Category: California Native Plants

December Blooms in Southern California!

December Blooms in Southern California!

| December 18, 2014 | 10 Replies

December Blooms in Southern California! While many gardens are buried in snow or frost, and gardeners are dreaming of their spring gardens, a few plants are blooming in the Late Bloomer garden and I thought I would share. Hopefully, they will offer a little sunshine into your day! As I didn’t plant a full-scale winter […]

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Morning Impressions with Monarchs

Morning Impressions with Monarchs

| October 21, 2014 | 2 Replies

Morning impressions with monarchs began my day. I spotted a pineapple guava yesterday and thought this morning it would look nice when the first rays of sun kissed it. As I was photographing it, just after the sun rose past my neighbor’s tree, I remarked (to myself) that I hadn’t seen many Monarch caterpillars, considering that […]

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Grow a Native Meadow in Your Yard

Grow a Native Meadow in Your Yard

| August 13, 2014 | Reply

“Grow a Native Meadow in Your Yard” is the latest and 50th episode of “Late Bloomer!” Kaye shows the growth of her parkway native mini-meadow over the course of a year. Soil health, biodiversity (providing food for wildlife) and water conservation are three reasons to create a meadow in your urban garden. And the best reason, if you […]

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Late Bloomer – Summer Garden Update – Part 1

Late Bloomer – Summer Garden Update – Part 1

| September 17, 2013 | Reply

Late Bloomer – Summer Garden Update – Part 1 covers what you can grow in 300 square feet in a front yard, in this case, amaranth, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, tomatoes, California native plants and more. The Nanday Conure wild parrot flock return to destroy Kaye’s sunflowers, and amaranth shoots survive transplant. Kaye tries flytraps […]

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A Native Meadow in My Front Yard?

A Native Meadow in My Front Yard?

| June 25, 2013 | 14 Replies

A native meadow in my front yard? Really? Well, I am giving it a try! I have become a fan of Grow Native Nursery in Westwood (an extension of non-profit Santa Ana Botanic Garden) which sells California Native Plants, and I had Ryan who works there, also a horticultural consultant, come to my front yard and […]

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On Monarchs, Blueberries and Birthdays

On Monarchs, Blueberries and Birthdays

| October 23, 2012 | 7 Replies

Today, October 22nd, is the 22nd birthday of my son, Walker. He’s a senior at Stanford, and I’d hoped to be up there, but the life of a college athlete is very busy, and he didn’t think he would even have time to dine with me. So, I am not going to see him in […]

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Gardens of Woodside – Episode 14

Gardens of Woodside – Episode 14

| July 19, 2012 | 5 Replies

Kaye gets out of her front yard garden for a little inspiration, and visits beautiful Woodside, California. In this episode, she checks out the Woodside Library California Native Plant Garden and the Woodside Elementary School garden. With guest, teacher Brian Myrtetus. Watch here or higher resolution on YouTube.

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Create an Insectiary!

Create an Insectiary!

| July 17, 2012 | 4 Replies

Create an insectiary in your garden to attract beneficial insects! In “Wild Farm,” episode 15 of “Late Bloomer,” we meet Lisa Putnam and her sister Kathleen, who are master gardeners and they take us on a tour of Lisa’s family farm in Woodside, CA. Lisa explained that her insectiary brings in beneficial insects which eat the […]

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Insectiary – Parrots

Insectiary – Parrots

| July 15, 2012 | 1 Reply

I’ve been wanting to plant some California native plants that would bring in beneficial insects for my vegetable garden. On my search for a native milkweed, I found Grow Native Nursery in Westwood.    https://www.facebook.com/GNNWestwood. This is one type of Solanum, which should bloom from July to December, which will be nice as other natives […]

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