Berkeley Botanic Garden

Here's a shot of a great succulent we saw at the Berkeley Botanic Garden.

More San Francisco Trip Pictures

We're having a great time in California. Learning a lot and visiting some amazing gardens. We'd love to have you join us on a future MG Garden Tour. Check out the Garden Tour site for upcoming trips to Holland and France.
Downtown Flower Market


Filoli Botanical Garden


Golden Gate Bridge


Muir Woods

California MG Trip

Greetings from California! Our Master Gardener group is having a great time out here on the West Coast. Here are just a few photos of the amazing things we've seen so far.

Elderberry House



Half Dome -- Yosemite National Park



Giant Sequoia

Surprise!!!

With September comes football, tailgating and some really cool plants. As I was walking around my landscape last week there was one of my favorite bulbs in flower, the Lycoris radiata also known as surprise lilies or hurricane lilies. These bulbs grow best in U.S. hardiness zones 6-10 and send up 18-inch flower spikes with red spider-like flowers prior to the foliage. Following the flowers, the 6-inch grass-like foliage provides a nice green cover through the winter. In spring, the foliage dies back and the bulbs rest until the September flower show begins again. This is a great old-time plant that is often shared between gardeners but can also be found in garden centers and from online nurseries. They do not like to be disturbed, so it may take a year or two before your bulbs are established and begin to flower. Plant some soon and be ready for the surprise!!!