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Carex pansa and other Lawn Substitutes

I lucked out the other day when I was invited on the spur of the moment to visit a garden in Felton. I was at her daughters house to help with some design ideas for the backyard when the offer came that maybe I would like to see how her no mow-no water carex pansa lawn was doing at the end of the summer. Would I? I jumped at the chance.

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Blue ground morning glory in perennial border

Located only a couple blocks away, Michele Mosher?s garden was a real treat to visit. You can tell in an instant a garden that has been created and nurtured by a plant lover. It was truly a work of art. Each path wound between beds with just the perfect mix of shrubs and perennials. Chocolate cosmos bloomed alongside sedum ?Autumn Joy? and caught my eye right away. Blue ground morning glory, honey bush, salvia guaranitica starred in some beds. She told me she hasn?t watered the lamb?s ears, phormium, lavender, ceanothus, rosemary and salvia ?Bee?s Bliss? this summer.

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carex pansa at end of summer- no mow and no water

On the far side of Michele?s carex pansa meadow she grows a border or society garlic and blue fescue grass. She has not watered her meadow at all this year. Although browning in spots now it didn?t look bad at all. She told me that she did mow occasionally while it was becoming established in order make it thicker but prefers the meadow look. Also weed control at first was important but now she does virtually no weeding at all. Michele planted her carex pansa lawn from plugs.

Native turf grasses can work as a play surface for children mowed at two to three inches high. If allowed to grow naturally, the clumpy, meadow-like nature of this type of turf would be a tripping hazard for most play activities.

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sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and other perennials

Lawns like carex pansa and other no-mow native grasses such as blue grama, California and red fescue and bent grass don’t need constant mowing to stay short. A handfull of trims per year, depending on the site, will suffice. Carex pansa forms a 6-8″ high mat of narrow, dark green leaves that are moderately tolerant of foot traffic and excellent between pavers and stepping stones. Occasional shearing keeps it looking it’s best but can be left alone with no mowing at all. This grass only needs an occasional irrigation to keep it green.
Other meadow grasses to walk on include buffalo grass, catlin sedge, carex texensis, Berkeley sedge and valley meadow sedge. All grow 4-8″ tall and can be either left alone on mowed every so often. They are tough enough for soccer games yet soft enough for bare feet.

If you’ve decided that you don’t need a traditional grass lawn anymore at all, replace it with a sustainable alternative like Michele did to save water and time.

berries, California Native Plants, cover crops, edibles, fertilizing, gardening tips, growing edibles, perennials, propagating plants, September garden to-do's, transplanting, Uncategorized

Late Summer Tasks for the Garden

It?s darker in the mornings now with the sunset coming earlier each evening. All that time I thought I?d have back in June to get things accomplished in the garden has vanished in what seems like a wink of an eye. Still the weather these days is perfect for being outside and pecking away at my to do list. There are also some late summer/early fall tasks that need attention.

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Alstroemeria ‘Rock & Roll’

Now through October, divide summer blooming perennials like alstroemeria, agapanthus, coreopsis, iris, daylily, yarrow, rudbeckia, calla lily, aster and penstemon that are overgrown and not flowering well. You can also divide spring blooming perennials like candytuft, columbine, astilbe, bergenia and bleeding heart although they don’t always bloom the first spring afterwards due to the energy they use re-establishing themselves. Start perennial flowers seeds now so that they will be mature enough to bloom next year.

This is the perfect time for transplanting or adding new plants to your garden. Why? Cooler air is kinder to plant foliage and soil temperatures are still warm which creates an excellent environment for new root growth. In the fall many plants and trees, even broadleaf evergreens, are entering a period of dormancy. With no need to allocate resources into foliage, plants are transferring all their energy into roots and storing nutrients for the cool months ahead. By spring, the new roots system should be well established.

Perhaps it’s time to remove or reduce lawn. Replant with more drought tolerant ornamental grasses or perennials.

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Achillea millefolium

Fertilize shrubs lightly one last time with an all-purpose organic fertilizer or layer of compost. This advice doesn?t apply to California natives. They like compost only around the roots during the winter while they get ready for their growing season.

Roses especially appreciate a bit of fertilizer now, encouraging them to bloom another round in the fall. To keep them blooming make a habit of pinching and pruning off old flowers. Always cut back to an outward facing branchlet with five leaves. There are hormones there that will cause a new flower bud to grow much sooner than if you cut to one with only three leaves.

Plant cool season veggie starts like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, spinach, brussels sprouts, onions and leeks in soil enriched with 4-6″ of compost as summer vegetable crops will have used up much of your soil’s nutrients.You can sow seeds of beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, arugula, mustard and peas directly in the ground.

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Soil builder cover crop mix

If you aren’t going to grow vegetables in the garden this fall consider planting a cover crop like crimson clover, fava or bell beans after you’ve harvested your summer vegetables.

Cut back berries vines that have produced fruit. Canes of the current season should be trained in their place.

Spider mites are especially prolific during hot, dry weather. Sometimes you don’t even know how bad the infestation is until all your leaves are pale with stippling. Periodically rinse dust and dirt off leaves with water. Spray the undersides of infected leaves with organics like insecticidal soap switching to neem oil if they build up a resistance to one of the pesticides.

And whatever you do, enjoy being outside in this beautiful place we call home.

birds, California Native Plants, California natives for containers, container gardening, Uncategorized

California Natives for Containers

My ambitious plans to augment this garden here in Bonny Doon with California natives and colorful plants to attract birds and wildlife is not turning out exactly as I?d pictured. I thought that I had licked my gopher problem by planting everything in baskets. Not so, now they just come up next to their plant of choice at night and eat whole thing from the top, dragging the rest down into their neat little hole while leaving the root still snug in its basket. Hopefully, some will regrow from the roots.

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Western azalea

But I?m not giving up on planting for the birds and bees. I?ve got plans to increase my container garden collection. Gardening in containers is easy. I can control the soil, water and light and the gophers can?t undermine my efforts. There are a lot of California native plants that do well in containers and I?m going to place them where both the birds and I can enjoy them.

For some of my largest containers I?ll choose from natives like Western Azalea, Deer Grass, Chaparral Pea or Giant Chain Fern. Any of the taller growing ceanothus and manzanita would look great too by themselves or combined with smaller growing plants.

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Mimulus ‘Jelly Bean Gold’

For small to medium containers I can use Conejo Buckwheat, Hummingbird Mint, Penstemon Heterophyllos, Mimulus, Woolly Blue Curls or Coastal Daisy, These combine well with colorful Lewisia, Dog Violets or Wild Strawberry.

I might combine a madrone with a Canyon Gray Coastal Sagebrush – Artemisia californica – which grows about a foot high and will trail over the side of the container adding beautiful gray color to contrast with the rich green of the other leaves. I also like the combination of California Hazelnut, Deer Fern, Redwood Sorrel and Wild Ginger.

Some of the most dramatic containers utilize the concept of combining a thriller, some fillers and spiller or two. Not all my containers will use this formula but I seem to be drawn to those that do. Plants in nature can be quite random in the way they grow together and still be lovely. Containers need a bit more order to dazzle and direct the eye.

Thrillers act as the centerpiece of a container. They are usually big, bold and beautiful. Giant Elk Clover is one such California native that is an attention getter. Chilopsis linearis-Desert Willow is another great subject for containers as it is slow growing and beautiful in leaf and flower. Other architectural natives that will catch your eye as the centerpiece of a container are Hibiscus or Rose Mallow and Pacific Dogwood. The thriller goes in the center of the pot or if your container will be viewed from only one side it goes in the back.

Next come the fillers. They can be foliage or flowering plants but they should complement and not overwhelm your largest plant. Usually they have a mounding shape and I?ll plant several around the thriller. Good fillers include Heuchera Maxima and Western Maidenhair Fern.

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California fuchsia

The last plants I?ll add are the spillers which are small and will soften the edge of the container. Redwood Sorrel, Wild Ginger and Miner?s Lettuce are good choices. California Fuchsia would look spectacular with its red or orange flowers and grey foliage spilling down the side of my container.

The best overall soil mix for natives in containers sharp sand and horticultural pumice added to a good potting soil. Never use perlite or that puffed up pumice because it will float and look terrible. Happy Container Gardening.