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: Birds
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”
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.
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”
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!”
Renewing the meadow
Timing is critical: renew too early and there might be some leftover seeds that the birds would have loved to eat. Too late, and you’ll be removing new growth as it starts at the end of winter. Then there’s rain: this meadow doubles as a rain garden, so if you cut too soon after aContinue reading “Renewing the meadow”
Evening Primroses spring open after sunset
After the sun sets, these flowers spring open in seconds. The trick is being there when it happens, since they take their time getting ready. The flowers in the video were shot at normal speed, no time lapse, no acceleration. The entire sequence was over a a bit under 30 minutes, starting just after sunset.Continue reading “Evening Primroses spring open after sunset”
Water conserving color
The manzanita that was supposed to grow, twist and soar over the deck is long gone. After a long period of mourning, we removed its corpse and installed water conserving color plants. Hummingbirds love two of them, flying close as we dine on the deck.
A tale of two landscapes…
One client wanted a classic, contemporary look with minimal maintenance. The landscape should look good all year long, and color comes from foliage contrast, not flowers that have to be clipped after blooming. The other wanted a haven for birds, especially hummingbirds, something full of flowers and seeds, where seasonal maintenance was and accepted trade-offContinue reading “A tale of two landscapes…”
Bringing the ‘burbs to life
When we started, there were plants, a bird bath and bird feeders. The plants for the most part did nothing to feed the birds. Native insects likewise did not come here for fine dining.
With this makeover, that’s all changed. The bird bath is now a recirculating fountain. The bird feeders remain, but now there’s a veritable smorgasbord for visiting birds, with insects buzzing around a host of new native flowers.