Now that the heat is here, I won’t be hiking much. It’s a safety risk at this point, and one I don’t need to take. This time of the year is hard on me because I am normally missing the trail and wilderness, but since I have been working on rewilding my yard, the native plants are starting to grow right outside my back door.
Eight monkeyflower bushes are the latest additions to my space. I chose an assortment of colors- red, yellow, and orange. Ideally, I would like to plant more of them because they are gorgeous and a local favorite for hummingbirds in So. Cal.
Yellow monkeyflower bush that is part of my rewilding project.
Another new addition to my yard are three Coast Live Oak trees. My yard is in desperate need of trees and big ones. Of course these are going to take time to grow, but these ones do grow quite quickly. Search for native trees in your area that provide a good deal of shade. The wildlife needs a place to make a home, hide in, and protect them from the elements. Adding trees is always a wonderful thing to plant in your space. I might add more, but a smaller native tree. There are several sumac volunteers that have grown in my front yard that I am going to transplant into my back yard so the birds and critters have more shrubbery to enjoy.
Coast live oak trees are being added to the yard.
Shrubbery has been a major part of my plan and were the first plants I purchased. I planted California Buckwheat, Black Sage, and White Sage. A few have not survived due to a few gophers and my penchant for overwatering. These plants only need to be watered once a week. Imagine if everyone purchased native plants, the amount of watering that would be reduced because those plants are suited for their environment.
White Sage
California Buckwheat
Black Sage
Another shrub/tree I have planted is the Concha Lilac. These will grow quite large, up to twelve feet tall. I spotted a hummingbird checking one out the other day. There are often bees tending to them as well. Two of the lilacs are in the area that I feed the birds, and the birds have not done anything to disturb them or any plants for that matter.
Concha Lilac
One aspect of the project was the lupine that I had grown from seed. Nine sprouted, but only two have made it this far. They have a hot summer ahead, so hopefully the remaining two will make it. Slugs got to the seven that did not make it. When I give this another go, I’m going to have to leave them in containers longer because they need more time to grow.
One of the surviving lupine.
Please consider adding native plants to your space. Even if it is one or two, and they have to be potted, in a window box, or hanging baskets, these plants do help the insects and wildlife that depend on those plants for food. If you have a lawn, please take it out and use that land for native plants. It will cut your water down, help your local ecosystem, and add immense beauty to your yard.
Never use herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, or rodenticides in your yard to keep your space free of toxic chemicals.
If you use mulch, as clearly I do, there are now organic and all natural options for mulch. Keep the chemicals out of your space as much as possible. This is why I pulled the weed barrier out of my backyard because chemicals do leach from it.
I will add another update in a few weeks. Hopefully the heat won’t obliterate any of the plants, but these plants are suited for my zone so they have a much better chance than any other. One thing I will work on is watering less. My brain is hardwired to water more and it is because the plants I have planted in the past were non-native and because of that, require a significant amount of water. As water becomes scarcer, having a yard that only needs to be watered once a week will be a game changer.