Think of the western scrub jay: screeching, assertive, a bully and glutton at backyard bird feeders. But also, as Judith Larner Lowry has noticed in her West Marin yard, caching acorns, bay nuts, and other seeds, many more than the birds could ever hope to recover. Given that these seeds can’t move uphill on their own, we owe our oak-studded hillsides in part to the forethought, and forgetfulness, of this very familiar bird. Lowry’s advice? Sit back and let a few of our local jays’ missed meals take root.
Book Review: California Native Plants for the Garden
Ask anyone who gardens with California natives to name a good, comprehensive book on that subject and you’ll always get the same answer: Marjorie Schmidt’s Growing California Native Plants. In fact, this has been the one and only broad, … Read more
Native Plant Garden Tours
It’s no longer a secret to readers of this magazine that native plant gardens can look as beautiful as those stocked with showy exotics, while at the same time providing habitat for native insects and birds and conserving water and … Read more
Visiting the Regional Parks Botanic Garden
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden, in Tilden Regional Park, is a 10-acre landscape of plants native to California. The garden includes ten sections corresponding to ten geographic regions of the state, all woven into a beautiful naturalistic landscape of trees, … Read more
Book Review: Native Treasures: Gardening with the Plants of California
Native Treasures: Gardening with the Plants of California, by M. Nevin Smith, UC Press, 2006, 288 pages, $24.95 www.ucpress.edu It’s almost an embarrassment of riches for native plant enthusiasts: two comprehensive new books on gardening with California natives published in … Read more
What Gardeners Should Know About Sudden Oak Death
Suggestions for how gardeners can help prevent the spread of the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death.
From an Entomologist’s Backyard
The sticky monkey flower, common on sunny Bay Area hillsides, hosts an array of insect visitors. Edward Ross’s intimate photos of these visits are but a small sample of the thousands he’s taken over six decades of studying insects near and far.
Soil Matters
We tend to take the ground beneath our feet for granted, but soil is a defining feature of the landscape around us, in the garden and on the trail.
Soil-Friendly Practices
Organic matter is the most important part of the soil because it is fodder for the many organisms that keep soil alive and elastic. And because it is consumed by these organisms, soil organic matter needs to be replenished. The … Read more
Resources for Healthy Soil
General Information Sources and Websites Bio-Integral Resource Center www.birc.org (510)524-2567 Extensive information resources for least-toxic pest management. California Integrated Waste Management Board www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/gardening Information and resources for organic materials management and home gardening, including grasscycling, home composting, and worm composting. … Read more