Our Purple Potatoes has really taken off in the back yard and started blocking the path it was next to. I brought them to the front yard near our fence where they will also get more light. They kind of act as a plant filler and I bet most people would not even think they were Potato plants.
Young Coleus (Unknown 2011-01) 
purchased at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery. Most of the plant rotted 
for some reason, but there is still a little bit left that survived.
My Peach ‘Stark Saturn’ graft (from 2008) is finally bearing fruits. Below is one of the two fruits.
The Peach ‘Elberta’ that the Peach ‘Stark Saturn’ is graft to is not fruiting that much this year, but we still have a few fruits. These two are young Peach ‘Elberta’ fruits.
Our Apricot tree, on the other hand, has tons of fruits this year.
I stopped by our local nursery, Mid City Nursery to see what Coleus they had in stock. As I was walking by, I could smell something fruity and looked around to see what it was. It was a Banana Shrub (Michelia figo). It smelled really good and as I moved close to the plant to smell it more, an employee came over to me and commented how good it smelled.
I then remembered the Strawberry Tree that I saw in the Vallejo Garden Tour and asked her if they sold it. She was really nice and showed me the ones they had. One was in the shrub section, another was in the young fruit tree and another was in the taller landscape tree. She told me it was related to the Manzanita which explained the red bark. She even showed me one that they had in the demonstration garden that was really big. I asked if she ever tasted it and she said that it didn’t really taste good; it’s kind mealy.
I then look for the Coleus and bought two more:
– Coleus ‘Black Dragon’
– Coleus ‘Kong Mosaic’
I also purchased this light yellow Daisy-type flower. When I got home I realized it didn’t have a tag, so I don’t know what it is. The brand is Blooms of Glen Ellen and the bar code reads 7-81282-00002-4. I sent an email to Mid City Nursery asking if they can tell me what it is, but I haven’t gotten a response. [Update] It is a Marguerite Daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens). [Update 2] I went back to the nursery and found the tag. It’s Argyranthemum frutescens ‘Madeira Crested Primrose’ .
My Mom is extremely excited about our Feijoas (Pineapple Guava) that are flowering for the first time.
I got these as tiny seedlings from Mark Albert at the 2007 Golden Gate Chapter Scion Exchange. They were from a cultivar he introduced called ‘Albert’s Pride’. I can’t remember where the “#1” comes from, but he might have named this batch ‘Albert’s Pride #1’.
Here they are back in 2007:
It’s the first of June, but it’s seems like it’s winter or early spring. In fact, it was raining for a bit this morning, but luckily it stopped by the afternoon.
I did major pruning on our four pear trees. I noticed that there were a lot of dead branches, so I pruned anything that was dead. I didn’t get everything, and I may leave one of the tall branches in the middle Bosc Pear since I noticed that that where our neighborhood hummingbird loves to perch and sing. I still have more to prune, but it was getting late and I was getting tired.
Before going in, I planted the 5 Dwarf Border Sunflower plants into a 5 gallon container. I’ll move this to the front later this week.
I also sowed Zinnia ‘Whirligig’ , Zinnia (Fall 2005) and Tall Double Strawflowers .
Inside, I sowed 8 kinds of Coleus from seeds I saved:
– Coleus (Unknown Burgundy G2-2006/2011)
– Coleus (Dapple Apple G2-2006/2011)
– Coleus (Sedona G2-2006/2011)
– Coleus (Amora G2-2005/2011)
– Coleus (Kong Green G2-2005/2011)
– Coleus (Kong Salmon Pink G2-2010/2011)
– Coleus (Dark Star G2-2005/2011)
– Coleus (Splash G2-2006/2011)
I also sowed some herbs:
– Basil ‘Hybrid Thai Lemon’
– Basil ‘Lettuce Leaf’
– Basil (Sweet, Chia brand)
– Perilla frustescens (Shi-so) ‘Vietnamese, Tia To’
I saw this tree at one of the gardens in the Vallejo Garden Tour. I thought it was a Manzanita tree, but the owner told us that is was actually a Strawberry Tree, which I’ve never never or seen before. The tree has reddish branches and trunk and has edible berries in various stages of development, ranging in color from white to red.
The Purple Potatoes have grown so big and healthy. I’ve been adding more soil to the pot and hoping that there will be more space for Potato tubers to grow.