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.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Sycamores to the Rescue

    Western Sycamore Tree with seed pods, Warner Park, CA, Photo by Kathy Vilim


As if they'd read my story "Birds Need More than just Trees", today small birds (Finches I think) took to the Park. Up to the tops of the Native Western Sycamore Trees they flew where seed pods hung on the still bare branches. I delighted in watching them, happy to see the native trees provided them with some seeds after all.

I had just written about the lack of birds in the Urban Park and how I missed their bird song. Their absence was largely due to a lack of understory plantings which provie seed and berries for the birds.

                         Frosty Sycamore leaf, Warner Park, CA, photo by Kathy Vilim

The seasons being what they are, all mixed up, here we are at the end of February and new spring leaves are already coming to the Sycamores, even while the brown leaves of autumn still lie on the morning's frost-covered lawn..

Saturday, January 12, 2013

California Teenage Runaway



                  Monarchs overwintering in Pismo Beach, CA, Photo by Kathy Vilim

I am a female Monarch butterfly, flying high above Pismo Beach, flying from the tall Eucalyptus trees, where I have been sleeping this winter.  How I love the Central California Coast!  It has everything I need here: moderate winter temps, clean air, and I am making friends to help me keep warm. The sun comes out. I feel its warmth on my wings…  I open them, flashing orange at any passersby.  There are none.  

Presently, I fly off across the Meadow.  What do I spy down there? Could it be Milkweed?  I zoom in for a closer look.  There to my unbelieving eyes, yes, they even have milkweed here! I can lay my eggs on the Milkweed plants right here and then go back to my California lifestyle.  No need to go anywhere else.  I have what I need right here at the Hotel California... 

Like runaway teenagers, they stayed and learned to surf the waves of the sky in California’s golden springtime..
  
See more at: http://www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com/welcome-to-the-hotel-california.html

Wildflowers, Santa Monica Mtns

Wildflowers, Santa Monica Mtns