I am in the throes of landscaping my back garden this spring. One of my favorite new additions is the Podocarpus Icee Blue or also called Icee Blue Yellow-Wood, Podocarpus elongates "Monmal'. I love not only the striking blue-gray foliage, but the upright columnar form which is so distinct. I first saw this Podocarpus Icee Blue in a private garden in Oakland, California on a garden tour. Wow, it knocked my socks off. Notice how beautiful the blue-gray foliage looks against the brown color stucco of the house.

This is a slow growing conifer with fabulous upright structure. It thrives in USDA Zones 9-11, in partial to full sun. It likes regular watering, and more in extreme heat. The Podocarpus Icee Blue is slow growing to 15-25 feet, and 15-25 wide if you don't prune it. I find the Podocarpus Icee Blue readily available in local nurseries.

I have tall house edges I want to soften and necessary drain spouts that I want to hide. I wanted an upright tree that looked dynamite. Since it is so close to my house, I am planting these trees with root barrier material, as a precautionary measure, so I don't have to worry about the roots affecting my building foundation. I'm planting these trees against my white stucco home, which has a wine-colored trim appropriately called "Wild Raisin." I know the color combination is perfect for my home and garden setting.

The homeowner in Oakland planted her two Podocarpus Icee Blue in a container, as an option.

Please share if you have a special tree in your garden that you particularly enjoy. Please share if you have a Podocarpus Icee Blue in your garden.

A few years ago I planted a Moro Blood Orange tree, after making this gorgeous Blood Orange Upside Down Cake adapted from the March 2010 issue Bon Appetit. This recipe is simple to make, and calls for creating it in a skillet. Packed with flavor but not overly sweet, it is a perfect way to end a special meal this time of year.

From this recipe, I knew I needed to have fresh blood oranges from my garden every year. Besides the Moro Blood Orange there are two other blood orange varieties available, Sanguinelli and Tarocco.

For those of you in warm sunny climates that can grow citrus, citrus is ripe and readily available this time of year. Lush citrus, especially the blood orange, can awaken your senses and create instant festivity. Grapefruit, lemons, kumquats, and oranges to name a few citrus types can add surprise and zest appeal to many types of dishes and drinks.

Look how fabulous the Moro Blood Orange is as a juice, or perhaps a ruby garnish. What a great way to make winter vanish in a heartbeat. Blood oranges remind me too of this special time year--Mardi Gras Carnival with all of the hoopla and joyous celebration.

Recently, my husband John, and I had the opportunity to experience first hand the fun and excitement surrounding the celebration of the evening Carnival Parade in the streets of downtown Oranjestad, Aruba in the Dutch Carribean.

One of my favorite trees is the evergreen Magnolia grandiflora Little Gem. I love it's shiny green and brown foliage as much as it's magnificent white 5-6" blossoms. It is perfection. This bee was so happy, I could of sworn it was dancing.

The Magnolia Little Gem is a dwarf Southern Magnolia with dark green foliage and a compact upright form suitable for smaller gardens and planting areas. It can reach 20 to 25' high and 10-15' wide. These magnolia's can be espaliered and coaxed into shapes. I have two Magnolia Little Gems fan-espaliered in my front flower beds against white stucco walls, and one stand-alone growing upright with the beginnings of an arch welcoming those entering my driveway.

Magnolia Little Gem, likes full sun, moderate water, and are optimally grown in zones 7-9. Not all magnolias are evergreen, but this variety is. It is a heavy bloomer, blooming from early spring through late summer with it's magnificent billowy pure white flowers. Once the flower is spent, each flower pod continues to dry intact, adding further interest and character. These trees are relatively disease and pest resistant. A Magnolia Little Gem can be grown successfully in a container, and placed on a sunny patio or deck.

I like to decorate around the holidays with boughs of magnolia branches on front doors, holiday tables, across fireplace mantles, and along railings. It's deep green glossy leaves, paired with a rust-brown under side, bordering on copper is is a natural and eye-catching style for the holidays.

Please share if you have a Magnolia Little Gem in your garden.

A friend of mine gave me a cutting of what I know now is Fremontodendron, Fremontia, or Flannel Bush. I planted it in a corner of my garden against my brown woodland stucco wall, and basically forgotten about it until now. However, this spring-blooming evergreen shrub with its brilliant yellow starfish-shaped flowers, won't allow this plant to be a wallflower anymore.

The Flannel Bush is a native shrub to California and some parts of Arizona, within optimum Zones 4-24. It is a shrub, but can be shaped into a small tree by pruning its lower branches. It is a fast-growing plant, which can reach up to 20' tall and 12' wide. It naturally has an irregular shape, so it benefits by pinching young growth to encourage new branching and shaping by pruning unruly long shoots.

The Flannel Bush likes full sun, and no additional water. It thrives with the average annual rainfall it receives in its native habitat. It is extremely drought tolerant. It has shallow roots, which means young plants may need to be staked. It can be a short lived shrub, and some fellow gardeners consider it a bit finicky to grow. It is a low maintenance shrub.

If you have yellow in your garden color palette, or need a spark of yellow at times in your garden, you might want to plant a Flannel Bush. Plant it, leave it be, and wait for its wonderful spring awakening with its dark green foliage and rich lemon yellow flowers. This is what is blooming in my garden right now.

Please share if you have a Flannel Bush in your garden. Please comment on your experience growing a Flannel Bush.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this coming May!

Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more detailed information and tickets, please visit Encinitas Garden Festival.

Look at this beauty. Last fall I purchased this redbud tree, grown by Monrovia at a local nursery sale. I had a perfect spot for it in my garden, close to a guest bedroom window. A quiet garden spot where it can take center stage. Now, in early spring it is coming to life and blooming in weeping branches of pink showy flowers.

It's official name is Cercis canadensis "Covey." It is a smaller deciduous evergreen species which reaches 6' tall and 6-8' wide. It has an enticing weeping branch structure which slightly twist, adding more to it's drama. A spring burst of lavender pink blooms follows the outline of its branches.

The Lavender Twist Redbud tree is hardy in zones 7-9. It likes full sun, and moderate regular water. Once its spring fashion show ebbs, deep green heart-shaped leaves emerge. Select pruning should be done after it blooms.

The Lavender Twist Redbud is a North American native. Besides the attraction of this tree's appearance, it is also used in landscapes for fire-scaping purposes. There are many varieties of redbud trees, which cover a multiple of zones, for those of you not in zones 7-9. This is a great tree to have in your garden for four season interest.

Please share if you have a redbud tree in your garden. Please comment on what you like about your redbud tree.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this coming May!

  The Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more information, go to Encintas Garden Festival.

I was able to landscape in front of our home quickly, simply because I was inspired by a perfect $10.00, five gallon "Little Gem" magnolia tree. I have always loved magnolia trees. When I saw this "Little Gem" magnolia tree, I thought  I could create something different and focal using espaliered magnolia trees. From this one special tree, I drew inspiration for a color scheme, complementary plants, and garden style.

When inspiration strikes you, act on it quickly. You can get inspiration from just about anything and anywhere. It can be an object, a color, a setting, a single tree, or even a beautiful phrase of words. You just need to be open to it.

"Little Gem" magnolia trees have beautiful green leaves on their top side and a distinct brown-bronze color on their underside. Ah...garden inspiration, chocolate or bronze color, wtih a smidge of blue-purple color, and a hint of deep wine-cranberry pink color. From this palette, I looked for plants that had these colors, that were low to medium height, drought tolerant once established, and were basically in the Mediterranean style. The following is a list of plants I used in my design.

Chocolate Color Plants Magnolia Tree "Little Gem" New Zealand Flax, Platt's Black Summer Chocolate Mimosa Tree Bugleweed Bronze Ajuga Reptans Red Fountain Grass Red Hook Sedge Pittosporum Harley Botanica (Bronze Structure)

Blue-Purple Flowering Plants Rosemary Tuscan Blue Rosemary Huntington Carpet Duranta Sweet Memory Nemesia "Blue Lagoon" Bugleweed Bronze Ajuga Reptans (Blue Flower Spikes) Ceanothus Concha

Pink Flowering Plants Redbud Tree Lavender Twist Muhly Grass Mallow Barley Boysenberry

I might have waited until spring to landscape in front of our home, but inspiration hit, sparking this planting. The fall season is perfect for planting, and establishing plants over the rainy winter. Most of these plants were on sale which was an added bonus.

Resources: Armstrong Garden. Evergreen Nursery, and Home Depot.

Please share if you have been struck by an inspiration that prompted something new in your garden. Please comment on some of your garden inspirations.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme... From Our Coop to Yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

At the risk of going out on a limb, no pun intended, general trends today indicate that we have smaller spaces to garden in, converging with more desire to grow our own food. It is also the age- old adage, "less is more." Here are five space-saving fruit tree techniques to help you maximize growing your own desired fruit.

1) Espalier Fruit Trees on a two-dimensional plane in a pattern on a supporting wall, side of building, or fence. South and west facing direction are best for this. Espaliered fruit trees is one of my favorite styles as well as shapes for my fruit trees. You can either espalier them yourself, or buy them already pattern-established from a nursery or on online.

2) Multi-Variety Fruit Trees are available also from your favorite nursery.  Meaning these fruit trees are already grafted and established with different varieties on one tree. I have a pear tree that has  comice pear, d'anjou pear, and red bartlett pear harmoniously growing together in one tree. This winter, I got  a "4 in 1", which has two types of nectarines and two types of  peach. You  have one tree, but multiple varieties in one tree.

3) High-Density Planting of Fruit Trees. Planting of similar or dissimilar varieties of fruit trees closely together.  For instance, planting four fruit trees 18" to 24" apart in a square shape, in a 10' x 10' area. Requires summer pruning, but gives you the advantage of a possible long and varied fruit season, easy cross-pollination, natural restriction of fruit tree size, and a great appearance. With high-density planting you can create free-form shapes such as gazebos, circles, or as a hedge in a straight line.  Dave Wilson Nursery calls it Backyard Orchard Culture.

4) Limit Your Fruit Tree Size. After purchasing your bare root tree and planting it in your chosen location, cut the top 1/3 of your tree off at a 45 degree angle above a bud. Further trim any side branches or shoots to 6" to encourage new growth. Limiting your fruit tree size initially when planted, will keep your fruit tree small and manageable for maintenance and harvest size.

5) Plant Fruit Trees In Containers. Fruit trees in containers are beautiful, space-saving, and practical for small areas. Use on patios, entrances, and where ever you want to make a statement. Research what fruit trees do best in containers. Citrus trees are a good choice, if you have the climate.

Please share what is your favorite fruit tree in your yard or garden? Please comment if you think about space to harvest ratio in your yard and garden?

Thank you for supporting VGG sponsors!

Ceanothus are California's wild lilac. A native evergreen shrub which is drought tolerant and spring time showy with lavender-blue 6" spikes. Belonging to the Rhamnaceae (Buckhorns) family, Ceanothus shrubs, in general are drought tolerant once established and are found frequently growing in California's native chaparral. There are many different varieties of Ceanothus in form and blooming lavender-blue colors. Ceanothus bloom winter to spring and are simply stunning. Three of my favorite Ceanothus are Ceanothus concha, Ceanothus dark star, and Ceanothus Ray Hartman.

Officially a shrub, Ceanothus Ray Harman variety has an upright tendency. It is one of the Ceanothus varieties that can be trained into a mature small tree, sometimes reaching up to 15' high and 10'-15" across. It does best in Zones 8-9.

In the above photo, my Ceanothus Ray Hartman is planted close to my soft-hued brown stucco wall for a pleasing backdrop. I planted four Ceanothus Ray Hartman in my garden a few years ago, and they grow quickly.

A few tips to share with you in creating a Ceanothus Ray Hartman tree in your garden. I purchased one-gallon size plants from the extraordinary California native nursery, Tree of Life Nursery. Tree of Life Nursery is located about 7 miles east of San Juan Capistrano on Ortega Highway. If you are serious about introducing more California natives in your yard and garden, Tree of Life Nursery is the place to go. Tree of Life Nursery offers over 20 varieties of ceanothus, as well as many other popular natives, and lesser known natives.

If your intention is to shape your Ceanothus Ray Hartman upright into a small tree, purchase Ceanothus Ray Hartman plants that have a nice single stem. Plant in a sunny spot with ample room. Water regularly to give it a good start, and then taper off once established. Prepare to support your Ceanothus Ray Hartman with stakes as it begins to grow and fill out.

Let your Ceanothus Ray Hartman grow and establish itself for a few years.  After the second year, begin to trim bottom branches off of its main trunk slowly, at three month intervals. Nip or prune 6' off of the tips of some of your top branches and start shaping your tree. Trim as necessary to shape your tree into a nice upright tree form. This type of pruning encourages your Ceanothus Ray Hartman to grow upward and fill out into a beautiful wild lilac tree.

Please share if you are familar with the beauty of the Ceanothus varieties. Please comment if you have started introducing native plants into your garden.

Thank You for Visiting VGG Sponsors!

San Diego Horticultural Society announces its Spring Garden Tour, Saturday March 13, 2010. Tickets are $15/members, $20/non-members. To purchase tickets and more detailed information, please go to www.SanDiegoHorticulturalSociety.org