Harvesting Native Gardens
~ Bladderpod ~ Spring entices a burst of bright yellow flowers on our native Bladderpod, attracting hummingbirds, hawk moths, gardeners, and ethnobotanists. Besides being an attractive, fire-resistant, evergreen shrub, Bladderpod produces showy clusters of flowers and inflated seed pods that can be eaten if cooked. We’ll share with you how to prepare these treats below. ♦♦♦ Part of my appreciation of our native desert plants comes from the indispensable gifts that these plants have provided for millennia to humans, wildlife, birds, insects, soils, and […]
Plant of the Month – Jan. 2018
Coffeeberry Frangula californica Plant Form: Evergreen Shrub Water Use: Low Mature Size: 5-12 ft. tall and wide Exposure: Full Sun, Part Sun Bloom Time: Spring – Summer (May-July) Native to: California, southwest Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, northern Baja (below 7000 feet) Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F Coffeeberry is touted as looking “trimmed without trimming”, although this tidy evergreen does take pruning well. This long-lived California native, also known as California Buckthorn, grows naturally in a wide range of habitats, with many available varieties, so […]
Plant of the Month: Dec. 2012
Toyon, Christmas Berry Heteromeles arbutifolia Plant Form: Evergreen shrub/tree Water Use: Low Mature Size: 8-10’ (to 25’) tall & 8-10’ wide Exposure: Full Sun, Part sun Bloom Time: June – August Native to: Southern California Hardiness: Cold Hardy to 0° F Toyon, also called Christmas Berry and California Holly, is an evergreen shrub or small tree from California’s chaparral communities. This very adaptable, dense shrub is valued for its holly-like foliage, clusters of white flowers in summer, and […]
