Sibling Road Trip and all the Succulents!

It’s road trip time with my sister! You can find her here: Bookmaniac. She’s incredibly smart, funny, insightful, and all the things I love. Simply the best!

Anyway, we’re embarking on a road trip south towards Santa Cruz filled with infinite silliness, and our last stop is to pose by the giant artichoke, stay tuned. It’s May in California so it is grey and FOGGY. We have many layers with us.

Succulent Gardens
2133 Elkhorn Road, Castroville, CA 95012

I mostly took pictures of succulents on this trip because we stopped at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA, to marvel at their amazing collection. This huge nursery, hidden along a winding road near Moss Landing and all the otters in CA, specializes in a wide variety of succulents and has some fun and creatively designed display gardens and greenhouses. I don't know why but seeing rows and rows of tiny succulents all alike is so visually pleasing! While there, I also signed up for a workshop to create a succulent frame planter, though I somehow forgot to take a picture of it.

Succulent close-ups.

More succulents….

I did buy some stuff…

As promised, here were are looking a bit disheveled in front of a large artichoke.

Visualizing Designs

I’m imagining that everyone has their own work flow for creating client visuals. I love 3D and, in fact, have a degree in 3D Animation and Computer Modeling (or something along those lines… it’s been a long time). Making 3D renderings look good is fairly time consuming and I often don’t love the final product. The time consuming part is what is important here though, I’m not sure your small to mid sized residential projects will want to pay for that time. The GOAL of these visuals is to help the client imagine their space and maybe it doesn’t have to super elaborate and 100% perfect and I need to remember that.

Right now I am using SketchUp. It’s good enough but I do still love that hand-drawn look. Lately I have been rendering a line drawing in SketchUp and then coloring over it. Here is an uncolored example.

Firepit with shrubs

Firepit with shrubs

Same view but with different plants and chairs.

Same view but with different plants and chairs.

And a color example. The color on this scan came out a tad weird but you can see how I go about making a test drawing and trying out markers.

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I print out several and then us AD Markers to color. I do love to color!

My current process:

Create basic SketchUp model and use one of the sketch filters. Create several views and print them out.

Draw in the plants - sometimes I draw directly on to the print out and sometimes I do a more elaborate dance with tracing paper, rescanning, color adjusting in Photoshop but honestly that takes way longer.

Choose a coloring medium - I have been using AD Markers lately but sometimes I use colored pencils. I would love to do watercolor. One of the joys of watercolor is how fast and blendable they are. I have not really worked out HOW to do this yet though. I don’t think my printer will work even wth the flimsiest watercolor paper. I could trace the drawing on but haven’t tried that yet. Something to work on, I guess!

Then scan, color correct, and done!

I don’t have my own clients yet but I get to color other peoples designs and I freaking love it.

The above landscape designs are by Susan of Garden Alchemy.

Color Blobs

If I’m not feeling inspired to draw/paint anything in particular I like to just play around with color. Sometimes I even just paint circles of single colors. It helps that my paint of choice, Daniel Smith watercolors, has such amazing vibrant pigments. A mistake I see people make is buying student grade watercolors. ALWAYS buy artist grade. I don’t care if they are more expensive! Even if you can only buy your warm and cool primaries artist grade is the way to go.

Vendors? What are vendors?

I went to my first NorCal event this year. NorCal is a trade show for the landscape business that is held at the San Mateo event center every year. Every possible thing related to the landscaping industry can be found and explored there.

Who are these vendors? Why do I want to know them?

Vendors are the sales representatives for all the landscaping products used in the industry! Who knew?! Not sure why I find this so weird and novel but I do.

Why do you and I want to know them? Because they will help you spec their products, they will spend a decent chunk of time explaining things to you and your clients. They will even sometimes go to your project site and bring samples for your clients. Amazing!

I, while not exactly shy, do not love to chit chat. I marvel at people who can chit chat. I just can’t do it, my mind goes immediately blank and I become the most uninteresting person in the universe. Although, (CW: alcohol) if I have a glass or two of wine I will totally hang out and chit chat. There is no wine at NorCal so just forget that. Anyway, you can chat up these folks and they will be absolute fonts of knowledge about their products.

Some examples:

Local stone yards will often have sales reps that rep various paver companies. For instance, PBM - Peninsula Building Materials has showrooms all over the Bay Area. If you contact them with a question about a product you will be directed to the sales rep for that product.

Specific paver companies - For instance, StepStone has a sales rep for the Bay Area. Need color samples? Call them!

There are sales reps for sod, plants (think Proven Winners or Sunset Plants), landscape lighting, and irrigation companies are just a few I can think of.

Not sure if I emphasized this enough but these people will help you for FREE. It’s great.

The SF Wave Organ

My sister and I jaunted over to SF to visit the Wave Organ in January, sketchbooks and coffees in hand. How had I never been here? All the years I was living in SF and specifically exploring everything I could and I somehow never ended up here. Anyway, I went now and it was a beautiful winter day with the sun shining. It was so nice to just sit and draw in my sketchbook listening to the waves and people and sea gulls.

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

The sculpture was delightfully like an ancient ruin. I do love a good ruin. A real ruin not to miss is the Sutro Baths. I go there all the time and I should post some pics of that landscape.

This wave organ is a sound sculpture made from reused items including stones from an old cemetery. I love that and it makes for some very interesting sculptural stone work. The actual organ pipes are PVC and concrete. I think it sounds kind of like rubber bands!

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Sunset Headquarters in Menlo Park

I heard the Sunset headquarters is going to move so I wanted to dash down there to visit it before it relocated. When I first moved to CA I worked just down the street but did not know about Sunset magazine at that time. Nor did I particularly care about gardens at age 19. Anyway, my friend and I jaunted down there to take some pics.

I’m so glad we did! I just love the color and texture they are playing with. The bright orange, round trellis is also speaking to me. I would like to own this moon gate trellis for myself!

Pavement 2 Parks in SF

This Pavements to Parks initiative in SF is really interesting. I must see if Oakland has something similar.

I drove by this little parklet on my way somewhere and I came back later to investigate more thoroughly.

Guerrero Park by Shift Studio in SF

Guerrero Park by Shift Studio in SF

This Places for People idea is marvelous. I love how they have created these planting spaces and seating areas on the harsh concrete of this street using recycled materials. I hope people come hang out here!

2015 - APLD Washington - Garden 2

This was a very cool modern garden. It had tons of insteresting details. I particularly noticed and liked the combination of materials. Like, where materials combine.

Corten meets gravel meets plants meets stone work etc. You know what I mean?!

Those little drain covers?!!! That Muhly grass?! So soft soft looking!

Buckle Up - There are many pictures.

I have an absurd amount of photos and I simply am having trouble picking which ones to upload so there will be a lot. I have already lost the actual garden info so this is for your eyeball enjoyment only.

This garden was amazing.

Look at this gorgeous copper gutter. I want this.

Look at this gorgeous copper gutter. I want this.

I like how they carried this purple color throughout the garden

I like how they carried this purple color throughout the garden

Laura goes to Washington DC

This is my first trip to DC. I know a lot of folks go to Washington in 8th grade. I’m not sure why I did not. My confession here is that I did not realize that “The Smithsonian” is, in fact, a bunch of museums and they are all free. damn! I need to bring my kid here soon.

I’m here for the APLD Conference. This is my first one and I do not know anyone here. I made my reservations with a little padding so that I can at least explore a little bit. There is so much to do and I am a tad overwhelmed and having to talk myself down from trying to do everything. I can not do ALL THE THINGS. I also do not want to discount the value of vaguely wandering. :D

My first foray from the hotel brings me to this sweet garden and bird habitat! Such luck! Lots of pictures here of plant combos and textures that caught my eye. Also, a mondo grass lawn!? It’s cute!

I went to the Natural History Museum after hanging out in this garden and then headed to the Space one. Along the way there were MORE PLANTS!

Then I went to Washington Station (I think) which is basically a mall because I wanted to go to the Moleskine store. I did buy a new notebook and a little sleeve thingy that goes over it and zips to hold a few pens.

Moving a giant-ass palm

Here I am driving along and I see this truck with a massive palm all over it! How cool to see how they are moving it. I wonder what very large crane (VLC) is waiting to put it in it’s final place!? Where is it going?

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Characteristics of CA Native plants w/ APLD and Cal Academy of Sciences

I joined APLD folks to talk to people about CA native plants at the California Academy of Sciences. I like to do this sort of thing.

Here are some of the characteristics of native plants that help them conserve water:

Slivery grey leaves with little hairs reflect light help keep a plants temperature down in hot dry climates.

Small leaves help plants conserve water because less surface area means that leaf will lose less water.

Waxy leaves serve as sort of a waterproofing that reduces transpiration.

Thick succulent leaves trap and conserve water.

Look at all those adorable signs MF made! So cute!

Look at all those adorable signs MF made! So cute!

Trees for Children's Play Environments

So plant ID classes can be very challenging. I’ve got some brain differences, including mild dyslexia, and memorizing a ton of plant names AND how to spell them is almost prohibitively impossible.

I’ve managed to soldier through life and all previous plant ID classes fairly well until taking Tree ID last semester. My LAST plant ID class required for me to graduate. I swear this one upset me so much because some large percentage of the grade was going to be on SPELLING. Spelling!!?

One of the grand things about life today is that there is the internet (a series of tubes) and spell check. Dyslexic people every where rejoice! Anyway. I have a Fine Art degree! Don’t ask me to spell!

For my final project for that class I had to get away from things I am bad at that make me feel terrible and like I am failing in 3rd grade again and get back to things I am good at, like illustration. I decided that illustrating a bunch of beautiful trees would sooth my fevered soul.

And, to make it more complicated (hello ADD), I thought it would be cool to turn those illustrations in to a book. Of course, I did not complete the project. I completed enough for the class but not quite enough to finish the actual book. I used Blurb to layout and print the book even though it wasn’t finished. I can finish it another time, right?!

Here are a few of the illustrations. I drew the whole tree and then a detail.

The Blurb software is called BookSmart and it’s … just okay. The final printed book is a little paperback and is so cute!

Here is the cover and some layouts

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How to make a daisy chain

I spent a lot of time in my backyard as a kid braiding and (attempting) to weave pine needles. Our big old American lawn had tons of clover that I would try to weave into a chain or a crown for my breye horses or for myself. I still have not successfully created a crown of flowers and at this point in my life I’m pretty sure I would just use florist wire.

This is a sweet little diagram of how to make a daisy crown. Erigeron karvinskianus would be a great plant to make one with!

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