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UC Gardening Blogs
Night Bloom at the Conservatory of Flowers
Over the holidays, we enjoyed a visit to “Night Bloom” at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. This special five-week evening exhibit describes itself as a “light and sound experience.” The five galleries of the Conservatory are illuminated with light and sound installations dispersed throughout. For example, animal sounds may play as colorful prisms play against the palm trees in one gallery while ponds glow in other galleries. Visitors may repeat the walk throughout the exhibit as many times as they like. Outside the exhibit, the Conservatory is illuminated with colorful projections. Food and drink are available for purchase.
We enjoyed the exhibit as something different for the holiday season. Bear in mind that the galleries of the Conservatory are relatively dark during the exhibit so that the light art exhibits can be appreciated, which means that you may not be able to see as much of the individual plants as you would in the daytime.
The show ends on January 6, 2019, but it's something to keep in mind for next year if it is offered. For more information, see https://conservatoryofflowers.org/nightbloom/.
And if you haven't been to the Conservatory before, it is well worth a visit at any time of year. This beautiful Victorian-era building is the oldest public wood and glass conservatory in North America. It displays lowers, foliage and plants from around the world, with a concentration on tropical plants. See https://conservatoryofflowers.org.
photos by Erin Mahaney
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'A' is for Almonds and 'B' is for Bees and Bradford Pear Blossoms
No, it's not Valentine's Day, yet. Yes, the almonds are blooming. No, it's not spring. But it...
Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.
Almonds are blooming in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Kanopy
No, the Kanopy isn't a plant, but a free service available from your local Solano County Library of interest to gardeners. Kanopy is a video streaming service that offers access to over 30,000 documentaries, educational videos, and independent films. Through Kanopy you can watch popular films like Lady Bird, but even better yet, you can watch instructional gardening videos from sources like The Great Courses as well as documentaries on gardens and gardeners, all for free. To give you a taste of what's available, a sample of the countless gardening videos you can stream to your computer, TV, iPad, smartphone, tablet etc. includes Winter Gardening (The Great Courses), Fresh Food From Your Garden (The Great Courses), The Garden – Fighting for an LA Urban Garden (Oscilloscope Pictures), The Queen's Garden (PBS), The Summer Palace – Secret Gardens of the Last Emperor's of China (Film Ideas), and Gardening with Soul (Heart and Soul Media Group). There are also streaming videos for children.
You can stream the videos to your internet-enabled devices. All you need to do is sign up for a free Kanopy account through the library. To sign up, you only need an email address and a Solano County Library card and PIN number. To sign up for the video streaming service, simply go to https://solanolibrary.kanopy.com/. And the best part is it's free with your Solano County Library card!
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UC Davis Researcher Targeting Zebra Chip: It's Not a Chip You Want
When you're munching on French fries or potato chips, you're probably not thinking about the potato...
The potato psyllid, a pest of potatoes, transmits a bacteria that causes zebra chip disease. (Photo by Don Henne)
Plant Communication Research: 'Taking Root'
It's not outlandish now, if it ever were. A recent article in Science headlined "Once Considered...
UC Davis ecologist Rick Karban has researched plant communication in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) on the east side of the Sierra since 1995.
