Spring Changes

Spring is humming in Southern California. The blue ceanothus blossoms are thick with bees in search of pollen. After the loss of our bees and the subsequent swarm at a friend's house, shaken into a box and relocated here, we are back to two hives thanks to an additional swarm that simply moved into a prepped hive Eric had readied and placed empty on our property. Although I've heard bees do this and even heard fellow Backwards Beekeepers give sworn testament that it has happened to them, I had my doubts we'd have the luck for it to happen to us. But there they were. In the hive. Busy. Buzzing. Doing the work that bees do. It was like finding a wrapped present left on your doorstep containing exactly what you hoped for in your most delicious daydreams.

With spring comes extreme hair. After over a year of repeated requests by the boys for mohawks, Eric pulled out the clippers and granted their wish.

And my youngest son sports some facial hair...at least for a brief time. A distinguished gentleman to be sure.

California Thrasher

Over the deliciously long Thanksgiving weekend, I spent a lot of time in the garden. Interspersed with pitching for baseball batting practice, I pruned our St. Catherine's Lace buckwheat. This California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivium) winters in our yard. Over the two days pruning the buckwheat, we became familiar with each other's presence. I noticed the Thrasher eating the fallen burst pomegranates. I gently pulled one from the tree and placed it two feet before me. Cautiously, the Thrasher approached and took the fruit as I sat and observed. I took this picture with my phone camera, but mostly I just watched trying to take in how it looked, how it moved. The Thrasher is such an exquisite bird with the long curved beak. They are partial to underbrush, so it's typically hard to see them. To be this close felt like an unexpected completely thrilling gift.

In the Yard

Carpenteria californica aka Bush Anemone ready to explode 

Carpenteria californica aka Bush Anemone 

Hordeum murinum aka Foxtail or Wall Barley

Spring Garden Through the Lens of a Four Year Old

Tending to the Native Garden

before weeding

after weeding

The weather has been lovely. I find myself stealing more time from other projects to tend to the garden. Our native garden has gone wild. Although we mulch heavily, weeds still flourish. I've been claiming more time in the yard to pull weeds.

before weeding

after weeding

I think it's just about time for an outdoor fire to celebrate reclaiming the garden. There is still a lot of weeding to do, but so far it's been pretty easy to pull thanks to the heavy mulch layer. We recently got another shipment. I look forward to spreading it around and preparing the garden for the transition to summer.

Red Poppies

In the lovely burst of orange of the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) at the entrance to our property, two red blossoms have opened. This is the first I've ever seen of the red California poppy despite being a California native who tends to spend quite a bit of time outdoors.

With a bit of online research, I've discovered that these plants are not impostors. They too are Eschscholzia californica, most likely either Mikado or Red Chief.

Good Morning Sunshine

The anticipated poppy orange has gloriously arrived.

Heavy Rain Yields Snow & Poppy Growth

San Gabriel Mountains dusted with snow behind my oldest son's school.

The California poppies continue to grow. No sign of a blossom yet.

Rain=Project Native Seed Bomb

Make & get out there! I used CA native poppies for these seed bombs.

Seed Bomb Recipe & caveats via the Urban Field Guide:
5pts dry red clay (to hold them together until the rain)

3 pts dry organic compost (for seedlings nourishment)
1 pt seed
1-2 parts water

*Combine dry materials, add water until a paste is thick enough to form penny sized balls. Allow the seed bombs to dry for 3-4 days in the sun. For those of you in California the seeds from lupine and california poppies are great plants to use.

Now while I LOVE this idea, and would encourage folks to try it out, I have a few caveats.

*Make sure that the seeds are for local native plants only. I know cities aren’t exactly natural, but we can still hope to encourage the wildlife that need native plants to take up residence. It would be totally irresponsible to throw seed around from non-native invasive species.

*Please stick to lots and city cracks only. Do not bomb any area set aside for wildlife. The ecosystem is fragile and I’d hate for your enthusiasm to have catastrophic interspecies effects!

L.A. local source list:

Here is a great local resource for clay:

http://www.echoceramics.com/

2856 S. Robertson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90034

Tel/Fax: 310-815-1525

For large orders of clay:

http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/

14400 Lomitas Avenue
City of Industry, CA 91746
Toll-Free: (800) 4-LAGUNA
Local: (626) 330-0631
Fax: (626) 333-7694

Rain Like Diamonds

A bit of Southern California rain

expected to last

all week.

Siding with the Seeds

Each year, I'll throw out a handful of California poppy seeds. Some years my sowing, the rains and sun align and the beautiful bright orange Eschscholzia californica blossoms open up stunning in their luminous beauty.

The last few years, I've sown late and haven't had much luck. Despite my failed attempts, I keep at it each year. Much to my surprise, I came home one day to take notice that quite a few seeds have grown into plants.

While I was weeding around the area to make room for the new poppy growth, I noticed some of our dudleya has taken root in the rock crevices just like they grow in the wild. I remember one morning as we were heading out of the house while closing the gate, Eric quickly snapped off some dried dudleya blossoms and shook the seeds over the area. He tossed a few small pups too.

I am intrigued by California's native dudleyas in the wild. They show up in surprising places. Unlike the imported succulents, they grow much more slowly. The parent pictured above started as a one gallon transplant planted four years ago.

In my mind, I see the bright orange California poppy blossoms brightening up the entry to our home in spring. I look forward to seeing the orange play with the browns, dusty greens and colors of the river rock. Buoyed the growth, I plan on sowing different seeds today.

Garden Developments

The pomegranates are back. I thought that they might need another month or so to ripen, but an unknown critter left contrary evidence. I found a shredded pomegranate shell in the crotch of the big oak tree and another cracked shell about ten feet from the base of the oak. I picked it up and spied the red ripe fruit sparkling like rubies. I love pomegranates.

Autumn also ends our native plants hibernation. In the summer we let the plants bloom and go to seed. I've started pruning the sage and buckwheat before the fall growth takes off, widening the pathway

to the pomegranates.

Manzanita Bark

We planted the notoriously slow-growing Louis Edmunds Manzanita (Arctostaphylos stanfordiana bakeri) over three years ago when we planted the bulk of our California natives.

The scrub is just old enough to curl away it's bark for the first time. As the plant matures, the bark will peel away revealing smooth wood underneath.

This planted started as a one-gallon transplant. It has been worth the wait watching it slowly grow.

Bees on California Native Ceanothus

Bees and plants are happy with the extra rain we got this year.

Matilija Poppy - Primitive Drip

We planted this matilija poppy last weekend and put our primitive drip system on it. It's just a 5 gallon galvanized can with a little spout screwed into it. It helps the water penetrate our clay soil rather than just running off.

Joshua Tree: Dos and Don'ts

DON'T roll into Jumbo Rocks in mid-April at 5:00PM hoping to find a camping spot (no reservations at Jumbo Rocks).

DO arrive at 10/11AM as campers breaking camp must vacate sites by noon.

DO be resourceful and camp on Bureau of Land Management land for an evening. Then follow previous "DO" the following day.

DO take your compatriot's hand and sally forth on an expedition to find a lost car.

DO assess the damage. Report: "It went through water" (dramatic hand gesture reaching from the ground and rising to the sky). Assessment: "We can't fix it."

DO enjoy the multiple patches of desert lily (Hesperocallis undulata) because they are not as prolific within the boundary of the national park.

Pollen Gathering

Bees are gathering pollen this morning on our blooming Ceanothus.

Trimming Back the Buckwheat

With the heavy California rains a few weeks ago, our California native garden has been thriving. I love watching the cycle of these plants. They fall into a deep slumber late summer/early fall. After the winter rains, they awaken from hibernation and set to growing. Our Ash Leaf buckwheat (erogonum cinereum) was encroaching on our access to the vegetable garden. I set to reclaiming stairs.

With help, of course.

Big Manroot Removed

This weekend I removed a huge manroot from along the fence. This is the plant that has been causing so much work every year.


Here it is the next day with most of the dirt off it. I wouldn't have been able to get this out if it weren't for all the rain we just got. You can see my previous attempt which only created a spade shaped hole in the side.

I'll be out hunting for more next weekend after we get a little more rain. I think the tables may have turned.

Previously:
Here's the recent harvest of smaller, first year plants.
Late season manroot removal
Manroot Maintenance
Hedgehog art from a manroot seedpod

Rain Runoff Redirected

In the midst of one of southern California's heavy weekend storms, Eric did some heroic work digging trenches, building embankments and moats. Our property is on sloped land. As the heavy rains come down, the water builds momentum leaving a wake of erosion.


In Bill Mollison's book on Permaculture, he says the best place to store water is in the ground. He talks about building eddies that slow down rain runoff, allowing the water to soak more deeply into the earth. Eric's been working on this on our property. Eric said the benefit of working in the heavy rain was that he was able to see how the water flows. There was no guessing if one area was higher or lower, the water spoke for itself.


Another storm swept over L.A. Wednesday afternoon. The storm offered the opportunity to take pictures of the fruits of Eric's labor.


The water that was seeping into our "Little House" is now diverted to the black sage.

The smells of the rain have been delicious.