Natural History Journal

I've been watching with eagerness as Superbloom 2019 has been unfolding across Southern California, deeply envious of those who have time to travel in order to experience the breathtaking phenomenon taking place this spring! In 2016, we experienced the bloom in  Death Valley National Park,   Mojave National Preserve  and Joshua Tree National Park . In 2017, we ventured into the wilds of  Carrizo Plain National Monument  for a weekend immersed in wildflowers, as the grassland exploded into glorious bloom. In 2018, we saw exactly two annual wildflowers blooming in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park  (unlike the thousands upon thousands in bloom this year *sad face*) but were delighted by the array of blooming desert trees and shrubs. This year, we have a bigger trip planned for a little later this spring... so until then I will just have to be patient! True, the foothills and grasslands closer to home are in bloom as well, and well worth a quick trip....

We are approaching the height of springtime in California's Great Central Valley, and there is certainly a lot going on in the natural world!  From stunning and rare "superblooms" of wildflowers to mass  butterfly migrations ,  nesting resident birds  to returning migrants, there is so much beauty and wonder to discover! Yesterday, we spent some time with friends exploring the rocky hills above the Stanislaus River where it flows under the iconic covered bridge in the town of Knight's Ferry, and I was delighted by the vivid array of wildflowers and the discovery of returning birds that have spent the winter in warmer climes. For me, the magnificent spires of purple flowers gracing mounds of silver bush lupine always steal the show.  They are certainly my favorite!  For others, golden patches of California poppies are the winners of the floral pageant.  But don't overlook the smaller blooms as well: bird's eye gilia, blue-eyed grass, popcorn flow...

So far on our journey of designing a garden using California native plants, steps one through five have been pretty heavy on the planning end of things.  We've barely even touched the soil yet!  But now that we have our final planting plan in place and have created our shopping list, it's time to get to work! The weather is warming up, spring weeds plants are flourishing, and dormant grasses (like the nefarious Bermuda grass) are coming back to life in gardens everywhere.  With spring in full swing, now is the ideal time to consider removing your lawn to make room for a native plant garden! If you need a refresher, here are links to steps 1 through 5 in the Designing a Native Garden series: 1: Research 2: Site Analysis 3: Visit Gardens 4: Native Plant Nurseries 5: Create A Planting Plan Step 6: Site Preparation (Lawn Removal, Hardscaping and Irrigation Advice) The toughest part of this whole project is this step - especially if you're facing the task of remo...