International Tulip (Or Daffodil!) Guerrilla Gardening Day.

Saturday 9 October, is the first International Tulip Guerrilla Gardening Day. Just like International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day in May it's an excuse to go out and plant tulips (or daffs) in your neighbourhood and beyond, knowing that others are doing the same all over the place at the same time. This feels pretty good and will look good come spring 2011. I've heard that guerrillas in France, Italy, Canada, USA, Belgium, Austria, Germany will all be taking part... and for those for whom it's spring time well... why not make 9 October your sunflower day?


Join the Facebook event for more info here.

(If October 9 passes you by the tulips or daffs won't mind, you can still plant them well into early winter).
 
I'm going out to plant a few dozen daffs and Muscari in Pennsylvania Garden on Saturday. Join me?

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One week before the sale!

Phil obliterates weeds

Today we had an extra volunteer day to help with prep for our big plant sale on October 16th

We had a great turnout! Leanne and Phil, Alison and Rick, Emily, Arum, Gina, Michelle and I worked from about 9-2pm, and in that time we weeded the entire dog area, sheared the lavenders and watered them well (thanks Rick and Alison!), deadheaded Cannas, Scabiosas etc, planted loads of Muscari bulbs and daffodils "Fragrant Rose" and "Replete" and labeled tons of plants for the sale. Whew! Great job guys!

Emily

We also presented the winners of the dog contest with their prizes: a fabulous set of doggie poop bag holder and refills of biodegradable dog poop bags! I think they went down pretty well: Big thanks to Arum and CSNStores.com for providing the prizes.






Arum, Rick and Alison

After that Emily was kind enough to drive me over the Sloat Garden Center on 3rd Avenue. This entire trip should have taken no more than an hour - we were just picking up donated plants to use as raffle prizes for the sale. However, due to Fleet Week it took... two and a half hours. Most of that spent inching across Golden Gate Park while steaming in frustration.



Leanne

This made Emily and I very late for our next appointments, and was totally aggravating. Gah! Lucky Emily and I always have lots to talk about ;) Sorry Ryan and Melissa. Don't hate me - hate the Blue Angels, people!

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Sale plants looking GOOD!

Salvia elegans, Plectranthus
argenteus and an Echeveria
ready to sell.

I was perusing the plants we have for the sale and wow: they are looking really nice! We have over 550 plants for this sale - loads more than last sale, and they are beautiful quality. We have quite a few from Whole Foods, some from Sloat Garden Center, and a geat many have been grown on for us by Matt's dad in Mendocino who has a nursery business there.

I'd say the standouts are some beautiful 1 gallon white gingers - they will smell heavenly when they flower: awesome patio plants. Then I have a matched set of three powder blue Agave americanas in 10 gallon pots that will make someone a very imposing set - their leaves are in perfect condition and form - so architectural.

There's a massive specimen Agave filifera that you won't find just anywhere, some Peruvian Lilies just covered in flowers, and the unusual and exotic Euphorbia lambii - one gallon size and they'll quickly grow to a magical 10' tall tree-let with a very Dr Seuss look.

We've got loads of sweet peas just getting ready to cover your arbor in scented flowers, pots of delicious-smelling Pineapple Sage that are just about to bloom flame red, and millions of succulents for that vertical garden you've been dying to build. We even have Anthurums and variegated spider plants for indoors (why don't more people do border edges with these? In a shaded spot they brighten things up and make a great outdoor plant here in the Bay area - grab some Clivias too and make a rocking shade garden!)

Here's a list of the species we'll be selling, in various sizes (2', 4", 6", 1 gallon, 2 gallon, 5 gallon and 10 gallon) with more to come daily:


Aeonium arboreum “Atropurpureum”
Aeonium sp.
Aeonium haworthii
Aeonium "Kiwi"
Aeonium "Sunburst"
Aeonium - variegated
Aeonium "Zwartkop"
Agave americana
Agave americana variegata
Agave attenuata
Agave fillifera
Agave parryi
Agave lophantha
Agave scabra
Aloe arborescens
Aloe brevifolia
Aloe maculata
Aloe nobilis
Alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily)
Anemone sp. (pink)
Anthurium
Aster “Bill’s Big Blue”
Atriplex lentiformis ssp. breweri
Brugmansia
Calandrinia grandiflora (Rock Purslane)
Camellia
Canna indica – red
Canna - variegated
Carex flagellifera (Weeping Brown Sedge)
Ceanothus
Centranthus ruber (Jupiter's Beard)
Chlorophytum (Spider Plant)
Citrus x limon (Lemon)
Clivia miniata (Fire Lily) - orange
Conifers - unidentified, weeping
Cordymine "Red Sensation"
Coreopsis (yellow)
Cotyledon orbiculata
Cotyledon orbiculata var. oblongata
Crassula erosula "Campfire"
Crassula multicava
Crassula ovata (Jade plant)
Cuphea ignea (Mexican Cigar)
Cypress
Dianella tasmanica
Echeveria sp.
Echeveria "Blue Curls"
Echeveria pulv-oliver
Echium pininana
Euphorbia sp
Euphorbia lambii
Euphorbia lathyris (Gopher Spurge)
Freesia "Scarlet Red"
Fuchsia sp (pink & purple flowers)
Graptopetalum paraguayense "Pinky"
Graptoveria "Fred Ives"
Haemanthus albiflos
Hedychium coronarium (White Ginger)
Hydrangea sp (White Lace)
Hydrangea sp
Impatiens balfouri
Iris douglasiana
Iris douglasiana "Canyon Snow"
Isomeris arborea (Bladder Pod)
Jasminum blinii (Pink Jasmine)
Juniperus chinensis ("Old Gold" juniper)
Juniperus horizontalis "Blue Chip"
Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi (Lavender Scallops)
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora (Paddle Plant)
Kalanchoe tomentosa (Panda Plant)
Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea) 'America'
Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea) 'Berry Dare'
Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea) 'Mrs. Collier'
Lavandula sp. (Lavender)
Leonotis leonurus (Lion's Tail)
Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny)
Mentha suaveolens variegata (Pinapple Mint)
Miscanthus sp. (Ornamentakl Grass)
Myrsine africana (African Box)
Nepeta "Walker's Low" (Catmint)
Nicotiana alata "Lime Green"
Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose)
Opuntia sp.
Ornithogalum umbellatum (Star of Bethlehem)
Passiflora sp (Passion Flower) - lavender/pink
Pelargonium (Geranium)
Phormium (New Zealand Flax)
Phormium tenax (New Zealand Flax)
Plectranthus amboinicus (Cuban oregano)
Plectranthus argenteus
Rosa (Rose - pink)
Rosmarinus (Rosemary)
Salvia elegans (Pineapple sage)
Salvia elegans (Pineapple sage)
Salvia greggii "Moonlight"
Salvia karwinskii (Karwinski's Sage)
Salvia leucantha (Mexican Sage)
Sedum sp.
Senecio madraliscae (Blue Chalksticks)
Sisyrinchium californica (Yellow-Eyed Grass)
Stachys byzantina (Lamb's Ears)
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass)
Tulbaghia violacea (Society Garlic)
Viola sp. (Violet)
Washingtonia (Mexican Fan Palm)
Zantedeschia (Calla Lily)

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Potrero Hill Festival

The 20th Annual Potrero Hill Festival will be held on October 16th on 20th Street between Wisconsin and Missouri Streets. Yes that's right - the same day as our plant sale!

Potrero Hill, the iconic neighborhood is hosting the 20^th annual festival with of a “New Orleans” Style Brunch created by the California Culinary Academy and an exciting street fair at our great location on 20^th Street. We’ll have music, food, crafts and activities for the young and old alike.

The Potrero Hill Festival will support the programs of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House (NABE). The NABE is an invaluable community resource that provides important programs for the community, including youth and senior nutrition, employment and supplemental education programs and programs for developmentally disabled adults.

We support this cause - and we'll be hosting a booth at the Festival so drop on my and say hello, and buy a raffle ticket for one of our splendid prizes before you wander down to the plant sale at Pennsylvania Garden! It'll be a great day out for everyone and the weather won't be as blisteringly hot by the weekend ;)

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Nickels for P. Garden!

Whole Foods is doing their Nickels for Nonprofits thing again. This is where you bring your shopping bags and they donate $0.05 for each bag to one of three nonprofits. Between now and the holidays, PG is one of those nonprofits!

So, every time you shop there, even if you’re only buying a tiny lip gloss or one apple, take a bag! And please pick Pennsylvania Street Gardens as your nonprofit of choice. We’ll let you know how much we raise and what we’re going to spend it on later.

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Sloat sponsors raffle prizes!

This just in! Sloat Garden Center (home of all plants we drool over) has agreed to donate prizes to us for the raffle at our plant sale on October 16th!

Come to the garden and buy a ticket or five, or get tickets at our booth at the Potrero Hill Festival on October 16th too! Oh I'm dying to know what they're donating... I'm sure it will be something very, very cool.

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Garden City Workshop Oct 10th: Sign Up Today!

A Three Part Workshop Series- October 10, 17, and November 7th.

Have you been dreaming of starting your own urban oasis, a garden where you can grow you own food and find some peace of mind, but you don't have any space and don't know where to look to find some? If so, this 3 part practical workshop series is for you! Attend one workshop, or all three. This workshop series is co-presented by the San Francisco Parks Trust and Garden for the Environment.

Garden City Workshop I: Finding City Land for a Garden & Bicycle Tour

Date: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Time: 9 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: San Francisco County Fair Building, 9th Ave @ Lincoln Way, just inside Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94122
Cost: $15-$30 sliding scale

Pre-registration is required, and space is limited, so sign-up soon.
To pre-register, please call (415)750-5110, or email julia@sfpt.org


"The future of life on this planet may depend on what we eat. Factory farmed junk food is the #1 cause of climate change." - Excerpt from Organic Consumers Association's "Food Agenda 2020: The Organic Alternative"

If you want to be part of reducing carbon emissions in your community and be part of the local urban agriculture movement, look no further- this workshop is for you!! You'll learn how to identify possible spaces for gardens in San Francisco, including city property, privately owned lots, school gardens, sidewalks and backyards. The pros and cons of each option will be explored. Workshop participants will venture out on bicycles for a rolling tour of innovative gardens implemented in such spaces and to meet the visionaries that created them. All participants should bring a bag lunch, water, and a bicycle.

The bicycle tour will end at Hayes Valley Farm at 1:30 PM. Workshop participants will then have the opportunity to get keyed into and play a crucial role in garden actions throughout the city organized by Kitchen Garden SF, including garden installations, maintenance and harvesting. Also planned at Hayes Valley Farm are afternoon workshops and a harvest party. The entire day's activities are part of the Global Environmental Work Party, day of action 10.10.10, organized by 350.org and local urban agriculture organizations.

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