I’m designing an open space for a HOA for their housing tract. I’m planning on a central sitting area connected by a series of paths and surrounded by large flat Sonoma fieldstone rocks for sitting. This will be a challenging project as the plants used will not only have to be drought tolerant but will receive no irrigation at all after they are established. The site is browsed by deer so the plants will also need to be deer resistant and gopher resistant. . I think the concept I’ve developed will work and be useful for the residents.
All posts by Jan Nelson
Coast Redwood region
This May I hiked the trail in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton, Ca. I usually hike the trails from the San Lorenzo river side of the park off Hwy 9 but this time I entered from the chaparral side on Graham Hill. I was in search of the Western azalea that I heard grew along the trail. I am planning to use the photos in my upcoming book : ‘The Mountain Gardener: 21 Tips for Successful Gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains‘. During the first half of the day I didn’t come across any azaleas. After taking a break at the river and painting a watercolor, my friend Evan and I started back. It was on the return hike up the trail that I started to see the bright green leaves of hundreds of azalea plants. Only a few in the sun were flowering which is how I missed them on the way down. Now that I know where they are you can be sure I’ll be at that spot next spring to see the display. Hopefully, it will be a wetter winter and more of them will be flowering.
Rana Creek
Recently I had the opportunity to tour Rana Creek Nursery in Carmel Valley that grows native plants for restoration projects, green roofs and bioponds. They designed and installed the green roof at the California Academy of Science Museum in Golden Gate park in San Francisco. Over 1 million native plants were grown for this roof scheduled to open Oct. 2008.