We love them, we fear them, and some of us obsessively hover over them as we wonder if we're caring for them properly. Meanwhile, out in the wild native plants - in our case, California native plants - manage to establish themselves without any human intervention. What gives? What can we do to …
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Helping our Native Pollinators
The last couple years I've been marveling at the rich bird and native bee and other insect populations at our California native plant-heavy yard. I've promoted native plants for home landscapes for years, giving local talks and harping on their benefits to anyone who will listen. In that vein, …
Pruning Native Plants: Tips We’ve Found Useful
Our California native plants are hanging in for the winter -- undoubtedly hoping for some real winter rains. In the meantime, for many it's the time of year to do some pruning. There are exceptions (see below) but pruning in the winter months before new growth starts is often recommended. Here are …
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Tales from our Habitat Yard
It's the last day of July, the temps are creeping up to 100 every day, and you would think the birds would stop fledging babies. Instead, we have a begging baby mockingbird out in front keeping its exhausted parents busy. And orioles, along with many competitors, are feeding Nevin's barberry …