Butterfly Update--- Monarch's Food is Mexican Butterfly Bush (Asclepias_curassavica )

Monarchs feed on members of the milkweed family, and they love the Mexican Butterfly Weed--so much so that on a visit to local nurseries---all the Asclepias_curassavica in five gallon cans had stripped branches. ( I was there because they had eaten all the leaves  on the ones I had). The plants are not really damaged, as the leaves promptly grow back when the caterpillars go into their next stage of becoming butterflies. Meanwhile

don't hurt the caterpillars--they are not interested in anything but milkweed, and don't have anything to do with treated plants of  Asclepias_curassavica. Those will poison the caterpillars. Result: no Monarchs. These butterflies are a challenged species in So Cal where we keep cutting down the Eucalyptus groves where they gather.

Passionflower is the host for the Gulf Fritillary. (see blog for 7/19/10) which breeds and hatches earlier than the Monarch.The brightly colored caterpillar is toxic to birds. The passionflower vines have completely recovered from being the host plant for the Fritillaries.

I'm hoping the the Anise Swallowtail will take a fancy to the fennel planted especially to appeal to him. So far the fennel is flourishing madly (turns out to be delicious grilled) but no Swallowtail caterpillars so far. Stay tuned. If you plant the right plants they will come!  Just haven't got the right stuff for swallowtails--they really prefer wild anise to anything else.Picky, picky, picky!

Fabled Pomegranates: flowers attract hummingbirds

It is a low water, manageable, graceful plant. Good for you, fire safe, drought resistant and might even make your fortune. (See Resnick at LACMA below)

I’m probably preaching to the choir on this one, as most of us have had it drummed into our heads that pomegranate juice is really, really, really good for you.


 (The FDA is not so sure it’s that good for you.)

  

However, there is no doubt that it’s just the tree for our Central Coast gardens. If you didn’t do anything but grow it as an ornamental tree it would be worth it.

 There's one purely ornamental Dwarf Pomegranate, ) Punica granatum nana:

And three edible varieties of Punica granatum --- Wonderful, Eversweet and Angel Red. The first picture is of Wonderful, the second of Angel Red (both photos are from Monrovia Nursery http://www.monrovia.com) 

Having grown Wonderful, I can say—it is. Eversweet sounds ---well, sweet.   Angel Red is a new hybrid created by a young man who died at 23. It’s also a beautiful, early bearing tree.

 

The classic 16^th c.  Italian Garden had to have a pomegranate tree—it’s in the directions! Italian gardeners may have forgotten why they had to have one, but the pomegranates’ roots reach deep into antiquity.

Pomegranates have been found in Egyptian tombs, at Jericho, and Babylon, grown in groves in India, Iran, and Transcaucasia dating back to 1000 BC. (W)

The scientific name Punica granatum is something of mishmash.  But interesting—one source translates it as “the apple of carthage” which ties it back to the Phoenicians, who were the earliest traders in the Mediterranean, and could have spread it around the whole ancient world.

Or could it be the “apple” that Adam and Eve found irresistible, or the apple that Paris awarded to Venus (see Trojan War) for her gift of the most beautiful woman in the world –Helen?

Venus persuading Helen 

Cranach The Judgement of Paris

Another source says it means “seeded apple” and avers it came over the Silk Road.

 Probably our treasure,  travelled both routes. The fruit has a long association with tombs (Egypt) and the Greeks had their Persephone with her 3 seeds (see The Greek Myths) :

Rossetti's Persephone

                               

More 

recently, the pomegranate gets credit for another contribution to art.  LACMA has a whole new gallery--- the Resnick Gallery of Roccoco  and 18^th c. art--- thanks to POM© the juice. The collection contains this wonderful portrait of Marie Antoinette 

Marie Antoinette by Le Brun

who should be holding a pomegranate, not a rose. Like Persephone the poor woman was destined for a nasty and premature  trip to the Underworld.

But we will end on a better note with a recipe for a Persian  Pomegranate Lentil Soup 

collected  by Peggy Trowbridge Filipone  which contains pomegranate juice,rice,lentils,herbs and raisins. See http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss101.htm

Pomegranate and Lentil Soup

Note: Monrovia Nursery grows Wonderful and Angel Red, Armstrong Nurseries grows Eversweet. 

A Search for the Elusive Violet : Violet de Provence, Violetto Precoce artichokes

Violet de Provence, Violetta Precoce , Violet du Gapeau, Violetto di Chioggi, Violetto diToscano, and Romagna.

These  wildly  romantic names describe a small, purple artichoke much  loved in France and Italy but hard to find even here on the Central Coast. The Farmer’s Market in Santa Barbara sometimes has some artichokes  for sale at this time of year, but the  plants are as elusive as the Snark.

Wanting some for the vegetable garden, because once having tasted one, steamed briefly and eaten whole, choke and all—is to become a hopeless addict. These violet beauties can also be cut in half and grilled, which is how they usually appear in restaurants.(Recipe below) 

The plants of Romagna artichokes are available  (Island Seed and Feed). Romagna is purple, but unpredictable, it produces atrichokes of various sizes. In theory, you harvest the large center artichoke, then it should produce lots of small purple  ones as side shoots. Stay tuned on how this actually works.




The seeds of Violet de Provence, Violetta Precoce, and Romagna are available (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) as is Violetto from Territorial Seed Co.in Oregon.

Violetto di Toscano   which hasn’t  yet been  located as  seeds or plants looks a lot like the artichokes from the SB Farmer's market which might be Baroda Farms proprietary hybrid Fiesole.  These   are not sold through nurseries. (apparently Baroda sells only through large retailers such as Whole Foods, but as a company they are as guarded about their wares, as the Chinese were about their silk worms! ) 

                                      

  

 This Toscano could be the enigmatic Violetto of Territorial Seeds. 

Note:  photos are from ( http://www.fotosearch.com/FDC003/925352/) .


When you find your  violet  Try this recipe from Saveur magazine: Pasta with Grilled Baby   artichokes,dressed with olive oil and garlic

1 lb. (about 10) baby artichokes with stems,        2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

  trimmed and halved lengthwise,                             4 cloves  garlic ,minced                                           2⁄3 cup freshly grated Parmesan                       

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Zest and juice of 1 lemon6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1⁄2 lb. spaghetti

  1. Put artichokes, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, and 6 cups water in a 4-quart saucepan. Boil, reduce heat, and simmer until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain artichokes; transfer to a medium bowl; toss with 4 tbsp. oil and salt and pepper. Heat a 12" grill pan over high heat. Place artichokes cut side down on grill pan and cook until  tender about , 6 minutes per side. Return grilled artichokes to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap; set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 6–7 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water; set aside. Heat remaining oil and 3 tbsp. butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat; add chile flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic is soft, 4–5 minutes. Add remaining lemon juice along with zest, cooked pasta, and 1⁄2 cup Parmesan and toss together, adding rerved pasta water as needed to create a smooth sauce. Stir in remaining butter and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Photo: Todd Coleman

 

The American Begonia Society meets in paradise--- a trip to the Webb estate

The Begonia Society (ABS) had its’ meeting at the Gazebo in Montecito a few days

ago. That’s Mike Flaherty, who owns the Gazebo (a fabulous florist and plant store in Montecito),himself a notable, prize-winning begonia hybridizer, addressing the meeting.

 Astonishing begonias were everywhere, and here is one of them---the tuberous plant is called Ray Hartley, and was grown by Paul Garber who is showing the members the latest exhibition style from European shows.

 The Begonia Society members then enjoyed a cook-out presided over by Ruben Pedregon of the Gazebo staff, who proved a deft hand at the grill---- as well as being a gifted floral designer.

Begonias per se, are not low water plants , but once a week watering seems to be about right in our maritime climate along the Central Coast. We have a Scentsational tuberous begonia (has a wonderful light lemony scent) which lives happily on the shaded front porch with once a week water, like a geranium.  Inland….. a different story.

The Begonia lovers were then whisked to the Webb estate which is a created  tropical paradise with a Caribbean theme.

             Of course, some lovely begonias live on the porch at the top of the stairs.

        

.

                                
                   There’s a rose garden and a pond  of rose-colored water lilies.

           The main house overlooks yet another pond this one surrounded by amazing palms. In an inspired bit of landscape design, the golden fish-tail palm  contrasts with the purple grey of the brush beyond.

            And then there are the birds: black swans, emus,macaws, flamingos

and a toucan who sounds like a marimba....

         On our way out, dazzled and footsore, we saw a theater grotesque the likes of which can be found around here only at Ganna Walska's Lotusland.  

          We stopped in Summerland on the way home and saw some low water succulents of magnificent size (just to prove we really, truly are members of the  low water camp even if we love  the Begonia Society.)

                          

Fall, the Getty Garden and The Secret Life of Water

Autumn succulents

September at the Getty Gardens

The garden at the Getty Center in L.A. always has a wonderfully demented charm next to Mier’s austere white temple of gleaming travertine and straight lines. The maze pond is about as regimented as the garden gets, and still manages to be subversive (as, say, Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase) Azaleas in the middle of –a pond?  

Having established itself as unconventional with the water maze, the garden takes off like a Henri Rousseau landscape

 

The Fall garden is notable for it’s masses of dahlias, cannas and color combinations

This is one of  the bougainvillea parasols---cold  iron forms when the garden was planted. Now… it works.

Here are dahlias  golds and yellows combined with orange roses..



The garden has it's wild warms balanced by the colder greys of a mass planting to the left:

Dahlias are not the most water economical  of plants.( At home, the dahlia bed is on a gray water system.)  Hopefully, the Getty Garden uses recycled water. (They do store a million gallons of water to use against possible fires.) And use goats to clear the brush :

          " Using goats to clear brush saves energy, reduces waste, and is just one of the strategies that helped   the Getty Center earn its Silver LEED certification recently.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and certification recognizes environmentally responsible design, construction, and management.  In 2005, the Getty Center became the first facility in the country to be awarded LEED certification for an existing building, earning its Bronze certification in the first days of the formal LEED program.  The Getty earned its new, higher Silver Certification this month by increasing its efforts to minimize waste and energy use beyond the 2005 levels" (from a press release by the Getty)

Spanish Goat (Scrub goat)

This is the Getty Cactus Garden, which  has not pleased everyone although it is, like goats, effective at surviving in a very difficult environment


Photo from Ency. Britannica

This photo was taken some time ago ---all the cactus are larger. However, this September the Cactus Garden looked greyish, i.e. water starved. Even cactus need to be sprinkled occasionally as the gardeners do at the Huntington Cactus Garden, and at Lotusland .

Water. The Secret Life of Water by Masaru Emoto. Emoto studied water crystals and how the crystal shapes could be effected by---- I’m going to let you find out for yourself. This is a remarkable book, highly recommended .