Comments on: Tilden in December

By: Adriana de Marquees

Adriana de Marquees — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:31:04 +0000

Redtwig Dogwoods with Aspens is my favourite picture! Stunning. No doubt!
Great article.

By: Bella Sampagita

Bella Sampagita — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:19:31 +0000

Ditto from me about loving the aspens and red dogwoods. Their similar textures but contrasting colors are terrific. It’s nice to see Shaw’s agaves up there. 13 of the 15 documented locations in California are in my county, but it’s still an awfully rare day when you see one when you’re out on a walk. The sugarbush looks great, definitely not one of the gray thickets. But even the gray thickets could be an interesting effect giving the same color and texture of the bare aspens.
Yes. your right dude.. I also thought that the red one is connected to the white one..LOL

By: ryan

ryan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:46:51 +0000

That’s a good point, the hummingbirds should get a vote. Hummingbirds and non-gardeners would probably like Cal fuchsia if it bloomed all year round, but then I’d probably start to think of it like it was agapanthus or potato bush. I’ve caught a few ‘natives are ratty’ comments recently, but it definitely wasn’t true of a lot of the plantings in Tilden.

By: Brad B

Brad B — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:14:19 +0000

I have to concur with everybody above, the aspens with redtwig dogwoods are stunning. I also just cut back my CA fuchsias. My housemate asked me to do it a few weeks ago citing some of his friends as saying “Well that’s what CA natives look like, all ratty.” Of course they seem to have not noticed them carrying the whole yard in August and September. I didn’t cut them then though because they still had blooms and visits from our hummingbird and I decided the hummingbird’s happiness took precedence over some people who can’t appreciate a garden or plant as a whole.

By: ryan

ryan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:15:56 +0000

That’s a good way of putting it, to teach others to see the beauty. Good teaching requires engagement from the students, rather than just dictation from the teacher I’ve found, that I can’t just get up and say, ‘this is how it is, you will appreciate plant die-back.’ When I’m front of a class, I have to coax the students into seeing things my way, then let them see things their own way. Redtwigs are great, because they are one of the plants that are unquestionably at their best when they are leafless, a concept that sometimes seems paradoxical here in California. It’s a big task, to try and modify the way non-gardeners look at plants and the landscape.

By: Frances

Frances — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:38:02 +0000

Hi Ryan, the aspens look healthy and appropriate to the place, even if they are still young. What a creative combo with the redtwigs, and the yellowtwig with a brick chimney sounds wonderful. The frontage and sides of our property was lined with a row of decaying aspens when we bought it. They all had to come out, completely hollow inside but still leafing out. A most beautiful tree. Our hot summers must have been bad for them. The natives you show all look quite beautiful. Sometimes I think it is our job to teach others to see the beauty in something past its prime, in plants and humans. We have been trained to only prize youth.
Frances