What IS the California Native Tree with Leaves which Emerge Red, and slowly turn Green and Yellow Flowers which turn Crimson?

YES, it's TRUE! we have a real stunner in the RED variety of Bigleaf Maple - Acer macrophylla.

The leaves emerge a deep, blood red and slowly turn a bronzy green. At the same time, bright yellow [chartreuse] drupes of flowers emerge with the leaves and then over a few days turn bright crimson as the samaras emerge from the flowers. If you catch them in their glory [which lasts at least a couple of weeks right around now], they are easily one of the most beautiful native American trees.

The strange thing is, most people are not even aware of it. I haven't found any mention of it anywhere, but a well-known botanist friend told me that it is recognized by a few of them. I have been growing them from seed for the last couple of years and they grow very quickly and so far, all the leaves have come out true [the saplings from seeds from a red tree retain the red coloration]. I've included in the link above, photos of both the red one and the much more common green one [which is also very beautiful]. Take a look at them and use the slidshow feature in the upper right hand corner to see them more clearly.

Another very attractive feature of the bigleaf maple is the beautiful silvery-gray- and a little black bark. Although usually found in stream bottoms where the water table is very high, it's also found on ridgetops all around the Bay Area. It's surprisingly drought-tolerant once established but you can give it an occasional deep watering in the summer so that it retains it's leaves longer in the fall - which you DO want, because they turn wonderful shades of creamy orange and butter yellow - and totally cheery!

If you'd like more info or to purchase one of these trees, contact me at pete@eastbaywilds.com
thanks! please comment, if you feel like it.

Spring Wildflower Meadows as an Inspiration to Lose the Lawn

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/