Nature At My Doorstep

                   Wild Mustard, Topanga Canyon, California by Kathy Vilim

A hawk glides silently overhead, above the top of a Eucalyptus tree.  Below, the Canyon is bejeweled with splashes of yellow wildflowers.  The wind is high and the wind chimes sing.  "Bringing Nature Home" by Douglas Tallamy sits on my garden reading bench, and I reflect how lucky I am that I don't have to bring nature home here in the Santa Monica Mountains.  Nature is already at my doorstep.  All I have to do is "get out of the way," let Nature alone, let things grow wild, and watch the story unfold.

One of the most important things for me is keeping chemicals out of the garden.  I never use pesticides.  Instead of chemical fertilizers, I compost.  I purposely did not put in a water-needy lawn.  Instead, I created a small garden next to the house for my Roses, Iris and Herbs.  They get the water that the lawn would have taken.. actually they take less.  The rest of my water goes to the Citrus trees and vegetable garden.

As a result of being pesticide free and letting nature be, I can delight in seeing Quail walk through my vegetable beds, in hearing the endless chatter of new baby wrens that have nested in my utility box (somehow!), and in watching the squirrels chase each other up and down the trees.

@nativegardener

Now it is June, and the yellow daisy faces have gone to seed..

Now June is here.  The yellow daisy faces (Bush Sunflower, Encelia californica) that used to greet me on my walk have gone to seed, replaced by the soft yellow of mustard flowers (Black Mustard, Brassica nigra), naturalized long ago from Spain (that grain weed from the "old world").  Normally, I might overlook them, as I commune with the daisies. Yet, they were here all along, waiting to take their place in my focus.

Soon after that, some efficient landowner came and cut down the daisies, the mustards, and all the tall, yellow waving grass in the meadow.  It's the annual "weed clearance time".  I will miss the cheery yellow faces as June ushers in Summer. 

I walk further.  The man who owns this property is not as efficient!  I enjoy his mustards.  I collect his daisy seeds. And I spread them like Johnny Appleseed on my way back home.

Before Summer Takes the Wildflowers Away

Before Summer takes them all away, I wanted to share with you some Topanga Canyon wildflowers that I photographed in April and  May.

Living in the Santa Monica Mountains, I am able to see these flowers every day on walks with my dog, or hikes on the many trails of the California State Parks, even in my own backyard.

Topanga Canyon, situated in the Santa Monica Mountains just outside Los Angeles, is so magical: you can forget you are outside a large urban sprawl.  I invite my friends up a lot this time of year to hike.  They are always amazed at the flowers they see here that they don't get to see "in town."  While annuals like petunias and begonias and such are cheery and colorful, they are no match for the wildflowers, so alive and free!

Matilija Poppies Romneya coulteri with Purple Showy Penstemon Penstemon spectabilis (above), California Buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum (right), Monkey Flowers Mimulus Diplacus aurantiacus (below), Daisies (below), Mustard, Sage, Milkweed, Lupines, CA Poppies .. all cover the hillsides with color in the Spring, delighting us with meadows full of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and of course blooms!