Posts in: Native Garden

2020 Spring: Blooms to Come

Here in the Northern Sacramento Valley of California, the blooming seems to be happening all at once with the unusually dry and warm late winter. Apricot is about to start blooming: The cherry will be blooming soon too:  Western Red Bud (Cercis occidentalis) is about to bloom: California lilacs (Ceanothus ) “Ray Hartman” are about to bloom:

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Bees seem to never **rest** when manzanitas are blooming. I gave up trying to photograph them.


Mid-February 2020 Update: Home Orchard and Native Plants

It has been 19 days since it last rained here. The outdoor temperatures have been in the mid-70s. The area’s almond orchards are blooming in waves about a week earlier than last year. Our deciduous plants are waking up! We planted a nectarine this winter and it is beginning to grow. Our California Roses, which are in the same family as nectarines — Rosaceae — are also beginning to grow back.

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The California native plant garden is very green right now and soon there will be plenty of flowers. The blue oak will wake up near end of February.IMG 1622


Wildlife scaring and killing outdoor cats like to hide under our native ceanothus. I regularly scare them out in hopes they’ll eventually stay away from that unpleasantness.


No sight distance through the evergreen toyon. It’s very happy. So is our manzanita — getting ready to flower. 🐝🌳



Cut down this years’ California fuchsias yesterday to encourage & release a new year of growth.


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