All posts by Jan Nelson

I am a landscape designer and consultant in the Santa Cruz mountains in California. I write a weekly gardening column for the Press Banner newspaper. I am also a Calif. Advanced Certified Nursery Professional and managed The Plantworks Nursery in Ben Lomond, Ca. for 20 years.
Design trends

Enjoying the September Garden

Butterflies, hummingbirds and bees are all attracted to coneflowers.

September is a month that signals change in the garden. You can feel the weather shifting. Days are not always quite so hot and the nights are longer and cooler. Some plants are at their prime, while others are winding down for the season. I used to have a large area covered with California fuchsia. The hummingbirds would go nuts with so many bright orange flowers to visit. In my present garden I have several abutilon for them to enjoy. I can’t even count how many flowers per day the hummingbirds visit. My fragrant dwarf butterfly bush is still blooming and attracting swallowtail butterflies while the salvias are favored by birds, bees and butterflies. What other late blooming perennials would be good to include in the garden?

There’s nothing quite like adding a few new perennials to brighten up the garden. There are many that don’t require a lot of water after they become established. I recently visited a garden where the irrigation was reduced to the point that that most of the plants were barely hanging on. But there among the crispy plants were two Hot Lips salvia blooming as big as you please. This plant is popular for a reason. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees love it and it blooms for a long time. It stays compact and is a great carefree shrub for water wise gardens.

Daisy flowers always bring a smile to my face. As members of the composite family they have a flat landing surface for butterflies to land on. Coneflowers are one of my favorites. When they start blooming in the early summer I enjoy them both in the garden and as cut flowers inside. Some have a slight fragrance. Hybridizers have introduced beautiful shades of gold, yellow, orange, burgundy and coral in addition to the traditional purple and pure white. Because they are dormant in the winter they are good candidates for a garden that has summer sun but winter shade. They are not attractive to deer and are good additions to the low water garden. The clumps spread slowly and can be carefully divided after 3 or 4 years. If faded flowers are left in place, the bristly seed heads provide food for goldfinches in winter.

The herb echinacea is derived from varieties of this flower. Echinacea purpurea and other varieties are used as a fortifier of the immune system, mainly to prevent flu and minor respiratory diseases by increasing the body’s production of interferon. The roots are the part of this plant used for medicinal purposes.
Echinacea was used by Native Americans more than any other plant in the Plains States. It was used to treat snake and insect bites because of its antiseptic properties and to bathe burns. They chewed the plants roots to ease the pain of toothache. It was also used for purification. The leaves and the flowers can be used in teas as well.

Some other perennials to try are agastache or Hummingbird mint. Plant near your organic edible garden to provide nectar for pollinators as well as hummingbirds. The flowers are edible as a salad garnish, in baked goods and in cocktails while their foliage can be added to herb salads or in a cup of tea.

I like the bright flowers of Gloriosa Daisy, especially the longer lived Goldsturm variety. These perennials make good cut flowers, are tough and easy to grow. They are descended from wild plants native to the eastern U.S. but require only moderate water once established.

Gardening makes us learn new things. If you water less frequently, some plants may decline or even die eventually. Remove those that do and replace them with plants that will thrive with less water.

Design trends

Gardens for Kids, Pets and Healing

Every sunny garden should have a Butterfly Bush for kids and butterflies alike.

A garden is the perfect example of the circle of life. A garden is nature’s way of taking and giving back life to the earth. A garden represents the infinite nature of energy. I was reminded of this when a friend lost her dog to cancer and within a day of that happening my niece gave birth to her first child. A garden holds hope. And it can heal our sorrows.

I am in a garden every day. Sometimes it’s the garden of friends I’m enjoying or helping a client with theirs or strolling a public garden and of course, I am in my own little garden daily. Wherever I go I receive something from the experience and try to leave some positive energy there. What makes a garden that heals? And on the other side of the circle of life what’s important in a kid and pet friendly garden?

Through our history gardens have been used to aid in the healing process. Japanese Zen Gardens and Monastic Cloister gardens are good examples of this. Viewing natural scenes helps us reduce stress and negative emotions and replaces them with positive feelings.

To make your garden look better and make you feel better when you’re in it pay special attention to plant selection. Allow the plants to dominate with a little bit of hardscaping. Choose plants that are fragrant, colorful or soft to the touch. Plants that attract wildlife make a garden a happy place. Simple, bold mass plantings are more comforting than a wild mix of many varieties. Leave that to the cutting garden. Enclose the space to keep your thoughts inward and peaceful.

It’s just as important if you have children and pets to create a garden that is calming and relieves stress.

Picking plants for a backyard that is shared with dogs is especially important if your dog naturally nibbles on greenery or berries. Some plants are lethal while others can cause illness or vomiting. I was surprised to see so many common plants on the ASPCA website that could cause problems like carnations, primroses and geraniums. What’s safe for us like grapes and avocado are not good for dogs. Check the list to make sure the plants you are considering are safe for your dog.
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants?plant_toxicity=toxic-to-dogs

Plants near paths should have soft foliage without thorns and spines which can cause eye injury. Brittle plants like salvias should be in the center where they’ll be protected. Densely planted areas are usually avoided by dogs but planting in raised beds or mounds help, too. Pieces of driftwood placed at the front of a border will discourage them. Start with one gallon or larger plants that can stand up to a little roughhousing.

Kid friendly gardens should not contain plants that are poisonous. Sounds like a no brainer but even some of our common natives like the berries of snowberry and the leaves of Western azalea are poisonous. Non-toxic plants include abelia, abutilon, liriope, butterfly bush, hens and chicks, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis and black-eyed Susan. Better to check the poison control website if in doubt.
http://www.calpoison.org and search “plants”.

What makes a great experience for a kid in the garden? In a nutshell, you can teach children of any age about beneficial insects in a garden and other wildlife. Older kids can identify and nibble edible flowers like calendula, dianthus, nasturtiums, pansies, peas and beans. Grow flowers that kids can cut like zinnias and snapdragons and plants to touch that are soft and furry like lamb’s ears.

Kids, even older ones, like hiding places, so grow one in the garden. You can plant tall growing sunflowers in a circle, leaving a space for a “door” that kids can crawl through once the flowers have grown. Or build a simple teepee out of fallen branches or long gardening stakes and plant bean seeds around the outside. Scarlet runner beans are also good and have tender, young pods like green beans in addition to bright red flowers that attract hummingbirds. Beans grow fast and soon make a great secret hiding place.

Make your garden one everyone can enjoy.

Design trends

Low Water-Use Plants for Birds & Butterflies

Tough California native, Penstemon h. ‘Margarita BOP’ blooms spring through summer and attract scores of hummingbirds and butterflies.

It sure has been a hot summer. Starting back in May when we had a couple heat waves, the hot weather just hasn’t let up and with the changing climate we can count on more of the same. I’ve had to adjust what I used to consider tough plants for hot, sunny spots but I haven’t given up, My palette is just smaller for un-thirsty plants for birds and butterflies. I want to conserve water and also enjoy my winged friends.

mimulus auritanicus

California native plants are always a good choice for difficult areas. In addition to workhorse shrubs like manzanita, toyon, ceanothus, coffeeberry, garrya, Catalina cherry, bush lupine and Pacific wax myrtle, showy natives like salvia, buckwheat, California fuchsia, monardella, wallflower, yarrow, lavatera, penstemon and sticky monkey flower are high on my list.

Everyone should have some lavender in their garden. Hummingbirds and butterflies both favor this plant and there are new introductions every year from growers. There are dozens of new varieties to choose from. Hidcote Superior forms a bushy compact mound with sensational purple flowers in early summer. Or you might try Royal Purple, Betty’s Blue, Violet Intrigue, Sachet or Royal Velvet. Goodwin Creek is an old stand-by that blooms from spring to late fall with deep violet blue flowers. For midsummer bloom plant Grosso which is a widely planted commercial variety in France and Italy. It’s possibly the most fragrant lavender of all. Spanish lavender blooms spring into summer if sheared. By planting an assortment of lavenders you can have a succession of flowers throughout the season.

Penstemon also lure hummingbirds and butterflies to the garden. They come in a wide range of colors and varieties from native species to garden hybrids. I especially like the red flowers of Garnet and the blossoms of the native Blue Bedder.

Another long blooming, tough plant is achillea Moonshine. Butterflies love to alight on the yellow flat landing pads of this yarrow. The dense flower clusters make good cut flowers and the gray-green foliage blends with all color in the garden. Yarrow need only routine care once established. They can take some watering although they endure drought once established. Cut them back after bloom and divide when clumps get crowded.

There are so many salvias to choose from and all are great additions to a tough-love garden. Autumn sage blooms summer through fall in colors ranging from deep purple through true red to rose, pink and white. Purple Pastel is especially beautiful covering 3-4 foot plants with blossoms filled with nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies.

Those who seek true blue flowers for their gardens might try planing salvia chamaedryoides. This elegant front-of-the-border plant has silvery foliage which sets off the brilliant blue flowers. Heaviest bloom is in late spring and fall. Deadheading encourages re-bloom. This salvia is drought tolerant but blooms longer and better with a little occasional summer water.

More un-thirsty bloomers that attract either hummingbirds, butterflies or both and are easy to grow are gaura, coreopsis and homestead purple verbena. Asters, Russian sage, black-eyed Susan, bee balm, mums, autumn joy sedum and cosmos are also on the menu of our winged friends. Many of these also make good cut flowers.

Plant some new water efficient plants for color that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Afterwards spread fresh wood chips or compost to mulch the soil. This insulates and protects shallow roots from the heat of the summer sun. While keeping the soil cool, mulch slows the evaporation of water from the soil so it stays moist longer.

Where ever you garden, to provide food, nectar or berries for our winged friends be sure you have some flowering perennials.