I was able to show photos as I gave a talk today on Fall Color at the Oakhurst Library. For those who missed this event, here is what happened! Fall color surprises! It’s fun to discover Fall color in the garden when you don’t expect it, but don’t forget to plan for more color by choosing some…
Fall is time for dividing iris, planting and sowing wildflower seeds… Bearded Iris Growing Tips Spring-flowering bulbs thrive in full or partial sun. Good drainage is important for most bulbs, so avoid placing them in soggy areas and in low-lying parts of the garden where water pools during wet winters and spring thaw. Dig a…
October in the foothill garden Walking around the garden here in the foothills of Central California, I feel we’re really nearing the end of the gardening season. I’m tired. Tired of watering and ready to rake everything, gather up the rest of the clippings, neaten the garden and come in for some rainy days. I…
November’s first rains start the season I call Clouds and Light. After months of brilliant blue, sunny skies, the weather and wildlife are the stars of the show… The garden is buttoned up, the last of the garden’s produce picked and there is a rest for the gardener, finally. With the Peckinpah Ridge as the…
Violas and pansies are perfect daffodil partners Last year, I planted violas over the mini daffodils in patio pots and want to do the same this year. Deer don’t bother these on the patio,…they rarely come up the concrete steps any more and they aren’t attracted to either plant. It’s a safe zone. …
One evening near dark, I lost myself as I wandered, looking for turning leaves around the place. “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus French “the quicker you are in attaching verbal or mental labels to things, people, or situations, the more shallow and lifeless your reality becomes, and…
It is a commonly heard in casual remarks on gardening topics and maintaining a landscape in the Sierra Foothills that Manzanita and other chaparral plants must be cut down and removed because they are so very flammable. Yes, it is important to clear 100 feet of defensible space around your home, and yes, Manzanita can…
How we garden
Normally, gardeners have only had themselves to please when creating a plant world around them. And that’s one of the best things about gardening, it can be so personal. You don’t have to follow any plan or design, you can use your favorite colors and plant as many flowers or vegetables as you want. Beauty and functionality have been most important.
California mule deer
There are cottage gardens, woodland style gardens with shade, and the ever popular herb gardens. But what about a wildlife garden? A wildlife garden is one meant to attract the native wildlife that would be living near your home if the original native plants were still there upon which they naturally thrive.…
“Hmmm. Wonder where that goes?” My husband says as we pass by a hidden trail heading into the forest. Those are familiar words to me and a joy to him as a new trail is a treat to explore with his friends where they’ll find new routes long ago forgotten through the spectacular Sierra National Forest. I know he’ll file that bit in his mind somewhere and go back later to check it out.
Central Camp Road, near our place
It was my husband’s work that brought us here to these woods and a particular joy to me to be able to get up high on granite peaks and deep into pine forests where the pines get shorter as you get higher.…
What you and I can do now in the Sierra foothills:
Christmas shop!
Christmas trees are at our local Western Sierra Nursery right now and as an added bonus, owner, Mark Holland, will be serving from his cauldron of chili most every day to shoppers buying bulbs, bare root veggies and violas, all of which are in plentiful supply. Be sure to check out the three huge bins of ‘Ugly Plant Sale’ in the back near the evergreen trees.
Mark Holland serves chili at the Western Sierra Nursery
Try Deer resistant shrubs…
First views is a meme that Town Mouse started in order to get wider views of our gardens to show the changes from month to month. You can join in here on Town Mouse’s Mr Linky link..
In December the blooms of the summer have really faded and you search for small pleasures where you can. I feel very fortunate to be able to ‘borrow’ wider and distant views when the winter season comes. In fact the mountain beyond my garden upstages ALL I do in the garden, showing me how small and insignificant any of my labors are in comparison.
As I walk around, I start from the patio just out the sliding windows off the living room. I’m pleased by the different greens and grays of the Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ and the rosemary, thyme and rockrose on the bank. These have really helped to stabilize the bank just below the patio at the far edge of the house pad.…
At Sierra Foothill Garden, we love birds! In our albums we have collected, there are many photos of the ones in our backyards, from humble sparrows to brilliant bluebirds. And what better time than Autumn and Winter for watching them? It’s a sign Cool weather is here. Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, with its black head…
Autumn sages, Salvia greggii, are low key shrubs most of the year. In cool seasons these evergreen mounding sages shine and give us blooms for a long period adding radiant color to the garden. Right now in my garden they are still in full bloom and it reminds me to buy more! I’d love to try taking cuttings from them.
True and pure red Autumn sage 'Flame'
Autumn sage is an herbaceous perennial native to Texas but very suitable to mix with our native Californian plants. It was named in 1870 by botanist Asa Gray, and in doing so he honored Josiah Gregg, an early American explorer and botanist. It comes in many colors, white, pink, magenta, salmon and red and even blues and purples. There are new varieties bred for improved summer flowering, too.…
“Misidentify a mushroom and your liver could dissolve.” Hank Shaw, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook After one autumn rain, it’s enough moisture to release a passel of mushrooms pushing up from the loamy soil here along one of my paths. I noticed that a few have been kicked, (by a man walking a dog) which is…
A new video has just been released today by Steve Bumgardner, who has lived and worked in Sequoia and Yosemite Park for over 20 years. I recommend this whole series highly because of his filmmaking skill using new timelapse techniques that bring the park to life. I keep a page with the entire series of Yosemite Nature Notes in the Cool links tab. Thanks, Steve!…
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a
flower.”
– Albert Camus
Ever find a beautiful Autumn leaf and think, “’This one I want to keep’? Here’s how you can…
Save a leaf!
Choosing the right leaves
Pick fresh leaves with the brightest colors. Most leaves, when they fall, lose their water supplies within a day or two, making them brittle and hard to save, so if you take one off the ground, make sure it’s still pliable. You don’t want fallen leaves that have already started to dry.
Press in a heavy book, but between paper towels,…don’t forget them!
Pressing Leaves with Weight
Pressing leaves with weight is the simplest method of saving fall leaves. The trick to keeping the colors sharp is to remove the moisture as quickly as possible. Sandwich leaves between two paper towels.
Then select some of your heaviest books (or the stacks of garden magazines I know you have), at least five pounds of pressure, and layer the leaves between the pages. Ideally, you should use a large book and keep them about fifty or so pages apart. Putting them closer together won’t flatten them as desired. It should take five or six days.…
How the wind blows here… Here by the national forest, when you don’t hear anything unless there is something, you pay attention to change in sound. Tucked in bed last night with a book and just one small light, I did not hear, as much as became aware, of a soft steady sound like a…
