Visiting Nurseries in the San Francisco Bay area in 1948

Entertaining at the California Nursery Company
1948

“Ornamental Horticulture field trip, San Francisco Bay Area, 1948"

At 5:13 they are at the Japanese Garden, followed by the Conservatory of Flowers.
At 14:46 Japanese grower. Possibly the Domoto Nursery in Oakland? Hayward?
An interesting shot of a guy on a 12 foot ladder taking a picture of the camellia display.
At 15:54 the California Nursery during the bulb shows, complete with Dutch girls.

A Visit to California by Eastern Horticulturalists - 1870

"Brief Notes"? Are there long notes?

The summer after the Transcontinental Railroad reached the San Francisco Bay, these esteemed horticulturalists (and ladies) visited California: Marshal P. Wilder, Charles Downing, George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry.

The May 6, 1869 ceremony in Promontory, Utah celebrated the joining of East to West, ending in Sacramento. But travelers had to travel the rest of the way to San Francisco by boat from Sacramento.

Less celebrated was the first through train on the Western Pacific Road to the San Francisco Bay on September 6, 1869. The first train arrive in Alameda on that day and then two months later to Oakland. Niles station was not even a year old yet in June 1870.

These famous horticulturalists made the trip during the next growing season. They arrived on June 20 in San Francisco. Did they take the ferry from Sacramento? Or the train to Alameda then a ferry to SF?

They travelled all over the Bay Area visiting nurseries and orchards. They visited the counties of the San Francisco Bay (San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, and Sonoma). They visited Sacramento and the Big Trees.

Alameda County Guides & Maps & Such

Roping cattle ca. 1839 in front of Mission Peak.
California: a history of Upper & Lower California
 ...Forbes, Alexander, 1778-1862 found here

Think of this as a library bookshelf on all things about life in Southern Alameda County, before it was Southern Alameda County. And after.

• California: a history of Upper & Lower California from their ...Forbes, Alexander, 1778-1862 published originally in 1839.

• Columbian Exposition Souvenir "Central Garden Spot of Alameda County" 1893
• Alameda County: The Eden of the Pacific : the Flower Garden of California, 1898
• Alameda County California 1904 - horrible scan!
• A color brochure/Map 1914 on David Rumsey: Alameda County, California. Sierra Art & Eng. Designed by J.J. Rhea, Oakland, Cal. Printed by Kelley-Davis Co., Oakland, Cal. (1914) 
• Farm Bureau Monthly, 1917-1921 - lots with J.C. Shinn
• Past and Present of Alameda County, volume 1 and volume 2
• Alameda County, Where Every Prospect Pleases, Where rail and water meet, 1922?
• History of Washington Township 1904
• Alameda County, its industries and environs. 1904
• Maps
• Alameda County 1914
• Alameda County, the ideal place for your California home, Henry Anderson Lafler, ~1915
• Alameda County farm bureau monthly (1917-1921)
• Alameda County, California, "where every prospect pleases"
• Alameda County Assessor's Maps 1901 look for more

Albert Etter and the California Nursery Company

Albert Etter Apples introduced in 1944 catalog

In 1944, six of Albert Etter's apples were introduced to the public. The California Nursery Company catalog cover shows Jonwin, All Gold, Wickson's Crab, Pink Pearl, and Alaska. Not shown was Humboldt Crab. A seventh apple, Crimson Gold, was introduced in 1947.

All were co-patented with Albert Etter and George Roeding, Jr.

Tom Hart presented the Legacy of Albert Etter in 2019.

The 2020 CiderCon session at Filoli was about historic orchards and with a talk by Tom Hart. 

Fruit Growers' Conventions 1881-1921

The Proceedings of the Fruit Growers' Convention make for interesting reading. The conversations were captured and recorded for posterity. Jokes, anecdotes, and tones of voices can be read again many years later. It's like you were there.

• 1881 Sacramento, Dec. 6, 1881
• 1882 Nov. 1882
• 1886 6th, Sacramento, Nov. 15, 1886 
• 1889, 10th, Chico, CA, Nov 20-23: Bulletin
• 1894 18th, Sacramento, Nov. 20-23:
• 1895, 19th, Sacramento, CA, Nov. 5-8:
  note in 1895 "20th, 21st, 22d, 23d have never been published"

• 1901, 26th, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 3-6:
• 1902, 27th, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 2-5: 
• 1903 28th, Los Angeles, May 5-8
• 1904 (other, and), 29th, Fresno, CA, Dec. 8-11:
• ?1905  xx Santa Rosa, CA: Roeding (fig and Burbank anecdotes), Rixford, Maslin, Wickson, Irish, Hecke, Shields on Chinese labor, 
• 1905 31st, Santa Rosa, Dec. 5-: ("See 32nd report in Horticultural Report 1905-1906")
• 1907 (other) 33rd, Marysville, CA, Dec. 3-7:
• 1908, 34th, Riverside, CA, Apr. 28-May 1: 
• 1908 (Other), 35th, Sacramento, CA, Dec 1-4: 
• 1909  (other) 36th, Watsonville, CA, Dec 7-10: 
• 1910 (other, and), 37th, Pomona, CA, Sept 13-14:
• 1910 (other) 38th, Stockton, Dec. 6-9:
• 1911 (other) 40th, Santa Rosa, CA, Dec. 19-21: Roeding (pests, berries), Burbank (cactus, "wizard"), Chinese/Japanese/pear blight, 
• 1912 41st, Santa Barbara, June 12-14: 
• 1915 (other, and) 47th, Visalia, Nov. 18-20: 
• 1916 48th, San Bernardino in conjunction with National Orange Show, Feb. 18-19:
• 1917 50th, Sacramento, Nov. 21-23:
• 1918 51st, Riverside, May 28-29:
• 1919 52nd, Chico, CA, Nov 10-15: 
• 1920 53rd, Fresno, CA, Nov. 9-12:
• 1921 54th, Los Angeles, Oct. 24-26:

Other interesting publications

California Fruit Growers' Recipes: Culinary and Toilet, Lemons

National Convention of Fruit Growers

• 1848 New York City
• 1849 2nd, 

Early Horticulture in Southern Alameda County and Beyond

Henry Kruckeberg's dedication to Wickson's book

Fremont has three historic parks that were once early nurseries. Where's the best place to learn about these nurseries?

• Of course, one of our favorite fruit guys, E.J. Wickson, wrote this great book: California Nurserymen and the Plant Industry, 1850-1910
• Historical Sketches of Southern Alameda County, by Charles Howard Shinn, 1889 articles.
• Early Horticulture in California, Overland Monthly, 1885, p. 117-128. 

Tidbit from Images of America, Irvington, Fremont: One of the daughters of Rev. and Mrs. Harmon (who ran Washington College in Irvington) married Professor E.J. Wickson. Professor Wickson's sister taught at Washington College with two Harmon daughters.

References

• Our favorite university horticulturalists - Hilgard & Wickson - when they were Deans of Agriculture and heads of Experiment stations.
• Eugene W. Hilgard: 1896-1906
• Edward J. Wickson: 1906-1912

Daffodil ID

These pretty daffodils were growing in a local park. What are they?

'Ice Follies' is the suggestion.

A drought tolerant rose garden?

Niles Cochet,
at an abandoned gas station in San Juan Bautista,
is the green bushy plant to the left, next to window.
Found/reported by Jeri Jennings.
It was not in bloom in this photo in mid-August,
but its foliage was a nice deep green.
Check out the supporting cast of characters:
agave, yucca?

Can you have roses in a drought tolerant garden, that gets little water in the summer?

I first became aware of such an idea from the "Rose Rustlers", those intrepid seekers of old roses at abandoned homestead, roadways, cemeteries, and abandoned gas stations. Many of these roses were brought by early settlers and were as rugged as the people who brought them. The roses are often disease resistant as well as drought tolerant.

The Master Gardeners of Alameda County have three demonstration gardens: Fremont, Livermore, and Albany. Look for their recommended plant lists.

I was surprised to see roses in the Livermore demonstration garden. I was double-surprised that one of their roses was the 'Mutabilis' rose or 'Butterfly' rose, a China/Bengale hybrid, and is listed as an Earth Kind rose.

Tea roses, like the "Niles Cochet" and its "sport mother", the Maman Cochet, do not require summer water once established.

References:

• “If Dead People Can Grow Roses, Anyone Can” by Mike Shoup, the owner of the Antique Rose Emporium in Independence, Texas
• Caring for roses in the drought - UC
• Growing Roses During the Drought - Pacific Rose Society
• Drought Tolerant Roses - Tamara L.C. Johnson
• Tea Roses: Old Roses for Warm Gardens
• The Rose Rustlers, is a brand new book from Texas and has descriptions of many 'found' roses.
• Earth Kind roses has a list of roses
• Suggestions from UC Davis on training your new rose to be more drought tolerant
• What to plant with your roses?