FROM THE BORDER
By Hilary Gordon

FROM THE BORDER, 2010

Art and the Garden in Summer, July 2010. "A recent visit to the Impressionist exhibit at the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park left me thinking about the similarities between a wonderful canvas and a wonderful garden..."

Butterflies in the Garden, June 2010. "As summer brings warmer temperatures and some sunny afternoons, one of the most enjoyable sights in the garden is a variety of butterflies flitting from plant to plant, seeking nectar and egg-laying opportunities."

The San Franciscan Peninsula from Long Ago, May 2010. "Deer grass, Coyote bush, Hummingbird sage, Sandhill sage, Sea thrift, even the names of our native plants sound like a poem. They conjure up a time not so long ago when the San Franciscan peninsula was a mix of dunes, low hills and valleys, where seasonal creeks threaded between shrubby, windswept slopes until they fed into the few year-round creeks running to the bay."

Newborn Spring Meadow at the GFE, April 2010. "...as climate change and population growth pressure our water resources, even a small turf lawn requires more water than we want to commit."

The Nutritious Solitude of Gardening, March 2010. "The nutritious solitude of gardening has an angle of loneliness in it as well. Who will admire the perfect shaping of a shrub, the artistic spacing of the renewed perennial border, the loft of a fluffy seedbed? This is when gardening books and garden writers become important allies."

January Showers Bring January Flowers, February 2010. "Now as I’m writing in late January, the plum trees are beginning to fly the bright flag of spring. Here by the Bay and the mild Pacific, winter turns on a dime and walks away. Spring flaunts right in with Calla lilies, Hellebores and winter blooming Salvias, Fuchsias and Aloe."

Revisioning the Garden: Losing the Lawn, January 2010. "Turf is not a sustainable choice for most garden situations in our arid state. Turf areas in the West are reported to absorb “as much as half of outdoor residential water use.” (Water-Wise Gardening for California) In most garden settings, there are more sustainable alternatives to turf."

FROM THE BORDER, 2009

Grevilleas of the Perennial Border, December 2009. "The magic of perennial borders is that as one group of plants finishes its yearly cycle and is cut down, it makes room for the next group of plants flush of growth and bloom. Sometimes nature holds her breath and for a moment we get two seasons blooming at once. Now is the magic moment..."

Fall Blooming Salvias, November 2009. "Fall color is blazing in the borders at the GFE, with Princess Flower, Lantana, and Lion’s Tail blooming generously. Grasses are also blooming, backlit by long-shadowed autumn light, and the last daisies of summer are still open. But the glory of our borders right now are the late-blooming Salvias."

100 Words for Drought Tolerant, October 2009. "... as water policies and practices have come under more and more pressure from increased demand and shrinking resources, we need one hundred words for drought-tolerance."

Go Outside and Play, September 2009. "What makes a grown-up go outside and play? When my garden space is connected to my grown-up desires and values, it draws me outside."

Helichrysum Eradication, August 2009. "The bad news is that Licorice plant has been listed officially as an invasive exotic, and no matter how useful it may be in the garden, it is no longer an appropriate plant for environmentally savvy gardeners to grow....There are always wonderful alternatives that can fill the gap in the landscape."

Fog City Gardener, July 2009. "By choosing plants suited to our maritime climate, grouping them wisely, watering them deeply but infrequently, and creating a robust sequence of bloom in the garden, you can begin to look forward to summer gardening in San Francisco, even if you have to wear a parka to do it!..."

Nostalgia and the Transplanted Gardener, June 2009. "By translating the spirit of my grandmother’s garden into the language and palette of California climate appropriate plants, I can have my memories and still do what she did; grow a healthy and sustainable garden with love and respect for nature..."

Spring Blooming Bulbs for Bay Area Climate Zones, May 2009. "Fairy wand, Harlequin flower, Bugle lily, who wouldn’t want to see flowers with such magical names? They are all blooming right now at the Garden For the Environment, a public, educational garden located at 7th Avenue and Lawton..."

What's in a Name?, April 2009."What's in a name?... In the well-known play by Shakespeare, young Juliet gives her opinion that a name doesn’t matter. Her opinion matches that of many people who are beginning to learn about gardening. Why do we need to learn all those stupid Latin names for plants? ... "

California Natives Show Off Their Winter Colors, March 2009. "In the final days of January, the buds were swelling on the purple plum trees that grace San Francisco streets. The tiny new moon heralded the Chinese New Year, marking the beginning of another growing season. By the time this newsletter reaches its readers, the plum trees will be in full bloom, as clouds of pink blossoms assert Mother Nature’s confidence..."

A New Gardening Year, February 2009. "In the final days of January, the buds were swelling on the purple plum trees that grace San Francisco streets. The tiny new moon heralded the Chinese New Year, marking the beginning of another growing season. By the time this newsletter reaches its readers, the plum trees will be in full bloom, as clouds of pink blossoms assert Mother Nature’s confidence..."

Blessing of Rain, January 2009. "This year brings change, and not just on Inauguration Day. During the end of the twentieth century, drought in California was news. ... Water rationing is (now) beginning to look like a semi-permanent situation. Many of us will need to “retool” our gardens for a new reality. One of the most important tools in our toolbox is called ‘hydrozoning”.

FROM THE BORDER, 2008

Gardens with Good Bones, December 2008. "The garden in winter should feel just like this; graceful, healthy, promising, lovely in its own way although the blush of spring is long gone. ... When a garden looks wonderful in midwinter, gardeners everywhere nod and say “that garden has good bones”."

It's November, November 2008. "It’s November, and our warm sunny days give way to the first predictions of rain. In the 24 years I have been gardening in San Francisco, many Halloween pumpkins, ripened in the heat of October, have ended their Jack-o-Lantern lives in cold rainstorms. For gardeners, this is a time for action..."

On Borders, September 2008. "Our borders provide the threshold between our garden and the creatures of the wild, natural world..."

Hilary Gordon is Sustainable Landscape Education Manager at the GFE.  A life-long gardener, trained at the City College Horticulture program, she has worked as a professional landscape gardener from 1984 until the present. Each month we will feature a gardening column in a column titled, “From the Border”, in which Hilary shares her wealth of gardening experience and knowledge.

Have a question for Hilary? Meet her in the garden Wednesdays 10-2 and Saturdays 10-4.