Category Archives: Native Plants

Does a Bear Plant in the Woods?

Posted on April 16, 2017 by

Apparently so.  A visiting bear was apparently gorging on some sort of prunus – likely a wild (native or escaped) plum – and deposited a pile of seed-laded droppings in the fall, east of the garden, right outside the trail … Continue reading →

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An Embarrassment of Acorns

Posted on February 12, 2017 by

After many years – five, maybe six? – the drought is officially over. The big live oak adjacent to the garden put forth an unprecedented number of acorns this year. With the near constant rain and warm temperatures, thousand of … Continue reading →

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Seeding Nettles and Others

Posted on May 25, 2015 by

Finally got around to seeding (a little late, I realize) stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), alum root (Heuchera richardsonii), creeping Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) and salal (Gaultheria shallon). The nettles I planted for pesto, the alum root because I’m intrigued by … Continue reading →

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Native Plot, Planted

Posted on April 19, 2015 by

Spent the day in the garden proper, and finally fixed the fencing that the bear wrecked back in 2012, after which I planted out the natives in the new native food forest plot. I had originally planned to erect a … Continue reading →

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Planting Native – A New Forest Plot

Posted on April 4, 2015 by

It being spring, I’ve been itching to establish a new food forest plot down on the property.  After reflecting on the drought, and the general state of the weather of late, I’ve decided to base the new plot on native … Continue reading →

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Plants Have Plans

Posted on April 1, 2015 by

In spite of, or more likely because of the dry and unseasonably hot weather of late, this apple tree, which was likely planted many, many years ago – it came with the house – has decided to flower such as … Continue reading →

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Plans Have Changed

Posted on February 26, 2015 by

Harvested the total of the kumquat fruits, and the tree seems to be happy.  This has been another mild and dry winter, which is certainly not my preference, but seems perfect for establishing citrus. Given the dryness of the hour, … Continue reading →

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Groundnut!

Posted on June 13, 2014 by

I started gardening seriously out of a desire to try new fruits and vegetables, especially those that are not readily available in the produce section or at the farmers market.  One plant I’ve been eager to try is the American … Continue reading →

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Wild Food

Posted on February 8, 2014 by

Last weekend, I attended a class taught by Alicia Funk, co-author of Living Wild:  Gardening, Cooking and Healing with Native Plants of California and founder of the Living Wild Project.  I was impressed with the book and the speaker, and … Continue reading →

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Wild Fruit, Maligned

Posted on August 6, 2013 by

Solanum nigrum, a small, weedy relative of the tomato and its kin, has volunteered in the garden proper, and some of the fruits are ripe. Small and seedy, it has a pleasant, lemony sort of tomato sweetness.  It’s a much … Continue reading →

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