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Why Plant Local Natives?
All photos show local native plants and critters on our land.Here, Clarkia rubicunda in a protected area has been reseeding for several yearsI'm writing this post for a lovely person I met recently, an...
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California's Beautiful Beneficial Bountiful Buckwheats Beat the Heat
Island buckwheat, Eriogonum arborescens, in Town Mouse gardenThe great Nevin Smith says of buckwheats:They are the ridge runners, the cliff dwellers, and the denizens of rocky scree and (fortunately,...
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The Worst of Times, the Best of Times
White currant going summer dormantLet's be honest A California summer garden that's watered very little (or not at all) is not the prettiest of sights. And while the rains last season were quite...
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Seed Season, Rest Season
Later summer is a restful time for California native plant gardeners. Many plants have done their work -- flowers pollinated, seeds set -- and are taking their own break. Like the Clarkia rubicunda I...
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Propagation Porn
Yes, every now and then I like to throw a little sex into our native plant blog. Plant sex that is. And not just any plant sex - WILD plant sex!! Yes -- that's what gets my plant juices flowing! Yours...
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Planting a wheelbarrow (and a pair of boots) with local natives.
The replanted old wheelbarrow.I'll write another time about the many sprawling larger projects in progress and pending about the place, but today I want to share something small, complete, and very...
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The joy of small projects
Note: Blogger tells me you can now access this blog using the secure URL: https://tmousecmouse.blogspot.com. Now on to the post...This could be the start of something -- small.Of the three acres we...
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Matilija poppy propagation - and happy coincidences
First - photos!Fried egg plant, AKA matilija poppy, AKA Romneya coulteriSurprised there were no bees in this photo - they swarm on these flowers.Here you can see immature seed pods.Matilija poppy is a...
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Rainy day in the greenhouse -- harvesting Clarkia rubicunda seeds
Today's post is rather drab, having to do with dead plants and seeds. It does have a video in it though.So let me pull in a bit of color and remind you how glorious are the blossoms of Clarkia...
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Local natives for the upper north slope project: California harebell and...
This post is the first of a few about some local native plants I'm growing for the shadier north facing slope of our property, just below our house. The upper part of the slope, to be specific. The...
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Local natives for the upper north slope project: Hooker's Fairy Bells,...
The modest flowers of Hooker's fairy bells, Prosartes hookeri,in MayI'm excited right now to have Hooker's fairy bell seedlings, grown from local seed, in my greenhouse! This is the first time they...
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New look - and an epiphany! Hairy honeysuckle budding out through a low shrub!
Hairy honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula) just budding out now. It's a local wild native that makes itself at home in my garden.Open during construction - I'm playing with a new theme and haven't quite...
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In Search of the Notch-Leafed Phaecelia
Desert sunflower (I think) along I-210I know it's been a while since I've posted - and thanks so much to Ms. Country Mouse for diligently continuing the blog and finding such a great new theme! Truth...
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Spring Greetings from the Town Mouse Garden
Blue-eyed grassYes! It's spring in California and the gardens are blooming. Usually, by now, I'm worried about the impression that the garden will make on the Going Native Garden Tour - like the mother...
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Evolution of a California Native Plant Gardener
Karen Laing in her California native plant garden with Iris douglasiana'Canyon Snow', one of the first California native plants she fell in love withI wrote this article for the Santa Cruz Sentinel,...
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Super Bloom at Edgewood Preserves!
Tidy tips, Owl's clover, and a single Poppy at EdgewoodA few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Anza Borrego, the state's largest preserve - and it was nine hour by car. Edgewood Preserves is...
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Weeds and Wonders - a Country Mousely Musing
Wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum, an invasive non-native, in full bloom at Arana Gulch Park in Santa Cruz,Walking in Arana Gulch Park today, Mr Woodrat and I saw two people in a fenced-off area where...
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Super Bloom in the Town Mouse GardenSp
The dry stream bed in late AprilAnza Borrego was exciting, and Edgewood was even more exciting. But I'm truthfully the most excited about the flowers in my own garden this year! An undeserved bounty,...
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Local native heuchera, columbine, and woodmint - oh my! And ferns galore!
Heuchera, columbine, woodmint - oh my! and sedges and sorrel and ferns galore - all tumbling into leaf and bloom and gladdening my heart!All local natives either growing wild there (most of the ferns)...
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Spring Delights on the Black Mountain TrailOw
Owl's Clover (Black Mountain Trail)Regular readers of this blog know that I like to mix up photos from the gardens with photos of California native plants from hikes - or sometimes from other gardens....
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