KETZEL'S TWILIGHT GARDEN

The light looked pretty stunning around 7pm this evening and called to the photographer inside, who was downing prednisone and dabbing heinous medicinals on her poison oak-ridden body. Distracted from her ablutions by a particularly seductive ray, she ran outside in pajamas (her clothes hurt too much to wear) and lost herself in foliage and flowers. Sadly, she neglected to leave the poison oak outside.


This is the week for my Chilean Azara with a light sweet fragrance that doesn't insinuate, only invites. It was 6' tall when she and I moved here in 2000; at 20'x15' it's now a favorite spot for hummingbird hide'n'seek.


Above, an evergreen composition that looks at least this good 12 mos/year. The ceramic sculpture on the left (with a brilliant orange base, not shown) is by a wonderful Oregon artist (email me for contact info). It's a piece that thrives in all sorts of weather, as do the multi-colored yucca and the summer-blooming willowy tree from Down Under, Lomatia myricoides.


If you take pictures then you already know that blue is a total bitch. But if you're going to nail it, your best shot is at twilight, when even this blue ceanothus couldn't hide. It's about as rare as a daylily wherever it thrives (you could get your retinas blown out in Berkeley), but you never see enough of the small shrubs that arch and drape. The more popular forms make monster blobs.


Hey, Joel Haas, you out there? I haven't been in touch with the guy for at least 15 years, but his preying mantis came out west with me and doesn't show a year of wear. We should all be so lucky.

Finally, the money shot: Corokia cotoneaster, the wire netting shrub from Australia, with yellow dime-size flowers (and leaves half that size) that dangle from thread-thin stems.

I'll happily arrange more tours of my garden month by month if you ask nicely and promise to keep me in Calamine.