The Wildflowers are Calling
This is a great time of the year; while the lower elevations are drying up and the roads up into higher elevations are opening up. We are lucky to have a nice extended season of fun as Spring moves up slope until July and beyond, then peaks in August at 8000ft and above. (Yes, technically Summer, but have you visited Lake Winnemucca in August?)
I enjoy observing and taking pictures, and as I expand my horizons I now have been concentrating on finding butterflies too. To get the most out of any excursion, here are the books and tools I have with me:
In the car: a Jepson Manual and Birds of Northern California.
In the pack: Law’s Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada; Butterflies through Binoculars.
In the camera bag: Nikon D80; Sigma 150mm macro lens; Nikon 60mm macro; close-focusing binoculars.
The Law’s Field Guide is a surprisingly comprehensive reference for such a small, packable book. It includes just about all the common (and many not-so-common) things you‘re likely to stop and look at — from oak galls to constellations! Certainly it will help will with its quick guide to flower families, and even a pretty complete list of bugs and butterflies.
If you are wandering about and find a plant that isn't familiar, here's how to find an ID:
First and foremost, really look at the plant and make a few notes. Look at the flowers (assuming it’s blooming!) and count the petals, the stamens, pistil(s), and note the sepals. I have a "Ten Plant Parts You Should Know" page that will help if these are new terms.
Touch the leaves; note the leaf edges, note how the leaves are arranged along the stem (opposite each other? alternating?) Make a note of what you see as the most distinctive characteristic of the plant. Is it aromatic? rough like sandpaper? sticky? You might want to use a cheat sheet to remind you of the details that will help you look things up later.
Second: take a few good pictures! I see plenty of out-of-focus shots that resulted from a person not familiar with how to set their digital camera for a close-up (like from 24" or less). Even if you stand back, get the camera focused and shoot: 1) a flower shot, 2) the entire plant, or at least something with leaves showing; and 3) a general habitat shot (like was it shady? sunny? what else growing next to your mystery plant?) Check the photos as you take them. Blurry? Erase it and shoot again.
Later, in the comfort of your home, the cheat sheet and a few photos will help you zero in on at least the plant family, perhaps even the species.
When you use your plant guide and arrive at a conclusion, you can check Calflora to look up the botanical name (don't forget to set the area to El Dorado County) and see pictures that will help confirm your notion. You can also check What grows here. Still stumped? You can send me a photo and I will try to help.
Think About Your Garden...
Don’t just head for the Big Box store and load up on pretty flowers without giving some thought to what you will end up with (other than just a colorful garden). Check what’s good (thumbs up) and what’s bad (thumbs down) to have in your yard.
Remember, you want a mix of native plants (actually more like cultivars that have been modified to give you bigger flowers, new colors, or are somehow showy beyond what Nature developed). And you want some plants that will be useful to the birds, butterflies, and—dare I say it?—bugs that are looking for berries or nectar. Of course even nursery plants still provide food for local critters, but some of the plants we see as weeds are host plantsThe plant species that caterpillars must eat to develop properly. for butterflies. Leave a few thistles and such for that purpose.
Two places for more information on getting set up for attracting butterflies:
1. Art Shapiro’s Butterfly Gardening for the Sierra foothills
2. Las Pillitas Nursery (on the Central Coast!), but they do ship: Plants for a California Butterfly Garden
BBC News reports Fertilizer is Reducing Biodiversity!
“Extra nutrients allow fast growing plants to dominate a habitat, blocking smaller species' access to vital sunlight, researchers have found.” So maybe you don‘t want to spend quite so much money on Miricle-Gro. Maybe after reading how Osmocote works, it could be a better choice if it stays more self-contained around plants? Anyhow, the BBC article is interesting. There‘s always a catch to anything we do, right?
We are Still Suffering a Water Shortage
Despite a rainy February and March, and now a record-setting rain in May, El Dorado County is listed as being in Severe Drought! Maybe you will want to do what you can to conserve water for your landscaping? This is where you want to check with the El Dorado Chapter of CNPS if you need advice for landscaping for low or no water
Do you really need a lawn? Sounds drastic, but pulling up a water-drinking lawn and landscaping with bunch grasses and native shrubs will look great and save you money too. Read the thumbs down page.
Of interest:
“The water required for a meat-eating diet is twice as much needed for a 2,000-litre-a-day vegetarian diet.”
Read the article on water at BBC’s Solution for World’s Water Woes
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