Plants I've Found Here

Plants I've Found Here

Here is a developing list of the existing native plant life here existing before we came to our home on Malum Ridge next to the Sierra National Forest near Oakhurst-Yosemite, CA.

Read More

Deer Resistant Plants

Deer Resistant Plants

Deer resistant plants for a California garden

Read More

Yosemite Nature Notes

Yosemite Nature Notes

One of the best ways to appreciate the park is to watch this Yosemite Nature Notes series. It’s produced by Steven M. Bumgardner, who has lived and worked in Sequoia and Yosemite Park for 20 years.

Read More

Autumn sage, Flax and Lamb's ear

June Bloom in the Sierra foothill garden

Half the year is over and in the garden I’m walking around taking stock.  June usually means the real riotous bloom of the Iris, fruit trees and bulbs is dying down.  Now the dry garden can be the spotlight. Our climate is very close to that of the Mediterranean. We can grow all the plants…

Wildflowers yellows and whites

The Wildflowers: Yellows and whites

“What’s blooming Wednesday” In the Sierra foothills, after the blues, of Lupine, Vetch and Blue dicks, the early Spring wildflowers: The blues, come the yellows and whites of April. Have you seen these? All over the roadsides now you’ll see blooming Elderberry bushes, with lemony white umbrel (Umbrella) shaped flowers. have you wondered about them?…

Straw bale remnant garden

Growing veggies in the remnants of a straw bale garden

This Year’s Veg Garden Experiment: The last two years have been straw bale gardens with great success!  This year, there is still so much straw that I decided to see how the tomatoes and peppers would do in the remnants of composted soil and leftover straw. When observing the garden for the first time after…

Spring wildflowers Blues

Spring wildflowers: The blues

Driving the foothills: Stopping and turning around…. We had to stop and turn around to photograph this field of Lupine, Vetch and Blue dicks under the oaks growing thickly in a patch. Iridescent blues just glowed here in a flowery show right next to the roadside not far from our home near Oakhurst. To encourage…

Then and Now a slope of blooming shrubs

Then and now, a slope full of blooming shrubs

In a series of Then and Now photos, it’s satisfying to look back nostalgically to see how far we have come.  Bought in 2000, and in a completely natural area, we’ve striven to preserve the beauty of our 7 acres near the Sierra foothills of California, as we make a place for ourselves in this beautiful spot.…

Winter garden 2014

Winter welcome in the Sierra foothill garden

A Winter walk-around What’s blooming? What’s happening? A walk through my garden just before Winter begins. First off, the patio has been cleared of summer projects, tools, soil and extra containers! I’ve put three sugar cones in three pots to act as a winter centerpiece for the table and all the cushions are in the…

Intermountain-Nursery

In praise of Intermountain Nursery

Celebrating a fine nursery… Have you been here?  I hope so! We are very fortunate to have a nursery nearby that purchases and grows plants that are perfect for our foothill gardens.  Besides having a wide variety of California native and drought tolerant Mediterranean plants, Bonnie Bladen, her husband Ray Laclergue and their staff are…

Colors of Autumn

The colors of Autumn in the Sierra foothill garden…

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…

Heatproof garden

Heat-proof your Sierra foothill garden

In our third year of drought in the Sierra foothills, we search for ways to allow our gardens to survive.   Here, you’ll see how to make your garden thrive!  Learn which plants to grow, how to water and how to preserve that water once it’s in the soil.  Included is a print and keep ‘ideal’…

Lavender fields

The Lavender Experiment

What happens if you don’t trim lavender? You all may know I like garden experiments. For the last two years I’ve been experimenting with my Spanish lavender field and NOT trimming the blooms off. This is the field a week ago that I’ve not trimmed OR watered and as I went up to inspect, I…