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.
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.
Butterfly gardeners begin this way….they see a colorful butterfly in their garden and start paying attention. They want to see more so they wait and observe during the spring and summer. How can they see more kinds, they wonder. That’s how I began, I’m sure. Once you begin observing, you notice more and more about…
First views of my garden at the first of April…. First views is the brainchild of Town Mouse, with the idea that wider views will give a better idea of what our gardens look like and a record of how they change throughout the year. Join in by visiting her post here! *** I have…
Did you know that when green onions get a bit old in the fridge, you can plant them in a garden pot or veggie garden? I did this in my galvanized wash tub garden and could cut fresh onion tops all through Autumn. These are regular grocery store green onions that I plugged in next…
We had a dream to move out of Southern California to paradise on seven acres in the Sierra foothills. Here is more about the process, choosing a builder for our mountain home, around which, my Sierra Foothill garden grows. What I wanted was a log cabin. Or any kind of cabin. A real mountain house. We had stayed…
Our adventure We had a dream to move out of Southern California away from the congestion and stress and switch from the daily commute to living in paradise in the Sierra foothills. Here is how we made the big move! Our Move: From Fullerton, CA to the foothills just south of Yosemite in 2005 Old…
The table centerpiece catches snow and adds a bit of color to the natural beauty beyond.…
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…
While working on another project last January, I saw this pot full of grass seedlings,..looking so lush and full. So I took a photo. This is the pot that for the last few years has held hyacinth bulbs and off season, I keep it in my potting area just waiting for April. It has reliably…
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…
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…
A few months ago, I found this rusty brake thingy in front of our car in a parking lot. Of course, I lifted the heavy thing and set it in the back of our small truck bed. In the dusk, I couldn’t tell if Tractor Man rolled his eyes. It was a Red Lobster parking…
Across the valley, where Willow Creek flows south, there is a tall sugarpine that becomes backlit at a certain point in the morning. It must be on our side of the mountain, but far below. Here it is in November: Early morning, February 15th, I woke up to see everything covered in a frosting of…
Saturday– Hmmm, Tractor Man gone for the day? Having coffee and wondering WHAT to do today. I love having a day when nothing is planned.” Here is friend, Jeanne Sammons’s barn door which grabbed my attention. I first put it in my ‘Idea’ file, but then thought, ‘I have some of the things to make…
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” “Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.” “As…
The back slope, then and now 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 tried to preserve the beauty of our 7 acres near the Sierra foothills of California, as we make…
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…
In 2000, we found and bought 7 acres on the side of a hill in a small town south of Yosemite. In late 2005, we moved into our modest, newly built house, something we never dreamed we’d do. Walking the place for the first time, when we wondered if the old cedar shack came with the property,…
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…
