How Do Purple Flags Fight Climate Change?

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How Do Purple Flags Fight Climate Change?

What we are learning now is that the presence of green growing plants is even more important to building a living soil than the presence of decomposing organic matter. By planting a mixed perennial meadow under our fruit trees instead of constantly disturbing the soil with weeding, we are adding much more carbon to our soil over time than we could by simply mulching. While getting rid of the oxalis weeds is great, getting rid of the carbon dioxide that is driving climate change is much more important.

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Why the Purple Flags?

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Why the Purple Flags?

If you had walked through GFE in March five years ago and looked uphill into the orchard, you would have seen a solid sea of yellow flowers foaming around the trunks of our fruit trees. What’s a restorative garden team to do? Of course, as an organic garden where no pesticides have been used for over twenty five years, we didn’t consider spraying roundup on the oxalis. We made a long term plan to change the conditions in the orchard so that they no longer favored the oxalis.

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Butterflies in the Garden

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Butterflies in the Garden

As summer brings warmer temperatures and some sunny afternoons, one of the most enjoyable sights in the garden is a variety of butterflies flitting from plant to plant, seeking nectar and egg-laying opportunities. Look for butterflies congregating in open, sunny spots with some wind protection. To make garden areas more attractive to butterflies, plant some of their favorite nectaring flowers.

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Nostalgia and the Transplanted Gardener

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Nostalgia and the Transplanted Gardener

Like many Californians, I am a transplant from another climate zone. The plants in my personal stories - the lilacs, maples, and lawns of New England - were ones I wanted in my California story. But unfortunately, people travel to different climates more easily than plants. To connect with the gardening stories from my family’s past, I have to look deeper than the specific plants.

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Spring Blooming Bulbs for Bay Area Climate Zones

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Spring Blooming Bulbs for Bay Area Climate Zones

It’s too much to expect us to give up our tulips and crocuses “cold turkey.” Yet, this annual planting spree followed by throwing out the bulbs can’t last in a world were sustainability is the new byword. That’s why we need a substitute: beautiful, graceful spring flowering bulbs which are suited to our climate so that they can naturalize, returning year after year.

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