Harmony with Nature
Topics
Bees and Other Pollinators Birds Butterflies Fruits and Berries Gardening with Wildlife Growing Plants from Seed Habitat Gardening Harmony with Nature Monarchs and Milkweed Native Plant Communities Propagating Plants Seed Collecting Tending Your Garden Useful Nonnative Plants Wildflowers
Acmon Blue Butterflies
The Acmon Blue Butterflies (Plebejus or Icaricia acmon) are fairly common and more widespread than some of the other gossamer wings (Lycaenidae). The Acmon Blue has a much longer flight period than many other blues; it visits gardens and can be seen in open fields and...
An Ode to Elderberries
Elderberries and Other Native Fruits of Summer California native plants provided a rich and varied diet for the native peoples; this is a flora of plentitude, and I really like to partake of it. I recently picked and cleaned the fruits of Lemonade Berry (Rhus...
Biodiversity Nursery Tour March 18
On Saturday, March 18, 2023, we invite you to an in-person guided tour of Home Ground Habitats nursery and gardens led by our Founder, Charlotte Torgovitsky. Participants will learn: How to select and cultivate native plants appropriate for your yard The benefits of...
Birds and Berries
All through the rainy season many birds rely on fruits as a major part of their diet. These birds often travel in flocks, like the Cedar Waxwings and American Robins. Sometimes the flocks are mixed; several different species will travel together, and all are “on the...
Butterfly Gardening with Nonnative Nectar Plants
One great way to get a butterfly garden started is to plant a really good nectar providing species; and then observe the butterflies that come into your garden to feed. This will be a good indication of which butterfly species are already present in the general area....
California’s Native Cornucopia: Plentiful Food for the Birds!
It’s a bit artificial to create a listing like this which is defined by the months of the year; as we all know, nature does not follow the human calendar. Day lengths are set and reliable, but local weather is not, and neither are the conditions within micro...
Collecting Seeds
As a propagator, I often try different approaches to germinating seeds of certain species. Sometimes I get such a definitely positive response to one pre-treatment method, that it becomes the one I’ll always use—like soaking toyon seeds for just one hour before...
Creating a Meadow Garden
The days are still warm and we’re all hoping, once again, that this will be an El Niño year with ample rainfall and a good snow pack in the Sierras. The days are noticeably shorter, and the evenings are much cooler. The shorter day length is a cue to many native...
Creating a Personal Ecosphere
While out walking the trails and open spaces in various parts of Marin County, I’m often astonished at how certain native plants can grow and adapt very nicely to a variety of exposures, habitats, and communities. Coffeeberries, for example, grows in shady California...
Directions to Home Ground for May 14 Launch
We’re excited to invite you to visit Home Ground Habitats nursery on May 14, 2022! Our launch day tour is FREE, but all guests must REGISTER. Date & Time: May 14, 2022, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Location: Home Ground is located at 1875 Indian Valley Road in...
Dreaming of California Truffles
I’m quick when it comes to spotting potentially edible foods in the wild; partly from lots of reading about California flora, and how the native peoples provided for themselves; and partly from an all-consuming curiosity that’s been with me since childhood. I like to...
Fall is for Planting AND Propagating
At the end of the dry season my garden is just that; at a glance many of the native plants look dry and dead but once you look more closely, there’s always a bit of green within the brown. Plants are dormant, but definitely not dead; seeds are abundant, as are all the...
Fall Season Event at Home Ground Habitats
A short recap of the October 15, 2022 Fall Season Event at Home Ground Habitats Nursery. Select participants got to tour the nursery, and purchase various seeds and seedlings. Several participants got very excited about seeing a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly as well as...
Fecundity
I’ve always had a fascination with fecundity; a desire to make more of something, especially when an abundance of possibilities is so obvious. Plants offer so many opportunities to be fruitful. Now, with plenty of space at our new nursery, and access to...
Fruit Eaters
I was lucky enough to be outside at just the right time about a week ago when I noticed a lot of activity around a Toyon – the most spectacular Toyon I’ve ever seen, and it lives on the top side of the meadow next to my house and garden. This Toyon (Heteromeles...
Gardening in Harmony with Nature
The Natural World has been my touchstone; a certain intimacy with the land and other creatures that always rings honest and true. When I think about why I like to garden it always comes back to my desire to be a participant with nature. I came to California as a...
Growing Milkweed From Seed
Milkweed for the Monarch Butterflies Asclepias fascicularis Milkweeds provide important resources for many beneficial creatures, including Monarch butterflies. The fine leaves of this native milkweed gives it’s a soft, wispy look. The plant isn’t long-lived, but...
Helping Seeds Sprout
Some seeds have built-in mechanisms that prevent germination until ideal conditions are met. Even when perfect conditions are met, some of the ‘seed bank’ of a species will not germinate. They will wait, often camouflaged in the duff, as an insurance policy against a...