Plant Inventory

We received an abatement notice in the spring of 2006 and it ordered us to remove all non-natives from within 100 feet of any dwelling. It turns out that was out-of-line and the rules really do allow and even encourage some natives within even the first 50 feet. It angered us that a bogus fire inspector (a contractor from Fire Protection Services - a brush/weed clearing company) could make such an order and that people would follow it like sheep. So we set out to convert our front yard to native vegetation. We did not just rip it out and re-do it. The landscaping that was there when we moved in was quite old and nice, though non-native, so we are doing a more gradual transition. When our oaks grow a bit larger we will cut down the ecualyptus in the middle of the yard. We've ripped out some geraniums and replaced them with low-growing native lilacs. We've ripped out some oleanders and jade plant and are replacing them with a hedge of toyon.

Here is one of them.

We bought 16 of these toyons at a California Native Plant Society plant sale, but could not get them planted before we had to leave on a three week trip, so we stuck them in the garage, hoping they wouldn't die. One did, but the rest survived even though our three week trip turned into seven. Then we planted them in July, 2006 and buried a soaker hose along the line of toyons and watered them regularly. They struggled along until this winter when they erupted.

Look at the size of this one. It is almost 3' tall now.

It will still be a few years before they grow together into a hedge, but they will get there.

--Brian

It's hard to resist taking pictures when spring starts popping out. I took a walk around the place on 2-23 and here is some of what I saw.

You can click any photo to see one a bit larger.

First, the little stuff. The shrubs are nice, but hard to photograph. Besides, the closer you look the more you see. That's when you begin to understand the richness of the environment we live in. Here is a random shot at the ground from very close up. This whole patch of ground is probably not more than 3" diagonally. These are bryophytes. The pointy ones are related to mosses, and the flatter ones are liverworts. (Thanks, Kay!)

Look at this tiny liverwort. It's probably somewhere in the dime to quarter size range. There are a lot of them out right now, but I don't know what it is. If you know, please click here. Another photo is here.

Black sage comes in a small size, too...

I'm not so sure about this frilly stuff. Anybody want to guess what it is? Click here to tell me. [Cindy B. tells me this is Chaenactis or Pincushion.]

Ah me, looks like we've still got work to do. Cindy B. says this is Senecio Vulgaris, a non-native dandelion, confirmed by Kay S. and Greg R. It's gone now.

I posted a photo of a cluster of these plants a week or so ago. Here's a closer view. Those buds don't appear to have changed. We're pretty sure this one is Mirabilis californica. (Thanks again, Kay!)

Here's a closer view of that deer weed. Doesn't look like a weed to me.

Come to think of it, the monkey flowers don't look like monkeys, either.

That's all for now. I can edit these entries, so if anyone wants to name a plant in a photo, let me know and I'll do it.

--Brian