Mother Nature provides:
Some folks say weeds with a tone of utter disparagement. Personally, I enjoy to see what new and charming plants Mother Nature provides each spring. Mostly, its the same old Crabgrass, White Clover, Sow Thistles and Dandelions. In the two+ years since I pulled up the astroturf that was covering most of the backyard of my new/old house, several interesting plants have grown. In California, as well as in some other parts of the so-called "civilized" world, there is a recent "native plant" movement, whose basic tenets I take with a large grain of salt. However, I do like to see a few of the native plants actually sprout up in my backyard of their own accord.
Backyard volunteer plants:
One Red Alder tree (Alnus rubra). At first I thought that this was a Fremont Cottonwood tree (Populus fremontii), but after seeing its male and female flowers I thought that it was a kind of Birch. Now I have settled on calling it a Red Alder. It is now about twelve feet high and growing rapidly each year. It is deciduous and has a slender graceful character.
One Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis) shrub, which is now about ten feet high and ten feet wide. It is evergreen and is a member of the Composite (or Daisy) family and produces very tiny yellowish flowers in the summer. There are a couple of cultivated varieties (cultivars). It hosted some insect-seeking Kinglets last fall and winter: native birds in a native bush!
One Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) trees sprout has survived for over a year now and is about a foot high. last spring, There is one large green Japanese Maple tree in the yard; this is most likely the source of the nearby seedling.
The Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum) Three-cornered Leek These cheerful little white-flowered members of the Lily family come up faithfully every spring on the wild edges of my backyard.
Blackberries: the Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor) is a tough, thorny sturdy bramble that yields delicious blackberry fruits each summer. It produces lon,g first year canes, which are followed in the second spring by bearing canes, with open white flowers which are followed by the fruits. Naturalized in coastal California. This is a great no-fuss, no-muss fruit. No dormant sprays needed. No insecticides needed. No fungicides needed. No wonder some folks disdain it.
Himalayan Blackberry: (Rubus discolor) ) Himalayan Blackberry
Who knows what other volunteer treasures will sprout up next year?
End.
This web page was recently created by James Sayre.
Contact author James K. Sayre at sayresayre@yahoo.com. Author's Email: sayresayre@yahoo.com
Copyright 2003 by Bottlebrush Press. All Rights Reserved.
Web page last updated on 25 April 2005.