Leslie Patten Books: Wild Places, Sacred Spaces

Radiant Heat

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Leslie

Its time for another post about beetles, clearcuts, burns, and all that goes with that.

Beetles are demolishing the conifers of our western forests. Rising temperatures, years of fire suppression policies, and natural cycles contribute to these changes in our forests. Its also worth saying that conifers have been around for eons of time, way before insects and angiosperms were on this planet. At one time you can imagine the whole world covered with conifers. Their successful strategy of being wind pollinated has allowed them to disperse and survive.

So what’s the fuss?

In the end its all about saving structures. Man-made structures like our homes. And money of course. I don’t disagree with that in essence. But I do think there is a way to work with nature, taking as much into account as is humanly possible.

Because there is money from the state only this year, rather than over 5 years time, my neighbors had incentive to almost clear cut the forest on their properties, for essentially free. But the caveat was that the loggers got the dollars and useable wood, leaving the slash piles for the homeowners to take care of. Thus, there are humongous piles all over the woods now, if you could call what’s left ‘woods’. And the homeowners are trying to figure out what to do with these piles.

Wow, what a gigantic slash pile in front of my house in my neighbor's yard

I too was given the same incentive, but chose not to use a logging company and am looking towards doing my project in a lighter way. Of course, I don’t have the intense forest of spruce and dead fall they had. What I have is a more sparse population of Limber Pines, suffering from Blister Rust and some beetle kill.

Last year on my own I began limbing up trees starting with those around my upper cabin, with the intention of over the course of 5 years, completely limbing up all the pines. Limbing them up to 5-6′ might help the pines fend off the rust. My logic is for two reasons: first they avoid contact with the Ribes that likes to grow under and next to the pines. Ribes is a host for the rust. Second, since the rust is a type of fungus, air circulation can never hurt in helping fight fungus.

When the state forester saw I’d started limbing around the cabin, he and the fire chief were happy. Its a good step in fire prevention as well.

This year I’m selectively cutting and burning those pines that have active beetles, heavily. Its been easy to identify. The trees have pitch tubes where they are trying to pitch out the beetles. The ones that have a plethora of pitch tubes probably won’t make it. We’re cutting those and burning them on the spot.

Burn on my property

I also have trees from last year that succumbed to beetles. I’m cutting those selectively, burning the debris and using the rest as firewood. The beetles have already flown from those trees.

Then I’ll continue to limb up all the trees and burn the slash. Finally, we’ll do a night burn where we’ll fix a perimeter and burn a low fuel ground fire to clean up the soil, making it fresh for new nutritious native grasses and the young seedlings I plan to plant to replace those that died.

I’ve noticed there are few young trees amidst the old. I’ve read that in the White Pine family, as the Clarks Nutcracker distributes the seeds, the most successful germination rates are on new burn areas. Maybe that is why there are so few seedlings here, as there hasn’t been a burn in probably over 100 years.

I didn’t own any of that spruce forest that I loved to walk in daily.

Devastated spruce forest after intensive beetle logging

Filled with owls, moose, turkeys, deer, black bears, coyotes, martens, squirrels and endless other creatures, I’d see their sign, hear their sounds, and know they found cover and food there. Now the forest looks like a vast hurricane-like force came whipping through it. And although nature herself can deal some devastating blows, it didn’t have to go down this way. I would have made it a 5 year plan, slowly clearing with intention so that areas could grow in with willows and choke cherries, alders and native grasses, keeping cover as I cleared successively.

The forest now. There will be lots of blow down still to come

So what’s the fuss? Sure, it will grow back in time, although not in my time here. We humans are like a hurricane. It takes discipline and conscious effort to go forth gently. As the old adage goes: Destroying is easy. Any one can do that. Yet creating and sustaining takes work, nurturing and love. And that is what makes us truly human.

Filed under: Fires | Tagged: Fire, Pine beetles | Leave a comment »

Right as Rain

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Leslie

Its Valentines’ Day and I’m finally home.

The day was clear and beautiful. I awoke to a small bit of fresh snow and a beautiful fiery sunrise.

: Sunrise over Dead Indian

Last night I watched the elk that overwinter in my valley. I heard the recent G&F count was 1460. They come down from the Park when the weather pushes them out. This year, as last year, they were a bit on the ‘late’ side. At dusk and dawn they come out of the tree cover to feed. Here’s a herd of about 700.

: Just a small part of the large elk herd behind my house

: More elk

: Beautiful elk in their winter clothing

The herd is almost exclusively cows and their calves with a few young males, called ‘spikes’ because their antlers are barely branched, if at all.

The whole day the wolves were howling in the valley. Its mating season and I suppose its also Valentines Day for them too.

We felled some beetle infested trees on my property and did a burn that lasted till after dusk. The wolves howled. The air was still and clear. The ash fell like snowflakes. Elk grazed on the flats up above and a lone Great Horned Owl called in the low light of the sky. I’m back and everything is right as rain.

: Brush fire

Filed under: Cody Environs, Fires | Tagged: Elk, Fire, Wolf, Wyoming | 1 Comment »

Tracking Club of Marin at Point Reyes

Posted on January 31, 2010 by Leslie

Sorry I forgot my camera.

This morning I finally made it to Tracking Club, a group I used to frequent when I lived here full time. The last Sunday of every month the club meets out at Abbots’ Lagoon in Point Reyes. The club leaders are fabulous, many schooled personally by Jon Young, Tom Brown, or Mark Elbroch. Stations are set up beforehand, people divided into groups, and off we go.

Abbot’s Lagoon is part of Point Reyes National Seashore and a protected sandy dune beach full of habitat. Its a mile walk out to the lagoon and the tracking often begins with the hike out. A deer watching us from the shrubs, brush bunnies run bye, and lots of tracks and scat to explore along the way.

My first station with John took the group up along a bluff overlooking the Lagoon. As we slowly ascended, John pointed out some scat at a crossroads of trails.

“If you were an animal, which way might you travel here? What would you be doing? Why do you think the scat is right in the middle of several trail crossings?” The method is to question, not to answer. The technique is to get us to think, explore, be interested, become the animal itself, whatever one it might be. Looked like an old bobcat latrine to me, marking his/her territory.

Higher up we saw some small holes and a ledge with bird droppings, what looked like old pellets, and nearby on the same outcropping was mustelid type scat. John asked us questions about color, aging, smell, and what we thought the story might have been here. “Look at the whole environment, all the surroundings”, he kept gently reminding us.

The next station was a muddy trail full of wonderful tracks, some perfect. Perfect sets of skunk tracks abounded there and a discussion pursued regarding skunk gait–this was a 3-4 gait–and what a lope really was. Richard got on all fours and demonstrated a skunk lope and how the gait in the mud was so different then the one we always see in the sand. Besides skunks, there were birds and several types of rodents running around that mud. “Even mice slip in the mud” Richard observed humorously.

In the final station, Melissa had us investigating an interesting set of large tracks that were grouped like a four-square. She asked us questions like “Which do you think we the hind feet?” “What differences do you notice between front and rear feet?” “How do you think this animal moved?” Three sets of tracks with long strides eventually made their way into the lagoon. “What animal might be comfortable going into the water?”

After this, without revealing the animal, we went farther up the dune where a party of these animals had taken place. Seeing the same tracks made on a slope in dry sand (vs. the wet sand below) was interesting. What the tracks looked like going uphill vs. downhill was informative. You could see where the animals finished by sliding down the dune into the water. What fun. Otters at play. And the kick-off was seeing where they had peed, scratched, then rolled in it. We all smelled that strong mustelid odor.

Later, one of the participants commented that he saw an otter in the water nearby watching us. I wondered if the otter thought it amusing that we all were smelling his pee.

I love tracking club. When I started with it, over 3 years ago, the attendance was small, less than 10 people at any time. Today there were more than 30, including kids, coming from all over the Bay Area. I love the method of questioning, and taking in all the animal and plant interactions interpreted through track and sign. This will be my last class this visit. I can’t wait to do some snow tracking in Wyoming, coming up soon.

So, today we saw tracks/sign for at least these animals that I could figure out: Skunk, Otter, Coyote, various birds, assorted rodents, deer, Bobcat, Brush Bunnies. All this just in the small dunes of Abbots Lagoon.

Filed under: Tracking | Tagged: Tracking | 3 Comments »

Natives and Noxiousness

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Leslie

I’ve been lax in writing, between the holidays and just returning from New York City. Now I’m focused on getting back home to Wyoming, but first I have to install three jobs and the weather here isn’t cooperating. I’m itching to get home, but storm after storm is dumping on Northern California, and the ground’s too wet to plant.

I have been shocked at the pervasiveness of invasive broom species in the hills of Marin County where I’m staying.

Broom edging a meadow

Marin County is unique in ratio of open space. Since it gets 75% of its water directly from rainfall within the county, the watershed is protected, and Mt. Tamalpais contains 100’s of hiking trails.

Marin County. Gateway to lots of hiking, Mt. Tamalpais, Muir Woods.

I’m staying in an area not far from the main reservoirs. Koda and I take walks there daily, and in huge tracts of the hills, french broom has completely taken over. In fact, I can safely say that the broom has become an understory monoculture, crowding out smaller delicates like our Coast Iris, Phacelias, Monkey Flowers, wildflowers, and ferns.

It would take a county work day of the entire population to clear the hills

I’ve hiked and encountered signage saying ‘This is a test area’ to see what works better on the broom–propane torching or vinegar applications. In the past, volunteer work crews have gone out and using a special tool, pulled up the broom. We’ve been doing this for years and years in Marin. But the situation seems out of control to me now. Marin would have to have a work crew of every man, woman, and child living here for a full weekend and that might not even do the job.

Like the problems with Sudden Oak Death, I have to wonder if our fire suppression policies over the last many years have exacerbated these problems with invasives. Burning with reburns two to four years later for the sprouts have met with some success. But given the density of housing in the hillsides, the long term drought, and the dangers of ‘controlled burns’ getting out of hand, fire control probably won’t happen. And that is too bad, because, once again I’ll say it, the West is adapted to fire.

As a testimony to the wonderful adaptations of California plants to fire, look at this Madrone. One way to simulate fire in native plants i.e. rejuvenate them if they are in your yard, is too cut them back severely. Here is a Madrone tree that was cut to a stump by the CCC during their clearing of this hillside Madrone forest.

Arbutus, Madrone, resprouts after being cut to ground

You can do this with lots of natives. For example, one way to rejuvenate woody Baccharis pilularis is to cut it very severely, thereby simulating a fire. Native grasses enjoy this method as well.

I still feel that loss of natural, frequent, low fuel fires has compromised our landscapes. Pathogens build up in the soil; invasives take hold more easily; soil depletion occurs due to lack of nitrogen fixing plant material which is first to regenerate after a fire; understory growth has built up providing massive amounts of fuel for hotter, more deadly fires. Just compare the first photo of the monoculture of broom with the cleared Madrone forest photo. I can’t be sure but I am guessing that forest was manually cleared because it sits on a ridgeline dividing the watershed open space and a residential section in the canyon below. It probably serves as a firebreak.

Of course, all the open space can’t be hand cleared. With the massive build up of fuel in the form of invasive broom, as well as other types of chaparrel that hasn’t burned in years, Californians are preparing for some big fires ahead.

Filed under: Fires | Tagged: California natives, Fire, Marin County hiking | 2 Comments »

Yellowstone in winter

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Leslie

Planning a trip to Yellowstone? I recommend the winter!

There are so many reasons to choose winter over summer, but I’ll just give you a few.

First, the lack of crowds. Yellowstone might get 100,000 visitors a week in the summer, whereas they get that total for the whole winter.

Next, the wildlife. The wolves are roaming and highly visible in winter. In the summer they’re attending to their young and following elk to higher grounds. If you go in February, the wolves are in heat and you might catch courting and mating behavior. Even better, spring for the cash to stay at the Yellowstone Institute at the Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley and take a wolf class. You’ll get educated and see wolves.

Elk, Bison, Bald Eagles, Coyotes, Foxes…so much wildlife and it’s mighty quiet with just one road open for cars (the North Road). All the other roads are groomed for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, and there are snow coaches to take you to groomed trails. Although you can travel by snowmobile with a guide, I don’t really recommend it. It might be fun, but you can do that outside the Park. Snowmobiling is about tunnel vision, noise and speed–all things that don’t go along with wildlife watching; all things that Yellowstone has to offer.

Thermal features in the winter are amazing. The deep greens or turquoises shimmer against the whiteness of the snow. Bison like to hang around the warm grounds.

Several years ago I took a GYC wolf watching tour at the Buffalo Ranch. We’d get up around 7am every morning, step outside our cabins, set up scopes and watch the Druid Pack of 17 wolves while we sipped our morning coffee. In the afternoons we hiked or skied. I stayed a few extra days to ski other parts of the park. It was some of the best money I ever spent.

Yellowstone in the winter is one of the best kept secrets.

: Sun in winter from Lamar Valley

: Coyote in winter

: Ice Cream delivery in Cooke City

: Bison in winter

Filed under: Yellowstone National Park | Tagged: Coyotes, Wolf, Yellowstone National Park | 1 Comment »

Beetle infested forest–How I would have approached it

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Leslie

View of the forest next to my home last winter

Here is the little forest next to my property last winter

This small forest is almost exclusively spruce. Springs from higher up feed the area, making it swampy in many places. The springs are on public land; the forest you see in the photo is on the private lands of several homeowners. It is a small island of conifers surrounded on both sides by meadow. The springs run through and feed into Elk Creek, a wetland drainage with willows harboring moose most of the year.

I walked the forest everyday last year. Many of the spruce were either downed, standing dead, infested or going to be infested. It wasn’t easy to walk through the forest with so much deadfall. Yet these spruce were old growth, up to 200 years or more. The forest harbored at least three kinds of owls, moose, bear, deer, coyotes, turkeys, and lots of birds. Wolves traveled through on occasion. Hawks fed on smaller birds and squirrels. I’d seen weasel tracks. The forest was alive all the time, and changing.

The State of Wyoming acquired some funds to clear beetle infested areas around structures as part of their fire prevention program. Homeowners were offered so many dollars to clear around their structures up to several acres. The homeowners who owned these woods pooled the dollars offered by the State, and with the State Forester’s help, hired a local logging contractor to clear the woods. It was recommended that all deadfall, standing dead, infested, and larger trees (even if not infested on the premise that they’d soon be infested) be removed. Aspens were to remain. Young spruce would remain. The money was there, now, this year only, so the homeowners decided to do the complete logging job in one fell swoop. Here is what it looks like today, from the same viewpoint.

In the photo below, the area thick with trees on the right is National Forest property. The left side is the private lands. One thing to note is that on the National Forest side, although there are some spruce, its steeper (not visible in photo), therefore drier, and has predominately Douglas firs, not yet infested.

You can see the fence divide between National forest & Private cuts

OK, personally, here is how I would have done it. First, I’d assume a seven year plan. I’d use the money available the first year and do the logging by hand, therefore preventing all the compaction and destruction caused by the large machinery.

Around any structures I would have cleared all infested and dead trees, leaving a fire break near the structure.

Next I would have selected ‘red trees’, that is, dead standing trees with their needles still attached. These trees can be torches and should be removed.

Then I would clear the forest floor by doing burns in place where possible. The giant brush piles in the photo above will burn so hot that it will take a lot of time for the grass to return.

That would be my priority for the first year. I would put the forest on a seven to ten year plan of slowly clearing, opening up areas selectively for the regeneration of Aspen and Willows. The forest certainly needed attention as there probably hasn’t been fires here in over 100 years. By slowly clearing, animal homes and cover would be saved and new habitat created naturally. Many animals used this forest as a corridor to travel yet stay hidden, especially moose. The moose used the shade in hot afternoons after browsing on the willows in the marsh areas below.

In addition, now I can see my neighbors. This could have been prevented. Being that none of this forest is on my property, I really had no clout, only an opinion that I voiced. But the fear of rampant fire seemed to cloud and dominant, as well as the available funding and the recommendations of the State agencies funding the project.

It will take years to regenerate even a little bit of cover. Eventually, though not in my lifetime, Aspens will take over this area and that is a good thing. The Willows will come first, but even before that I predict a giant infestation of Canadian thistle that will need to be hand controlled. By clearing slowly, methodically, with sensitivity, the forest could regenerate at a more natural pace.

Tonight I caught a program on NPR about deforestation in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has been giving private logging firms the right to log ancient community forests. The local indigenous peoples are starving without their food source–the forest and its inhabitants. I listened to a government agent say “This forest is declining and should be cut”. Then I heard an indigenous leader say “This forest contains small streams that give us water, animals like tigers, orangutans and birds, and other animals we hunt for food, and plants we need for medicine.” I ask you: Whom of these two parties knows more about forest management?

Filed under: Fires, Pines | Tagged: Fire, Forest health, Pine beetles, Shoshone National Forest, Spruce beetle infestation | Leave a comment »

Entrance gardens Part 3–The Finished Product

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Leslie

Front entrance view

The small entrance garden is now finished. (See Posts 1 and 2) I moved around several existing plants. I used the existing Mondo grass as fillers and bought 20 more one gallon plants, which we divided to fill even more space. The garden look good even though it was just installed. Within a few years the Yuletide Camellia by the front door view will grow upright and hide the fence but not block the beautiful Sangu Kaku maple.

Looking towards the owners side

View from front door. Maple will leaf out; Camellia will grow upright to cover the fence

The trick with the side above was not to have plants look like they are marching in a line against the fence. There is not much depth there, but enough. The Daphne at the base of the tree is set forward to the Camellia, as are the red-leafed azaleas. The art features also help break it up. Its hard to see, but there are some dabs here and there of different textural low plants to break up the monotony of the mondo grass groundcover. Some of these are variegated white, other are red leafed oaxalis. But don’t get too busy or you risk just a confusing mass that the eye doesn’t know how to integrate.

The tenants side next to the fence is more constraining as its very narrow. I used a Camellia s. that has more flexible branches and is easily espaliered. We’ll guide that over time to grow against the fence and outward. One way to achieve that is to use eye screws with thin wire into the fence (more invisible) so you have something to tie the branches to rather than a loud visible trellis. Over time the branches thicken up and will hold their position naturally.

Tree to the front right will eventually be taken out when shrubbery grows up

Tree to the front right will eventually be removed

Fountain interrupts small wall for an artistic break

Always scope around, use what you can on the property, be creative. You might find some old garden art you can use, good looking boulders, or useable plants. Here’s how we used a rotten stump. Eventually the plants in front will spill over and a 3′ variegated Ligularia is planting in a pocket behind that will peek around. A Japanese Felt Fern at the base (Pyrrosia) will enjoy climbing up the tree ferns stump. Tree ferns like their trunk wet so we’ll spray this area.

We moved the mature tree fern into this existing rotting stump

: Fountain interrupts small wall for an artistic break

: We moved the mature tree fern into this existing rotting stump

Filed under: Gardening | Tagged: Entry gardens, Small gardens | 1 Comment »

California natives Part 3 Groundcovers…Manzanitas and Ceanothus

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Leslie

In this small series of posts on California natives for the garden, remember I’m trying to keep it simple and successful for the home gardener. Most of the time when a homeowner asks for a low or no-water garden and I give them what they want, they always over water regardless. Therefore, in general, unless you know what you’re doing, its better to incorporate natives that will tolerate or even thrive with occasional additional watering.

One of the main tips for growing any kind of native, and most Mediterranean plants in general, is good drainage. California natives are adapted to cool wet winters and dry summers. When planting natives in general, especially Manzanitas and Ceanothus, the main thing you want to watch for is planting the crown of the plant too low. A brilliant idea for helping drainage along is to plant that crown on a little hump, maybe 6″ high. When the crown of these plants stays constantly damp, then rot sets in. Planting on a slight mound insures some run-off. Also, don’t put your drip emitter right on top of the crown, and move that emitter every year farther and farther out to encourage roots to grow outward. Eventually, you may be able to eliminate watering once established.

Both Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos sp.) and Ceanothus are sensitive to over watering, especially true with Ceanothus. Many Manzanitas on the market have been cultivated to be more forgiving and accept landscape watering. Two groundcovers I like are Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Woods Compact’ and Arctostaphylos edmundsii ‘Carmel Sur’. From my personal experience, I have found that the uva-ursi sp., though touted to be more acceptable of hotter weather, are more sensitive than the edmundsii. I find the Carmel Sur variety to be easy and forgiving.

This was an example of a small front yard right after installation. I did very little soil amending on the thick clay soil. Instead I brought in about 10 yards of no animal manures (these harbor fungus as they break down as well as heat) composted soil and planted directly in that. Manzanitas are very susceptible to fungus dieback, and especially the groundcover varieties. I don’t recommend over head watering for that reason in the summer. I also don’t recommend a bark or natural mulch as any splashing water can cause fungus on the stems to grow. So instead here I experimented with a decorative rock mulch.Here is the yard one year later. Unfortunately, several years later, this Arctostaphylos ‘Woods Compact’ did experience some major fungal dieback, probably after an El Nino year, and needed some new plants to fill in.

Seeing that I was having more than usual dieback with uva-ursi plants, I switched to ‘Carmel Sur’ and have had more success, although these plants are about 10″ instead of 6″ high. But the Carmel Sur can take a bit of shade as well as sun, and some summer watering if desired.

I think the larger Manzanitas are easier to grow with less problems than the ground covers. I have had occasional deaths with no warnings, but planted on a hillside, they can take sun or dappled shade with no problem.

Word to the wise: Don’t forget Manzanitas are browsed by deer!

Ceanothus is the quintessential California native. There are many beautiful Ceanothus, or California Lilacs, from tiny to tree-like, able to be grown as ground covers or espaliered against a wall. In general, they are all sensitive to excessive water and crown rot. Whole books have been written on Ceanothus and I couldn’t begin to cover them here.

Below is Ceanothus g. ‘Hearts Desire’, a gloriosus variety. Planted 3′ on center, this low growing Ceanothus is deer proof and very attractive. I’d used in on a small scale with success, but decided to take my chances on a very large hillside installation. After two winters, the Ceanothus is filling in quickly and nicely.

See how large and steep is this hillside, yet poor drainage

See how large and steep this hillside yet poor drainage. Ceanothus filling in nicely

Below is Ceanothus Hearts Desire in a small yard

Here is another hillside example I used with mixed perennials. This slope filled in quickly as well and is large scale.

Ceanothus 'Diamond Heights' is right of the fountain. It has now covered the pebbles

Ceanothus Diamond Hts. right of fountain. Now it has covered pebbles

Below is an unusual newer Ceanothus horizontalis ‘Diamond Heights’. Use it for accent or in pots and not in the hottest of areas. This area is irrigated with good drainage. The Ceanothus is the yellow in front, although now it has filled in completely.

For more information on gardening with California natives, as well as a list of month-by-month native blooming plants, see my eBook Gardening for a Dry California Future. In it I cover what is a true native, planting natives, more types of reliable natives for gardens, and using mediterraneans in combination with natives. Also tips on low water vegetable and fruit tree gardens, how to irrigate for low water use, and making the most of your microclimates.

Filed under: Gardening | Tagged: Arctostaphylos, California natives, Ceanothus, Manzanitas for landscaping | 8 Comments »

For Gaia lovers

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Leslie

For all you Global Warming non-believers, environmentalists, politicians, city dwellers, pet lovers, gas guzzlers, consumers, cheese eaters, gardeners, youngsters, oldsters, or hipsters, I only have one recommendation for todays’ post: Read James Lovelock’s new book The Vanishing Face of Gaia. A Final Warning. Too little, too late, a new hot world is coming, sooner than we think, and we can’t solar or wind-proof our way out of it. Lovelock says to prepare the lifeboats and come to agreement who will be in them, if that is even possible. There will be islands of refuge, tiny places, where only at best 100 million of us can survive.

Lovelock’s point is, of course, Gaia; that we’ve failed to take her into account. That our scientists measure and analyze her like she’s just a predictable rock, rather than a living force that fights back. That Gaia needs her forests and entire biosphere to keep her running and healthy, and that as humans, our main fault has been overpopulation and therefore overuse. It’s not that fossil fuels themselves are bad, its that we burn more than She can make. He makes the point that between all the humans, their pets and livestock, and the engine it takes to feed us, that’s almost half of all the CO2 produced! We are the sorcerer’s apprentice unable to solve the spell of technology and overpopulation we’ve unleashed.

Lovelock himself is an optimist by nature. So he looks for hope in the new world we might create while we live in a hotter place, with far less people.

I hope that all he says does not come true, that his calculations are off, that we’ll be able to come together to reduce our numbers, that breakthroughs will occur in practical science to help us. But his book strangely echoes the words from over 10 years ago of biology teachers I had. And it is quite obvious to those who see, that our small gestures of recycling, green goods, wind farms, ‘sustainable living’, or our grand conferences with promises for future reductions in 2050 cannot steer us much off course, if at all. Lovelock’s metaphor: “but are these, however well meant, any more than the posturing of tribal animals bravely wielding symbols against the menace of an ineluctable force they do not understand?”

Not a book for the fainthearted.

Filed under: Earth | Tagged: Climate Change, Global heating, Global warming, James Lovelock | 1 Comment »

Entrance Gardens Part 2

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Leslie

The demo is completed. The new soil has been worked in and the area is clean and ready for designing. Most important, all my plants have arrived. I always gather all my plants on site before I begin. You wouldn’t want to paint a picture without all your colors to chose from?

First I must have my anchors in place in order to work my design. In addition, I am going to use boulders in the beds, so they are all laid out, ready to select from.

My first anchor is obviously my tree. The guys plant that first. I also have them plant my backdrop, which are the plants I’ve selected for the well. These are 15 gallon Azara dentata, a shade tolerant large leafed fast growing plant that is upright–perfect for this location. Remember, I will keep the Maytens tree for now, with the intention of removing it when the Azaras fill in.

I place my edging of basalt bricks and then begin placing the boulders, as they will determine how and where I place my larger plants.

This photo shows my basalt bricks of two different sizes (randomly placed) and my boulders. Ignore the irrigation hose as we have not yet reworked the irrigation. There was existing irrigation which, at the very end, we will rework.

Here is my Sangu Kaku Maple. I am standing at the doorway and looking out. This area is not at all finished, but you can see how much cleaner it looks already, with the Maple, a Daphne at its base, and a wonderful Yuletide Camellia to the right. The Camellia is an upright variety that will fill that fence wall without obstructing the view of the maple from down the walkway. It also blooms in the winter around Christmas.

With the tree anchored, I need to move that Tree Fern (see photos previous post) or it will be in the way of the view of my Maple. We dig it up carefully, and I have an idea it might just fit in an old tree stump with enough room to walk underneath. If it works it will frame our front doorway nicely. Let’s try it.

It works great. Now I have a framework to the left and the right of the entrance to the front door. And I have anchors for my new design on both sides. Remember, we’re just beginning the design process on this side of the walk. We’ll plant ferns and other spillers below the tree fern later. We’re just getting our large plants laid out and our framework in for now.

Now for the entrance gate. I needed something to frame the other side. I had a Podocarpus that wasn’t pruned too badly on the one side, but the left side was empty. I am not an advocate of same thing both sides, but I am an advocate for balance. The doorway to the duplex needed framing and needed balance. Below was my solution with color that popped the plants out.

The ‘Icee Blue’ Podocarpus will eventually grow up and frame the doorway. While the Pieris is much slower growing and will simply cover the fence. Remember, I haven’t added any ground cover or finished this bed yet.

On the other side, the tenants’ side, the guys have finished installing the Azaras and we’ve planted the bed.

This is a small bed so designing was quicker. Also, remember, it was completely demo’d so we didn’t have to move plants around. The Azaras hide the foundation immediately; I placed the boulders than filled in with variegated Daphne, a purple dwarf Rhododendron and some evergreen Hellebores, with ferns and vinca for accent. Right away it looks cleaner. Ignore the hose in the background. Since the irrigation is not yet connected, we will hand water till the installation is completed. It is important to keep these new plants irrigated for the first few weeks till they are established.

One last photo will show the line of basalt stones.

At first I was going to use this edging only part way. But now I decided to pick up some more stones and continue the edging. A small Japanese stone fountain will interrupt the line, like it is part of the edging. I’ll complete this next week. When finished, the stone water basin will have a tiny drip line going into it so it will stay filled with fresh water for birds. The new White Camellia will be espaliered over time by the gardener–a new gardener that understands plant material. The variegated Abelia at its base will recover from its balled haircut and form a low umbrella-like edging. The Preziosa Hydrangea beyond will grow taller and provide that red accent.