The Douglas Iris finally blooms and a mountain meadow planter

The Douglas Iris which I planted more than 3 years ago has finally bloomed. I had all but given up on this one, thinking that maybe it was going to be foliage forever due to its somewhat shaded location under a rather large butterfly bush. The flowers are subtle and unassuming, but still lovely. I tried to grow another native California Iris, commonly known as the Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis) a couple years ago, but they never took. They grow in abundance in high elevation montane/alpine meadows, and that's probably why they don't do well here in our drier, warmer chaparral habitat. We've seen these blooming in many parts of the Eastern Sierra, but they are especially abundant around Bridgeport en route to Twin Lakes.

6/2/10 Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana). Common in grassy, coastal areas of California. The herbage is apparently quite bitter, so the bunnies don't like to imbibe. 

7/10/05 Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis). Virginia Lakes, Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierras, Mono County, CA.

7/6/05 Cow pastures in Bridgeport Valley in the Eastern Sierra. Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis) typically blooms here in great abundance in early summer. 

Speaking of montane meadows, last fall I converted a flower bed full of 'Purple Heart' Tradescantia (Tradescantia pallida purpurea) along the north exposure of the house to a bed of native mountain meadow plantings. We've spent many summer vacations up in the Eastern Sierras, and out of pure nostalgia, I was hoping to be able to grow some of the more memorable natives we've seen on our excursions. As mentioned before, the Western Blue Flag went kaput, as did a couple Western Monkshoods (Aconitum columbianum). But, there are some plants that are thriving, along with a few other varieties that are not montane species per se, but can take the extra water. However, it remains to be seen whether or not they'll survive our summer heat. 

5/27/10 Mountain meadow planter.
Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), Bigleaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus), Parish's Stream Lupine (Lupinus latifolius parishii), Slender Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis), Meadow Penstemon (Penstemon rydbergii), Sierra Penstemon (Penstemon heterodoxus), Yellow-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium californicum), Mountain Pennyroyal (Monardella odoratissima), Large-leaved Avens (Geum macrophyllum), Mountain Spirea (Spirea densiflora), Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa), and Hooker's Evening Primrose (Oenothera hookeri).

5/27/10 Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) and Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) in mountain meadow planter.

5/17/10 Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla).

5/22/10 Yellow-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium californicum).

5/8/10 Bigleaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus). 

RIP, Roger Higson, and may you bird into eternity...

It took me awhile to post this memorium, but I was in denial for awhile that I would nevermore be able to indulge in one of Roger's non-apologetic posts about birding, SWMBO (with affection), the terriers, life in Blythe, and his menagerie of hapless students, whom he undoubtedly really cared for. I posted the following in Roger's blog http://blythebirdsandsilliness.blogspot.com/ and repeat it here, since I don't know how long it will be up:

Roger was one of those rare gems or bains, depending on your POV, posting on Inland County Birds that kept me following and yearning for more with his blunt, take no prisoners, down-to-earth approach to birding & other aspects of mundane life, all of which kept me laughing and grimacing (in a good way) over the past couple years. Then, in January 24, 2009, Roger made that defiant leap from Inland County Birds to launching his very own blog for reasons all very well known to members of that group. He said back then, "I am doing this as I am now master of my own destiny." 

With those famous first words, Roger (unbeknownst to him) gave me a metaphorical kick in the butt, like he probably had done to many of his fortunate (and I really mean that) students, and I was actually inspired to start blogging meself. 

 Roger, I really, really regret that I never met you or had the courage to actually post a comment to you - sad result of my childhood fear of curmudgeony teachers. But, I hope you will go on some kick ass birding expeditions into the good night. In the meantime, I'll probably miss you more than just a tad...

'Vista' Fire in La Cresta

Around 3pm yesterday afternoon, Elaine, Dan, Gil and I were sitting under the portico at the front entry enjoying some beverages when we noticed a rather large orange-colored plane circling around, followed by a smaller white plane flying at a quick clip and low altitude right over our roof. Gil quickly ran to the back of the house to see where the plane was going, and all of a sudden we heard him yelling "there's a fire, there's a fire!" Well, of course we didn't quite believe him, as Gil is occasionally prone to hyperbolic, intentional exaggeration. But, holy moly, was he right this time! From the back patio we could see flames & smoke erupting from a property about 2-3 miles down the hill. The planes were apparently air tankers deployed to drop fire retardant on the fire. In addition, there was a water-dropping helicopter and crews from Riverside County Fire, Cal Fire San Diego, and the U.S. Forest Service on hand to put down the flames. It was pretty dramatic watching the aerial attacks. After about 45 minutes it appeared that they had this thing more or less under control.

5/30/10 'Vista' Fire, at Paseo de Flores & Avenida La Cresta.

According the The Californian this morning, although the fire appeared to be very close to several homes, no structures were damaged. Riverside County Fire's online incident report dubbed this the "Vista' fire. Approximately 10 acres burned near the intersection of Avenida La Cresta, Paseo de Flores and Valle Vista. The cause is still under investigation. Hope it was not arson or someone mowing dry brush on a hot, breezy day.

The last time we had a fire this close by was the Bear Creek fire back in September 2009. That was when they closed Clinton Keith Road, which is the only access into the Plateau, and Gilbert (who was at work when it happened) had to use an off road track to make his way home.

Wasn't as scary this time around, but maybe that's because there were four of us hanging out with a pleasant champagne/beer buzz going on, which makes everything seem so much less dire. Well, fire season, here we go again...

Air tanker dropping fire retardant. 

Water-dropping helicopter.

Southwest Riverside News Network: "Fire crews contain blaze near Murrieta to 10 acres."

http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-05-29/local-county-news/breaking-news-fire-officials-conduct-air-attack-on-la-cresta-blaze 

Evolution of a Haphazard Garden: Native Plant Gardening, from Clueless to 'Hey, they're not all dead yet..."

As I've mentioned many times before, I started my little adventure with native plant gardening about 4 years ago when we moved out to our property. In the beginning I felt really overwhelmed. We had moved from a townhouse with a miniscule back yard to a 5-acre lot (Tinkerbell to T-Rex). Although we preserved about 3 acres of the native chaparral, some portions adjacent to the house had been cleared during construction, leaving swathes of exposed decomposed granite ('DG'), which looked about as alluring as the Martian landscape in Total Recall, minus the hellish red hue and general lack of oxygen, of course.

We quickly found out that the cost to have the property professionally landscaped was going to be astronomical, so I had to go Zen and accept the fact that this whole gardening thing was going to have to be a labor of love (crap, there goes instant gratification) and involve a lot of DIY and TLC...

As I survey my experiments in landscaping today, two things come to mind: First, MAN, did I kill a lot of native plants over the years - generally that's what happens to the novice who plants in the wrong season (fall-early winter are the best times in SoCal to install natives) or screws up the watering regimen. Second, the end result after 4 years of sometimes laughable trial and error are actually not so bad. There's not one spot of grass/lawn on the property except in Hana's dog run, and that really, really cuts back on the water bill.

In retrospect, I have the good fortune of having the perfect soil here in the form of DG, which many natives happen to thrive in. Also, I've learned that if you plant in the cooler weather of fall-winter, root systems will become better established, after which drought tolerant varieties may not need any supplemental water during the summer months after the first year. My challenges remain the prolific bunnies (ours will eat EVERYTHING and anything green that's under 3' tall) and a variety of rodents (which love to recklessly pillage and snack on the bulbs of native lilies, alliums, brodiaeas, etc.).

As for garden design, I am at best a "Haphazard" gardener. More often than not, I follow my own twisted logic when it comes to assembling color combos & palettes. My gut instinct, which has worked thus far, is to group plants with similar cultural requirements (recommended by all the native plant experts) and then add a splash of colorful annuals and/or native bulbs in betwixt. So there. Abracadabra & Shazam! Oh, and it's also good to use lots & lots of wood chip mulch.

Here's a sampling of some of the more perky parts of the garden:

5/27/10 'Burgundy' Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) on the left; Laguna Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. adamsii), Konocti Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. elegans), Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis), St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum), 'Route 66,' 'Uvas Canyon' & 'Ghostly Red' California Fuchsias (Zauschneria californica),  Woolly Bluecurls (Trichostemma lanatum), Prickly Phlox (Leptodactylon californicum).

5/22/10 Same shot, different angle.

5/27/10 An ersatz allee of Western Redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) along the front entry's super rustic walkway (pea gravel galore). The low shrubs in between are 'Sunset' & 'Harmony' Manzanitas. Good subs for boxwoods for now, but I think they'll get much bigger over time (hopefully they won't morph into the likes of Audrey, a la Little Shop of Horrors).

5/27/10 'Catalina' California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californica), 'Dr. Hurd' Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), Coastal Gum Plant (Grindelia arenicola) in front of rose bed.

5/27/10 

5/22/10 

Flower beds with natives such as Island Alumroot (Heuchera maxima), Heuchera 'Blushing Bells,' Bolander's Phacelia (Phacelia bolanderi), Desert & Western Columbine (Aquiligea formosa), Fort William Fairyfan (Clarkia williamsonii), Wine Cup Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea quadrivulnera), 'Pink Ribbons' Clarkia (Clarkia concinna), Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), Pt. Reyes Wallflower (Erysimum concinnum), Frying Pans (Eschscholzia lobbii), Grand Linanthus (Linanthus grandiflorus), Blue Flax (Linum lewisii), Bird's Eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor),  & others. 

5/22/10 Clarkias & Southwest natives, all getting swimmingly along. 

5/22/10 Nascent beginnings (redundant?) of a desert garden.

5/22/10

5/22/10 Pond framed by Manzanitas. Left to right: California Sycamore in the backdrop (Platanus racemosa), Cuyamaca/Julian Manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula var. platyphylla), Pointleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens), Laguna Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. adamsii). 

5/22/10 Driveway lined with Rock Roses (Cistus spp.), Ceanothus spp., California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Arizona Sycamores (Platanus racemosa var. wrightii), & native grasses.

5/22/10 And now, a Native/Mediterranean interlude: 'Powis Castle' Artemesia, St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum), Tuscan Blue Rosemary, Spice Islands Rosemary, 'Purple Floorshow' English Legend roses, assorted Scented Geraniums & Lavenders, San Diego Red & Barbara Karst Bougainvillea.

5/22/10 

5/28/10 And last but not least, the obligatory Hana cameo.

Crazy Rainstorm this Morning

Awoke to the sound of pounding rain this morning around 7:30am. Wanted to sleep in, but this time it was the rain and not Hana's incessant growl-whining that put an end to that fantasy. Hana's circadian rhythms are finely tuned into the weekends, so as soon as the day breaks on every freaking Saturday morning, she goes nuts and demands to be taken out for a walk. I think one of these days we'll need the help of the great one, i.e., Cesar Millan, aka "The Dog Whisperer."

Anyhoo, the weather forecast as of last night was that there would be "a very slight chance of rain, not more than a tenth of an inch, if any." Well, the deluge this morning certainly blew that prognostication out of the water. At 9:30am the temperature dropped to about 45F and it started hailing ice pellets. What the hey is going on with our weather? Very odd for Southern California when you have to crank up the heater and break out the extra blankies in late May.

Hail on the deck.

More hail on the deck.