Last week LA-32 presented our April Garden of the Month award to Test Plot - Elephant Hill.
At the end of Lathrop you can find a space open to the public that features plants such as CA Buckwheat, CA sagebrush, Black and White Sage, Coyote Brush and so much more. The site, which started in 2022, has stewarded 10,000 sq ft of new habitat and 20,000 sq ft of invasive species removal.
To maintain a site so large requires many hands, and this space has four team leads, and many volunteers. Joseph Farewell (and family), William Hourigan, and Francisco Ruiz, who are the point people for the site, were on hand at our LA-32 meeting to receive the award and to provide new insights into the space.
The Test Plot team noted that spring is the moment where the space is at its most lush and flowers bloom at every corner, so if you are looking for a way to spend an afternoon, it is free and open to the public.
If you know any exceptional gardens in LA-32 - nominate them for Garden of the Month. It is easy - visit bit.ly/4kpdhiK and fill out the form.
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#elsereno #90032 #CAnativegarden #laneighborhoodcouncil #neighborhoodgardens #CAnativeplants
On the first sunny day in weeks, LA-32 was able to catch up with November Garden of the Month recipients, David Diaz and Francisco Ruiz, in their lush El Sereno Hills garden. While many gardens in California are looking pretty brown and droopy in November, their California native plant centric garden is full of vibrant greens and splashes of dynamic color. David, a math teacher, and Francisco, a landscape designer, work together to envision how to make their outdoor space a water-wise and evolving part of their home.Â
The vision of their garden was originally prompted by turf removal rebate programs and now their yard is home to a multitude of native plants such as Davis's favorite Bladderpods, Hummingbird Sage, the stunning Louis Hamilton Desert Mallow, and the very regional Engelmann Oak that Francisco is excited to watch grow and create a new pocket of shade in the garden.
While they seem to always be happy to work on the garden together, they appreciate the flexible maintenance schedule that the California native plants allow, one that does not demand constant attention, but creates year round enjoyment.Â
If you want to learn more about planting California native plants, David currently teaches California Native Plant Landscaping Certification for the Theodore Payne Foundation @theodorepayne and works at Farmscape @farmscape in Frogtown.
If you know a garden that should be Garden of the Month, it is easy to nominate it - visit bit.ly/4kpdhiK and fill out the form. đ± Watch LA-32 Grow! đ±
#californianativeplants #CaliforniaGarden #gardengoals #LA-32 #gardenlife #turfremoval #Neighborhoodcouncil
LA-32 is celebrating David Diaz and Francisco Ruiz, our November Garden of the Month recipients!
Their exciting and lush El Sereno Hills garden is a water-wise 90032 mini utopia.
November is the beginning of gardening season in Southern California, so we will take a peak into their garden practice later in the month, allowing us to dream of what our spaces can look like after 10 years of collaborative work similar to that of Francisco and David.
If you know any exceptional gardens in LA-32 - nominate them for Garden of the Month. It is easy - visit bit.ly/4kpdhiK and fill out the form
đ±Watch LA-32 Grow! đ±
I had the pleasure of leading a workshop for @theodorepayne at @ojaivalleylandconservancy for a Spanish cohort of California Native Plant landscapers. Birdsong Ranch is beautiful location full of California native plants and we even had a visit from a pair of young bobcats.
Encantados de dar la bienvenida a la campaña CuidemosNuestraAgua y a NBCUniversal Telemundo para hablar sobre los beneficios de usar plantas nativas de California y plantas resistentes a la sequĂa. Gracias a Theodore Payne Foundation por su inspiraciĂłn y su colaboraciĂłn en esto.
Happy to welcome the SaveOurWater campaign and NBCUniversal Telemundo to talk about the benefits of using California native and drought-tolerant plants in your landscape.
Thanks to Theodore Payne Foundation for being the inspiration and helping the collaboration.
A pop of afternoon color in the front yard at sunset. Libertia peregrinans or New Zealand Iris under Melaleuca alternifolia or Tea tree. I fell in love with the New Zealand iris at first sight. The flowers are pretty but small and short-lived so itâs more about the orange-green leaves, which you get year-round. The Melaleuca or tea tree was actually a volunteer plant 4 years ago. It was interesting so we kept it. Now itâs a beautiful tree which has redefined the yard. I donât know why itâs called tea tree, not to be confused with Leptospermum, which is also known as tea tree. This is an area of the yard where we make exceptions for non-California native plants. Pic 6 was when we first noticed the Tea tree as a volunteer plant in the yard so i supported it up to see what it would do. #libertiaperegrinans #melaleucaalternifolia
this #purslane (portulaca cupcake orange zest) was a summer favorite. It loved the sun as a container plant. By sunset it would close up the leaves and blooms for the night as you can see in the last two pics. Next year I may try it in a flower bed. #portulaca #portulacacupcake #portulacaoleracea #purslaneflower
This âwax flowerâ or Hoya carnosa variegata tricolor krimson queen bloomed for the first time in about 2 years that Iâve had it. It gets its name from the variegated leaves and the pink edges found on some of the leaves. Itâs in the back porch and does receive direct sun, late in the afternoon. Most sources will tell you itâs not supposed to receive direct sun. On the last pic you can see sun damage on some of the leaves. So it will probably go inside in the spring, although it did bloom outside. đ€ Itâs all trial and error. #hoyacarnosakrimsonqueen #hoya #waxflower #starshapedflowers
