Baja Yard Update

 My matilija is growing and thriving.

Ed planted my other favorite plant: marigolds- they are so tall. Normally they bloom in fall, so it’s so wonderful seeing them blooming in spring as well. 

Toyon is also growing at a steady pace.

In 2014 I planted poppies- one packet, one time.  Each year, they pop up on their own in different areas of the yard.  After so many years, the poppies have changed: they are much smaller than the original poppies and they are able to thrive without being watered or cared for.

Monarch Butterfly Garden

I’m a big fan of edible gardens.  So having a small garden in a tiny space in Los Angeles I try and get creative- even with my monarch butterfly garden container.  While eating milkweed can make humans sick- monarch caterpillars love it.  So finding Ca native native plants that attack monarchs and safe for human consumption was quite a task. I searched Theodore Payne and tree of life websites. I also visited several gardens including Artemisia (a small local garden store).  

Round 2 butterfly container:

-Narrowleaf milkweed

-Ceanothus - (I like the bonsai look of this plant and the flowers are soapy).  They are host to a 

ceanothus moth.

-Achillea millefolium - Yarrow 

-Trichostema lanatum - Woolly Blue Curls (ice cream, simple syrup)

-Clinopodium douglasii (syn.   Satureja douglasii) -Yerba Buena

-Verbena lilacina 'De la Mina' - De 

 - la Mina Lilac Verbena

I also included a bladder pod plant- it’s also edible.

Edibles: Yerba Buena, wooly blue curls, bladderpod and Allen Chickery Cleveland Sage are edible.

 Resources:

https://youtu.be/Dkm0MYuhbSU?si=AkyZcRp-GmikCtyO