Rain Comes to Dry California

 What a difference an inch of rain can make!

Saturday it rained for over six hours. The rain gauge measured an inch and a third of spring-awakening water. By the next day, the Douglas iris committed itself to bloom.

While we are still in need of five or more inches to bring us into the “normal” range of rainfall, this gentle winter shower has washed the dust from the leaves and prompted some of the plants to reach for spring.
The Douglas iris is a California native and like all of our other native plants responds rapidly to rainfall. The deep purple blooms typically open throughout April, this year they're a bit early. There are hybrids of this native that come in a variety of shades, from white to deep purple and burgundy. Interestingly, in our yard, it is always the original purple that blooms first and is the most robust. The blooms last for a month or so, depending on the rainfall. The slender green leaves are fibrous and deep in color, they survive both frost and drought. We’ve been most successful with them planted in partial shade.

Our biggest challenge comes on four-tiny legs; pocket gophers that like to lunch on the iris’s rhizomes. If I can keep the rodents at bay, the Douglas iris comes back in larger clumps each year. Even if you initially put them in the wrong spot, they transplant easily. The Douglas iris demonstrates the beauty and practicality of planting natives.

They say it may rain again tomorrow. The iris and I are hoping that is true.

The End of Spring, But a Sustainable Future

How quickly a season ends.

The ornamental plum that burst into bloom has quickly progressed to add leaves.


And now to be devoid of flowers.

Will the flowers of ideas, pollinated with effort and intention bear fruits of change?

During this month I have tried to change daily habits toward more sustainable behaviors – Green Action #3.

• continuing Veggie Tuesdays and Thursdays
• reducing cleaning chemicals
• replacing water thirsty ornamental plants with native plants that provide food and shelter for native species
• checking the labeling on soaps for ingredients that might appear sustainable but are damaging to other ecosystems
• conserving water
  
• repurposing and recycling furnishings like the busy hummingbird mothers

While it is impossible to sustain spring, it is possible to accept the natural cycles of nature. I can prepare for summer and support the natural systems that will bring spring back again with a healthier and more sustainable yard and future.

Green Holiday Decorations

Holiday Green Action #6

Before you run out to buy greenery grown a state or two away and trucked to your hometown or plastic decorations made in a foreign country, take a second look at your yard.

Every year I decorate my house with greenery from my yard in Los Angeles. Many plants in California are at their best as we head into winter. I put together this table decoration with:

• a candle
• a flower pot
• two rosemary boughs
• two fern stalks
• four stems of holly cherry (California native)
• two stems of cotoneaster (with red berries)
  

All of these plants will stay green without water as they dry. Many will look great for two to three weeks.

Other obvious choices are pine, cedar and holly, as well as eucalyptus, pyrocanthus or firethorn (red berries), succulents, and a variety of herbs. California natives like ceanothus and manzanita have beautiful deep green foliage and toyon or California holly has green leaves with holly-like red berries. The later is the plant that gave Hollywood its name. More on toyon.

The idea of holiday wreaths and trees is to bring the living things of the forest into your home in the dead of winter. The best way to do that while preserving wild forests and lands is to sustainably harvest greenery from your own yard. Go foraging, you may be surprised at the botanical wonders you find.

Near Natives

Many of the plants in Zone 2 have been planted in the last two years.

Earlier observations revealed that the exotic African daisy that previously filled all of the front planter was home only to exotic pests–brown garden snails, common pill bugs, gray slugs and Argentine ants. The few native spiders and insects were found primarily on the few native plants.

So I began gradually replacing the African daisy with native flowering shrubs and ground covers.

But here’s the rub: Now, as I am identifying each of these new plants with their full scientific name, I am beginning to grumble. Yarrow is a native plant, but the yarrow, blooming in bursts of yellow in this photo, is a Mediterranean subspecies not the native.

Are insects visiting these heady blooms? Yes. But it isn’t really a California native.

The Santa Barbara daisy growing in two small clumps is flowering and providing habitat for a corner spider. But this ground cover is native to Mexico. Once again, close but California native.

Am I going to rip them out? No. I’m accepting them as near natives.

The Heuchera and the Ceanothus are hybrids, natives with a twist of vigor. They are growing and doing well.

Going Native with your landscaping can be a challenge. Several times I have become disgruntled with the goal because it seemed so daunting. Strict native plants from specialty native plant foundations are expense and frequently less than half survive. Recently, I’d become encouraged because the “natives” had become easier to locate, less expensive and more successful in the garden. Now? Well? I’m a little disheartened, but the hybrids are doing well.

When I total up the data for Zone 2 and 3, the hillside planter, we will see if the “native” plants are making a difference.

Beneficial Wild Creatures In Your Garden

When my friend Douglas Welch of A Gardener's Notebook read the post about the benefits of western fence lizards in our garden, he proposed a joint effort on beneficial wild animals you should attract to your garden.

To find out why it’s important to attract this valley carpenter bee to your yard, read my post Beneficial Wild Creatures In Your Garden on A Gardener’s Notebook.

Creating a Garden That Attracts Wildlife

For many people the idea of wild creatures in their garden means rabbits and deer eating plants to the ground while birds and squirrels pilfer the fruit trees. While this can definitely be true, if you create a balanced ecosystem in your yard, the plant eaters will be moderated by the predators.

Get Clean and Green
Before you can think about attracting beneficial wildlife, clean up your act. If you wouldn’t drink it or eat it - Don’t Put It On Your Yard. “But there are aphids on my roses,” you say. Spray and the aphids become resistant, their numbers wax and wane. You continue to spray and take on the mindset of a Four-Star General mired in a losing battle. STOP!

No one wants to eat an insect packed full of insecticide. If the aphids get really bad spray them off with the hose. Aphids are not transportation wizards. Knocked off their home plant, many won’t survive. I noticed a group of aphids starting to flourish on my roses the other day, but so did the bushtits. These small birds, the size of a hummingbird, are voracious insect eaters. They scour my roses every few days and voilá, no aphids. I do nothing but watch. Did this happen all a once, NO. So get started today. Stop with the insecticides and herbicides, no one wants to live in or eat at a toxic waste dump.

When Reestablishing An Ecosystem Start Small
Think of your yard as an island, an oasis. As on all islands, the foundation of an ecosystem is the plants. Go Native with your plantings, like this beautiful Fremontia or flannel bush. You will save water, avoid frost damage and begin to attract the smallest wild voyagers, insects and spiders.

If your first response is “No way, insects mean infestation,” let’s talk. White flies infesting your favorite hibiscus? Japanese fruit beetles on your apricot tree? I have two things to say: nonnative insect on a nonnative plant. Native plants have evolved to defend themselves from native insects. Infestations typically occur on plants that have no natural defenses and with insects that are out of control because they have no predators.

If your response is “Uck I don’t want insects, I want to attract birds and real animals,” Let me give you a moment to rethink. A yard without insects and spiders is a Dead Zone.

Arthropods, the class of animals that includes insects, spiders, millipedes, crustaceans, etc., make up 85% of known living animal species. Their biomass is greater than ALL other animal species combined. That’s right, all the whales, elephants, fish and people in world do not weigh as much as the ants, flies, bees, beetles, spiders and krill. You can not have an ecosystem without them.

Open for Business
Think of your island of habitat as a resort with a reputation to maintain. You need three basics: clean water, safe food and safe living quarters. Water can be as simple as a low dish on the ground rinsed and refilled every other day. Moving water is more visible, but not necessary.

For shelter, provide rock mounds or logs for reptiles. Trees are a must for birds, but shrubs are important too. Many native birds, prefer to nest at a mid-height 5’ - 20’ off the ground. If trees aren’t possible a perch that offers height and a good view will help birds feel safe. (Trees provide roosts for birds of prey also.)

Native plants and insects will provide food. Adding a bird feeder or bird house bumps you up from a four to a “five-star” habitat, but they aren’t necessary. A bird feeder, however, will quickly bring seed-eating birds. Bird activity attracts insect-eating birds. They know the seed-eaters will watch for predators. Besides, it’s like choosing between a restaurant that is busy and one that is empty. Which one would you tend to try first? Fruiting or nectar-producing plants will also add to the variety of your visitors.

Safety is a priority. If you want lizards, amphibians or birds you can’t have an urban tiger, a domestic cat, prowling the grounds. Most dogs have less of a need to hunt and can get along with non-mammalian wildlife. Our dog actually watches the hummingbirds at the feeder.

Like any resort, word of mouth, can make or break you. Stagnant water, poisoned insects or a cat lying in wait by the bird bath can turn visitors away. And they will tell their friends. Here again, when you have a bad experience at a restaurant, you think twice before returning.

Something Furry
This is where a backyard habitat becomes more complicated. Humans have reduced native mammalian predators because of our own fear. These larger predators are frequently our predators. Wolves, bear, mountain lions, heck even bobcats and coyotes scare us. I’ve had a coyote looking in my French doors and one night while I was home alone, I could sense something was watching the house. It was a coyote out front.

A coyote is generally not a threat to humans, but it can be disconcerting to have something fairly large hunting in your backyard. However, without these predators rabbit and deer populations can get out of control. We are just in that foothill zone where we occasionally have a rabbit and it is typically preyed upon by someone’s dog or one of the hawks or owls.

Bats however are mammals you can attract to your garden without worry. As insect predators few birds can match them. To attract bats, open water, like a pond or pool, is a plus. Nocturnal insects often fly over water. A bat box or large trees can provide shelter.

Nonnative brown rats and mice can be a problem. They depend on human castoffs, but rats will also prey on the eggs and young of reptiles and birds.

Raccoons, skunks and introduced opossums can also be a challenge. As occasional visitors, raccoons and skunks are valuable snail and grub predators, but you don’t want to feed them. They will be healthier and live longer as wild creatures. To ensure that you aren’t feeding them or attracting coyotes, feed your pets in the house. Pet food bowls can be very attractive to wildlife.

Saving the World
When you create habitat in your backyard I believe you are helping to save the Earth one small piece at a time. Global warming, species extinction and toxic pollution seem insolvable problems, but look out at your yard, the solution starts RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. Restore the native habitat in your yard and help save the world.

Native Plants Beat the Freeze

Cold weather has destroyed citrus and other agricultural crops across California. Frost damaged plants can be seen in most residential yards. But if you look past the destruction, there is something important to note: the native plants are fine.

When I began to investigate the damage in our yard, I was struck by the resilience of the native plants. Not only had they survived the frosty cold, but some, like the white flowering currant (Ribes indecorum), were blooming and happy.

In this photo you can see the cascading white currant flowers, while the blackened foliage at the bottom of the picture is one of many frost damaged spider plants (Chlorophytum).

On January 13, 2007, Los Angeles recorded its lowest winter temperature. In Woodland Hills, we had several nights between 26 - 30˚F. On the morning of the 13th there was a quarter inch layer of ice across our bird bath. I removed the layer of ice and put it on the ground. Throughout the day, the ice never melted; unheard of in sunny California.

Not only was the disk of ice still on the ground the next morning, the water in the two-inch-deep bird bath was frozen solid. The band-tailed pigeons were walking on their own ice rink, quite mystified.
















Throughout the yard, even in protected areas, exotic species, like the Mexican agave (Agave attenuata), were drooping with frost damage. While only two feet away, the newly planted native Channel Island tree poppy (Dendromecon harfordii) was unscathed.












On the exposed hillside, the California holly or toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) thrived, unconcerned with the bitter temperatures.

Even in the more protected front of the house, it was quite obvious that the brilliant green foliage of the “Yankee point” California lilac (Ceanothus gloriosus horizontalis) was unharmed by the frost while the African daisy (Osteospermum fruticosum) turned yellow and wilted.

If creating habitat around your home for native animals isn’t enough of a reason to change your landscaping over to natives, consider the changing weather. Native plants are not only more adapted to the dry hot California summers and require less water, they also are more resilient to freezing cold.

Be water wise, habitat wise and climate wise, plant natives.