Category: Garden

March First Views- Snow Dust in the Sierras

By Garden, Sierra Foothills, Winter, , , , , , , , , ,

March is coming in like a lamb.  What does that mean?  A little rain, a little snow, just an inch or so. One or two things are blooming and the daffodils are about 6 inches tall. My photos are for Town Mouse’s meme, First Views. Visit her post, and sign in to the Mr Linky tool there to join in!  The idea is to show wider views of your garden as it changes month to month.

The table centerpiece catches snow and adds a bit of color to the natural beauty beyond.

The table centerpiece catches snow and adds a bit of color to the natural beauty beyond.…

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Drat! Pokeweed! No, Chokecherry? Hope so!

By Garden, Plant Profiles, Sierra Foothills, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What I thought might be buckeye or elderberry, turns out to be pokeweed! Darn!  My sister helped my identify this by punching in descriptive words into Google images. How did it possibly get here, so close to the native forest at the edge of the property? American Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, is native to the Eastern US…

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Thinking plant combinations in a California foothill garden

By Design, Garden, Plant Profiles, , ,

Have you ever noticed a striking color combination when planting flowers together by chance?  You suddenly see that the hot pink rockrose bloom looks stunning with lime and burgundy euphorbia.  Or you see that an orange Monkey flower contrasts wonderfully with an iridescent lavender-blue Cleveland sage ‘Pozo’.  I recently became aware of this particular combo…

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Teach childrn to appeciate wildflowers without picking them

Gardening with children- 8 garden projects for you and a child

By Garden, Projects, Winter, , , , , , , ,

Easy garden projects for you and a child Interesting children in the joys of gardening can be fun. They’re eager to learn and amazed by seeds sprouting and flowers blooming. We have a passel of kids and even grandkiddies to have fun with, and these are some of the things we’ve tried.  This is a…

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Rain gardens for the Sierra foothills

By Design, Garden, Winter, , , , ,

What is a rain garden? It’s a garden specifically designed to take advantage of where water naturally collects. In dry climates, this extra water allows a wider variety of plants to be grown. Rain gardens can also be planned just to direct water away from certain areas, like home foundations or low spots that collect…

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Outwitting gophers in the Sierra foothill garden

By Garden, Sierra Foothills, Wildlife, , ,

Gophers and other living garden pests can drain the enthusiasm from the hardiest gardener in the California Sierra foothills.  To have your beloved plants eaten from below can be very discouraging.  Once, while relaxing on the patio, I came suddenly alert by a waving plant in the distant garden bed.  On a windless day, a leafy…

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A mild Sierra foothill winter-February First Views

By Garden, Sierra Foothills, Weather, Winter, , , ,

While going out to photograph my ‘first views’ of February in my California  mountain garden, I already know that my predictions of January 1st,…that we’d have snow by now, are false.  My photos are for Town Mouse’s meme, First Views. Visit her post, and sign in to the Mr Linky tool there to join in! …

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More winter gardening ideas for the Sierra foothills

By Garden, Weather, Winter, , , ,

Did you think you were through gardening in California Sierra mountains?  Usually we have rain and snow, but noooo.  Here are more winter gardening ideas and things to do for the Sierra foothill garden in California: Get ready to sow seeds. Rake out and remove weeds in the area you want to seed. Do not add…

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Best winter flowering plants for the Sierra foothills

By Garden, Winter, , , , ,

Snapdragons in January It may seem past the point where you would want to do any planting here in the Mountain Community around Oakhurst. But there is hope for a little color especially in pots close to the house and sheltered flower beds under the eaves.   Even some bedding perennials can bloom right now…

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Indian summer-January First Views

By Garden, Winter, ,

 In each month of the year, on the first few days, we post wide views of what our gardens look like in that month.  Town Mouse of Town Mouse and Country Mouse, started this series of posts, called a meme, and any garden bloggers can take part. Go here to post a link to her blog.

Indian Summer.  Those words sound wonderful when, I remember shivering into my coat when coming in and out of the house in other Januarys. Now, not only am I not shivering, but I am out in the garden watering and weeding,…even planting with the sun hot on my back.

An Indian Summer is a period of considerably warmer temperatures than normal, usually in the Fall. While mostly associated with an Autumn event, in colonial times the term may have referred to a December or January thaw when tracking Indians after a raid was more difficult without snow on the ground.…

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Tiny violas self seed in the rocky soil

Violas in a bright December

By Garden, Plant Profiles, Sierra Foothills, Winter, , , , , , ,

Winter gardening Forever, I have loved the tiny flowered Johnny Jump Ups, Viola tricolor, which seed themselves happily around the garden. You can plant any violas or pansies from October to December for a head start on Spring!  They bloom right through the snow! “The sweetness of the Violets deep blue eyes, Kissed by the…

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Inviting wildlife into your California garden

By Fall, Garden, Sierra Foothills, Wildlife, , ,

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 were here first.

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.…

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