Author: Sue Langley

Hall’s Mule's ear and Fairyfan

Mule’s ear and Farewell to Spring

Roadside treasures worth  stopping for In the first week of July in the Sierra foothills of California, you believe that Spring is long gone, and yet, the season hasn’t said its final farewell.  Our beloved wildflowers called ‘Farewell to Spring are blooming this year at the same time as the sunny wild sunflowers, Hall’s Mule’s…

Rudbeckia hirta Blackeyed Susan

Our favorite butterfly plants

Wow! Butterflies love these plants! Grow any of these for instant results and each is matched with the perfect plant combinations for color and growing conditions. Many are easy to grow from seed! Butterfly Bush, Buddleia Butterfly bush is a full sized bush, 8-10′ tall, that’s covered in butterflies all summer long. An easy-care shrub,…

Superstition Iris Farm, Cathey's Valley, CA

Iridescent Iris in a Sierra foothill garden

Iris time! Iris are a Sierra foothill gardener’s best friend in Spring because of the easy care and reliable beauty. Because they occasionally have to be divided, they are a common ‘pass along’ plant. Here’s a few favorites, your advice and how to divide irises. ‘Iris,’ was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of…

1967 illustrated Oakhurst Area map, Oakhurst, Coarsegold, North Fork, Nipinnawasee, Ahwahnee, Grub Gulch, Pines Village, Wishon

An illustrated map of Oakhurst, in 1967

Foothill area history, discovered… The question was, ‘Does anyone know anything about this map?’ Found at a thrift shop or on eBay, I can’t remember, I put this map in a frame in 2005, and loved how it provided a context to the setting of our new home in the foothills.  The map clearly shows Bass…

Finished,..for now...

Green and serene: My woodsy sitting area

First exercise,…then relax……completing a ‘relaxing’ project! Friends, I’ve been stretching, doing knee bends and weight-lifting! At the gym? No,…my latest big garden project! Not too big a deal but I’ve been meaning to spiff up my sad, little sitting area under the big oak and started this week, by finding new chair cushions.. Serene and…

Carpenteria californica, California Anemone

California Bush Anemone!

Happy discovery! On Crane Valley Rd (221), just north of Manzanita Lake Rd,(222) going toward Bass Lake, I discovered something quite wonderful! Two full grown California Bush Anemones! That may not sound exciting, but in my own garden I had just discovered that my own California Bush Anemone, Carpenteria californica, finally, finally, had pushed up a…

Sycamore

Sycamore, king of Sierra foothill trees

The stately sycamore With slanted and twisted trunks and mottled bark, the California Sycamore is a majestic curiosity.  For me, this stately native marks nature’s cycle with beauty and grace and also reminds me of my childhood. Sycamore! I love this tree and grew up with one next to our lawn in suburbia. I used to volunteer to rake…

Earliest Spring bloomers to plant now

Winter and early spring blooming plants Brighten these grey, rainy days in the foothills with cool-season bloomers in containers and areas close to your home where they can easily be seen.  Annuals can provide quick color and perennials and shrubs will reward you year after year with reliable and surprising blooms, should you forget they…

Lamb's ears are easy reseeders

Pretty propagating: How To Multiply your Plants

Propagating plants in a Sierra foothill garden Propagating plants is making new plants from existing ones in your garden. Anyone can be a plant propagator with these easy, traditional and low-tech techniques that are perfect for our California foothills. It’s fun and economical, and you’ll be surprised to see how easy it is with these plants…

2016-11 Bald Mountain 4WD

Day Trip! Bald Mountain exploring

Call of the Wild! Attention, Four Wheel drivers… The view from the top of Bald Mountain, looking down on Shaver Lake is astonishing and awe-inspiring.  The summit where the fire lookout stands is one of the highest places you can drive in the Sierra National Forest! Check out our four wheeling day up on Bald Mountain and the directions…