Holly Sletteland - Contact Holly
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Great Expectations, Exceeded
by Holly Sletteland
I'm happy to report that we had an incredibly productive work party in July. We had a good mix of seasoned volunteers and first timers, and everyone gave it their all. We had three main goals: collecting seed for planting this fall, clearing the area to be planted, and collecting firewood to give away. I was on the seed collecting detail, and we came away with a good sized haul of nightshade, sage, lupine and poppies.
When I went down to check on how the weed crew was doing, I was astonished. I had left the area earlier that morning, carpeted it in a thick blanket of veldt grass, ice plant, African Daisy and other assorted weeds. Now there wasn't a blade of grass or a daisy petal to be seen. The crew had completely cleared about a quarter of an acre of weeds in just a few hours. The only thing left were piles of bulging trash bags. The firewood crew had managed to haul out two days worth of cutting by the California Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC had cut up a number of fallen branches and trees near the waters edge on the new addition, and volunteers brought it all up to the preserve entrance.
Surprisingly, they had nothing to show for all of their hard work by the end of the day. The wood disappeared into the trunks of cars and beds of pickup trucks as fast as they could bring it up. All that was left when they finished was the "free wood" sign.
Hauling Wood
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Collecting Poppies
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Our Crew with Bags of Weeds Collected
The plan for our August volunteer day (Saturday, August 13th 9-12) is to remove the irrigation in the area we had restored two years ago just west of the main entrance. Although it's certainly possible to start native plants without the benefit of irrigation, providing a bit of water for the first year or two increases your chances of success. We were fortunate to have had a couple of wet winters back to back. This not only helped our new plantings to get established, it also reduced the amount of supplemental water we had to provide. But even in a wet year, the rain doesn't always come when you want it to. We had no rain in January of this year, which is usually our wettest month. I was relieved that we didn't have to rely completely on Mother Nature and that we had a drip system in place for our young plants.
I'm hoping that the plants are mature enough now to make it on their own and to withstand the vagaries in the weather. Many California natives, including coastal dune species, have adapted to our dry summers by going into dormancy. The vigorous growth and burst of bloom in the spring gives way to a long period of stasis, while the plants await the return of the rains and cooler temperatures. This is the best time to try to wrestle the snaking irrigation lines free from tangled branches and groundcovers so we can reuse them on a new project. Most native plants don't object strenuously to a bit of pruning during the dormant season, so they should recover if we break a stem or two while we're pulling the lines up.
Of course, the drought tolerance of most California native plants is just one of many reasons why we should be using more of them in our gardens. They certainly don't just belong in the preserve. Some estimates indicate that about half the water consumed by an average household in this country goes to residential landscaping. With aquifer levels dropping, rivers running dry, lake beds turning to dust . . . it's incumbent upon all of us to conserve this vitally precious resource.
One has to wonder how we will find enough fresh water to support our burgeoning population growth. Fresh water comprises less than 3% of the total amount of water on earth. And, at least some of us, would like to share some of that water with the millions of wildlife species that depend on it for their survival as well. Transitioning residential landscaping to drought tolerant native species is one of the most enjoyable, effective ways to conserve water. Maybe it doesn't beat showering with a friend, but it's a close second.
Photos by Devra Cooper
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