I've been having lots of fun finding and exploring some spectacular wildflower meadows around the bay area over the last couple weeks. one I found in napa the other day was particularly stunning. I've identified as many of the plants as I can, and will continue to id those which I haven't narrowed down to species yet. I welcome any and all help in doing this.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/sets/72157616071057831/
I attended the native plant garden workshop in lafayette last saturday and I've been just itching to try all kinds of new things since then. i could barely stay in my seat towards the end of the day - I was so excited to go out and try some of the ideas which were coming to me - inspired by a fantastic panel of speakers/presenters. that event should be reproduced all over the state.
I've been making lists of the wildflowers I find in these meadows to help guide my seed purchases next fall and winter as well as to help me design and create better wildflower meadows for folks.
some plants of note which I am finding to be really key to a successful meadow are:
Lupines - both shrubby and herbaceous perennial ones as well as annual ones are so essential to native meadows here in california. there are so many different species - all of them so spectacular and relatively easy. you want to select ones which are appropriate to your site, because they don't all work everywhere - especially over several years.
Native clovers - the more I learn about our native clovers, the more I want to use them in place of aggressive grasses to create beautiful meadows. a few great ones are perennial, but most are annual, and many are easy to grow although increasingly rare in the wild. almost none of them are found regularly in native landscapes and they really should be. the foliage alone is reason to grow these plants, never mind their beautiful flowers and important wildlife value.
I've also been seeing the incredibly beautiful trees and shrubs around the meadows - what an important element to consider when designing a meadow. by placing certain types of trees on the edges of your meadow, you create habitats for entire gropus of meadow plants which might not thrive in full sun. for example, I can't wait to use Thalictrum fendleri - meadow rue, aquilegia eximia, and claytonias - under elderberry, hoptree, or dogwoods on the edge of a 'meadow'.
if I had to choose one plant which is the most important for establishing a wildflower meadow in a yard, it would be the claytonias - particularly miners lettuce and all it's subspecies and varieties. while exploring a really special place near livermore the other day, I found a bunch of them growing together which had the brightest red foliage I've ever seen. I don't know if it's a particular subspecies or variety, but I did get some seed and can't wait to see what it does after I plant it next year. I've begun to grow either miners lettuce or one of the claytonias in just about every garden I build. I think that miners lettuce has an amazing ability to help other plants around it establish well. I think it may work as a living [and then dead by summer if not irrigated] mulch around the plants it grows near. it's very easy and spreads like crazy wherever it likes the conditions, but I can't think of a more beautiful [albeit seasonal] groundcover. several years ago, I noticed that the native grasslands in hunter-ligget were full of claytonias - perfoliata, gypsophiloides, exigua, ssp. rubra, etc… and I've really loved the look of them ever since.
if you'd like see some photos of the meadows I've been exploring lately, check out this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/sets/72157616071057831/
I've also posted many photos to the calypteanna photo group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/662491@N20/pool/
and the naturescape gardening group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/929457@N23/pool/
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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7 comments:
Your photos are stunning - I look forward to following your blog, and learning more about enjoying and growing native Californian plants
BTW I'm trying to start a little meadow so I'm reading with interest. I have a lot of Miner's Lettuce growing natively on my property, on the shadier side - it's just popping this year. But I've been yanking every clover I see because I have so many weeds. I don't know the native ones and wonder if any of the ones I'm yanking are natives. Any tips on recognizing native clovers?
Also I tried Lupines - but so did the bunnies who live on my slope. They won!
Great job on your new blog Pete! Can you tell me which clover you recommend for meadows? Will they take full sun?
I just started my own blog too. Please check it out: http://expressgarden.com/html/blog.html
Great fun! Love the photos. Just keep going, you'll be at 1000 posts in no time I'm sure.
thanks for your comments everyone!
in answer: don't give up on the lupines yet! every lupine is different and some attract bunnies and others snails - like magnets. but others won't. if you tried the annual lupinus bicolor, then try the perennial lupinus albifrons this time. you can always put a cage around it until it is big enough to fend for itself - easily in less than a year. there are many others too. spread the seed from the miners lettuce throughout your meadow - in full sun as well as in shade. give it a little more water the first year. they will really help other things survival. clovers are very hard to identify and i'm new to it. learn the most common ones first - which are pretty easy - tomcat clover [trifolium wildenovii], coast clover[t. wormskjoldii], the sack clovers [t. fucatum ssp. many], tree clover, etc. and plant them! they are probably not there yet, unless you live on pristine native lands.
the coast clover is probably the best meadow clover - it's perennial w/ huge, gorgeous flowers but it needs a bit of irrigation esp. at first.
Thanks, for the info, Pete - I might have coast clover here - I'll have to try and key out one I've left growing, using Thomas -- "Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California." We're not pristine, but we're pretty wild. (Now there's a motto for life! - but I mean the local habitats not my lifestyle.)
I intend to gather seeds from local wild lupines - they are gray and perennial (I'll resort to Thomas again. This time I'll cage for bunnies - last time I caged for deer. Thanks for the encouragement - C.mouse
those are most likely lupinus albifrons. be sure to catch the seeds just as they become mature [the pods will pop open in your hands. i sometimes put nylons over maturing pods.] you'll get much better germination if you put these seeds in hot water and leave them to soak for a couple of days before planting them. never fertilize lupines.
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