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Posts from August 2009

Arboretum Library August E-News

August 07, 2009

News from the Library

Hothouse Flower book Cover


 Hello all and welcome newcomers:

The link below shows a nice selection of the new items.  Two of the three websites are from herbaria.  These libraries of dried plant materials are rich in information about what grows in a particular place.  The Flora of Baja project is wonderfully comprehensive.  I liked the photographs showing various agaves in habitat.

New books, articles and website lists

Library volunteer, Pam Wolken, shares her thoughts on one of our new books:

”Hothouse Flower and the 9 Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin (New York: Pantheon Books, c2009) is a coming-of-age story of animism, transmutation and mysticism in the spirit of Mutant Message Down Under with plants.  New York advertising woman Lila Grace Nova is recovering from a divorce in a spare, small white box of an apartment when she comes under the spell of plantsman David Exley who provides her with a bird of paradise and launches her fascination with tropical plants.  Armand, the plantsman of the Laundromat and his wife, Sonali, complete the core cast for Lila’s journey through the Yucatan jungle; all motivated by the nine plants of the title, of course.  There is a tenth plant, and unnamed passion flower held out like the seed of a sequel.

These nine form the basis of all human desires and fulfillment in the best traditions of anthropomorphism: gloxinia for love at first sight, sinsemilla is female sexuality, etc.  Lila’s quest for the nine, the healing and destroying powers of them, and the use of them by traditional cultures start out as a thought-provoking soul searching that quickly becomes a bodice-ripping tale of lust, dancing on the line between love and death.  For those who appreciate a healthy dose of fantasy with a lively fictional tale, this is a book for a summertime afternoon when it’s steamy as the jungle.”

You can hunt for our other fiction selections that are plant related by searching the keyword “fiction”.  Try that with the link below.

 Arboretum Library Online Catalog

Many thanks to those of you who have used our wish lists as a way to help us build our collections.  The wish lists have moved to a new area on our new website:

http://www.arboretum.org/index.php/support/donations/ .  Scroll down the page to the section titled “Give to the Arboretum Library.”  I am still dividing the lists between children’s books and books for adults. Have fun looking through my forthcoming acquisitions list.

Our current exhibition in the Library Reading Room is all about mushrooms.  Come and visit, especially during our expanded weekend hours.

The Arboretum Library hours for August are as follows:

Open Tuesday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Open Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Open Sundays, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

From Tuesday to Friday, August 11 to August 14, the Arboretum Library will be open 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

Remember we are circulating to Arboretum members.  The circulation period for books is 3 weeks with 2 renewals if no one else wants the item.  You can renew by e-mail, phone or in person, but not on the online catalog.  The circulation period for current magazines is 3 days with 2 renewals if no one else wants the item.

Our Botanical Information Consultants (for plant advice) are currently available seven days a week. David.Lofgren@Arboretum.org or Frank.McDonough@Arboretum.org or 626-821-3239.

Happy reading!  

Susan C. Eubank
Arboretum Librarian
Arboretum Library
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, California 91007
626-821-3213
626-821-4642 (fax)
www.arboretum.org

How to Spend More Time on MySpace, Less Time on Your Place:  Moving to a Low Maintenance Garden.

August 11, 2009

Plant Information

Dear Arboretum Plant Info,

As my wife and I grow older we’ve found that spending the time out in the garden necessary just to keep things looking decent takes a lot out of us. Instead of spending time in our garden exhausting ourselves weeding, pruning, and cleaning up we’d rather spend it chatting with our grandchildren on the internet. What can we do to make our garden “low maintenance"?

Signed,

Facebook Grand-Dad


Dear FBGD,

I assume you can’t pry your grandkids off of their computers for an afternoon of gardening with grandpa at your place; so in lieu employing your loved ones as day laborers I would suggest the following:

  1. Replace your lawn with a low water use groundcover.

  2. Replace all 'out of scale' plants or plants that require pruning to make them look good with smaller scale plants that do not need pruning. This will prevent weeds and cut down on weeding. Ideally the mulch layer should be at least 3 inches thick.

  3. Be sure to add new mulch at least every year. Note: This mulching routine might fail if you have a landscape of California natives. These plants are adversely affected by organic mulches because of the nitrogen formed when the mulch breaks down. California natives prefer inorganic mulches like gravel or decomposed granite. 

  4. Increase the amount of 'hardscaping' and unplanted areas in your landscape; fewer plants, less maintenance. 

  5. Mulch with shredded bark or other slow decaying organic materials.  

  6. Use low water use plants, they grow slower so they don't need as frequent pruning as higher water use plants.

  7. Do not fertilize. Broadcast fertilization isn't necessary for even high water use landscapes. There are individual exceptions, though (fruit trees, roses, azaleas, etc.). Adding nitrogen to plants makes them grow faster, thus you have to prune more.


-Arboretum Plant Info

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