Native Plant Interview with Terri

Kat:  I’m Kat Sawyer, a Greenspace Advocate on the Dogpatch/NW Potrero Hill Green Benefit District Board.  I’m here with Terri McFarland, a fellow GBD Director and a landscape architect. 

We’re making this video today to support the GBD’s Native Plant Treasure Hunt going on through October on iNaturalist, a citizen science app. You can find more information on how to participate @greenbenefit.org. Press the Treasure Hunt button.  There are prizes! 

Currently, GBD greenspaces use a mix of non-native and native plants.  We have a goal to increase the use of native plants both in public spaces as well as in our neighbor’s backyards.   

We’re here in Terri’s backyard in Potrero Hill. Terri, tell us a little about yourself and your passion for native plants. 

Terri:
Welcome to my garden in SW Potrero Hill.  I’ve been gardening here for 30 years, so I know this space very well. I have planted everything here, including many  plants grown from seeds. I’m a Landscape Architect working for 22 years in the Bay Area.  I also teach design studios in the Landscape Horticulture department at Merritt College in Oakland. I started a solo design practice in 2018 with a focus on smaller residential projects. I also am an artist, making landscape paintings in oils and watercolors.

Kat:  
You’ve got lots of native plants and grasses in your backyard. Can you explain the benefits of native plants?  

Terri:
While I use both native and non-native plants in my garden, I’m drawn to native plants because they locate me in the place where I am, in California, in San Francisco, in Potrero Hill.  Gardening to me is about being present and aware, and using natives helps to ground me.  The plants are adapted for this place, including the current severe drought as in the case of my meadow which currently looks completely dead. I’m perfectly fine with this dormant stage, and in fact, it would be boring to me if my garden didn’t change with the seasons.  Here in California, plants go dormant as a strategy for the summer dryness.  While I can irrigate to keep my garden greener, I like that my garden doesn’t need it.  I have faith that the grasses will green up with the first bit of rain, and that gives me joy. 

Kat:
Have you noticed more animal life as a result of planting with natives?

Terri:
Yes, it’s been really fun for me, especially during the pandemic, to watch critters hopping over from my neighbor’s yards to peck at grass seeds, or berries from the California lilac.   One of the main reasons we’re looking to encourage native plants in folks’ backyards is that specific pollinators evolve with specific plants. If the plants aren’t there, then neither are the pollinators.  

Kat:  The concept of including nature in the city is becoming a mainstream idea. Native plants are an important part of that vision.  A recent project,  the Eco-Patch in NW Potrero is a collaboration with the local chapter of CA Native Plant Society, landscape architects Field Collective, and neighbors with support from the GBD.  Can you tell us more about that project?  

Terri:
The Eco-Patch is a piece of CalTrans land next to the 101 freeway, which you can hear now in my garden. It’s a garden testing various native plant palettes that might be used here in anyone’s backyard garden. Urban development destroys and fragments native plant populations.  They’re pretty much gone.  But there are still many pieces of land that can be replanted.  Besides private backyards, our neighborhood has a lot of leftover pieces next to the freeway infrastructure.  These can be revitalized. There’s a theory from the field of landscape ecology called “patch-corridor-matrix” that can apply to urban landscapes, the idea that small natural patches in people’s backyards can add up to a greater whole, even to create a highly functioning ecosystem within the city.  That gives me hope. It’s inspiring to think that pollinators might be able to connect from the Eco-Patch to my garden here hopping along other neighbor’s backyards. 

Kat:
How is the landscape architecture profession changing to include native plants? 

Terri:
There’s a framework in planting design called “designed plant community.”  For new landscapes, the idea is to choose plant palettes based on plant communities that co-exist in natural ecosystems.  The Eco-Patch demonstration garden is a great place to see some of these palettes such as Coastal Sage Scrub, or Oak Savannah.  You choose plants that go together in the wild ecosystem and put them together your garden.  Besides the natural affinity of the plants, you get the added benefit of providing for the pollinators.  What’s exciting and hopeful is that many small backyard patches can add up to a bigger system.  Flying pollinators don’t see property lines or fences.  The idea of what’s beautiful in garden expands to include time, dormancy and the greater environment. And last but not least, I really like being connected to my human neighbors through this adventure.

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Hilltop Hullabaloo

Join the Hilltop Hullabaloo on iNaturalist, April 30 - May 1

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Join the California Native Plant Society, Yerba Buena Chapter iand more by taking part in the 2021 City Nature Challenge, organized by the California Academy of Sciences. The City Nature Challenge is a world-wide bioblitz with the goal of collecting as many iNaturalist observations as possible in one weekend in participating cities and surrounding areas! Yerba Buena Chapter bioblitzers will be concentrating our efforts on five local hilltops: Buena Vista Park, Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, Bayview Hill and San Bruno Mountain. This is a fun and COVID-safe way to explore, learn about nature, and collect important data used by researchers and land managers. You can make observations of any species you encounter – beautiful flowers, tiny insects, mosses, birds, everything!

 Here’s how it works - sign  up for an iNaturalist account. You can make observations on the Android or iPhone apps or upload photos to your computer and make them online. Yerba Buena chapter members will be in the field, but due to the pandemic this event will be self-directed. Email with questions: yerba.buena.cnps.chapter@gmail.com

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Blooming in February?

The Eco-Patch is taking advantage of the rain and the sun!

The San Francisco Wallflower is blooming!    This came from the Blue Mountain Nursery.

The San Francisco Wallflower is blooming! This came from the Blue Mountain Nursery.

The Triteleia laxa bulbs are starting to come up.

The Triteleia laxa bulbs are starting to come up.

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GBD Eco-Patch in January

The Test Garden is coming to life!

Plant preparation complete! Initial weeding complete! A month of planting complete!
For more information check Potrero Gateway Project
Brought to you by Neighborhood volunteers and https://field-collective.land


Lupinus bicolor is one of the filler seed species we used in the oak savanna plant mix. Here it is starting to sprout in early January.

Lupinus Bicolor

Phacelia californica starting to bloom in early January.

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Beach Strawberry Coastal Prairie’ test garden planting one month after planting.
Fragaria chiloensis groundcover layer is starting to spread in foreground, Phacelia inmid ground, and Iris douglasiana and Calamagrostis nutkaensis beyond.

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The Eco-Patch information sign, inviting awareness and participation. The pink flags of the garden are visible beyond. Each pink flag represents a plant in the ground and identifies the plant species.

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Ready for Fall Planting?

The Yerba Buena California Native Plant Society is presenting a WEBAGANZA on line

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Enjoy talks on native plant pruning, container gardening, gardening for birds and pollinators and more.

10am-10:10am       Welcome and Introductions

10:10am-10:50am   Pete Veilleux,. Native Plant Container Gardening

10:50am-11:15am   Allison Levin, Aesthetic Pruning In Habitat Gardens

11:15am-11:55       Matt Zlatunich, Urban Wildscaping For Birds

11:55-Noon             Noreen Weeden, "Plants For Birds” Nursery Promotion

Noon-12:30pm        Mike Belcher, Pipevine Planting Demonstration

12:30 -1pm             Susan Karasoff, Edible Natives for San Francisco

October 4, 2020, 10 AM  Registration link here

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Using California Native Grasses in Garden Design

An Interview with Landscape Architect Terri McFarland

Foreground, left: Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) in early winter. Background: CA native shrub Salvia mellifera (Black sage) in sky with assorted Mediterranean shrubs

Foreground, left: Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) in early winter. Background: CA native shrub Salvia mellifera (Black sage) in sky with assorted Mediterranean shrubs

Why use California native grasses in garden design? The easiest answer is our native grasses are beautiful!  Adapted to our dry summers, they are a good low- or no-water choice for gardens.  As a garden designer, I use grasses as a canvas upon which to compose showy drifts of flowers.  On larger properties, restoration of native meadows can be an economical and appropriate understory for dry shade under oaks.  Sweeping meadows draped over rolling landforms is a beloved feature of California.
As a professional landscape architect, I want to help tell the story of our native grasslands which according to the California Native Grasslands Association are among the most important yet most endangered ecosystems in the United States. The “oak savannah” is the quintessential California landscape, but today few pristine prairies remain due to development, poorly managed grazing, fire suppression, and exotic species. The ecological benefits of grasslands include erosion control, water recharge, biodiversity, habitat, and carbon capture.  
The theory of “shifting baselines” posits that humans accept the degradation of ecosystems from generation to generation as the original baseline gets forgotten.  If we don’t know what a healthy ecosystem looks like, how can we restore it?  Gardeners who care for these species in home gardens, perhaps as a “museum” of endangered species, can help support the mission of CNGA to promote, preserve, and restore the diversity of California’s native grasses and grassland ecosystems. The resilience of our grasslands will be an essential component for adapting to climate change.

Spent flower stalks of Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) with purple blooms of Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear)

Spent flower stalks of Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) with purple blooms of Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear)

What are the challenges of using native grasses in a garden? Weed control is the number one challenge when trying to establish native grasses.  European annual grasses are very successful in out competing our native species.  Even before these introduced species took over, indigenous persons used controlled burns to maintain open grasslands for grazing elks.  Fire, grazing and meadows evolved together.  Today, some ranches are having good success using cows to restore native grasslands, timing their grazing for exotic weed control.  In a small backyard garden, an attentive gardener can easily manage weeds by hand-pulling.  I have gotten very adept at distinguishing a weed from a native sprout by subtle differences in the shade of green or texture.  

Another challenge is the dormant period which gardeners may think look “dead” rather than dormant.  The grasses can be kept greener with irrigation, but I enjoy them in all phases.  One strategy is to set dryer grasses within evergreen plants.  I’m not a purist, and I also enjoy plants from other Mediterranean climates such as the classics - lavender, rosemary, sage.  I also can’t resist lovely summer annuals such as zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos and poppies which keep the summer garden vibrant.   While appreciating the ecological story of native grasslands, as a designer I use grasses as I would any other plant in my garden, placing them to show off the particular charms of each species. 

Foreground: CA native Koeleria micrantha (Junegrass) Background: CA natives Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) + Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear) with non-native Hollyhocks and Mexican Marigold

Foreground: CA native Koeleria micrantha (Junegrass) Background: CA natives Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) + Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear) with non-native Hollyhocks and Mexican Marigold

How much water do you use and how is it distributed? A big advantage of using California native grasses is that they are adapted for our dry summers, and once established, you won’t need to irrigate at all.  California is called the “Golden State” for the color of dry grasslands.  In your home garden, you can keep these grasses green with extra water, but I like to embrace the season cycles, and honor the plant’s adaptations.  Having very deep roots to carry plants through dry periods has another important ecological benefit, that of carbon sequestration. Unlike burning forests which release tons of carbon into the atmosphere, burning grasslands keep most of their biomass in deep roots underground, and can quickly regenerate. 

The “needles” of Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) blowing in the wind. These will self-sow in the garden.

The “needles” of Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) blowing in the wind. These will self-sow in the garden.

How long since your grasses have been planted?  Were they from seed or from a nursery? I started using native grasses in my garden in 2003 with plugs of Stipa lepida (Foothill needlegrass) leftover from Quintessa Winery, a project in Napa Valley that I worked on with Lutsko Associates.  This project restored an oak savannah that wraps the winery and includes native grass meadows on the roofs.  These are still going strong in my garden with minimal if any summer water.

Over time, I’ve planted additional grass species from both seeds and plugs, sourced from Hedgerow Farms in Winters or Larner’s Seeds in Bolinas.  Lately, I’ve been harvesting my own seeds for the magic of the seed-to-seed cycle. In addition to diversifying the grass species, I’ve been adding flowering native perennials.  I was so pleased this spring when the first blooms of Aquilegia formosa (Western columbine) showed up 3 years after sowing. 


CA native perennial wildflowers: Pink flowers of Sidalcea malviflora (Checkerbloom) w/ creamy white flowers of Erysimum concinnum (Point Reyes Wallflower) within green straps of Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear) and Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass)

CA native perennial wildflowers: Pink flowers of Sidalcea malviflora (Checkerbloom) w/ creamy white flowers of Erysimum concinnum (Point Reyes Wallflower) within green straps of Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear) and Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass)

Have you thought about native varieties that span the year so that every season has a different bloom?The joy of tending a garden is to connect more deeply with time, and to be fully present to life.  I tap into this biophilia as I watch the sequence of grasses, beginning in winter with Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass) greening up with the first bit of rain.  Early spring features the delicate flowers of Koeleria micrantha (Junegrass) one of my favorites with its soft blue-green foliage.  Next come spikes of Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue) the most lawn-like of our natives. I also love the seeds of the melics (Melica californica, Melica torreyana) which look like metallic beads glowing in the shadier part of my garden.  Another favorite moment is when the purple flowers of Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s Spear) nestle into the spent flower stalks of Stipa pulchra.

Baby hummingbirds nesting in CA native Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ (California lilac)

Baby hummingbirds nesting in CA native Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ (California lilac)

What fauna have you observed? I have seen many birds, butterflies, and bees visit my garden.  This spring, two hummingbirds hatched in the Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ (California Lilac).  On foggy mornings, I find cute little native bees napping in the sticky yellow flowers of Grindelia camporum (Central Valley Gum plant.)  On “butterfly TV” last month, I saw about 10 butterflies floating between my and my neighbor’s yard, when a noisy mockingbird jumped on the fence angling to catch an orange Gulf fritillary.  He missed, and all the butterflies immediately hid themselves.  Seed-eating birds, such as California towhee, junco, golden crown sparrow or finch, stop by in fall to peck at grass seeds fallen in the soil.  I’ve come to see the fauna as another design element in my garden – if I can make a little bird happy and fat, I’m doing something right!

Species list [partial] for Terri’s Potrero Hill garden:

California native perennial wildflowers:Achillea millefolium (White Yarrow)
Aquilegia formosa (Western columbine)
Asclepias fascicularis (Narrow-leaf milkweed)
Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)
Erysimum concinnum (Point Reyes Wallflower)
Grindelia camporum (Central Valley Gum plant)
Sidalcea malvilflora (Checkerbloom)
Sidalcea calycosa rhizomata (Pt. Reyes checkerbloom)
Sisyrinchium bellum (Blue-eyed grass)
Thalictrum fendleri (Foothill meadow rue)
Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel’s spear)

California native perennial bunchgrasses:
Festuca californica (California fescue)
Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue)
Koeleria micrantha (Junegrass)
Melica californica (California melic)
Melica torreyana (Torrey melic)
Stipa lepida (Foothill needlegrass)
Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass)

Resources:
California Native Grasslands Association: www.cnga.org
California Native Plant Society: www.cnps.org
Hedgerow Farms: www.hedgerowfarms.com
Larner’s Seeds: www.larnerseeds.com

Terri McFarland is a Green Advocate Director on the Dogpatch-Northwest Potrero Hill Green Benefit District Board and serves on the GBD’s Biodiversity Committee.  A California licensed landscape architect, she has been tending her garden in Potrero Hill since 1992.  She worked for 18 years as a principal landscape architect at Lutsko Associates, a San Francisco-based firm known for using California native plants in contemporary design. She opened her solo practice in 2019, and teaches advanced landscape design classes at Merritt College in Oakland.

to bee or not to bee. What is the question?

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Can you recognize different bees?

Common Bee Groups of California

APIDAE (Cuckoo, Digger, Carpenter, Bumble, and Honey Bees) 
COLLETIDAE (Membrane Bees)
ANDRENIDAE (Mining Bees)
HALICTIDAE (Sweat Bees)
MEGACHILIDAE (Leafcutting, Mason, Cotton Bees)

With a CLICK, Check out the

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Local Native Habitat flourishing

Looking for bees? Want to support native bees in your garden and neighborhood?

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Check out the Historic I.M. Scott School Sidewalk Gardens (Native CA plants) at 1060 Tennessee and along the 900 block of Minesota Street just north of 22nd.
According to iNaturalist.com, the little bee on that flower is a “Tribe Bacchihi”. To learn more about the flower, Seaside Fleabane (aka Seaside Daisy), check out calscapes .org

And there are bees in one of their favorite trees, the California Buckeye

Californis Buckeye, Aesculus californica

Californis Buckeye, Aesculus californica

You can find the bees ( native or honey bees?) enjoying the tree blooms above at 22nd St. Caltrain station, Southbound side.

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Virtual Tours and Speakers in May - on Zoom and YouTube

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Bring Back the Natives Tours

Sunday, May 3, 10:00am-3:00pm  - will be kicked off by ecologist Doug Tallamy and CNPS Executive Director Dan Gluesenkamp in a Q and A session hosted by Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour (BBTN) Coordinator Kathy Kramer.  Following that, we'll visit seven beautiful native plant gardens, and tour the Watershed Nursery.  

Sunday May 10, 10:00am-1:00pm – Welcome with Tour Coordinator Kathy Kramer followed by virtual garden tours in Alameda, Castro Valley, Berkeley, Richmond, Albany, San Ramon and Oakland

Click to Register:

Yerba Buena California Native Plant Spciety- Speaker Program and Tour

Thursday May 7, 7:30 pm - Dr. Brent D. Mishler - “What is Biodiversity, Why is it Valuable,and How Best Can We Study and Conserve It in California”
For Registration: http://cnps-yerbabuena.org/calendar/speaker-series/

Sunday May 10, 9:45am-1:45pm - CNPS Yerba Buena Virtual Garden Tour 2020
For Registration: http://cnps-yerbabuena.org/virtual-garden-tour-may-10-2020/

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Wildflower Hike: February 23rd 2020 9:30am - 12:30pm

San Bruno Mountain Wildflower walk with Wildfires to Wildflowers

There is a $6.00 parking fee.

We will be hiking Saddle Trail, which is 2.5 miles long, and mostly flat. We’ll go into the history of the mountain, and how grassroots advocacy saved it. We’ll explore possible ecosystem market opportunities as a funding mechanism for legislators, encouraging markets to fund restoration work, and in return get credits for offsetting emissions.

Sign up below and you will be sent a confirmation email with more details within a few days.

Topics covered in Wildfires to Wildflowers hikes vary, but include:

  • Plant identification and ethnobotanical uses

  • The habitat restoration cycle from seed to site

  • How restoring habitat sequesters carbon

  • The Wildfires to Wildflowers movement in the larger cultural and political context

Limited to 20 hikers

Free - though donations gladly accepted and will be requested at end of hike.

See more at: https://www.wildfirestowildflowers.org/hike  

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Natives Blooming in Dogpatch

Thanks to wonderful winter rain and caring gardeners, CA native plants at Woods mini-park Native Plant Garden are enjoying early spring weather and showing their lovely side. (22nd St. between Indiana St. and Minnesota St.)

Late winter/early spring brings out our CA Native Plants at Scott School Sidewalk Gardens. Several species are blooming now. (Tennessee St and Minnesota St just north of 22nd St.) 

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