Sierra Foothill Garden- A New Mountain Gardener - Part 8

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.

Deer Resistant Plants

Deer Resistant Plants

Deer resistant plants for a California garden

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.

December First Views-Late Fall Chores

By Sue LangleyFall, GardenFall garden, First Views, Oracle oak Quercus morehus, paths

First views is a meme that Town Mouse started in order to get wider views of our gardens to show the changes from month to month. You can join in here on Town Mouse’s Mr Linky link..

In December the blooms of the summer have really faded and you search for small pleasures where you can. I feel very fortunate to be able to ‘borrow’ wider and distant views when the winter season comes. In fact the mountain beyond my garden upstages ALL I do in the garden, showing me how small and insignificant any of my labors are in comparison.

As I walk around, I start from the patio just out the sliding windows off the living room. I’m pleased by the different greens and grays of the Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ and the rosemary, thyme and rockrose on the bank. These have really helped to stabilize the bank just below the patio at the far edge of the house pad.…

Steller’s jay means cool weather in Autumn

By Sue LangleyFall, WildlifeAutumn, cool weather, Sierra foothill garden, Steller’s jay

At Sierra Foothill Garden, we love birds! In our albums we have collected, there are many photos of the ones in our backyards, from humble sparrows to brilliant bluebirds. And what better time than Autumn and Winter for watching them? It’s a sign Cool weather is here. Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, with its black head…

A garden seasoned with Autumn sage

By Sue LangleyFall, Garden, Plant ProfilesAutumn sage, Salvia greggii

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.…

Blog Archive Happiness

By Sue LangleyHow to, Something differentBlog archive

–Nov 16 Today, I’m happy because I have found a way to create a blog archive in one step. On my wordpress.org blog, the easiest in the world, here’s what you do. Click on Add New Page and type this: …that’s all. Now you have a nice list of every post you’ve written, easy to…

At the level of mushrooms

By Sue LangleyFall, Plant ProfilesAgaricus albolutescens Zeller, Madeline, mushroom bread, mushrooms

“Misidentify a mushroom and your liver could dissolve.” Hank Shaw, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook After one autumn rain, it’s enough moisture to release a passel of mushrooms pushing up from the loamy soil here along one of my paths. I noticed that a few have been kicked, (by a man walking a dog) which is…

New Yosemite Nature Notes-Black Oaks

By Sue LangleyFall, Field Trip, Sierra FoothillsBlack oak, Yosemite, Yosemite Nature Notes

A new video has just been released today by Steve Bumgardner, who has lived and worked in Sequoia and Yosemite Park for over 20 years. I recommend this whole series highly because of his filmmaking skill using new timelapse techniques that bring the park to life. I keep a page with the entire series of Yosemite Nature Notes in the Cool links tab. Thanks, Steve!…

How to make an easy garden stepping stone

By Sue LangleyHow to, Projectsgarden craft, how to make a stepping stone, nursery flat, stepping stone

My friend crafty friend, Cheryl, and I have been at it again! We had a brainstorm! This stepping stone can be made in a snap using Ready-mix concrete and a plastic flat used by nurseries to hold ground covers. You can even reuse the mold to make more than one! Materials: A groundcover nursery flat A…

Preserving Fall leaves in the Sierra Foothill Garden

By Sue LangleyFall, How to, Projectspreserving Fall leaves, wax paper

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a
flower.”
– Albert Camus

Ever find a beautiful Autumn leaf and think, “’This one I want to keep’? Here’s how you can…

Save a leaf!

Save a leaf!

Choosing the right leaves

Pick fresh leaves with the brightest colors. Most leaves, when they fall, lose their water supplies within a day or two, making them brittle and hard to save, so if you take one off the ground, make sure it’s still pliable. You don’t want fallen leaves that have already started to dry.

Press in a heavy book, but between paper towels,...don't forget them!

Press in a heavy book, but between paper towels,…don’t forget them!

Pressing Leaves with Weight

Pressing leaves with weight is the simplest method of saving fall leaves. The trick to keeping the colors sharp is to remove the moisture as quickly as possible. Sandwich leaves between two paper towels.

Then select some of your heaviest books (or the stacks of garden magazines I know you have), at least five pounds of pressure, and layer the leaves between the pages. Ideally, you should use a large book and keep them about fifty or so pages apart. Putting them closer together won’t flatten them as desired. It should take five or six days.…

Sierra wind, a whispering train coming

By Sue LangleyFall, Sierra Foothills, WeatherMono wind

How the wind blows here… Here by the national forest, when you don’t hear anything unless there is something, you pay attention to change in sound. Tucked in bed last night with a book and just one small light, I did not hear, as much as became aware, of a soft steady sound like a…

The garden on November 1st

By Sue LangleyFall, GardenFirst Views, November, paths, Sierra foothill garden

Two paths and a patio, November First Views Good Morning! As the sun comes up , I walk around the garden getting my first view of it this November 1st morning. I start by walking out the door to the patio in back. (When you live in the country, you never know which is the front or the back until…

Western bluebirds in the Sierra foothill garden

By Sue LangleyFall, Sierra Foothills, WildlifeCalifornia, Sialia mexicana, Sierra Foothills, Western Bluebird

One of my favorite color combos is cobalt blue and turquoise. That is why I like this picture! These are Western Bluebirds, Sialia mexicana, and have appeared here in my Sierra foothill garden for the first time this Fall. I’ve never seen them here in the ten years we’ve had the property. The Western Bluebird is…

October First Views-California’s Fifth Season

By Sue LangleyFall, Garden, Sierra FoothillsBlack-eyed Susans, First Views, Lamb's Ears, lavender, Penstemon, Redtwig Dogwood, salvia, Santolina and Artemisia, Yarrow

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…

Culinary Herb garden in a basket

By Sue LangleyHow to, Projectsbasket container, basket gardens, culinary herbs, deer resistant herbs, Herb garden, recycled garden basket, small gardens, small herb garden

Finding a large woven basket can be useful as a kitchen garden in a small garden or where deer abound. Sometimes having a basket of herbs close by the kitchen door, will discourage deer who tend to keep their distance. To make the basket last as long as possible fit a piece of heavy black plastic,…

The ordinary and the amazing birdbath

By Sue LangleyGarden art, WildlifeBird bath, birdbath, birds in the garden, glass insulators, water for birds, wildlife

Birdbath love ♥ As the garden flower color takes a back seat here in the Foothills, the wildlife have become the stars. It’s been a regular Birdie-palooza here and I’ve moved the birdbath to a spot on the patio within view of the largest windows, with winter views in mind. When we can’t garden, it’s…

Yosemite Nature Notes- Moonbows and Sky Islands

By Sue LangleySummer

Yosemite Nature Notes is a video series produced by Steven M. Bumgardner, an employee of Sequoia National Park. I’ve blogged about the first 14 videos in the series before. Here are the next two, Moonbows and Sky Islands. Yosemite Nature Notes – Episode 16 – Sky Islands Throughout the Sierra Nevada, high flat plateaus are…

Orange in the Sierra Foothill Garden

By Sue LangleySierra Foothills, WeatherAutumn, Changing seasons, Peckinpah Mountain

Color in the garden Not only plants provide color in the Sierra foothills… On certain days in the fall, the setting sun focuses its light in a strip of light on the mountain. All these views are looking east onto the Peckinpah Ridge. It’s a sign of the changing season to me. Even on stormy…

Leaf casting the Indian Rhubarb

By Sue LangleyGarden art, Projectsbig leaves, Darmera peltata, garden crafts, hypertufa, hypertufa troughs, Indian Rhubarb, Leaf casting

How to do a leaf-casting! A serendipitous discovery of a large leaf in a mountain stream, led me to try molding it with a concrete mix. It was loads of fun creating a lovely molded leaf to save as a garden art piece How I happened upon the leaf Recently I happened to go on…

Stomping down the Autumn meadow

By Sue LangleyMeadow projectCalifornia native meadow project, meadow

Last Fall I decided to rid an area of weeds and grow a California native and hand-sown meadow. Here is the end of the season story and evaluation. Stomping the Meadow Ever since the meadow started growing, I’ve been thinking in advance, for when the ‘off season’ came. It’s here, and the meadow is dry…