Category Archives: Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon, Bonny Doon gardens

Enchanting Gardens in the Mountains

Step into another world in Bonny Doon when you visit seven breathtaking and unique gardens that will be the stars of the Valley Churches United benefit garden tour on Sunday June 10th from 10am to 5pm. Here is just a glimpse of what you can expect.

Gardening shed decorated with garage sale items

I?ve shared many a delicious meal under a shade tree in the garden of Kate Smith and Bill Whiting. What I didn?t know about this beautiful 5 acre garden is that when Kate and Bill bought the property in 1981 they had no idea it had a panoramic view of the bay. You should see the view now. This garden features colorful perennial beds, many varieties of succulents scattered throughout and a gazebo that will soon be covered with a soft yellow Lady Bank?s roses. Kate has planted hundreds of blooming plants in pots to outwit her nemesis, the bunnies. The storage shed is straight out of Alice in Wonderland covered with garden art, planters, baskets filled with flowers and just about anything that a garage sale and a little paint could provide.

wisteria arbor leading to veggie garden and chicken coup

Another garden I?ve visited many a time is that of Nancy and Ed Lambing. Ed is a past president of Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai club and he?ll be on hand to show you his bonsai collection. The koi pond and faux rock soaking tub and pool are inviting. A long pink wisteria covers the pergola leading to the vegetable garden and the chicken coup. Each plant is trimmed perfectly with a groundcover chosen to complement it. You can get lost in this garden.

just one of many blooming rhododendrons

The Walker-Kent residence is another garden that takes your breath away. During the last 40 years Seba and James have created a garden that matches the inside of their story-book house. From the succulent garden to the roses scattered throughout to the veggie garden and perennial beds this garden goes on and on with something interesting and beautiful at every turn. Their calla lilies are some of the most robust I?ve ever seen and there is a staghorn fern hanging from a pine tree that is over 3 feet across. James uses manure to fertilize that comes from a ranch with horses, cows, bison and goats in Soquel. The results are incredible.

Speaking of animals you have to visit the garden of Georgia Randle and enjoy her two donkeys: Melvin who?s a bit overweight and elderly Mitzi who has arthritis. This 5 acre property features a huge picnic area under the trees, a meandering shade garden, a small koi pond and a beautiful rose garden with over 40 specimens. I spent quite a bit of time smelling each one to choose the most fragrant.

path lined with pincushion protea

Another garden that can?t be missed is the Sabankaya residence, known as ?The Castle?. Theresa showed me around the flower beds she uses for her cut flower business. The Pincushion protea are in full bloom and Theresa explained that when planted in a spot they like she doesn?t have to care for them at all. The salvia in this garden are 30 feet across as is the yellow brugmansia that adorns the path to the chicken coup.

Then there?s the Howe residence off Smith Grade with it?s fabulous paths, shade garden, roses, orchard and vineyard. A stunning variegated dogwood graces the from gate here.

Last but not least is the Bixler garden with its metal and ceramic sculptures, double chicken coup decorated with
egg beaters and a mega collection of egg cups. There are so many unusual vignettes in this garden. You have to see it for yourself.

So take a short ride up to Bonny Doon to visit these lovely gardens and benefit Valley Churches United at the same time. Tickets are $20 and are available at most nurseries.

Bonny Doon, Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, fire safe landscaping, Martin Fire of 2008

Firesafe Landscaping – Part I

With the recent heat wave and the fires burning now in Southern California I?m reminded of our vulnerability to wildfires. The Martin Fire of 2008 and the Lockheed fire of 2009 together burned over 8,000 acres. I often hike in Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve and live close-by where these fires occurred. There?s a large, burned manzanita along the trail that serves as a grim reminder of the devastation that wildfire left in it?s wake. The skeleton-like manzanita, ponderosa pine and many other plants are regrowing from seed left in the soil. The fire was so hot it killed even the plant crowns preventing many of them from re-sprouting. I?ve been monitoring the regrowth for years and it?s progressing nicely but you don?t want this to happen to your property. Is there a landscape that is safer in a wildfire than another? Which plants burn more readily?

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Manzanita burned in Martin Fire. Bonny Doon 2008 – photo taken in 2012 in Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve

Many people think they have to clear everything within 30 feet of their house to truly have a defensible space. This is unnecessary and actually unacceptable due to soil erosion and habitat destruction reasons. We want to retain the character of this beautiful area we live in, provide the food and shelter that our native wildlife are accustomed to but also reduce fire risk. For example, grasslands mowed to leave 4-6″ of height allow insects, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals shelter, food and a place to reproduce. Leaving 4-6″ standing also provides some erosion protection and shades out some of the weeds that follow disturbance.

Fire safe landscaping is a term used to describe defensible space. It can look like a traditional landscape. The idea is to surround the home with things less likely to burn and place them to provide separation between canopies and avoid creating fire ladders. Highly flammable plants should be placed, whenever possible, with low-growing and/or low fuel plants.

Many homes may not have 30 ft. between their house and the property line but following these guidelines will help. Plants in this area need to be the slowest to ignite and should produce the least amount of heat if they do burn. There are plants with some fire resistance which include drought tolerant California natives and Mediterranean climate selections. The key to fire resistance, though, is maintenance and keeping the moisture in the foliage high.

burned tree 2015
Same manzanita showing surrounding regrowth in 2015

For example, Baccharis pilularis or dwarf coyote brush is generally considered highly flammable if its lush green top growth covers a hazardous tangle of dry branches and leaves several feet high. Trim this plant down low in early spring, remove the dry undergrowth, follow with a light feeding and watering and the new top growth is now resistant to fire.

Other considerations may be as important such as appearance, ability to hold the soil in place and wildlife habitat value. Some fire-resistant California friendly plants are western redbud, monkey flower, ceanothus, sage, yarrow, lavender, toyon, California fuchsia and wild strawberry. Also consider coffeeberry, flowering currant, bush anemone, snowberry, California wax myrtle and evergreen currant. Fire resistant plants from areas include rockrose, strawberry tree, Chinese pistache, barberry, escallonia, oleander, pittosporum, bush morning glory and wisteria to name just a few.

Keep your landscaping firesafe to protect your home.

Bonny Doon, Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, butterfly plants, California Native Plants, Climate change, Design trends, drought tolerant gardens, drought tolerant plants, dry shade, low water use plants, right plant-right spot, sustainable gardening, water saving techniques

Climate Smart Plants for the Garden

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Climate smart verbena lilacina with blue oat grass

All this talk about ?drought tolerant? plants or ?water smart? plants is misleading in some ways. What really matters for the success of a plant in your garden is that they are climate smart. You can call the new California garden climate tolerant or climate adapted but it all comes down to the same thing. The plants you choose to grow in your garden should be able to naturally tolerate periods of lower than average water. This doesn?t mean no water during extremely long dry periods. No plant can live without water.

I have two books that I look to for plant ideas when called upon to design a garden in our area. This first was published by East Bay MUD in 2004 and is called ?Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates?. The other book I refer to regularly for ideas and information is ?California Native Plants for the Garden?. Both are invaluable in these times of water conservation. One of the best tips each of them offer is to garden where you live.

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Philadelphus lewesii near Felton Covered Bridge.

All of us live in a summer-dry climate. Summer-dry gardens are naturally dry for long periods. Knowing which type of plant community you live in can make the difference between success and failure in your garden. Choose the right plant for the right place whether it?s a California native from an area with similar soil and exposure or a plant from another Mediterranean-like climate with growing conditions like yours.

Plant communities have evolved over time with geologic changes in climate, topography and soils. We have several district areas here- mixed evergreen forest, redwood forest, chaparral and sandhills.

If you live in a mixed evergreen forest you garden with trees like coast live oak, tan oak, madrone, bay and buckeye. Understory plants include ceanothus, coffeeberry, hazel and poison oak. Your soil contains serpentine and granite. Many other unthirsty plants like salvias, lavender, santolina, society garlic, giant feather grass, rosemary and rockrose do well here. California natives such as western mock orange (philadelphus lewisii), wild ginger and western sword ferns grow here also.

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Iris douglasiana (Pacific Coast Iris)

Mixed evergreen forest may also be found along canyon bottoms near streams where big leaf maple, white alder, cottonwood, and western sycamore trees grow. Most plant here grow lush in this deep soil. If you are looking to add something new to your garden here consider giant chain fern, aquilegia, dicentra, Pacific Coast iris and fuchsia-flowering gooseberry.

Chaparral areas are the hottest, driest slopes of these mountains. Dense thickets of manzanita, coyote brush, chamise, coffeeberry, ceanothus, monkey flower and sage are native here. These plants are adapted to little water and often have tiny, thick, waxy, light green or grayish leaves. Soils tend to be rocky and shallow with overlaying rock or a subsoil that is mostly clay. Plants here need to have an extensive root system that reaches widely and deeply for water. If you live here a classic combination would be the spring blooming western redbud and Julia Phelps or Dark Star ceanothus. The combination of magenta and electric blue flowers is unforgettable.

The sandhills near Quail Hollow and Bonny Doon around Martin Rd. are part of an ancient sandy sea floor that was uplifted, eroded and exposed. These sandy soils lack organic matter and nutrients and their white color magnifies the temperature of the summer sun. Unique, native plants like silverleaf manzanita and Ben Lomond wallflower live here. Buckwheat and sticky monkey flower do well here. You might also try growing Lewisia, a pretty little plant native to northern California, thrives in sand and gravel soils with good drainage. This 8″ tall hardy perennial blooms from spring to early summer with extremely showy flower clusters in colors ranging from apricot to pink, rose and bright cherry red. Mulch them with gravel or crushed stone.

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callistemon ‘Little John’

Remember right plant-right place. Don?t try to force nature although most gardens do look better with some summer water. Closer to the house we expect a fuller look. Combinations I?m going to try this season include leucospermum paired with blue echium or grey-leafed westringia planted with red-flowering callistemon ?Little John?.