Welcome to my first blog post on this site and my introduction. The blog, as the title states, is about gardening with native plants in one of the most extreme Mediterranean climates on earth. Here at the northern end of the California Central Valley the summer sizzle and winter wet climate challenges the greenest of thumbs, especially when done sustainably. Since gardening has a broad definition, this blog will likely branch off in a number of interesting directions.
A major influence on who I am came during a long-distance backpacking trek. When I was nineteen years old, between first and second year of college, my oldest brother and I hiked the proposed Pacific Northwest Trail from the Continental Divide, Glacier National Park to Cape Alava, Olympic National Park and the westernmost point of the contiguous United States, 800 miles in two months. There were four of us, then three, and then two who finished. By my count, we were the 6th and 7th people during the modern era to hike this proposed trail (1979). I took a year off after college to finish a manuscript, yet to be published. The idea of infusing comparisons between 1979 and now would provoke much thought and hopefully even more interest for the reader. I should make this a priority.
My horticulture path started in earnest during fall 2003 when I enrolled in the newly offered, after work Master Gardener class at Shasta Community College. After finishing the course I earned most of my Master Gardener volunteer hours, necessary to complete certification, at Turtle Bay Arboretum and Nursery and eventually served on the Turtle Bay Arboretum Council for many years. I also joined the Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, rose to a stint on the Executive Board, and showed our home garden on the chapter’s 2015 garden tour. Also, in 2015 my brother and I joined a week-long immersion course in Yosemite National Park and became University of California certified Naturalists. Given my privilege of lifelong experiential learning, I feel capable and compelled to address the intersections between native plants, gardening, science, ecology, environment, climate, and culture, ultimately presenting a more encompassing view of the topic at hand.
A goal of this blog is to inform and whenever appropriate ask the question, “Why?” If I know the why, then my interest peaks, and I remember so much better. If you have gardening topics needing the light of a day, contact us, and we will add them to the list. Some of the current ideas for blog posts are:
· Right plant, right place, right time, and right purpose
· Thoughtful and intentional gardening
· The importance of observation
· Nursery Best Management Practices and why
· Bigger nursery plants are not always better
· Why native plants? - a top trend in horticulture and …
· Climate adapted vs drought tolerant plants
· Plant maintenance - key
· Keystone species
· A culture – less than perfect is okay
· Sustainability – using fewer resources; gardening with Nature
· Ecology – the big picture
· Native plant of the month
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