Penetrating the Chaparral
Though it's the most extensive natural habitat in California, chaparral's brambly ways discourage human visitors. Still, plenty of wildlife finds sanctuary in its tangled, brushy universe, as do the dormant...
Post Type Archives: Articles
The Fire Down Below
A shower of magma-heated liquid and steam makes for more than just a pretty Calistoga postcard. It's a 30-million-year-old lesson in California's dynamic underground history of sliding plates, volcanic eruptions,...
Why is manzanita bark so smooth and red?
What a seemingly simple, but deceptively complex question! Ultimately, perhaps, the least speculative—but not completely satisfactory—answer is that manzanitas inherited this trait from their ancestors. There is compelling evidence that...
Gardening for Wildlife with Native Plants
Not long ago, the Bay Area was home to wild creatures in numbers beyond reckoning. While we can't undo generations of intensive human settlement, there's a surprising amount of potential...
Native Plant Gardening Resources
NURSERIES, SEED SUPPLIERS, PLANT SALES, AND BOTANIC GARDENS Bay Natives 375 Alabama St. #440 San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 287-6755 http://www.baynatives.com Berkeley Horticultural Nursery 1310 McGee Ave. Berkeley, CA 94703...
Starting a Wildlife Habitat Garden
It’s really not that hard to transform your garden into a welcoming habitat for native wildlife. But you do need to know where to start. Here are a few steps...
Starting with the Oaks
A winding path through Kathy Welch’s garden leads to an oak grove. Photo by Saxon Holt. Kathy Welch had already begun to consider renovating her yard in the Oakland hills...
What’s the Buzz? Native Bees!
They don't live in colonies, they rarely sting, and—if you plant natives—you might find some in your own backyard.
Letter from the Publisher
On December 9 I received an e-mail from Guy Oliver at the Oceanic Society, announcing the appearance of the first gray whale of the season in San Francisco Bay, a...
Rooted in History
Once a major crossroads for the Coast Miwok, and briefly a home for the Grateful Dead, Rancho Olompali now sits quietly beside Highway 101 north of Novato. But follow its...
