If you enjoy 
and beautiful blooms, you can have them both when you plant vines. Vines use little space, add color to bare walls and fences, cover free-standing arbors, provide shade and extend the garden skyward. Vines are amazing plants.
If your trees aren’t big enough to provide shade yet , vines on a pergola or lattice work can cool a west facing patio. They can also block the wind making your garden more comfortable. Vines with large, soft leaves can soften sounds that would otherwise bounce off hard surfaces. Birds will love you for your vines. They offer shelter for many species and nectar for others.
Creating an outdoor room with vines can make your yard feel cozy. They readily provide the walls to enclose the space. Views from one part of the garden may be partially open, framed by vines or blocked entirely. Shrubs can also be used to create garden rooms but vines form a thin living wall that is quickly established. Creating boundaries with vines also adds vertical design elements to an otherwise flat landscape.
Hide something unattractive with a covering of vines. A dog house, old stump, or rock pile can become a pleasant view when covered with vines. Disguising a concrete block retaining wall with a climbing hydrangea will reward you with a great show of flowers each spring. A native vine like Roger’s Red wild grape or Boston ivy will provide fall color on the same wall.
Planting vines in containers or planters on a deck, balcony or paved area can add beauty to these areas. Remember that large containers offer more root space than small ones and require less frequent watering and transplanting. Vine need support for them to climb. A small lattice structure or netting stretched between posts works well for vines such as clematis and pink jasmine. The structure doesn’t need to be in the container.
Combining vines can have twice the effect. A classic combination is to plant a large flowering clematis like Jackmanii with a rambling rose. I’ve seen these on arbors and split rail fences and the look is breathtaking.
For a vine with long lasting interest, try trumpet creeper which blooms from midsummer to early autumn. Hummingbirds love it. Growing in sun or shade, it can tolerate wet or dry conditions and is generally pest free. Give it lots of space to grow.
Climbing hydrangea has showy white spring flowers and bright yellow autumn color before the leaves fall. During the winter months the peeling bark provides interest. It thrives with a bit of shade and regular moisture. This is an excellent choice for masonry walls and the trunks of mature trees. It will clothe a wall with white flowers and turn a dull trunk into a floral masterpiece.
Plant vines for fragrance in your garden. Evergreen clematis bears showy white fragrant flowers clusters above shiny dark green leaves in spring. Clematis montana is covered with vanilla scented pink flowers in spring also. Carolina jessamine‘s fragrant yellow flowers appear in masses throughout late winter into spring.
Star jasmine is a wonderful vine for sun or shade and it’s intense fragrance near a patio or open window will delight you. It is easy to grow and is generally not troubled by pests. Pink jasmine blooms mostly in the spring but sporadically through fall with showy, sweet scented pale pink flowers. It grows fast to 15 feet and is tolerant of drought. It can also be allowed to cascade over a wall or from a hanging basket.
Other vines that are beautiful and easy to grow are the native honeysuckle, lonicera hispidula with its translucent red berries in the fall. Violet trumpet vine, white potato vine, passion flower, Lady Banks rose, hardenbergia, Chilean jasmine and wisteria.
The above vines are just a few of the wonderful vines that do well in our climate, in a wide range of soils and conditions. They are pest resistant and need little fertilization or care other than pruning to control size if needed. Look around your garden for a spot that would be enhance by a beautiful vine.
Tag Archives: wildlife gardening
New Year’s Resolutions for Gardeners
Last year I was brave and published my New Year’s resolutions– at least those that pertain to the garden. It’s now the day of reckoning. Let’s see how I did and which ones I’ll keep for 2011. In the garden, as in life, simple changes can make a big difference over a long time. I’m adding a couple new ones that are important, too.
Learn something new every day. Whether it’s something new in the garden or elsewhere, keep learning. I’m starting to learn about local mushrooms. They come up in the most beautiful places. I’m looking forward to the Fungus Fair in January.
Enjoy the simple things. Laugh often. Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Everyday is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.
Of the 16 gardener’s resolutions I made last year I can honestly say I achieved half of them.
I did pay more attention to the size that plants grow and believed the tag when it said "spreading habit". But I also found that pruning shears are life savers when you just have to have that new foliage plant that just came out.
I started making garden journal entries in February instead of January as I resolved. But then I tried to make up for it in March, May, June, October, November and December. I missed 5 out of 12 months. I get a "C-".
I added more pollen-producing flowering plants to attract beneficial insects which kept the good guys around longer to eat the bad bugs. And I learned what quite a few of the good guys look like. ( That counts as two resolutions )
I sat in my garden and enjoyed it, not jumping up to rearrange containers. (This one was easy)
I applied to get my little garden certified as a wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation by making sure I provided food sources, water, cover, places to raise young and used sustainable gardening techniques.
I fertilized my perennials a couple of times this year with organic compost and fertilizer instead of just once and boy were they happy. The trees and larger shrubs really only need a light dose once a year so I was good there.
I wore sunscreen everyday. (My doctor wants a hat, too. Maybe this year I’ll wear one.)
The other half of last year’s resolutions are being recycled as they’re still good ones:
I will not buy a new flower, shrub or tree until I have a plan for it in the garden.
I will sharpen and clean my garden tools so they look spiffy and work better.
I will start a worm bin with my kitchen scraps and a compost pile for leaves and plant debris. (I have so many raccoons it’s like a party out there at night but I’m going to come up with a critter-proof solution.)
I will weed regularly- not waiting until they’re so tall they swallow up my gardening tools when I lay them down.
I will accept a few holes in my plants but tour the garden regularly to identify if a problem is getting out of control and I need to break out an organic pesticide.
I will prune my maples, transplant my overgrown containers and divide my perennials when I’m supposed to.
I will plant more things to eat. Edibles anywhere in the garden feed the body and the soul. (This summer was so cold I didn’t have much luck in my partial shade.)
I will stop rationalizing my plant habit is better than gambling, clothes shopping or smoking.
I will do better to practice what I preach in this column.
Happy New Year in 2011 from The Mountain Gardener
What to Plant in Clay Soil in the Santa Cruz Mountains
"The soil is made of butterfly wings, dinosaur teeth, pumpkin seeds, lizard skins, and fallen leaves.
Put your hands in the soil and touch yesterday, and all that will be left of tomorrow shall return
so that new life can celebrate this day." -Betty Peck
Soil is a wonderful thing. It grows our food, anchors our trees and provides a foundation under our feet. But it sure can be hard to work with if it’s not the soft, crumbly loam that many plants prefer. It’s amazing that anything grows in some of the soils here in the Santa Cruz mountains. Some folks garden in an ancient sea bed of sand and there are others who have such heavy clay in their gardens that you wonder how anything survives. Recently I helped plant in the dense clay of Garrahan Park in Boulder Creek and I dedicate this column to those of you with similar inhospitable soils.
The soil in Boulder Creek required a pick ax to break up enough to plant. Sound familiar? Although rich in nutrients it needed compost in many areas to provide the environment necessary so beneficial microbes, worms and other critters could do their work and aerate the soil. A thick layer of mulch will be spread .jpg?resize=300%2C269&ssl=1)
over the soil by The Boy Scouts to preserve the structure and prevent it from packing down again.
There are many plants that are tolerant of clay soils and plant selection is half the equation. The park chose mostly California natives that won’t need fertilization or pruning, can be eventually weaned from irrigation and will provide food for the birds and visiting children. Juncus, a type of grass, red-flowering currant, redtwig dogwood, California rose and western redbud will be the stars of the park in the wet, clay soil. The drier side of the park was planted with deer grass, toyon, California rose, huckleberry, coffeeberry , ceanothus, native honeysuckle, vine maple, native iris and California fescue grass.
I’m sure the park will be the crown jewel of the area and hopefully you will come to visit and see the progress of the plants. Kinda like a local demonstration garden in the San Lorenzo Valley.
There are plants from similar environments in other parts of the world that would also do well if you garden in heavy soil. One of my favorite trees for these conditions is the strawberry tree. Also hackberry, ash, gingko and paperbark trees work well also. Shrubs to try include flowering quince, bottlebrush, Australian fuchsia, smoke tree, escallonia, pineapple guava, mahonia, osmanthus, Italian buckthorn, elderberry and vitex. Easy perennials for clay soils are yarrow, bergenia, carex grasses, fortnight lily, coreopsis, echinacea, nepeta, salvia, teucrium and verbena to name just a few.
If you’re not familiar with some of these plants it’s easy to see what they look like by Googling images. It’s what I do to see a plant full grown and not just a line drawing or a close-up of the flower.
So you see, there are plants that will be successful even in heavy, clay soil, you just have to pick the right ones.
Attracting Birds to your Garden
Fall brings with it not only foliage color but also colorful fruits and berries that invite birds into your garden. If you’re a backyard birder you probably already have lots of plants to lure our feathered friends,
If you have room for a new tree, consider Paul’s scarlet hawthorn. With clusters of double rose flowers and small vivid red fruits resembling tiny apples in late summer and fall that hang from the branches well into winter, this tree offers interest in more than one season. Robins are attracted to hawthorn berries.
Flowering crabapples sport showy edible fruit relished by many birds in the winter, including black-headed grosbeaks. Fruit .jpg?resize=309%2C217&ssl=1)
color ranges from reddish purple, brilliant red to golden orange. Crabapples are good lawn trees and their spring blossoms are stunning. To avoid disfiguring diseases, choose varieties that are resistant to cedar-apple rust, scab and powdery mildew. Among these is ‘Prairiefire‘, with pink flowers and dark red fruit. This tree grows 20 feet tall.
A native that puts on a fall show is A background plant most of the year, the white berries on this 4-foot shrub stand out when the leaves drop. Snowberry is a good choice for erosion control on banks.
Looking like clusters of pale purple pearls, the gorgeous fruits of beautyberry ( Callicarpa ) are born well into winter. This deciduous shrub reaches to 6 feet and takes sun or light shade.
For both bird-attracting berries and brilliant winter stems, plant redtwig dogwood. Native along creeks and other moist spots from northern California through the Northwest, it performs well with little additional summer water once established in gardens
Other shrubs with beautiful colored berries include barberry, cotoneaster, currant, elderberry, mahonia, nandina and pyracantha. As an added bonus many of these berries make good holiday decorations, too.
Butterflies of the Santa Cruz Mountains
Have you noticed how many butterflies are visiting your garden lately? I see California Sister, Common Buckeye and Western Tiger Swallowtail everywhere I look. We have about area. Many of these occur only in our mountains, forests and chaparral environments. They are easy to attract and make a permanent feature of your landscape. Here’s how.
Butterflies are less efficient than bees as pollinators but have their place in the ecosystem. They do not pick up much pollen on their bodies. Still they visit a variety of wildflowers and other plants to probe for nectar adding beauty and color to the garden. Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet?
To attract the species of butterfly most common in your area, a butterfly garden should include plants that accommodate all stages of the life cycle ( egg, larvae, pupa and adult ). When both adult nectar and larval host plants are available, they will attract and support a butterfly population. In addition to the right plants, 
your garden should also have sun, a water source, protection from wind and plants in clusters. When maintaining your garden avoid the use of insecticides, including BT.
As adults, most butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers. Some local butterflies, however, like the Mourning Cloak and Red Admiral, feed primarily on rotting fruit or tree sap for moisture and nutrients and the California Sister also feeds on aphid honeydew.
In the larval stage, most butterfly species are limited to a single plant family and occasionally a single genus. To attract more Western Tiger Swallowtails, for instance, provide larval host plants such as willow, sycamore, alder, Big Leaf maple, sycamore, plum and ash. Common Buckeye lay their eggs on mimulus and verbena while California Sister use the coast and canyon live oak. Planting a variety of grasses and shrubs like ceanothus, buckwheat, coffeeberry, bush lupine and manzanita and also perennials like redwood violet, California aster and wallflower to attract a variety of local butterflies. If your garden is near a wild area that naturally supports the caterpillar stage, you can plant just the nectar plants to attract butterflies to your garden.
Filling your garden with nectar producing flowers is the fun part. Adult butterflies rely on sugar-rich nectar for their daily fuel. Different species have different flower color and shape preferences. Many butterflies produce scents that attract the opposite sex and many of these scents smell like the flowers that they are attracted to and visit. The scent of these butterfly pollinated flowers may have evolved as an adaptation to ensure their survival.
Butterflies typically favor flat, clustered flowers that provide a landing pad although larger butterflies can feed on penstemon and salvias while hovering. Butterflies have good vision but a weak sense of smell. Unlike bees, butterflies can see red and are attracted to brightly colored flowers. PInk, red, orange, yellow and purple are the most attractive nectar source colors but they also use blue and white.
Consider the blooming time of each plant. Having plants blooming in the sun for many hours in the day will lengthen your viewing time. Nectar rich flowers include yarrow, aster, verbena, scabiosa, buckwheat, toyon, salvia, erysimum, zinnia, lantana and coneflower.
In addition to nectar, butterflies need a source of water and salts. A patch of mud kept wet year round or a shallow depression lined with pebbles and kept moist will work fine. Also provide some flat rocks for them to bask in the sun in an area protected from the wind by shrubs.
Having your own butterfly garden will enable you to witness close-up the wonder of butterflies and the flowers on which they feed.
Resilient Plants for Santa Cruz Gardeners
We all approach the new gardening season with enthusiasm and optimism. Then the rain come down hard and pelts your new plants into the ground, the nights turn cold again and some of the plants in your garden aren’t so happy anymore. That’s when you need some tried and true plants to star in your landscape no matter what Mother Nature throws at you.
I’m often asked to give suggestions for resilient plants for a problem spot. These plants may have beautiful foliage, bark and texture, too, and serve two purposes in the garden. They may have flowers for some of the year to provide nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds or berries to feed wildlife. Most of all they are easy to care for and trouble free.
Snowberry gets an A+ for all of these qualities. A California native of shaded, mixed evergreen and oak woodlands, this 3-6 ft shrub thrives in a variety of locations including the dry shade under large trees like oaks. It tolerates poor soil and neglect and will grow well in full shade but blooms better and produces more berries if it gets some sun. Clusters of pure white berries appear in 
late summer and early fall and last through much of the winter. In late spring or early summer, its pretty blue-green leaves provide a nice contrast to the tiny pink flowers which hummingbirds love. Bees produce a white honey from their nectar rich pollen.
They can be pruned as a nice hedge providing twiggy, dense shelter for wildlife.Because of their vigorous root system, they are useful to stabilize banks and slopes. Maintenance is easy- simply prune away some of the suckers every few years to keep it in check. If it gets too tall, shear it back in late winter to keep compact. The berries are not the first choice for most birds but thrushes will eat them if there isn’t anything else available. Other wildlife will eat the berries, too.
Lewis and Clark collected this plant and brought it back to Thomas Jefferson. It was sent to England in 1817 and became a popular garden novelty among plant collectors there.
If showy flowers are what you’re looking for in a specific spot, the perennial Phygelius would make a nice addition to your garden. This large 3-4 ft plant blooms from early spring into fall and you can grow them in full sun or light shade. Related to snapdragons and penstemon, the flowers also suggest fuchsias which is where they get their common name, Cape Fuchsia. Coral Princess is one of my favorites with lots of tubular, soft salmon and yellow flowers which attract hummingbirds.
In the same bed you might plant a few to fill and and add a nice contrast at the base of the Cape Fuchsias. This bright bluish-pink true geranium groundcover grows 8" tall and spreads slowly but widely. Easy to care for true geraniums are hardy in the winter, need just average watering and can be sheared each fall for fresh spring flowers.