vacationcottage Archives - Where Water Falls

What’s Growing at The Cottage No. 007

Amy Cottage garden May 8, 2018May 20, 2018fragrantflowers, jasmine, lomamar, sfbayarea, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Pink Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) an evergreen twining vine that blooms throughout spring and summer. The pinkish-white star-shaped flowers have a mouth-watering fragrance. Ours wraps around the front gate so when guests walk in, they get a whiff of the sweet aroma. We also have one growing around the back gate, and that one is loaded too! The vine is very hardy and some say invasive but I don’t mind that it takes over. Too bad this picture is not scratch n sniff, yes? 🤤

Published by Amy on May 8, 2018

What’s Growing at The Cottage No. 010

Amy Cottage garden September 30, 2014June 12, 2017california, lomamar, pansies, sfbayarea, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Pansy (Viola tricolor) is derived from the French word pensée or “thought.” The flower was regarded as a symbol of remembrance. I love this because one of our guests left a gorgeous drawing (pictured) of a pansy flower in our guest memory book! How fitting is that?

The hardy but delicate viola (Pansies ancestor) was cultivated by the Greeks for herbal medicinal use and much later inspired William Shakespeare to write of romance. Both the leaves and flowers of pansies are edible and high in vitamins A and C. It also blooms all year round for us!

Beautiful drawing by Shirley B.

Published by Amy on: Sep 30, 2014
#pansies #whatsgrowingtuesday #wherewaterfalls #lomamar #vacationcottage #sfbayarea #california

Pansy drawn at Loma Mar vacation cottage

What’s Growing at The Cottage No. 008

Amy Cottage garden September 16, 2014January 8, 2016containergardening, sfbayarea, sweetpotatovine, tropicalplants, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas ‘Blackie’) is a fast-growing tropical vine with stunning 4 to 7 inch long, dark purple – almost black, cascading leaves. It’s great for adding color to a container. Some people say the flowers (pictured) actually distract from its ornamental leaves. I don’t know…I like them.

In case you’re wondering, the sweet potato vine is the actual sweet potato, or root vegetable that we eat. But growers have bred this species for their bright, fancy leaves and these roots apparently taste bitter. Oh, and slugs love this garden delight, so keep them off the ground!

Published by Amy on: Sep 16, 2014
#sweetpotatovine #tropicalplants #whatsgrowingtuesday #wherewaterfalls #containergardening #vacationcottage #sfbayarea

Sweet potato vine growing at Loma Mar vacation cottage

What’s Growing at The Cottage No. 006

Amy Cottage garden September 2, 2014January 8, 2016californianativeplants, lomamar, monkeyflower, sfbayarea, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Monkey flower (Mimulus ‘Pamela’) is a California native perennial shrub in the snapdragon family. The leaves are sticky to the touch, leading to the common name: sticky monkey flower. With it’s sweet creamsicle-colored flower (they come in a rainbow of other colors too), monkey flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds & butterflies. Most importantly they are deer resistant!

Published by Amy on: Sep 2, 2014
#monkeyflower #californianativeplants #whatsgrowingtuesday #wherewaterfalls #lomamar #vacationcottage #sfbayarea

Monkey flower growing at Loma Mar vacation cottage

What’s growing at The Cottage No. 005

Amy Cottage garden August 26, 2014April 11, 2016californianativeplants, lomamar, sfbayarea, vacationcottage, westernswordfern, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) is unique to the western United States. It grows in abundance here in Loma Mar as it thrives under the redwoods. Its stately appearance and adaptability for almost any site condition, make it one of the most useful of all native plants.

Native American people roasted, peeled and ate the rhizomes. The fern fronds have a natural non-stick quality and were used as a mat under fish when cleaning and cutting. The spores have many medicinal uses, including relieving the pain from stinging nettle.

This guy (pictured) was dug up from our gulch and brought to The Cottage.

Published by Amy on: Aug 26, 2014
#californianativeplants #whatsgrowingtuesday #wherewaterfalls #westernswordfern #lomamar #vacationcottage #sfbayarea

Western sword fern growing at Loma Mar vacation cottage

Update: (Apr 5, 2016) Right now is the time to see all the new fronds emerging. Gotta love how it slowly uncurls. Nature truly is the best designer. Yes?

What’s growing at The Cottage No. 004

Amy Cottage garden August 19, 2014May 19, 2016coastalplant, lomamar, seathrift, sfbayarea, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima) is a compact, low-growing plant which forms dense grass-like leaves with adorable bobbing pink flowers from May to September. In the wild, thrift or sea pink commonly grows in saline environments along coastal areas where few other plants can grow well, hence the common name. (We are 10 minutes inland from the ocean and thrift does well here.) The British threepence coin issued between 1937 and 1952 had a design of thrift on the reverse. So, if you have a coastal garden, this British native is a ‘banker’.

Published by Amy on: Aug 19, 2014
#seathrift #wherewaterfalls #whatsgrowingtuesday #coastalplant #vacationcottage #lomamar #sfbayarea

Sea Thrift growing at Loma Mar vacation cottage

Update: May 17, 2016 – The little cotton candy balls that sway in the wind. They also reseed themselves. This plant is very salt tolerant and commonly grows by the ocean shore. Works great with succulents in a rock garden. Sea Thrift are very hardy as we have ours planted by a path (pictured) and it sometimes gets stepped on. Probably not the best spot to plant it as we sometimes have to wack it back because it takes over the path!

What’s Growing in Our Vacation Cottage Garden?

Amy Cottage garden July 29, 2014April 20, 2016californianative, flannelbush, lomamar, sfbayarea, shrub, vacationcottage, whatsgrowingtuesday, wherewaterfalls

We’ve frequently had many guests ask us to identify specific plants that are growing in our garden. I thought it would be fun to introduce one plant that’s growing in our yard each week. That way maybe others can learn (and me too!), but don’t tell anyone, okay?

So, to kick this off, Fremontodendron californicum or the California flannel bush (a lot easier to say!) is the first one that I picked, of many to come. This California native shrub was named after General Fremont, explorer of the West and twice presidential candidate. The General was much involved in the early history of California.

This picture was taken in early May with loads of bright yellow flowers. Redwoods are in the back.

Published by Amy on: Jul 29, 2014
#californianative #flannelbush #shrub #wherewaterfalls #whatsgrowingtuesday #lomamar #sfbayarea #vacationcottage

Fremontodendron californicum growing at Loma Mar vacation cottage

Update (4/19/16): Our California flannel bush is stunningly in bloom right now. This plant almost requires no water, putting it among California’s most prized native beauties. It bursts into bloom in the spring, lining twigs and branches with brilliant 3 inch saucer-shaped waxy yellow flowers. We need more in the yard!! Yes??