Poisonous Holiday Plants

Today I had my daughter with me at the grocery store, who just turned a year old. She is walking all over now and has a keen sense of curiousity as many babies her age do. As I was talking to a friend in the store I noticed my daughters attention to a red leaf on the ground. It was the bract of a pointsettia plant. I never let her play with anything off the ground since you never know where things have been. One thing I know about Pointsettias is that they are a skin irritant and can cause upset stomach if a lot is consumed. The incident made me think of other holiday plants that might be poisonous, which may be eminating Christmas cheer, while hiding its dark secret through beauty and charm. These plants are in many houses with unsuspecting kids, pets and adults during the holiday season. I thought that I would share a list of the most common Christmas holiday plants that are poisonous. Fortunately the most common holiday plants are not fatally toxic. Most of the ones I have listed are most common and should be kept away from children and pets so they don't ingest them and have to suffer from such symptoms as vomiting and diarrhea.

        Amaryllus hippeastrum

  



                                  Holly Berries (Ilex)


                                    Jerusalem Cherry

                                        Mistletoe



Pointsettia (Is not as toxic as some of the other plants
listed. It's sap may cause an allergic reaction, especially
when in contact with skin.)


                      Pyracantha


For more information on these plants, such as detailed information on symptoms they cause if consumed check out the link below.

http://www.calpoison.org/public/winter-holidays.html

Living Roof

One of the many interesting exhibits at the California Academy of Science is the Living Roof exhibit. It is a 197,000 square foot (43,560 sf = 1 acre) area of undulating landscape, blanketed by 40 different species of California native perennials and annual wildflowers. The palette of plants that make up this beautiful rooftop design include such specimens as the California Poppy, Goldfield, Miniature Lupine, Beach Strawberry, Sea Pink and Stonecrop.

The Living Roof provides more than just a beautiful display of California natives. The roof also insulates the building itself, keeping the inside temperature 10 degrees cooler than it would be with a standard roof. The variety of plant life also serves as a habitat to local wildlife, especially for birds and insects. Another interesting aspect of the roof is that when it rains it absorbs a lot of water that would otherwise be run off, ending up in storm drains, which direct water back out to the ocean. There is a percentage of water that does not stay in the roof and that is collected by a drainage system that directs water into a cistern that filters the water before releasing it into the city storm drain system. The drainage system is also part of the erosion control system for the landscape. There is a grid of gabion baskets (rock retained in wire baskets), which serve as a path to drain inlets for excess water runoff. The gabion system also provides a type of retaining structure to help keep the soil (especially on the undulating slopes) from shifting. I thought that was a neat solution to a potential problem and I liked how it provided more than one purpose.

You might be wondering how it is constructed, since it is an entire roof of soil and plants. You're probably wondering how the roof can hold so much heavy soil. Below is a picture of the layers of the roof. As you can see the first layer is plant material, which was seeded under the cocomatting, which is the second straw like layer you see. The matting is used to prevent erosion until the plants themselves fill out. The third layer is soil, which is probably not very deep. The next layer consists of a plastic sheeting of reservoirs, which hold excess water for the plants.  The layer below the reservoirs is filter fabric to keep the soil particles from leaving and clogging up the drainage system. The white layer that you can see fairly well is styrofoam. It's light weight and displaces volume that could otherwise be too heavy for the roof structures weight capacity. These are the main layers that make up the design. Of course there is a layer similar to your typical roof shingle found on a house, beneath all these layers, as extra protection.

There are skylights that penetrate the roof, which provide light to the exhibits within the building, such as the rainforest. These also allow ventilation. In the picture below you can see the observation deck. The views from the roof were pretty good. It was unfortunate that it was raining so much at the time when I went outside for a look at the living roof. The best time to see this roof would likely be in the warmer seasons when the flowers are blooming.

If you plan on going to the California Academy of Science  to see the Living Roof and the other fantastic exhibits, be prepared to pay $30 an adult, unless you have a student ID or just purchase student tickets which are $25 each. We ended up not taking our daughter who is 10 months old, since they do not allow any children under the age of 3 into the planeterium. If you have small children you might want to consider whether to go with them or without, otherwise all the other exhibits were great for all ages. It was worth the money spent and I recommend eating before or after your visit there, since the restaurant on site can be quite busy. I had a difficult time getting what I wanted to eat, because the lines were so disorganized and chaotic. Besides that the food is very good and about right for the price. If you want more information on the California Academy of Science or the Living Roof check out the following link: http://www.calacademy.org/index.php.

The San Francisco Botanical Gardens

Today I am 30 years old. As part of my birthday fun planned by my husband we made a trip to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and the California Academy of Science. Usually October weather means brisk air and fall sunshine with a slight breeze. This past weekend brought weather more typical of January-February. Despite the mostly rainy day, we managed to find a break in the bad weather where we were able to meander through the botanical gardens there at Golden Gate Park. Never have I been to the gardens even though I haved lived only 45 minutes away most of my life. Of course my first visit had to be during fall when the garden is not in its glory, though it was still beautiful with the few blooming plants, varying colors of foliage and textures. There are many different kinds of plants and trees, some of which I had never seen. Since the climate in San Francisco is near the coast, the temperatures are not that extreme, which allow for many tropical or frost sensitive plants to thrive. Exploring the beauty and variety of specimens at the botanical garden was great fun and educational at the same time. It is just another great place I thought I would share with my blog readers. Below are some pictures of this beautiful garden. See the garden in the fall only makes me want to see it again in Spring. As you can guess I already have planned a trip to go in Spring again to see the gardens, as well as the Conservatory and the Japanese Tea Gardens. I can't wait!

Tropical Experiments






Plumeria



My brother and sister-in-law went to Hawaii on their honeymoon and brought back a Bamboo Orchid for me and a Plumeria for my parents. The plants started out as cuttings and have now prospered to their stage of growth, shown below in the following pictures. Although I have grown other types of orchids, I have never grown Bamboo Orchids. I have it in rich, good draining soil. They say to place them in filtered light, which is the type of lighting I have placed it in. This type should grow to 4 feet tall and will bear pink/white flowers. The plants flower year around with flowers that last one day. The flower spike puts off several flowers over time, which is probably how the plant blooms over longs periods of time. I can't wait to see it bloom!  Apparently they can be invasive in tropical areas as they can self sow in that type of environment. I don't think I will have to worry about that here in our Mediterranean climate.  It would probably do best inside, epecially when it gets chilly out, being that it doesn't tolerate frost.

The Plumeria, that is my parents, is being grown in a green house. As you can see it has already started blooming. It is doing very well and it smells unreal! These plants can also get to be pretty big. They require sun and moderate water. They are frost tender and need to be in warm conditions to bloom. Hopefully the green house will be a suitable environment for this plant. I will keep updating this post on the growth process of these two plants over the next year.





Arundina Bambusifolia (Bamboo Orchid)



Arundina Bambusifolia (Bamboo Orchid) This is what the flowers look like. I copied this picture from http://gardenexotica.com/bamboo_orchid_webpage.htm.

Fall time at Sonoma Horticultural Nursery

Spring time is no where in sight, but I thought I would check out a hidden botanical gem of Sonoma County that has a spectacular display during that time of year. I knew it would not be as beautiful as I know it to be in the fall as it is in the spring, with its many varieties of blooming Rhododendrons and Azaleas. My mission today was to see if there was any fall color and to let everyone know about Sonoma Horticultural Nursery early on so they can plan a spring trip. The link to this nursery's website will show pictures when the nursery is in full bloom, quite literally. This nursery is more than a nursery. It has a neat trail through a jungle of Rhododendrons, Azaleas and other shade loving plants that opens up to a small, peaceful pond. It is edged in all types of beautiful flowering shrubs and graceful old trees. Even with the lack of color at this time of year I found the garden to be enchanting. It was well worth the trip. This nursery specializes in Rhododendrons and Azaleas, but also sells many other plants and trees. I placed some pictures below that I took during my excursion today. Here is the website for more info: http://www.sonomahort.com/index.htm

 

  





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Quercus dentata -  This oak has very large leaves!
 Good fall color too!

Japanese Primroses