To prepare for a community garden club talk on this meadow project today, this slideshow was put together to show highlights from the first two years. This will give you an idea of what changes have been made from this former weedy field! First I seeded the meadow the first year, 2010, with California native…
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.…
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…
First Views is a meme that Town Mouse started to show seasonal view of larger areas of your garden, rather than more focused photos of certain plants. She has a Mr Linky widget on her page so others can enjoy this idea, and add links to their blogs. Please visit her page to see her views and add yours: September First Views (Town Mouse). Now on to this month’s views at the Sierra Foothill Garden.…
Learning about watering for California natives …and some Mediterranean plants in a home garden in the Sierra Foothills. I like to hand water. It’s relaxing, …cool on a hot day, I can watch over the newly-establishing plants and weed a bit in the wet, soft soil. I like a hose sprayer that doesn’t leak…
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…
Lewis Creek is about 7 miles south of Yosemite National Park, CA. The trail all along it with the flowers,waterfalls and natural beauty are a lovely alternative to visiting the Park if you have limited time, or if you want to avoid crowds, or if the roads are snowy in the Spring. I described the trail and…
May Meadow In Fall of last year, I became tired of a field full of Filaree and embarked on planting a marvelous meadow of native wildflowers and grasses. The Filaree stickers are evil and they stick terribly to Maggie, our Corgi. Here are photos showing the progress and challenges, with the first wave of flowers blooming…
Recently identified, four CA natives on the property are ‘new to me.’ If you read this blog very much, you know that I’ve been compiling a sort of natural history of the California natives on the place. After ten years here and five years since the house was built, I have thought I knew all the…
California Native Plant Week It’s California Native Plant Week and I’m profiling a different California native each day that is on my particular wish list. If you live in an area considered Mediterranean, you’ll be able to grow these, too. Today, Wednesday, is for the ‘Shasta’ Sulfur Flower. In Hardy Californians: a woman’s life with…
A wildflower experiment In my garden, I sowed a native California wildflower meadow. It was a very fun project and I learned a lot. Now, in another area of my garden I call “The Natural Meadow” I continue more experiments! See what I did! First of all, my objective here was to add very few…
Caring for native trees in the garden …and a list of what to plant When faced with a new, mountain or rural garden, you need to make peace with your oaks and pines. These beautiful trees can be unkempt, stickery and surrounded by brush and poison oak at the start. I wondered what could be…
After much discussion and agonizing decisions, we have embarked on big changes here at my Sierra Foothill Garden! In this day of slow economy, we’ve had to look into turning our property into more of a money making operation, so I’m announcing that we have joined up with FTD flowers wholesale division and Cal Poly San…
Blue Flax, linum lewisii, a CA native, introduced in my garden
Blue Flax, linum lewisii, not native to my property, but wildish
Blue Flax in the meadow
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Another post on weeds… Judith Larner Lowry in ‘Gardening with a Wild Heart’ says “Somewhere in all this activity (of discovering CA native gardening), the gardener notices that most of the work involved is weeding. The story of gardening in California, and indeed the whole world, is the story of weeds.” Do not let…
This snowy, drippy day…what else to do but check on past projects. Getting rid of Mexican Primrose 10-15-2010 Invasive plants and impatience in the garden March Update: There are a few sprouts coming up of the Mexican primrose which confirms that it’s the right decision not to have replanted the plants I removed from the front…
Becoming stewards of our forest For some of us, here in the California foothills, especially those who live near the national forest, nature provides the perfect landscaping. Using the existing trees and native plants can help your garden design blend smoothly into the surrounding landscape. Caring for a large forest property has its challenges and rewards.…
A common word in gardening this decade is ‘sustainable’; sustainable gardening is using the principles of ecological wisdom. When planting and puttering in my garden, which is two acres planted with CA natives, Mediterranean plants close to the house and natural groomed forest beyond, I think of this. How do I also create a long…
