North Bay Climate Zones Native PlantsNo matter where you live, it is always beneficial to introduce Native Plants to your garden. Native Plants evolved in their preferred climate & soil type, and around local animals, so they are most adapted to thrive in their local environment. These plants also need less watering & maintenance, they will attract local wildlife, and need no pesticides.
At FYGN, we love Native Plants because they are the easiest for our clients to take care of on a day-to-day basis. Here is a list of 5 of our favorite plants, native to San Francisco, and the Northern Bay Area.
1. Amethyst flower
Amethyst flowers blossom in vibrant blues, purples, and whites, while growing one to two feet tall. Plant them in your yard or in hanging baskets to add a beautiful touch of color to your green garden, and a smile to your face.
2. Begonia (Tuberous)
The Begonia is another dashingly colorful plant, perfect for pots, hanging, or in your garden bed. They flourish best when potted with rich soil in filtered shade, making them perfect for Bay Area gardens. They will bloom abundantly by hanging them, but the flowers will grow larger by potting them, so you can decide what works best for your home.
3. Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum)
Despite the name, the Dead Nettle produces pretty flowers and an exuberant green hue guaranteed to liven up any garden. The Dead Nettle grows in many varieties, and some are even edible. Whether you plant it as an accent to your garden, or to consume, the Dead Nettle is a solid choice for your Bay Area home.
4. Flowering Maple (Abutilon hybrids)
The Flowering Maple is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 8 feet tall. The dwarf genus of this plant is commonly referred to as “Melon Sorbet”, and will grow 18 to 36 inches in pots. This bell-shaped orange plant is a nice complement to other blue and purple flowers, and is the perfect addition to your garden.
5. Heuchera
The “Electric Lime” coloring of the Heuchera is certainly enough to liven up even the darkest greens of your garden. Heuchera grows up to 28 inches, and is best suited for cooler climates with little sun in the Bay Area. This plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, and is sure to brighten your day.
FYGN primarily caters to CA Climate Zones 15, 16, & 17.
Ahhh…last week was a reminder of warm and sunny days to come. The smell of BBQ’s, fresh cut grass and long days are almost here. After a record rainfall and our drought officially over it might be time to turn attention to your back yard
and create the outdoor oasis you’ve always dreamed of. Be it a quick refresh or cleanup, new look or updated design, For Your Gardens’ Needs can help expand your living and entertaining space outdoors. Give me a call today to schedule an appointment. I am always happy to visit with new clients and discuss how we can help create an inspired and affordable oasis for relaxed summer living. Oh, and just because the drought is over doesn’t mean we abandon our sustainable and cost effective Bay Friendly landscaping techniques. Cheers, Bret
Landscaping for drought Marin. It is no mystery that the US is in the midst of a serious drought. One of the states being affected the most is California. According to a report released by the NOAA on April 15, 2014, many areas of CA have been classified at D4 intensity, meaning that they are experiencing an “Exceptional Drought.”
Now, more than ever, we must work together to conserve as much water as we possibly can. Here is a list of 11 simple ways we can work together to conserve water in our homes, and gardens.
1.Wash veggies and fruits in a large bowl or pot. When you’re done, you can use that water in your garden or for your houseplants.
2.If you have a yard, start a compost pile to avoid using your garbage disposal as much as possible. If you have pets, make sure to install a fence to keep them out.
3.Believe it or not, Energy Star rated dishwashers actually use less water than washing your dishes by hand. Load it, set it, and forget it!
4.The average 5-foot bathtub takes about 60 gallons of water to fill. Try taking a short shower instead.
5.The typical home shower streams about 7 gallons per minute. By reducing your shower time by 2 minutes, you will save nearly 420 gallons each month!
6.Bathroom and kitchen water faucets can use up to 3 gallons of water per minute. You can reduce the flow by up to 40% by installing newer aerators on each faucet.
7.Using a toilet tank bank will save up to 0.8 gallons per flush. Simply fill the bag with water and place it in your toilet tank and start saving water immediately!
8.Proper plant maintenance and pruning will aid your plants in drinking more effectively.
9.Place a few ice cubes in your hanging plants to give them a refreshing drink without overflowing them. The typical ice cube is about 1 oz, so the size of the plant should dictate how many cubes to use.
10.Rainwater harvesting is easier than you might think. Use a large barrel placed under your gutters to collect excess rainwater, and pour it over your garden.
11.Use a broom, instead of the hose, to clean your driveway and patios without wasting water. The average hose uses about 10 gallons per minute!
Together, we can save gallons of water each day by following these easy and cost-effective steps. For further tips and tricks, be sure to check the FYGN blog frequently!
I visited my brother recently at his home in Oakland, Ca. Unlike me, he inherited the family “Black Thumb” but somehow has managed to pull off one of the most fragrant and explosive Lavender gardens I have seen in the East Bay. I also noticed it writhing with docile bees, so it’s no surprise that everything around his house seemed to be vibrant and blooming. You may want to consider adding a beautiful sweet smelling lavender plot to your landscape to greet your guests, and I’m not just talking bees.
Castro
These clients were looking for something special for their first home. They wanted to create a warm and natural environment that was easy to maintain. We worked with award-winning designer Geff Geffin to deliver a beautiful garden.
That might be what your garden is thinking when they thirst for water or drowned in pooling. A properly maintained irrigation system and drainage are two extremely important factors to keep, happy, healthy and hearty plants. If you can hear your plants growing frustrated with their environment, we are glad to come and play therapist. We are irrigation professionals that can design a proper system, fix problems, and save you money.
It’s a good idea to start thinking about yummy fall planting. Fat pumpkins, crunchy carrots and killer kale are only a few of the tasty treat you can fill your garden with. But you should start thinking about it now, especially if you are planning your first vegetable garden this year. Here is a great post on Mother Earth News Click Here
How to Create Beautiful Pots and Planters for your Garden, Porch or Deck.
These planters are always a great way to bring life close to home. Vertical gardening and planters are fun and fresh way to bridge your garden to your front door. The trick is in the choosing, here are some tips to get started…
Planters look best when you combine plants with three different habits:
Vertical, such as phormium, canna, calla pennisetum or upright fuchsia (Fuchsia triphylla ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’)
Horizontal or weaving, such as heliotrope, osteospermum, petunia, coleus or impatiens
Cascading, such as nemesia, helichrysum, ipomea or callibrachoa.
We certainly are blessed living in a fair climate that can support growing nearly year round.
Many garden crops do well in coastal Northern California during the winter months, but most need to be planted while it is still October, so that they germinate well and size up before it gets cold. There are several things to take into account in planting a organic winter garden, though.
1) Drainage—Be sure to build raised beds to plant your winter vegetables in; you may also want to incorporate some compost to lighten the soil texture.
2) Slugs and Snails— Snails are a nuisance all year, but slugs and snails especially like the wet weather. Try to eliminate their favorite hiding places (boards, plastic pots). The best way to control them is to pick them by hand at night or early in the morning and then, uh, “terminate” them. People who grew up in California often had this job when they were kids. Snails and slugs can destroy seedlings, so start your seeds in pots and then transplant the young seedlings when they have at least 6 or 8 leaves on them. Commercial snail baits are not only toxic, they are also not effective because of our heavy, sustained rains.
3) Plant Nutrition–you have already used up soil nutrients growing things over the spring and summer, so dig in some composted manure or alfalfa meal for nitrogen, or balanced organic fertilizer, as well as some compost, to give your winter vegetables the nutrition they need.
Plants that people have had success with in winter include
garlic
fava beans
peas
sweet peas (flowers)
lettuce
cabbage (a favorite of slugs and snails)
broccoli
beets/swiss chard (easier than easy, last all winter; beets taste great roasted!)
leeks
artichoke
For more information on winter gardening, and gardening in the Bay Area, see
Pam Peirce, Golden Gate Gardening (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1998).
The thought of deer grazing in a field can be a peaceful and calming mental image. Unfortunately, this image is quickly overshadowed when this fauna starts eating your flora…it’s Bambi
the costly destructive destroyer, the bain of homeowners and growers. So how do we keep Bambi the destroyer from dining on your bay area landscape? In Marin County, where I do much of my work, deer are a serious nuisance and their population is exploding. Planting a thoughtful deer resistant garden does not need to be a monochromatic mash up of prickly shrubs and unappealing plants. FYGN specializes in Deer Resistant landscaping and can help you achieve a thoughtful balance and stunning landscape that is appealing to everyone but Bambi. Here is a variety of bulbs that flourish in the bay area growing zone that can keep deer from pillaging your garden courtesy of Marie Iannotti from about.com…
ALLIUM Ornamental onions are among the most deer resistant flowering bulbs. The most commonly know alliums have pom pom like blossoms on top of single, straight stalks. There is, however, a fair amount of variation in the species. Allium schubertii looks like a fireworks sparkler. Others, like Allium unifolium and Allium bulgaricum are bell shaped. You can find alliums in almost every color and height and their bloom times vary throughout the season. Allium are also rodent resistant.
Height: Varies (4″ – 4′)
Bloom Time: Late Spring – Early Summer
Exposure: Full Sun
Zones: 4 – 9
CROCUS The bright colors of crocus are a welcome sign that the soil is starting to warm. Crocus will even bloom in the snow. This versatile little spreader can be used as a ground cover or as an accent. Plant a few by your mail box to make the walk down to collect your mail worth it.
Height: 4″
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Zones 3 – 9
DWARF IRIS ( Iris reticulata ) You get the familiar iris flower on a low growing, spreading plant that blooms early in the season. What’s not to like. You can find Iris reticulata in blues, purples and white. They all blend extremely well with other spring bloomers.
Height: 4 – 6″
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Zones: 5 – 9
EARLY STARDRIFT (Puschkinia libanotica) Another of Spring’s blue offerings, this ttime ina pastel powder blue. Puschkinia makes a nice addition to the borer, but it also works well when allowed to naturalize and spread.
Height: 4 – 6″
Bloom Time: Early Spring • Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Zones 3 – 7
Fritillaria – These plants add a touch of drama to your spring garden. From the dramatic, loud colors of ‘Crown Imperial’, to the speckles of ‘Guinea Hens’ (Fritillaria meleagris ), the deep purple of Fritillaria persica, the bi-colors and the creamy white ‘Ivory Bells”, Fritillaria will be noticed. They look exotic, but they are fuss-free, easy growers. Fritillaria are also rodent resistant.
Height: Varies (10 – 24″)
Bloom Time: Mid-Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Shade
Zones: 4 – 9
GLORY OF THE SNOW (Chinodoxa forbesii ) Similar to Scilla siberica, Glory of the Snow works best as a ground cover or naturalized in the lawn. Each bulbs provides multiple blue, star-shaped blossoms with white centers, that start to bloom as the snow is melting.
Height: 4 – 8 ”
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Zones: 3 – 9
GRAPE HYACINTH (Muscari) Sweet fragrance and a brilliant blue color have made Grape Hyacinth long standing favorites. This is the perfect little bulb for massing under trees that haven’t yet leafed out. And it doesn’t take many bulbs to rapidly sspreadinto a mass planting.
Height: 4 – 7″
Bloom Time: Mid-Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Zones: 3 – 9
LILY OF THE VALLEY ( Convallaria majalis ) These aren’t really bulbs, they’re rhyzomes with buds on them, called pips. But Lily of the Valley are often grouped in with the spring bulbs because they bloom early and then disppear for the season and they like to spread and naturalize. More to our point, the deer don’t like them. And the fragrance of Lily of the Valley can fill the air. The common variety is dainty white bells, but there is also a pink Lily of the Valley.
Height: 6 – 12″
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Exposure: Partial Shade
Zones: 3 – 7
SCILLA, SQUILL or STAR OF HOLLAND (Scilla siberica) These little charmers work best when allowed to naturalize in the lawn. They surprise you every year with a carpet of dazzling blue. If you find yourself looking out the window, searching for signs of spring, scilla won’t disappoint.
Height: 4 – 6″
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Zones 1 – 9
SNOWDROPS (Galanthus nivalis) They look like snowdrops and they bloom while the snow is still dropping. If Galanthus has a drawback, it’s that it can’t take any heat. But just like crocus, Galanthus lets us know that ground is warming. Plant them near a door or walkway for the best view.
Height: 4 – 6″
Bloom Time: Very Early Spring
Exposure: Sun
Zones: 3 – 9
WINTER ACONITE (Eranthis cilicica) With its upturned petals and down turned foliage, Eranthis can form a thick clump fast. The yellow flowers generally bloom at the same time as Scilla and dwarf iris and make a nice complement.
Height: 2 – 4″
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Zones: 4 – 7
