November 1996

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... There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners.
-- Hamlet, William Shakespeare

Fall is also the time to clean up the beds, removing expended leaves from the gladiolas, raking leaves from the few deciduous trees and continued pruning on the others. Remember to discard any foliage or expended plants that had any sign of disease or fungal infections. I have been careful to throw out those Rose leaves infected with black spot. Treatments with a baking soda solution help to keep the infection from spreading, as well.

Native Plant Garden

Last month I mentioned the California Native Plant Societyplant sale and I now have the fruits of my visit. The sale was well organized and well priced. There was a wide variety of plants from trees to ground covers, all in 1 gallon pots and divided by type. At $5.00/pot it was easy to run wild and easy to do the math when you were done.

Ipicked up California Fuschia, Sticky Monkey Flower, Woolly Blue Curls, Manzanita, Sagebrush and Bush Sunflower. I have often admired these plants while out on my regular hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains and thought they would be a nice start to my native garden.

The plan calls for building this garden out of a small patch that used to be the only lawn on the property. It was terribly ragged and almost impossible to keep alive. Since I wanted to direct my energies at something that looked nice, my wife and I rototilled the entire area in preparation. There will be two flagstone paths, one from each corner of the plot, to the center. We hope to place a twig frame swing there so that it looks back through the garden towards the house.

Knowing my native plant purchases wouldn't even come close to filling the plot, I had already decided to fill in the holes with a casual wildflower planting. Luck would have it that the Nature Company was clearing out their supply of wildflower seeds and hummingbird garden seeds. A few minutes in the store and I had everything I needed to get started. I will detail the progress of this plot in the months to come.

Of Seedlings & Sow Bugs

One problem that has presented itself in my new garden is the over-abundance of sow bugs (sometimes call pill bugs or mealy bugs). These bugs are useful in the garden as they help break down dead matter so that its nutrients so that it can be returned to the soil. Unfortunately, they can also attack new seedlings and decimate them before they have a chance to get any bigger.

My first indication of a problem was with the sunflowers I tried to plant at the beginning of summer. I first thought that I had a very poor germination rate but I now realize that as soon as the seedlings emerged they were eaten by the sow bugs. It was only after loosing my entire catnip planting a few weeks ago that I confirmed what was happening t. Since this was a larger planting it was more obvious what was eating the plants. The sow bugs don't seem to bother transplants. I assume that since the plants are larger they don't look like dead material that needs to be broken down.

Ireceived a few hints from my friends on the gardening email list on how to control these creatures. Some suggested a 5% concentration of Diazanon pest killer. Since I have cats in my garden I try to avoid such drastic solutions. Others suggested onion or garlic oil sprayed over the area after planting and re-applied after watering or rain. While this is more work I will probably use it since it is less toxic to anything other creatures that might wander through.

Next time I plant from I am going to try treating the bed with one of these methods and see if I have any more success.

Some people consider sow bugs both beneficial and harmful. Maybe I just have too many of them. Here is what another web site has to say. Sow Bug Info

Bird Feeding

One additional benefit of having my own garden again is the ability to attract birds to my feeders. I missed having feeders while living in apartments so now I'm making up for lost time.

The previous owners had left us a battered wooden feeder that only lasted a few months so I built my own platform style feeder out of some scrap lumber they had left in the garage, With only a length of wooden closet rod, a small piece of 1/4" plywood and some moulding I created a pleasant haven for the birds in my area.

Birds filled the feeder almost from the moment I installed it. The open style allows many birds to feed at once and I positioned it about 10 feet from my office windows so I can watch while my mind tries to come up with the next pearl of wisdom for the article I am working on.

A Few Birding Links

Pennington Seed Bird Feeding Information
Pennington Seed Bird Identification Chart

Another Discovery

Even after 4 months in our new home I am still trying to identify some of the plants we have there. A beautiful vine growing on our southern fence line had defied classification since we arrived. It bloomed with beautiful red-orange trumpet shaped flowers during July and August, but it didn't match the description of the trumpet vines I had researched. Finally, on a visit to The Living Desert, in Palm Desert, California, I found a similar plant in their nursery. It appears that the vine is Tecoma capensisor the Cape Honeysuckle. It is more vine-like than the other Tecoma, which are usually shrubs that can be used for ground cover or against fences. One more plant identified and only a few more to go.

Next month I will have a report on the progress of the native garden, more tree pruning stories and perhaps a discussion on replacing poorly planted azaleas in our front shrub beds with something hardier.

Until then, keep digging...

Douglas E. Welch