Category: Plant Profiles

Thinking plant combinations in a California foothill garden

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…

Tiny violas self seed in the rocky soil

Violas in a bright December

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…

A garden seasoned with Autumn sage

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

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.…

A New Zealand inspired California rock garden

 In 2009, I visited my sister in New Zealand and on one weekend trip we drove down to the city of Dunedin on the South Island. There, before breakfast and while Karen’s hubby slept in, the two of us walked over to the Dunedin Botanical Garden nearby our hotel. The most impressive garden for me…

How to make your own delicious dried tomatoes

How to dry your tomato harvest to enjoy gourmet dried tomatoes all winter long

Like red gold

Like red gold

If you have a good crop of tomatoes in your garden, more than you can eat or give away, you can preserve them by drying them and enjoy delicious gourmet eating all winter long. Dried tomatoes are tasty additions to fresh pasta, sauces, sandwiches, salads, stir fry dishes and you can also enjoy them just the way they are, as a chewy tangy-sweet snack.…

Soap plant close up

Soap Plant in full bloom

Studying the singular Soap Plant As the season passes, the Soap Plant is on the wane, still over 7 feet tall, waving over the drying meadow and garden. Here is a record of its life cycle here in the Sierra foothills. Wavyleaf Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum Startling at first, this strange plant is really very interesting.…

Double Wyethia flower

Wild Wyethias- sunflowers in the foothills

Oakhurst’s official flower? When I arrived here in the mountains of Central California, I slowly became familiar with some of the individual plants living here.  Right now the Mule’s ears are at their peak and here is a look at how they grow. Hall’s Mule Ears, Wyethia elata These are wonderful sunny flowers to encourage in…

Light reflected by elegant brodiaea

June’s Blue Haze, Brodiaea This is a picture story of Elegant or Harvest Brodiaea in the Sierra foothill garden.  This is its native area, just south of Yosemite National Park. This and Pretty Face are the two main wild flowers existing here on the land we settled ion near the Sierra National Forest. Until starting this…

Bush Beardtongue, Keckiella breviflora

Summer native discoveries

This spring and summer several plants native to California much to my delight. A couple were known, but have just been correctly identified. All will be added to my list of Existing native Plants, a list of those here before we. It’s a fascinating, educational journey to form this list and very enjoyable. Bush Beardtongue,…

What’s blooming in June

Here are the native and non-native flowers and plants that are blooming this month in my Sierra foothill garden.

Chocolate scented daisy, Berlandiera lyrata

Chocolate scented daisy, Berlandiera lyrata

The green seedpods of the Chocolate-scented daisy will dry in a layered pattern circling the center of the flower. None of the seeds I collected sprouted with the winter-sown method this year so further reading will have to be done to grow these from seed. They really do have a chocolate smell!

Clarkia amoena Farewell to spring

Clarkia amoena Farewell to spring

In the new meadow, the Clarkias are blooming, adding a carnival of color combining with the still blooming poppies and the powder blue Globe gilia.

Cleveland sage 'Aromas' and Rudbeckia hirta

Cleveland sage 'Aromas' and Rudbeckia hirta

The Cleveland sage looks great next to the Black-eyed Susans, I think, and both bloom at the same time in June.…

Euphorbia, drama queen of the Sierra foothill garden

 Euphorbia is one of the most diverse family of plants, with many different shapes, sizes and colors, from shrubs to cactus-like succulents. The common name for the perennials and shrubs is spurge, a not very glamorous name to be sure, I have learned to pronounce the Latin, ‘You-for-bia’.  You may already know one type, Poinsettias!…

Dandelion, Grand dandelion and Silverpuffs

These three plants, well, you’ll notice a few similarities and a few differences. Two are California natives and one is new to me, and if you keep track of this blog, you know that I love finding new plants here on our place. Dandelions Everyone knows this one, ,…edible, annoying in lawns, tolerable to most. Dandelions in…

Lewis Creek: Converging Ladybugs converge

In May, I decided to take my camera to explore Lewis Creek Trail, just 7 miles south of Yosemite. The creek is named for Washington B. Lewis, one of the Park’s early superintendents and is a few miles of us along Hwy 41 heading north.  Part One: The trail and the bugs The trail This is a favorite walk…

A profusion of Pretty Face

Pretty Face, Triteleia ixioides Sunny starry yellow, Pretty Face is sometimes called Golden brodiaea or Golden Stars, and is native to California, appearing only slightly beyond the borders, according to CalFlora. This variety, found on our place and all through the Oakhurst Yosemite area, may be Triteleia ixioides ssp. scabra or Foothill Pretty Face. This pretty bulb first shows up…

In the shade the leaves are tender and sweet, like these growing out from under a bench.

Enough Miner’s lettuce for a salad

Much about Miner’s lettuce

It may seem a weed in many California gardens, but you’ll find that miner’s lettuce, or Claytonia, is beautiful, useful and edible!

Claytonia parviflora is a species of wildflower in the Purslane family known by the common name Streambank Springbeauty or Miners’ Lettuce. It is very closely related to Claytonia perfoliata which is also commonly known as Miners’ Lettuce.

Mentioned in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium, a specimen of Claytonia parviflora was collected along the lower Columbia River probably in Columbia Co., Oregon, on 26 Mar 1806.

“The Claytonia perfoliata, a close ‘relative’ was discovered on the northwest coast of America, by Mr. Archibald Menzies, and introduced by him into the Kew Garden, in the year 1796, where it has maintained itself ever since, and whence it has been communicated to most of the Botanic Gardens in the kingdom.

Flowers nearly all the summer; and in a moist soil, not too much exposed, will sow itself, and the young plants will come up in the spring, requiring no other care than to prevent their being choked by more powerful weeds, or cut off by that destructive instrument the hoe. Our drawing was taken at Mr. Salisbury’s Botanic Garden, Brompton.” Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 1811 *

Miner's lettuce is the most recognizable wild edible plant now.

Miner’s lettuce is the most recognizable wild edible plant now.

The genus, Claytonia, had been named for 18th century botanist , John Clayton**, by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. ‘Perfoliate’, means having a leaf with the base united around, and apparently pierced by, the stem.…