California is in a drought, and it looks like this is not going to be a rare event going forward. So we’re getting selective. This means losing potential clients, who may not share these values. “I don’t want your values in my backyard!” anonymus caller No, that did not go well. Never mind that they’reContinue reading “Did we become snotty tree huggers? Or just insist on designing for the future?”
Category Archives: Ecology
A tapestry of colors for a front yard
Low-growing plants create a tapestry of color, punctuated by bold agaves, backed by taller shrubs and trees. It’s a great place for hummingbirds and pollinators, too. This garden has been growing for several years now, and has moved into the phase where maintenance centers on keeping the plants in bound as opposed to letting weedsContinue reading “A tapestry of colors for a front yard”
Butterflies in the garden
Our butterfly bush gets numerous visitors as butterflies emerge. The garden also gets the occasional dragonfly who snatches small flying insects in the air and devours them. So far, we’ve had about six species of butterflies and three species of dragonflies. butterflies Butterflies have scaly wings, hence their name in Latin, lepidoptera. So if oneContinue reading “Butterflies in the garden”
Staying home… in the garden
Between working remotely on projects, our garden is the place to go. There’s always something happening if you look closely enough. Every day is different: new flowers in, old flowers out. Different birds. Strange insects and spiders that appear as you sit and watch the plants.
Garden flowers for Valentine’s Day
Forget roses. This is what blooms naturally around Valentine’s day. Manzanita feeds the hummingbirds, daffodils brighten up the garden, and oxalis throws a splash of yellow green over verdant green leaves. A Winter Bouquet Daffodils Just plant the bulbs in fall and you’ll have daffodils for years to come. These are way overdue for division:Continue reading “Garden flowers for Valentine’s Day”
The groundhog was wrong
The groundhog is a long way from here. He also probably would have preferred to rest comfortably in his hole, rather than being rudely dragged out by some human in a ridiculous costume. Still, humans decided that we’ll have an early spring, the groundhog’s true prediction unknown because he never voluntarily came out. If heContinue reading “The groundhog was wrong”
Red Yucca (Hesperaloe) from seed
The new fancy varieties may not set seed, but if you have the normal, tall apricot-pink type you should start seeing nice black seeds sitting inside recently split brown seed pods. Good news: they’re easy to start. Bad news: they take forever to flower. Growing the seeds Place the seeds in a pot, lightly coverContinue reading “Red Yucca (Hesperaloe) from seed”
Deer Grass: a pollen source for honeybees!
Grasses are supposed to be wind pollinated, so bees should ignore them, right. Actually, no. Our local honeybees have discovered that deer grass produces lots of usable pollen. They come in numbers to gather pollen, storing on their back legs as bright yellow balls. Another funny thing is that deer grass is native, but honeybeesContinue reading “Deer Grass: a pollen source for honeybees!”
Birds!
Today was a good day for birds in the garden. Hummingbirds buzzed around, catching insects on the wing, then stopped by their favorite flowers for a sip of nectar. Scrub jays sipped from the fountain, mockingbirds flitted through the branches, a black phoebe paused in the tree and two bewick’s wrens chased each other acrossContinue reading “Birds!”
Pollinators
What’s the best pollinator plant in the garden right now? Mint! Just plain old mint, grown from cuttings from the supermarket. The second best, native narrow-leaf milkweed. Although many of the insects are the same, some preferred the mint, shunning the milkweed. Variety is king! Quite a swarm out there Bees These include sweat bees,Continue reading “Pollinators”