December 10 , 2005

by Glenn Keator

With all the bizarre weather November brought, many plants are in a state of transition; some bloomed well during the unseasonably warm weather before Thanksgiving; others are rapidly dying back to their roots or losing leaves with the chill of early December. Few flowers are currently available--this is the lull in bloom between fall and winter, when a new set of flowers will appear. Primary among the winter bloomers are the silk tassel bushes (Garrya spp.), manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.), and various currants. Actually, a few of the manzanitas have token flowers, while the chaparral currant (R. malvaceum) is in good bloom.

Despite the wintriness of much of the landscape, a couple of major trees still have their fall foliage: look for the muted yellow leaves on western sycamore (Platanus racemosa) and bright yellow leaves of black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera trichocarpa) by Wildcat Creek. Most of the others have lost all or a majority of their leaves and so it becomes a challenge to identify deciduous shrubs and trees at this time. Most leave behind telltale signs, such as the cup-shaped receptacles on western spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis) and the dramatically bright red twigs of creek dogwood (Cornus sericea).

This is a good time to stroll through the Garden and look at all the evergreen shrubs and trees, whose foliage seldom gets attention because of the competition of colorful flowers. After rains, spend time just wandering to look at the diversity of bright green moss cushions and varied gray, pale green, yellow, and brown lichens on rocks and twigs.

A couple of changes in the Garden are noteworthy: the willows in front of the granite mound that houses a collection of subalpine and alpine plants have been removed so that there is a clear view across the Garden to the mound. And the bulb bed has been completely reworked and replanted with new labels. Watch for the leaves to emerge soon, followed by a long parade of flowers from late February to June.