Garden Activities: May 19,2026

Tuesday was an unusual day. Fires are raging in Simi Valley and on Santa Rosa Island. We are concerned for folks who live in the former and for the endemic plants we (the world) may lose on the latter. Fingers crossed that lives and property can be protected and that we don’t lose precious unique plants.

In the garden today were volunteers Julia Appelrough, Dale Harshberger, Susanna Mac, Katie Shank, Janet Wall, and myself. Steve Davis was also on site to transfer knowledge of the irrigation system web controller to Katie.

It was serendipitous that Steve was here today as we had already planned to focus on the CA Native Sections that are his particular interest. He provided a further suggestion to remove seedlings of toyon and oak where leaving them would cause problems of crowding down the line. The other job we decided to tackle was to remove the matilija poppies that were growing through the recumbent coyote brush. Now that they are viewable from the path, cleaning them up was imperative. Given that the poppies travel by rhizomes that grow deep in the ground, this will be an ongoing job as even pulling them out where possible you’re leaving the rhizome which will inevitably send up new stems. We also decided that the 3 plants closest to the parking area could be allowed to spread and visually become a contiguous ground cover. They are only a matter of a foot or two from each other, so we took out the few poppies that were growing in between.

Dale and Steve in the area cleared a week or so ago between the gravel path and poppies and other natives.

Janet removing the poppies between coyote brush plants (which are VERY happy). She also cleared an opening from the gravel path to native elderberry that, being tall, was planted several feet back toward the perimeter fence.

Janet, having knowledge of where native plants were planted between the path and perimeter fence near the old garden entrance, showed Katie where they were so Katie could deliver some water to them by hand as they are out of range of the irrigation system. And that is what you call a run-on sentence!

Katie returning from a water run as I am getting rid of some weeds.

There were several plants blooming in the native gardens including:

A row of sticky monkey flower (Diplacus (or Mimulus) aurantiacus)

Giant chalk dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)

Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa)

In the left of the image is a single white rose-like flower amidst the seed heads that last for months. The plume is the elongated female part of the flower (style) which acts like a parachute to allow the wind to disperse the seed.

Thanks to Susanna and Janet for their images.

Enjoy the garden!   KMM