Planting California Natives
After two days of rain it was nice to get outside and do some gardening.
Yesterday
Today
Clearing sky and sunbathing BJ.
Ahh, sublime sun
Grabbing a quick bite at the Cantina
Today's planting project
The other day, I got two California native plants from my local nursery. I've become interested in California natives since going to this nursery and seeing a prominent display for them. These plants are drought-tolerant and good for local wildlife. I chose De Le Mina Verbena and Seaside Daisy because they are pretty, have long flowering seasons, and attract butterflies. I love butterflies.
The De La Mina Verbena
As I later learned, De Le Mina Verbena is a nursery-cultivated plant, "introduced by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden," according to Calscape, a nifty site I've been exploring lately.
Back from the nursery
The lady at the nursery suggested I use native soil but they didn't have any in stock. Instead - in a very unscientific way - I used the soil I had leftover from preparing a pot for the lemon tree, because it looks similar to the soil of the natural surroundings here. It's lighter in color, drier, and has a lot of rocks, compared to potting soil.
I saw little green signs of life in the soil, so I thought it should be good.
I planted the De Le Mina Verbena in a big terracotta pot and in a spot that gets full sun.
Date planted: March 3
Notice the number of flowers in the planted picture compared to the "back from the nursery" picture. It bloomed fast!
The Seaside Daisy
When I saw this little Seaside Daisy at the nursery, I thought it looked like it needed a good home and a chance to thrive.
I used the same soil I used for the De La Mina Verbena. The only difference was that one of the buckets was filled with rainwater, so it was muddy. I mixed that with the remainder of dry soil and new potting mix to fill the pot.
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Date planted: March 3
So pretty and cute
Theses two Cali locals are now next-door neighbors, soaking up the Courtyard sun.
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