter in Roman and Nordic mythology
Medicinal: Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his Naturalis Historiae included the use of the juice from crushed semperivum leaves to treat skin conditions such as burns, corns, calluses, shingles and warts and more.
What’s Blooming Now: “Bolivian Pink Powder Puff”
Calliandra haematocephala is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.
It’s easy to see the attraction of the powder puff shrub/tree. Those bright red fuzzy “flowers” are actually made up of stamens and can grow to 3 in (8 cm) in diameter. Powder puffs cover the shrub or tree nearly all year, making this plant a stunning accent in the home.
This tree is blooming at the base of the parking lot garage at the Santa Barbara Library.
What’s Bugging You?: Ants
Just before the recent rainy weather our home was under siege by an army of ants. They were traced all the way back to the property line where a mass migration of an ant colony was underway. A battle was waged to deflect and thwart the onslaught. They wanted to move into our warm, dry home where honey is stored for the winter. We won the battle!
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymemoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid -Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 out of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and a distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist.
Weather Report by StormSurf.com:
This site, StormSurf.com , offers an informative, interesting, and entertaining view of the Pacific Ocean and related weather patterns that effect our Western states.
Garden Tips:
- Clean and sharpen your tools
- Control mosquitoes with fish delivered by Vector Control of Santa Barbara or Mosquito Dunks in small water features – available in liquid or granules.
- Start an herb and vegetable garden this month
- Always clean shears and clippers with a bleach solution to avoid spreading disease
- Lawn mowers spread grasses and weeds from lawn to lawn
- Set gopher traps and tell the ground squirrels to go home!
- Conserve water by installing a thick layer of mulch and water in the morning
- Replace your lawn with less water demanding plants
- Check landscape lighting timers to adjust for shorter daylight hours
- Snail bait by Sluggo is pet friendly and will biodegrade
