eco friendly

by

Protect Pollinators: Don’t Plant Poison Apples

🍊🥑🍋UPDATE!!! Pollinator-safe citrus and other fruit trees can be ordered (and shipped) to you directly from Four Winds Growers! By law, they have to spray NeoNics on all the trees they send to nurseries or garden centers, but NOT on trees they ship directly to your garden. They have a great selection, too.

🌳🦋🦜🐝🌼🍋💚

Metaphorically, that is. Pretty, healthy looking plants from your local nursery may have been treated with pesticides that have turned every part of them, including their nectar and pollen, into tasty poison that will either kill bees outright, interfere with their ability to fly, and/or inhibit their reproduction. And not just bees, these pesticides hurt butterflies and other pollinators and also travel up the food chain to song birds, bats, and other insectivores. As one article says, we are experiencing a “Second Silent Spring.”

A recent study from UC Riverside showed conclusively that NeoNicatonoids, widely-used insecticides introduced in the 1980s, are turning our landscape plants into poisoned apples. They may look lovely and grow well, but from their roots to their pollen, they are bad news for bees. Because of this, we will only be purchasing plants directly from growers that certify their plants are NeoNic free. I am also working with local nurseries to make sure that they are aware of this issue, and encouraging them to keep our neighborhood safe for pollinators.

The Los Angeles Times had a great article about this in their 8/19/21 issue.

And if you can’t get through their paywall, here’s a link to UCR’s coverage of this report, and another article about this in EcoWatch.

The Xerces Society has lots of great information about this issue, including safer alternatives. Here’s a link to their recommendations.

🌱💯% Neo-Nic Free, Bee Friendly Plant Sources 🎋🐝🌼🦋

You can purchase plants directly from these local growers or ask your local nursery to order from them for you. I will update this post with more Southern California plant growers as I continue my calls. Check the websites – these are not all open to the public, and those that are have limited hours.

Clover, for luck and lawns
by

Clover, for luck and lawns

If you still have a lawn and want it evergreen, but using as little water as possible, just add clover. Hopefully, you’re already maintaining your lawn organically (no chemical fertilizers or herbicides or weed&feed) and grasscycling. If you look closely, you will probably find some clover there already, probably in the really green parts. If not, you can overseed any part of your lawn that is looking bare/brown/patchy with Dutch White Clover seed. You can also top with some compost for good measure, but no need to go crazy with stinky manure.

Clovers, like legumes, (and with help from their little friends, in the soil) pull nitrogen out of the air and bring it into the soil, where they share it with the grass. Free, natural, bio-available fertilizer. That’s why the grass growing with them is super healthy.

You can order seed online (it’s cheaper than fertilizer!), and just scatter some around your yard, especially where it’s looking unhappy. Water it regularly for a week or so and watch your grass turn super (lucky) green.

Read more about this in the “Estate Lawn” section of the Beverly Hills Garden Handbook.

by

Dog-Friendly Garden Tidy-up

statsky before&after 2statskybefore&after3statskybefore&after 6statskybefore&after 4

Starting with: bare dirt, wild vines, and existing decks.

What did we design? First, we worked out the grade change by adding a short garden wall and steps and cleaned up the vines. Next, drip irrigation, concrete pavers and a fossil-fuel-free EcoSmart firepit created outdoor living spaces, which needed some new outdoor furniture (we love Pot-Ted!).

Plants make the garden, so we started a soil party (by planting Myco-Packs with each plant), planted climate appropriate, low-water, dog-proof plants, and topped it all with a thick, healthy layer of mulch to feed the soil, limit evaporation, and keep everyone clean.

Ending: No! Now the fun starts for our clients, their dog, and their healthy new garden.

Here’s what the garden does:

    + Captures and infiltrates stormwater, eliminating site run-off and the need for imported water.
    + Produces lemons, apples, shade, habitat, flowers, and year-round color.
    + Requires limited maintenance: Paths, decks and stairs should be swept weekly, with all leaf debris spread around on existing mulch. Minor weeding will be required as everything settles in, and after seasonal rains. Trees and vines will need yearly pruning.
    + Requires limited inputs: Efficient drip irrigation is required to establish new plants, and then provide supplemental water in drought years, just twice a month. Light fixtures are LED and both super efficient and dimmable (with an app!).
    + Dog playground! Mulch keeps paws clean, limits flees, and provides a safe landing for rolling and frolicking. Plants are all sturdy and can stand an enthusiastic pit bull running into and through them.