Butterfly Plant Container Update

 In just a few short months, this container filled up and is growing strong- except my ceanothus- it’s either dormant or done.  My Yerba Buena is also struggling with the heat.  So far no late summer caterpillars, just a few aphids. 

I’ll leave the ceanothus in there til spring and see if it makes a comeback.

Berry Barrel Update

 Earlier this year I saw a video on planting several berry plants in 1 container.  I decided to give it a try- then I learned I needed 2 blueberry bushes- so I ended up cramming more plants in the container. 

So far majorly are doing well- not the native chaparral currant (or it’s dormant- I can’t tell). During late spring early summer the native currents were well- thriving and looking healthy. Then as soon as temperature began increasing to upper 90s- that was it- the leaves yellowed and died. It first started with my showy currant, then the one in my berry container. 

On the positive side, my boysenberry is spreading its vines and growing- the wire rack is almost full!!!  I’m going to need to attach another trellis if it keeps growing.

Here’s the link to my original berry barrel post: https://humble-gardener.blogspot.com/2026/06/berry-barrel-garden.html

Collecting & Sowing Seeds

 In the propagation workshop I attended a few weeks ago, I learned to collect and sow seeds.

I had already learned to collect seeds from my onion blooms. Just cover them with a mesh bag until seeds turn black and begin to fall off.  But these are easy to spot and collect.  I don’t know when native plants seeds are ready or even what to look for.

We set out walking to some nearby dry brush:

He demonstrated how the different plants look at different stages with there blooms and how to distinguish last year’s seeds from this years.

Once the blooms are ready to harvest you cut them and place them in paper bags. Shake the closed bags and seeds should fall off the blooms.  Place the seeds on the table to get a good look at them.

If you aren’t sure if this is debris or seeds, there is a website that can help. Search: 

http://hazmac.biz/061009b/061009bPenstemonCentranthifoliu

There is lots of native seeds that are photographed. 

Once you are sure you have seeds.  Get your pots ready with soil. Use seedling mix and moisten well. Add seeds on top and then lightly cover with more seedling soil mix. 

Water mornings and evenings every day until seeds spout. Then continue watering everyday as needed. Keep out doors but not in direct sun.

Below is the notes on each of the different plant seeds and how to care for them.

I didn’t do the hummingbird seeds as I already have the plant and it’s easier to divide from the root. But he should us how to start from seeds. Place seeds in a small moist pot with seedling mix. Place in a ziplock bag and place in freezer for 4 weeks. Then bring it out and begin watering twice daily.

I mentioned to him that I keep my native plants in containers and he recommended I use fertilizer to help give nutrients to the soil.  If your plants in the ground, they don’t need fertilizer as the ground has the nutrients they need. Use 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended ratios.

Propagating Cuttings

What can you divide and multiply at the same time?  If your a gardener- it’s plants!

 There’s many types of ways to propagate- in this week’s chat- we’ll be focusing on cuttings.

I know you can do this method with mint- and salvias are part of the mint family.  I attended a garden workshop and we also did woolly blue curls and seaside daisies into cuttings.

After a few tries at the workshop, I went home feeling confident and did it to my white sage. We measure the stem using the palm of our hands which is about 4 inches.  Each section where a leaf comes out are called nodes.  So I made my cut just under the last node. Each of the nodes will hopefully grow roots.

I carefully removed the leaves. 

Then I clipped the top leaves so the plant can place its energy into growing roots.  I saved all the leaves and placed them in a mesh bag to dry. 

Now I have my cutting ready:

I placed it in the flower pot with all the other cuttings. 

The soil we used is 1/2 seedling soil 1/2 perlite. Mix well and lightly water mornings and evenings for about a month.  Place a label and note the plants name and date.

Sage infused Sugar/Salt

 So at the Sage class I attended, I was recommended to trim my sage to make it more bushier.  I had blooms and a few leaves that got trimmed off of my Cleveland Allen Chickering Sage and hummingbird sage.  The hummingbird sage was infused in the sugar and the Allen Chickering sage is going to infuse salt.

I thought back to my culinary school days and we would infuse sugar (and salt) jars with vanilla, citrus rinds, or dried out herbs.  With the strong, sweet smell of hummingbird sage, I decided to infuse it with date sugar.  Date sugar is a whole food so it isn’t processed like sugar cane sugar.  It has a strong date smell and I think the hummingbird sage’s ripe pineapple string tropical smells will complement the date sugar.  You can use any sugar (or salt) you have.  If you don’t want to do a whole container you can do a small 2oz amount of sugar/salt and shake and taste it every few days to see if flavors infused.  If I like how it smells and tastes, I leave it in there and just add more sugar to container as needed. Once I notice the smell and flavor no longer permeate, then I discard the sage blooms and leaves.

Recipe:

16oz jar (or size large enough to fit sugar/salt

8oz of any type of sugar or salt

A few leaves and blooms of dried sage or herb you’d like to use

In jar, place sugar and leaves and blooms. Close container and shake well. Label it with name of herb, sugar type and date. Ready to use.

Tips: 

-I sprinkle sugar on fruit, oatmeal, tea, and coffee.

-You can store in for a few days and use it with more of same herb to make icecream or sorbets.

I don’t wait for a particular date for flavors to mingle. I start using it as I need sugar. But I did notice the flavor intensity after a week or so.

3 ways to use Onion

 

Before I get my onion to the above stage- I needed to go out and clip some green stems.

I decided to save the seeds this year as most topple over and fall to the ground.  The seeds can be used as an ingredient and add flavor to food. 

I used a small mesh party favor bag so that the bloom can continue to breathe while the seeds dry. Once bloom turns brown, I cut it off and I also cut the green onion “stem” as close to the main bulb as possible.  I washed, sliced and gave it a spin in the salad spinner until it was mostly dry. 

My mom has had this food dehydrator since the 90s and it works great. I think these cost about $30 at big box stores or cheaper at thrift shops.  I placed it outside patio/cover so it doesn’t stink up the house.  I would check on it every 90mins until it was dried and would snap. 

Once dried, I stored it in a glass jar. Some I grind in a coffee/spice grinder until minced size.  Then I placed in a labeled minced onion jar.  I overly ground dried onion until it was powder and placed it in my onion powder jar.  That’s it- 3 types of green onion textures from just a few stems.  Plus nigella/onion seeds. 

Save seeds for giving to friends to grow onions or to use as a spice.

Resources:

Ways to use nigella (onion) seeds:

https://www.liveayurved.com/how-to-use-onion-seeds-in-the-kitchen.shtml

https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-using-nigella-seeds-kalonji-onion-seeds-552

My Sage Saga

 I attended a native ca cooking demo at Artemisia garden nursery.  

Antonio Sanchez gave us some amazing treats to try: sage pesto, sage ice cream, and a simple syrup sage used to sweeten lemonade.

So after I came home with another sage plant- I decided to share photos of all the different sages I have and their uses:

Above is my common garden culinary sage. This one I bought a few years ago at a big box store.  It’s the famous herb used during thanksgiving and fall flavors. When recipes call for sage- most likely it’s referring to this one.  In an omelette or small sauté pan, I melt butter and add in a few leaves (3-5 depending how fragrant and small they are), cook until butter is golden brown.  I cut leaves with kitchen scissors into small pieces and add it to my stuffing/dressing.  Butter can also be added to stuffing, mashed potatoes, or used to baste turkey.  Maybe this year, I’ll try it with some Cleveland hybrid sage.

Above is my 1st native or 2nd garden sage: Salvia Blanca- I bought it to dry its leaves and use for smudges.  I heard Antonio and Abe Sanchez mention that this plant is for medicinal and not so much for culinary purposes.  But one of my friends in Baja said that one of her friends cooks with it.  I also went to a coffee shop in VdG (Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada Baja Ca) that had simple syrup infused with white sage and the flavor while strong, complemented the coffee.  

The above photo Sage 3: hummingbird bird sage has an amazingly sweet fragrant smell- ripe pineapple/tropical.  I had one plant in January 2026 when I purchased it and in just 5 months there are 3 plants in the pot.  One of the plants has a beautiful flower with 3 pompom flowers spaced on one stem. As recommended by Antonio Sanchez, I cut the bloom off to promote plant growth.  I think this one will make an amazing ice cream, simple syrup, and I enjoy sipping it as a sun tea. There was an online recipe to fry these leaves- I tried doing it and it’s in previous old post.  Its leaves are sticky like white sage, but the leaves are more green and have scallop edges.

After seeing Eat California and another video, both mentioned cooking with Allen Chickering sage.  It has a strong perfume smell- it’s a hybrid between purple sage and a Cleveland Sage. I mentioned to Antonio Sanchez that my plant was leggy and not bushy- he recommended I cut it back and fertilize it.  In the freeze wild video they mentioned Cleveland sage would make a great ice cream flavor. This one resembles the leaves of a rosemary (oil/sticky leaves) and a lavender (fuzzy/fragrant).  Almost any recipe that calls for lavender can be substituted for this plant.

My newbie in late April: early May is this Baja Pitcher Sage.  It looks and smells a lot like my hummingbird sage and I even had to look up to see if they were the same plant.  It also has a sweet smell. 

As of late May 2026, this Salvia Pozo Blue (grey musk sage) is the newest family member.  It’s a Cleveland Sage hybrid.  I couldn’t resist buying a sage on the day of the demo class when they had a discount! 

I have infused herbs in cream based ice creams before- I recommend placing the herb into the milk the night before (cover and chill in fridge) overnight and then bring to a simmer.  Maybe in fall, when all my Sages are big, I’ll do a Sage ice cream tasting.  Same ice cream base can make a crème brûlée, panna cotta, and flan. Cream base can also be made into whip cream, 

For simple syrup- I rub leaves in sugar, so sugar can be infused with the herb.  I also simmer water with the herb like making a tea (strain). Then I add equal parts of herbal tea water with the infused sugar and return to heat until sugar dissolves.  Simple syrup can be frozen to make a sorbet, it can be drizzled on fruit, used to flavor coffee, tea or lemonades.

Further down my older posts, there is information on frying hummingbird sage. Maybe now that I have different sages, I can try frying the different ones to see how they come out.

Liz Savory Seasoning Mix:

Resources:

Artemisia Garden Nursery 

https://artemisianursery.com/

Freeze Wild:

https://youtu.be/NbbvUx5yoyw?si=mAmR_D2A01SLXikA

Eating California! Video:

https://youtu.be/CNxiyJuvd8Y?si=n5kPJcu0JqO3RwrV