Welcome to my Garden Blog

Nature: wild & untouched. Photographing it, preserving it, taking walks and drinking in the landscapes as they unfold.

Gardens: touched by loving hands. Cultivated, nurtured. Drinking in those landscapes is wonderful, as well.

In my garden one enjoys some of both. Generally unpruned & wild, my plants reshape the garden as they grow.

Beyond the garden borders, natives from the Santa Monica Mtns await. Oak trees with their shady canopies. Cactus & Sage in the sun.

Always there are animal creatures to join in the fun.

I look forward to sharing some of my experiences with you as they unfold.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Gardeners Pick Their “Gold Medal” Favorites



Want to add beauty and wildlife value to your yard? Consider planting natives.


“Perfectly suited to the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, orange bush monkeyflower is a pretty, drought-tolerant native that always makes me smile when I run across it. A shy, unassuming plant with yellow-orange blossoms, it is a magnet for hummingbirds. In Southern California, monkeyflower's most common visitors are Anna’s hummingbirds and Allen’s hummingbirds. Also, it is a forage source for common checkerspot and buckeye butterflies. Monkeyflowers do well planted alongside buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), which brings in bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects to the yard or hillside. Monkeyflowers grow naturally on rocky cliffs, hillsides and borders of chaparral.”—Kathy Vilim of Topanga Canyon, California

Original story at NationalWildlifeFederationMagazine

2 comments:

  1. Such a pretty colour, I would love to see it in it's native habitat.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There one of my favorites, too. I'm guessing that I have about 15 of them in my garden but they're not blooming it, a bit too early but my Wooly Blue Burls are!

    ReplyDelete

Wildflowers, Santa Monica Mtns

Wildflowers, Santa Monica Mtns