Revfad Blog

Category: Plants

  • Japanese cheesewood in Japan

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    David Faden
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    On a recent visit to Japan, I was amused to see some of what I’m pretty sure was Pittosporum tobira, aka Japanese cheesewood: I’ve written about it a couple of times before — Pittosporum tobira and Pittosporum tobira’s sticky seeds — looking at some of the many specimens growing right next door. But here it…

  • Creeping thistles

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    David Faden
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    I visited my parents in Iowa last week. One thing I did was help with pulling out thistles that had been spreading throughout a couple garden beds — 89 plants one day, a couple more another day. But what kind of thistle were they? I was hoping non-native since my hope is to nudge things…

  • Calandrinia (Cistanthe grandiflora) aka Rock purslane

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    David Faden
    in

    This morning I heard a kid ask their mom, “What’s that flower?”, pointing to blooms like these near the street. I have looked up the name a couple times myself but didn’t have it mind. I’m writing this now to try to cement it in my memory. Cistanthe grandiflora is native to Chile. It was…

  • Touch grass

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    David Faden
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    Here are some of the types of grass (family Poaceae) I’m trying to grow around our yard. Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) is my current favorite — I just like the way it looks: I’ve had pretty good luck growing it from seed. I’ve contributed a few plants grown from seed to the local school. It…

  • Eating Claytonia perfoliota

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    David Faden
    in

    I’ve heard for a while that Claytonia perfoliata is edible, but only got my hands on enough for a salad this last weekend. A local gardener was planning on clearing some from a bed and offered to let me share in the bounty. Thank you, Diana! Here are a few individual stems + leaves +…

  • Fourleaf manyseed?

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    David Faden
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    Suddenly, I’m seeing a lot of this weed in our yard: Seek identifies it as Fourleaf Manyseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum). (Interesting how close the common name is to the botanical one: “Carpon” is a “seed” or “fruit”, from Greek, so “Polycarpon” could be translated “many seed” and “tetraphyllum” just means “four leaves”.) It does look pretty…

  • Starting the new year with a little gardening

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    David Faden
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    There was a break in the rain on New Year’s Day so I headed over to the school. I carried a couple plants with me that had been growing in pots on our patio for a while: California Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense), cultivated from overflow from our yard, and goldenrod (probably Solidago velutina ssp. californica), salvaged…

  • Pittosporum tobira’s sticky seeds

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    David Faden
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    Back in April, I wrote about Pittosporum tobira, hoping to put a few facts into my memory. One thing that “stuck” with me a little: that the genus name refers to them having sticky seeds. Now that the seed pods are popping open, the source of the name seems clearer: Seed pods popping open on…

  • Covington Sensory Garden Natives Blooming November 1, 2025

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    David Faden
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    The Covington Elementary sensory garden features a lot of native plants. Here are the ones I noticed blooming Saturday while we were working on some upkeep. Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Many of the plants in the main yarrow patch in the garden aren’t just done blooming; their tops are brown and crispy. This one in…

  • Interview with Judy Schwarz

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    David Faden
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    Judy Schwarz, who manages the native plant section at the Palo Alto SummerWinds location, is an icon in the local native plants community. A few quotes about her from the GardeningWithNatives mailing list: “Judy is a wonderful resource and advocate” (link), “Judy at [SummerWinds] in Palo Alto is the best!” (link), “Judy at [SummerWinds] Palo…