Natives for a Meadow Garden
Some of my favorite annual wildflowers are the gilias, and the whole genus is pretty much deer-proof. I like globe gilia (Gilia capitata) with its...
Living with Deer, Part 3
It’s a beautiful thing to watch the deer, a number of the does heavily pregnant, browsing at the meadow’s edge, and not at all disturbed by the...
Planting Natives in Deer Country
Now that fall is soon upon us, and hopefully the rainy season as well, the time is perfect to plant California natives. Many gardeners have...
Living with Deer, Part 2
A Paradise ruled by Queen Calafia Two major human caused environmental disasters drastically changed the natural world of a land that was long ago...
Transplanting Tips
If you are working with old seed you can do a simple viability test before sowing. Use a damp paper towel, lay ten seeds onto one-half of...
Creating a Meadow Garden
The days are still warm and we’re all hoping, once again, that this will be an El Niño year with ample rainfall and a good snow pack in the Sierras....
How Does a Seed Form?
The flowers of a plant are designed for the purpose of making seeds. If a flower is pollinated, then fertilization can take place, and a seed...
Helping Seeds Sprout
Some seeds have built-in mechanisms that prevent germination until ideal conditions are met. Even when perfect conditions are met, some of the ‘seed...
Musing on Madia
The term Ecology is a relatively new field of study in the world of Biology; it was coined in 1866 by the German scientist, Ernst Haeckel (1834 –...
Living with Deer, Part 1
For many Californians throughout the state, deer are the largest free-living animals they will commonly encounter; and for anyone with an affinity...
Some Other Common Brushfoots (Nymphalidae)
The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is fairly common in Marin, and adults can be seen flying almost any time during the year. This species is...
Nevin’s Barberry
This year my Nevin's Barberry (Berberis nevinii) truly made that leap and ‘came into its own’! Lovely, fragrant yellow flowers smothered the plant...