Tag Archives: Nature

First They Sleep

Posted on by under buckwheat

Have you heard the old adage about growing newly-installed plants in the landscape? The saying goes like this: “First they sleep, then they creep, then they leap!”

IMG_8387

This starter ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat is not sleeping after installation: it has doubled in size a month after being planted.

Is your new ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat sleeping, creeping, or leaping? Some homeowners who planted their free buckwheat report bunnies feasting on the tender new growth. If this has happened to your buckwheat, consider fencing it temporarily until the plant grows larger and less tasty to rabbits.

Most ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat starter plants that were planted last fall are nestled into the soil and becoming established in their new home. The rainfall has nourished the leaves, stems, and roots with pure water.

California rains soak California buckwheat.

As the weather begins to warm, the new four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants will begin to bud and eventually flower.

Budding buckwheat.

The buckwheat flowers will attract native California pollinators such as the Acmon Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Brown Elfin, Blue Copper, and Dotted Blue butterflies, as well as many species of California bees including the tiny Masked bee.

Masked bee visits a buckwheat flower.

If you haven’t had a chance to attend A Buckwheat in Every Garden event to pick up your free buckwheat, consider visiting the San Juan Capistrano Garden Club monthly meeting on January 20. The club will give away 96 ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the San Juan Hills Golf Course banquet room.

Buckwheat in flower.

The ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat is a must-have for every Orange County garden, and now is the perfect time to plant it in your home landscape. Get yours while supplies last.

Restored Habitat at Shipley Supports Wildlife

Posted on by under buckwheat

I took advantage of the break in the rain last weekend to visit Shipley Nature Center for their A Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway in Huntington Beach.

Sycamore tree overhangs natural pathway.

The 18-acre Shipley Nature Center is a California native botanical area and wetland. The centerpiece of the gardens is a fresh water pond surrounded by various California native habitat gardens, restful seating areas, and natural pathways.

Red toyon berries flank an adirondack chair in autumn.

Shipley offers vermiculture (worm composting) demonstration sites, rain harvesting and storage examples, and a native plant nursery on site. Fallen tree branches are stacked along some of the pathways, providing perfect habitat for California native bees.

An Urbane Digger Bee in flight. Photo by Kris Ethington.

The City of Huntington Beach and the nonprofit Friends of Shipley Nature Center began restoration of the site in 1974. They removed invasive plants such as tamarisk and black mustard, then planted fifty thousand native plants. This site now supports snowy egrets, great blue herons, ducks, turtles, Cooper’s hawks, cedar waxwings, and many other species of birds, and butterflies.

Cooper’s hawk in search of breakfast. Photo by Kris Ethington.

Shipley Nature Center is an oasis in the city of Huntington Beach. Take your family to visit over the holidays and walk along 4,000 feet of trails that wander through oak woodlands, Torrey pines, willows, coastal sage scrub, and butterfly gardens. Admission is free, and visitor hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Matilija poppies in full flower at Shipley. Photo by Mary LeBoeuf.

Don’t forget to look for the buckwheats planted near the entrance of the site, and remember to look up! You may be rewarded by the site of a snowy egret near its tangled branch nest in the tree tops.

Do you see the ghostly figure of the snowy egret near the nest built in the sycamore tree at Shipley? Photo by Mary LeBoeuf.

More Buckwheat, More Butterflies

Posted on by under buckwheat

When you plant California buckwheat in your home landscape, you bring immediate relief to butterflies and other pollinators searching for nectar and shelter.

California native bee, solitary and docile, visits a California Buckwheat. Do you see the bee? Photo by Kris Ethington.

California buckwheats flower for months, enrich the soil with their tiny leaves, are easy to grow, and are evergreen. Buckwheat is a foundation plant for any garden.

Buckwheat graces a suburban garden.

The California Native Plant Society Orange County (OCCNPS) chapter is partnering with the Shipley Nature Center to give away 200 California ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants at the Holiday Crafts Faire on Saturday, December 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free.

Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach.

Visit Shipley Nature Center this Saturday to pick up a free California buckwheat, select from 70 California native plants to purchase, and see 18 acres of restored wetlands, woodlands, and pristine coastal sage scrub habitat. Shipley’s address is 17851 Goldenwest Street in Huntington Beach. See you this Saturday!

Bernardino Blue butterfly on California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasiculatum). Photo by Chuck Wright.

Buckwheat with a Side of Natives

Posted on by under buckwheat

The Shipley Nature Center of Huntington Beach is partnering with STEMscopes students to host the final Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway of 2019.

Restored coastal sage habitat at Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach.

The December 7th Shipley Nature Center buckwheat giveaway is especially exciting because along with the 200 buckwheat plants being distributed for free, Shipley will offer 70 additional California native plants for sale.

California native plants and books about gardening with natives. Photo by Kris Ethington.

Located in an 18-acre fenced natural area within Huntington Beach Central Park, the Shipley Nature Center is owned by the city of Huntington Beach. Several years ago, the Friends of Shipley Nature Center and the city of Huntington Beach joined together to remove invasive plants, upgrade the trail system, improve wetland areas, and install 50,000 California native plants.

Shipley Nature Center field of poppies.

This Shipley garden event will help OCCNPS supply northwest Orange County homeowners with buckwheat for their home gardens and fill in the Buckwheat in Every Garden iNaturalist map. One buckwheat plant is given to an Orange County homeowner in exchange for the homeowner’s street and city to plot the buckwheats as they are planted across the county.

A Buckwheat in Every Garden iNaturalist map showing 975 buckwheats planted across Orange County as of November 29, 2019.

Join us at the Shipley Nature Center, 17851 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, on Saturday, December 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to pick up your free buckwheat and buy some California natives too. While supplies last, see you December 7.

Gray Hairstreak butterfly on Red Buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

Buckwheat in the Headlands

Posted on by under buckwheat

Last Friday I visited the 60-acre Dana Point Headlands for the first time. I was interested in seeing the place of origin of the ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheat that is being given to Orange County homeowners in A Buckwheat in Every Garden campaign.

Ocean view of the Dana Point Headlands. Photo by Debra Kettler.

We started at the Dana Point Nature Interpretive Center and walked along a sandy trail leading to viewpoints overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was mid-November, and the Dana Point Headlands hadn’t had a drop of rain for six months. Many of the plants in this environment are summer dormant, waiting for winter rains to refresh their leaves and begin new growth.

I enjoyed the rare pristine Coastal Sage Scrub environment in this protected area. It has been a long time since I have traversed a natural environment untouched by invasive black mustard. The most noticeable hints of color in the headlands were the rusty red color of the California Buckwheat flower in autumn, along with patches of green from Laurel Sumac and Prickly Pear Cactus.

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) at the Dana Point Headlands. Photo by Debra Kettler.

The Dana Point Headlands is a coastal promontory managed by the Center for Natural Lands Management. It is home to about 106 native plant species including, of course, California Buckwheat, and the rare California Boxthorn, Cliff Spurge, Prostrate Spine Flower, and Seaside Calandrinia.

Cliff Spurge (Euphorbia misera). Photo by Wayne D. Johnson.

Because the Headlands is home to the threatened and endangered Pacific Pocket Mouse and the Coastal California Gnatcatcher, the area is carefully managed to prevent disturbances to the vulnerable creatures. My husband was fortunate to hear the kitten-like cry of the gnatcatcher and then see the tiny bird hopping on a coastal sage for a few moments near the trail.

California Gnatcatcher. Photo by Debra Kettler.

The Dana Point Headlands is one of the few places left that protects endangered California coastal plant and animal species. Bring your family to visit the Headlands, and enjoy the beautiful swaths of buckwheat in a pristine environment and many other rare plant and animal species as well.

California buckwheat “Dana Point.’ Photo by Kris Ethington.

Our next Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway will be on Saturday, December 7, at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach. Two hundred ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheat plants will be distributed at this event, and many more varieties of California native plants like Encelia (below) will be for sale too. More details to follow.

Springtime fields of California bush sunflower (Encelia californica). Photo by Debra Kettler.

 

Buckwheat Giveaway in Dana Point

Posted on by under buckwheat

The city of Dana Point is partnering with the Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) on an ambitious 200-plant Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway this Friday, November 15 at the Dana Point Community Center.

Four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plant is ready to be planted in a new Orange County home landscape.

OCCNPS and the city of Dana Point will give away 200 four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the Dana Point Community Center at 34052 Del Obispo Street on Friday, November 15.

Buckwheat giveaway earlier this month. Photo by Thea Gavin.

Tree of Life Nursery selected the ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) from a buckwheat plant growing at the Dana Point Headlands. The ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat is a long-flowering shrub that grows one-foot tall and three-feet wide, making it well-suited to smaller home landscapes and gardens.

‘Dana Point’ buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

One ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plant per homeowner will be given in exchange for the homeowner’s street and city. OCCNPS is mapping the buckwheats as they are planted across Orange County home landscapes on the BIEG iNaturalist map. A recent version of the iNaturalist map is shown here with nearly 700 buckwheats planted across Orange County.

A Buckwheat in Every Garden iNaturalist map.

Please join us this Friday and help make Dana Point’s namesake buckwheat giveaway a success. The plants are ready to go into the ground. Get yours this Friday, November 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dana Point Community Center at 34052 Del Obispo Street, Dana Point, California.

Newly installed ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat. Photo by Rob Skinner.

Buckwheats Buzz

Posted on by under buckwheat

Most people recognize the common honey bee as a social creature that lives in hives and makes honey. However many people don’t know that honey bees are non-native insects, introduced from Europe.

European honey bee visiting buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

There are 1,600 species of native bees in California, ranging in size from one-inch long to less than one-quarter inch long. California native bees are often solitary, living in wood or underground tunnels, and most do not make honey. They are important to the existence of our wild lands, and serve as food that supports other species.

Fairy Bees visit buckwheat blossoms. Photo by Kris Ethington.

California native bees love buckwheat’s profusion of blossoms. If you look closely at your California buckwheat when it’s in full bloom in the summer, you will see hundreds of tiny bees and butterflies scattered throughout its blossoms.

Fiery Skipper butterfly visits buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

If you would like to learn more about California native bees, visit the website for UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

And if you would like to support our native pollinators, join us as we give away California buckwheat plants (while supplies last) at three upcoming events in November:

  1. The Fullerton Arboretum is hosting A Buckwheat in Every Garden give-away on Friday, November 1, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  2. Roger’s Gardens is giving away four-inch California ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Corona del Mar on Friday, November 1.
  3. The San Clemente Garden Club is hosting a buckwheat give-away on Wednesday, November 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. Brad Jenkins, President of the Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society, will be presenting that afternoon as well.

    An Urbane Digger Bee in flight. Photo by Kris Ethington.

    OCCNPS gave away more than 400 ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants in October. Visit our iNaturalist map to see the hundreds of buckwheat plants that have gone to their new Orange County home landscapes.

Buckwheat Builds Soil

Posted on by under buckwheat

California buckwheat is an evergreen plant with small leaves that occasionally drop to the ground, forming a natural mulch. The fallen leaves enrich the soil around the plant and allow the plant to grow and spread in its own loamy mulch.

California buckwheat leaves and stem. Photo by Ron Vanderhoff.

If you are an Orange County homeowner who hasn’t picked up your free ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat yet, stop by Roger’s Gardens at 2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd., Corona del Mar on Tuesday, October 22 through Thursday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the only three-day giveaway we have planned, so take advantage of it if you can.

Rogers Gardens is participating in the A Buckwheat in Every Garden campaign.

 

Birds, Bees and Buckwheat

Posted on by under buckwheat

The California Native Plant Society Orange County (OCCNPS) chapter created A Buckwheat in Every Garden to encourage homeowners to plant California native plants in their home landscape– which in turn supports and increases bird populations.

Hummingbird and native California fuchsia. Photo by Kris Ethington.

My neighbor recently sent this photo of a swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the leaves of her kumquat tree. She had previously considered removing the kumquat trees from her garden, but decided against it and was thrilled to see the swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the leaves.

Swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the leaves of a kumquat tree. Photo by Amanda Morrell.

California buckwheat has a long, prolific flowering season that attracts tiny native California bees and butterflies. When I looked closely at my California buckwheat plants this summer, I was astonished to see thousands of tiny pollinators on my buckwheat flowers. These pollinators support my vegetable garden and fruit trees, and they support bird life as well.

Butterfly visits a California buckwheat. Photo by Ron Vanderhoff.

On Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m., Mike Evans, owner of Tree of Life Nursery, gave a presentation at the OCCNPS chapter meeting called Horticultural Valor in the Native Garden–Be Bold! OCCNPS gave away 61 four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants during the chapter meeting.

Paper wasps visits a buckwheat flower. Photo by Ron Vanderhoff.

On Saturday, October 19, OCCNPS board member Thea Gavin gave a presentation at Orange Home Grown Farmers Market about how beneficial pollinators increase in numbers when native plants are installed near fruit and vegetable gardens. OCCNPS gave away 42 ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheat plants at the event.

California buckwheat

Butterfly visits buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

Would you like to help the buckwheat campaign? Join us as a Buckwheat Ambassador and help distribute baby buckwheat plants to your garden club or environmental group. Click here to learn how you can be a part of A Buckwheat in Every Garden.

Buckwheat Brings a Party

Posted on by under buckwheat

One hundred and fifty ‘Dana Point’ California buckwheats found new homes in Orange County. The first outreach event at Acorn Day at O’Neill Regional Park and the second outreach at Smartscape were very popular, attracting many gardeners eager to install a native California buckwheat in their home landscapes.

California buckwheats are in high demand at Acorn Day in O’Neill Park. Photo by Laura Camp.

The Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) has created an interactive iNaturalist map that shows the distribution of the 1,500 buckwheat plants as they are given away and planted throughout the OC. You can follow along as the new buckwheat plants are being installed in Orange County by clicking on the link here.

Four-inch California buckwheats ready for distribution. Photo by Ian Morrell.

If you didn’t have a chance to pick up your free California buckwheat plant last weekend, OCCNPS will be hosting more events throughout October and November.

One of many clusters of blossoms on California Buckwheat. Photo by Ron Vanderhoff

Go to www.OCCNPS.org for more information about upcoming buckwheat distribution events, buckwheat care, planting information, and more. We look forward to seeing you soon.

California buckwheat

California buckwheat in full bloom.

 

 

Buckwheat Brings Buckeyes

Posted on by under buckwheat

Autumn has arrived and the creamy white buckwheat flowers are beginning to take on their rich, russet brown color.

Thea Gavin’s buckwheat hosts a common Buckeye butterfly in Orange, California.

Can you see the common Buckeye butterfly visiting the buckwheat in the image above? Several native plant gardeners have shared photos of the common Buckeye butterfly visiting buckwheat plants in their home landscapes recently.

Common buckeye visits buckwheat flowers in Kris Ethington’s San Clemente garden.

Doug Tallamy, scientist and author of Bringing Nature Home, argues that the single, best method to help bird and butterfly populations recover is for homeowners to plant a portion of their garden with native plants.

Metalmark butterfly visits a native milkweed.

California Native Plant Society Orange County chapter (OCCNPS) has begun free distribution of California buckwheat plants to Orange County homeowners while supplies last.

Buckeye butterfly resting on a Dana Point Buckwheat.

October is the perfect time for planting buckwheat–the upcoming rainfall will help your new buckwheat thrive in your garden. Join us! We would love to meet you and help you get an iconic California native plant started in your garden.

Buckwheat Builds Habitat

Posted on by under buckwheat

The Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) has begun to distribute free, four-inch California buckwheat plants to homeowners living in Orange County.

The ‘Dana Point’ buckwheats are growing well at Tree of Life. Photo by Laura Camp.

OCCNPS hopes to improve habitat for wildlife and butterflies throughout Orange County with this first-ever campaign to distribute 1,500 buckwheats to homeowners who pledge to plant them in their home landscapes.

Doug Tallamy, scientist and author of Bringing Nature Home, argues that the single, best method to help bird and butterfly populations recover is for homeowners to plant a portion of their garden with native plants.

Two butterflies enjoy California buckwheat blossoms. Photo by Kris Ethington.

To that end, OCCNPS has developed A Buckwheat in Every Garden campaign as a direct way to “put California native plants in the ground.”

The group has selected the ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat for the campaign because it is a beautiful addition to home landscapes, easy to grow, blooms profusely for 10 months of the year, and supports pollinators and wildlife.

Soldier fly visits California buckwheat. Photo by Kris Ethington.

OCCNPS is connecting gardeners who are planting the 1,500 buckwheat plants in Orange County with an iNaturalist map. As the buckwheat plants go to their new homes, OCCNPS will mark the locations on the map. Homeowners can follow along as buckwheats are planted in Orange County by logging into the group’s website at OCCNPS.orgCNPS Orange County

Join us at the following events to get your free buckwheat (*while supplies last):

  1. October 5:  Acorn Day, O’Neill Regional Park, 30892 Trabuco Canyon Rd., Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  2. October 12:  Laguna Beach Smart Scape Expo, 306 Third St., Laguna Beach, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Only 64 buckwheat plants available).
  3. October 17:  OCCNPS Chapter Meeting, The Duck Club, Irvine, CA,  from 7 to 9 p.m.
  4. October 19:  Orange Home Grown Education Farm, 356 N. Lemon St., Orange, CA 92866, from 10 a.m. to noon.
  5. October 22-24:  Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd., Corona del Mar, CA 92625 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m
  6. October 26:  Tree of Life Nursery, 33201 Ortega Highway, San Clemente, CA, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  7. November 1:  Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd., Corona del Mar, CA 92625 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  8. November 1:  Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated Rd., Fullerton, CA, 92831, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  9. November 6:  San Clemente Garden Club, St. Andrews Church recreation room, 2001 Calle Frontera, San Clemente, CA 92673, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

    St. Catherine’s lace decorates a patio area.