Arid vine maintenance

I returned to the Greenhouse after a 6-week break so that I could do some traveling. I'm grateful to be allowed the time away from the volunteer opportunity at the University's Botanical Greenhouse, which I so much enjoy. Today, I was assigned the task of maintaining the vining plants in the desert room, on the Collection side of the greenhouse.

The vining plants in this room are situated on one of the benches along an internal glass wall. The vines are attached to a number of wooden and metal trellises. Over the past year, the vines have grown and become a bit misshapen. Some of the stems are quite dead, or nearly so. My task was to cut down, prune, and re-string the vines to be ready for the coming growth season.

Here are a few examples:

Xerosicyos danguyi, silver dollar plant

Xerosicyos, or silver dollar plant, is in the cucumber family Cucubitaceae from Madagascar.

Fockea edulis

Fockea is a succulent shrub in the dogbane family Apocynaceae from Africa. It has the nickname 'water root.'

Bowiea, climbing onion

Bowiea volubilis, or climbing onion, is in the asparagus family, Asparagaceae. It is from the desert regions of east and southern Africa.

Adenia glauca

Adenia glauca is in the passionflower family, Passifloraceae, native to southern Africa.

Here is the finished product of my attempt to get the bench ready for the growing season:

Vining and climbing desert plants

Comments

A Sensitive Plant and Common Weed

Mimosa pudica, also commonly called the sensitive plant was a popular houseplant when I was growing up in the 1970s. It was popular for its ability to quicky change shape by folding up its leaves to protect them from herbivore predators. At the slightest touch the plant is able to expell water from special cells in the leaves, changing the shape from frond-like to a stick-form. The plant creeps along the ground, never for than a foot or so in height. In tropical parts of the world this plant is considered and invasive weed. Today, as I was treating plants to remove pests I happened to touch the leaves of a Mimosa pudica , one with a pretty puff-like flower. Sure enough, the leaves all folded up to almost nothing. Mimosa pudica , the sensitive plant Other more routine chores during my four-hour shift at the U of M Conservatory included cleaning three plants of Hibiscus clayi, native to Hawaii. These three plants in particular have suffered repeated infestations with a variety of in...

A Thames River Walk Through Time: Repurposing Tow Paths

I love it when old technologies are repurposed to solve entirely different problems. A perfect example is the extensive system of canals and tow paths throughout England. Before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of railways, these canals were built to transport goods between cities and towns. Narrow boats pulled by horses or mules along tow paths were a common sight. Today, however, these tow paths have found a new purpose: recreational walking. They offer picturesque routes through the English countryside, allowing people to explore the beauty of the canals and rivers. The commerce that once flowed along these waterways may have shifted to railways, but the paths themselves continue to serve a valuable function. This year, I had the privilege of joining three other hikers on a journey along the River Thames tow path, from the city of Oxford to its source, a distance of about 50 miles. Farther upstream, the river gradually narrowed, eventually transforming into a swollen creek b...

Plantulary: Botanical Dance

The title of the dance performance was Plantulary. The theme, botanical. On a whim, my partner suggested we attend a performance of a new dance work by a small immersive arts collaborative, Aniccha Arts. Through the arc of a single year—from growth through to dormancy—the dancers describe the story of plant life using percussive dance rhythms, music, literary, and various vegetable props. For me, this dance performance was a challenge to appreciate; it was no Swan Lake. I didn’t fully understand the connection between many of the sound and dance elements. But, curiously, the memory of it has stuck with me for the past few days. To set the scene, the stage consisted of a simple dark room lit by spotlights and early evening sunlight coming in through large windows. Along the baseboard of the stage were narrow trays of green seedlings lit by fluorescent grow-lights, forming the outer limit of the performance space. To further imbue the stage with plant life, several moss balls (kokedama-l...

City Gardener

Search This Blog