DryStoneGarden

Coastal Bluff Section at Tilden

More photos of winter at the bot garden below..

Manzanita with Aspens

The manzanita against the aspens isn’t quite as striking as the redtwig dogwoods, but still really nice. It, like the redtwigs, is favorite for planting in front of light-colored walls. I’m trying to think if I have ever seen manzanitas and aspens growing together in the Sierras. Probably not in such close proximity, but I’m sure I’ve seen them on the same hike, just in different sections of the trail.

Aspens

Lichen on the Aspens

Artemisia californica with Manzanita Groundcover

Foothill Needlegrass

Deer Grass

Greenbark Ceanothus, Ceanothus spinosus

I put an addendum on my post about Sibley’s tree book, noting that he left out ceanothus and manzanita, something I don’t think he would have done if he was from California, and definitely not if he’d been to Tilden. Not that I really need the book to include them, but I do think it’s an omission. I guess, outside of California horticultural circles, people just think of manzanitas and ceanothus as shrubs and groundcovers. Greenbark Ceanothus isn’t even one of the largest of the tree ceanothus, just one that I happened to photograph. I posted photos of my favorite manzanita grove in the garden earlier this year.

Utah Serviceberry, Amelanchier utahensis

At the same time, the guide includes the shrubby Western and Utah Serviceberries (Amelanchier alnifolia and utahensis). To my surprise, I could distinguish them using the book’s description of stouter and hairier buds on the Utah. So I’m still really liking the guide, I’m just starting to learn its idiosyncrasies. I have a photo of the same Utah Serviceberry flowering this past spring.

Utah Serviceberry, Amelanchier utahensis

Tags: aspens, manzanitas, redtwigs

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under public gardens, tilden. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.