GROWING PAINS
Newsletter for the
MiraCosta Horticulture Club of Oceanside
Vol. 27 No. 8
October 2015
Next Meeting: Saturday, October 3 @ 12:30
Web-site: www.mchclub.org
President: Tandy Pfost 760-231-1248
e-mail: [email protected]
Editor: Kim Cyr 760-598-3368
e-mail: [email protected]
carrier from high tech and better back to tried and
true.
Workshop 12:30-1:10 PM
Hosts: Tandy Denny and Eileen Ford
The Experience of Turf Removal- the process
through your city and HOA, your personal
experiences of what you learned (or didn’t), plant
guidelines, how you got to the finished project and
pointers for others.
As we communicated over the years, we have
progressed from homework and grades ‘discussions’
and ‘what are you going to do for the rest of your life’
to adventures in the Navy. We also talk about the
meats he smokes, fresh food canning, jams and
jellies, breads and now pottery making! It sounds like
me in the 1970s.
Program 2:00-3:00 PM
Jeff Moore, owner of Solana Succulents for 23
years, will provide a power point presentation that
follows his book, Under the Spell of Succulents, a
sampler of the diversity of succulents in cultivation.
He may bring copies of his book to sign and sell.
He will also bring flats of plants to show and sell
after his presentation.
Being a gardener, the reason I write this is that he has
become a real food expert and connoisseur. Who
would have thought that I would be bringing things
from my garden when I go to visit him. Have you tried
Jujube fruit? It comes from a little water thrifty tree
that has fruit in the fall that is like little apple-y dates. If
you are looking to add a fruit tree to your garden,
consider this.
Meetings held at MiraCosta College, One
Barnard Drive, Oceanside, CA, Student Center
Bldg 3400; Aztlan Rooms A & B (2nd floor)
Parking Lot 3B
I will also bring fresh lemons, preserved lemons,
Hybiscus acetosella leaves for tea, lemon grass, a
variety of fresh herbs, Passion fruit, Pequin peppers
and lavender from my garden. From Fallbrook, I will
bring dried wooly blue curls (Trichostema lanatum)
and from the Vista Farmers’ market, Moringa for tea
since I do not grow these plants…yet.
President’s Message
Ah, kids! As I prepare to go back east to visit my son
for our birthday celebrations, I reflect on how we
evolved through our lives. This is a kid who will be 38
and has a terrific technical job in the Navy. He is a
Chief Petty Officer currently assigned to the carrier
George HW Bush. He manages shops that repair
helicopter electronics equipment. He tells about the
whole plumbing system being changed on this new
My garden is tiny, and I have little time, but it has
been interesting to experiment and find out what new
and different plants I can grow. I wish I knew why the
Pineberries I planted a year ago still do not have fruit
but have spread everywhere.
Cheers to the fall season.
Tandy Pfost
Everything that slows us down and forces patience,
everything that sets us back into the slow circles of
nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of
grace. May Sarton
Cactus or Euphorbia?
How to Tell the Difference
What cacti have that succulent euphorbias don't:
1. Clear sap. Scratch a mystery plant and if it
bleeds milky white sap, it's likely a euphorbia.
(Don't get the sap on your skin and especially not in
your eyes).
2. Aureoles. Spines of cacti radiate from growth
points called aureoles; euphorbia thorns are often
in pairs and grow from the plant's body.
3. White filaments. Some cacti produce what looks
like white hair.
4. Glochids. Opuntia cacti have near-invisible, tiny
barbed spines.
5. Spines (modified leaves). Euphorbias
sometimes have foliage as well as thorns—
Below: Can you tell the cacti from the euphorbias?
Top left: Euphorbia ingens. Euphorbia fruit is
spherical and small relative to the plant.
Top right: Myrtillocactus geometrizans (cactus).
Spines radiate from aureoles.
Center left: Euphorbia pseudocactus. No aureoles,
thorns in pairs.
Center right: Pachycereus pringlei (cactus). Spines
radiate from aureoles.
Lower left: Oreocereus celsianus (cactus). Flowers
are tubular and rose-red; fruit is large relative to the
plant; hairlike filaments as well as spines radiate
from growth points.
Lower right: Euphorbia ferox. Flowers are yellow
and tiny compared to the plant; thorns emerge from
the limbs in pairs.
Why You Garden
By Fran Sorin
Sometimes we need others to remind us that much
of what we desire is, in fact, possible; all we need
to do is dig down into our courage, embrace the
unknown, and invite our creative minds out to play.
It is then that we can access our infinite possibility
and grow into the fullest expression of who we may
yet be.“ Fran Sorin
Your garden mirrors your soul. When your creativity
is unfettered, you’re in full bloom. In a state of silent
exhilaration. Savoring each moment.
You garden because you need to make a profound
connection with the Earth. It’s your birthright.
It’s a primordial longing to experience and
participate in the magic of nature. The deep
knowing that ultimately nature is your teacher.
It’s your guide. You’re a participant. A cog in the
wheel. Not in charge. You learn to slow down. And
listen to what the land has to tell you.
It’s sometimes finding balance and harmony. Other
times total frustration and cacophony.
You work in the garden relentlessly because you
have to. Fingernails clogged up with dirt. Sweat
streaming down your face.
It’s here that you feel most comfortable in your skin.
At peace. Nurturing and being nurtured.
It’s part of the cosmic consciousness. Participating
in ‘sacred play’. Every keen gardener intuitively
knows this.
You have a deep seeded vision of what you want
your garden to ‘be’. A yearning that is embedded in
your unconscious. This is – in part – what propels
you forward. Keeps you chipping away. To get to
the essence of what’s underneath.
To embrace your soul – your creative fire.
At the end of the day, after you clean up and store
tools, you take a few minutes just to be in your
garden. It’s in those moments that you feel a
penetrating serenity. A state of bliss.
“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match
the beat of the universe to match your nature with
Nature.” Joseph Campbell
WHERE YOU GARDEN DOESN’T MATTER
It doesn’t matter where you garden – in the city or
suburbs. On a terrace, windowsill, containers. A
shared or private garden. It’s the act of gardening
that gives you a sense of well being.
It’s getting your hands in the earth that immerses
you in feelings of abundance, generosity, kindness,
and love.
Gardening is about taking a leap of faith. Letting go
of control. Surrendering. And giving your soul
permission to dance with the ‘Gods of nature’.
Why Flowers Matter
By Fran Sorin
Do you remember the first time a flower grabbed
your heart? Did you touch its petals, breathe in its
intoxicating scent, perhaps look at it from a
distance, and then walk forward to observe it from a
closer range? Did you ever ponder over why
flowers matter?
The Birth of Flowers
In a National Geographic Article, authored by
Michael Klesisus, he writes that flowers first
appeared over 130 million years ago, during the
Cretaceous period. In geologic times, this is
relatively recent. Klesisus says that” if all Earth’s
history were compressed into an hour, flowering
plants would exist for only the last 90 seconds. But
once they took firm root about 100 million years
ago, they swiftly diversified in an explosion of
varieties that established most of the flowering
plant families of the modern world.”
“Today flowering plant species outnumber by
twenty to one those of ferns and cone-bearing
trees, or conifers, which had thrived for 200 million
years before the first bloom appeared. As a food
source flowering plants provide us and the rest of
the animal world with the nourishment that is
fundamental to our existence.
Flowering Plants Played An Essential Role In
The Evolution of Our Species
Eckhart Tolle, in his book, A New Earth, writes
about how “those delicate and fragrant beings we
call flowers, came to play an essential part in the
evolution of our species – humans. And how we
would be drawn to them.” “As the consciousness of
human beings developed, flowers were most likely
the first thing they came to value that had no
utilitarian purpose for them, that is to say, was not
linked in some way to survival.”
“They provided inspiration to countless artists,
poets, and mystics. Jesus tells us to contemplate
the flowers, and learn from them how to live. The
Buddha is said to have given a ‘silent sermon’ once
during which he held up a flower and gazed at it.”
How To Appreciate Flowers
Buy one flower. Put in a place where you can sit
and gaze at it. Take time to meditate on it and say~
“I am beautiful – like the flower’. Use that phrase as
your mantra throughout the day.
Create a sacred space. It should be a space that
you can claim as your own and have some privacy.
Place some flowers in a few vases. I like to use
slender, small containers that hold only one or two
flowers. Add some candles or other things that
have meaning to you ~ perhaps some stones,
shells, a piece of drift wood, pine cones, a small
figure ~ anything that grabs your heart and will help
transform this area into a sacred one.
Happy
Halloween
Develop a nurturing relationship with plants.
When you water, deadhead the flowers, clip off
dead leaves, and send love to the plant. Touch
each plant with love and compassion. Take a few
moments to be grateful for the beauty and ‘nutrition
for your soul’ that it has brought into your life.
Plant flowering seeds outside.
When buying seed packets, take time to select the
flowers that speak to you. Sowing them in the earth
and watching them grow to maturity and then burst
into bloom is magical.
Give cut flowers to friends, neighbors, or a
stranger on the street. Their glee and huge smile
will tell you how this one act of kindness has made
their day an extraordinary one.
Treat yourself to cut flowers each week. Don’t
use the excuse that it costs too much money. I’ve
been known to buy a dozen magnificent roses at
my local grocery store for $5.99. Trader Joe’s and
Whole Foods are also good sources. Again, take
your time selecting flowers. Let your instincts tell
you which ones are meant to come home with you.
rocks, pebbles and boulders can take a
succulent garden from good to spectacular.
3) Remember to plant your boulders by
creating a cradle in the soil. Sinking your
boulders gives the illusion that they’ve been
there for a few million years.
4) Connect your succulent pocket plantings by
running river rock through the design in
ribbons.
5) Choose plants that are zone appropriate
and favor your microclimates. When in
doubt, ask!
6) Know how they grow. Stage your succulents
according to size. Taller in the back,
groundcovers in front.
7) Got drainage? Succulents thrive in poor soil
and will reward benign neglect by
deepening in color. Just remember, no
matter your soil type, it must drain well.
8) Plant cuttings in cooler months or in a partly
sunny or semi-shaded area of the garden to
avoid sunburn.
9) When your succulents get leggy, simply pull
them out by the roots, clip stem to desired
length, discard roots and reset rosettes in a
hole deep enough to stabilize the plant. If
your succulent cutting stands up, you’ve
done your job.
10) Most importantly, be bold, take risks and be
creative! Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder so plant and design what appeals
to you and makes you happy. Garden on!
Fun Succulent to Grow- Mother of
Thousands Plant
Slow down and spend a few moments each day
to notice their changes. Appreciate their
imperfection and the cycle of their lives. Doing so
can be a powerful tool in accepting who you are,
the stages of your life cycle, and ultimately death.
Observe Flowering Plants, Bushes, and Trees
outside. Drink in their beauty and give thanks for
their glory. Carry the vision of them throughout your
day.
Top Ten Design Tips for Succulent Gardens
by Laura Eubanks
1) Create elevations. Nature isn’t flat. Mimic
nature by moving the dirt around to creat
hills and valleys.
2) Rock rock!. Second only to succulents in
horticulture awesomeness, well placed
Imagine a succulent cloning itself by the thousands,
and each of its clones doing the same. For the
mother of thousands plant (Kalanchoe
daigremontiana), replicating at warp speed isn’t
enough to guarantee survival. For extra protection,
it also contains toxic glycosides capable of killing
any livestock, pets or young children unfortunate
enough to nibble it. Grow mother of thousands at
your own risk: Babies dropping from the edges of
its leaflike stems root so successfully that it's
considered invasive in some areas. Mother of
thousands plants reach full size in two to five years.
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