In November 2016 I attended a "How to Water and Plant Native Plants" seminar at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Andrew Chambers, who works with RSABG's Nursery and Conservation programs, shared what he's learned from experience and discussions with other native plant experts. He also demonstrated …
Lessons Learned on our Waterwise Landscaping (and upcoming native plant sales)
Note: RSABG in Claremont CA has a free talk on Dec 17, 10-11am on "How to Water and Plant Native Plants" After a baking hot summer in SoCA and no precipitation, we've revisited our previous planting and watering schedule. We're still happy we went with mostly California native plants, but …
Low-water Plants for Summer Heat
As for many in California, the numerous days of 100+ degree heat has been tough on our vegetable garden, roses, fruit trees and well, pretty much everything (including ourselves....) But we continue to have some plants – mostly California natives or their hybrids – that look good despite little …
See our native landscaping on the Redlands Garden Tour April 16-17
One week from now (Sat/Sun, April 16-17) our yard is one of six featured ones on the Redlands Garden Tour and Plant Sale. As some know from my articles, in 2008 we replaced most of our lawn in front with drought tolerant -- mostly California native --plants. Now it's a mature example of how lush …
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Weed barrier – don’t use!
It’s great that many people are replacing grass with low-water landscaping, especially in the Southwest where lawns don't make sense. One concern (along with trees not getting adequate water) that I've noticed is the widespread use of weed barrier cloth. Our Redlands CA fire stations have even used …
Drought-busting: Why to Plant Natives?
The drought here in California -- we've received less than 8 inches of rain here in Redlands -- is encouraging much discussion on how to reduce water usage. I've written a lot about our use of California natives in our landscaping so I want to reference some of my popular articles on why they're a …
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