Summertime in the Garden: Part One - July

Our volunteers aren't the least bit daunted by holidays or heat-waves. Much to the maintenance directors delight, they keep arriving; young and old, experienced and newbie. And we are glad for that.

On the Friday before the 4th of July, Gretchen and longtime member Jane along with Mira Costa student volunteer Selena, labeled and stuffed all the envelopes for the newsletter. Linda cleaned all the interpretive signs and helped Julie put in some new plant ids. Marilyn watered every new plant (a big job). Garen raked the paths.

The hot days bring out the fragrance of the native sages. A huge grasshopper the size of a hummingbird was the day's highlight along with the blooms of the Heartleaved Penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia) Photo by Julie Gonella.

Sunset Magazine: Lose the Lawn

Julie sent in a link to this great article in Sunset magazine about getting rid of your lawn. If that isn't enough to convince you read Tree of Life's Kill your Lawn webpage. We are planning our own Get Rid of the Lawn class for our Fall Series - so stay tuned!

MBBG is on the Map

Like Spring Hummingbirds on Red Gooseberry the garden attracts talent at the right time. We've been eyeing the property just South of the garden along the lower path that runs from the lower entrance through Polliwog Park out to Manhattan Beach Blvd. for an extension to the garden - but we really wanted a good aerial map to show the garden and the new area combined. Enter Chad Flynn, volunteer cartographer, map maker and spatial analysis guru. We are not sure exactly what he really does or what that means but we are so glad for his talent and our wonderful new map! Thanks Chad!

Insects: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Class

Insects: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

May 9, 10-11 am

Gretchen Renshaw-Zwissler, UCLA Instructor

Are you a little squeamish about bugs in your garden, squishing or spraying everything in sight? You may be eliminating insects that turn into beautiful butterflies, or food that could attract colorful birds to your garden. Learn how to identify the good ones and what can be done about the bad ones in an eco-friendly manner. Find out what those ugly ones have to offer and what their purpose is in nature. To have a specific insect identified, bring it to class in a sealed plastic bag.

Meet at the Garden amphitheater, located in Polliwog Park on Peck Ave. just north of Manhattan Beach Blvd.

Photo of Digger Wasp by Julie Gonella

The Garden Goes Viral

Thanks to the folks at DailyMotion.com we have our own promo. video hosted by our our very own Gretchen Renshaw.

Earth-Friendly Garden: Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
Uploaded by zenevolutiontv. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

Poppies Appear in the Sage Meadow

Without a care, this month the annual orange California Poppies marched right through the purple perennial Bees Bliss Sages. With a color combo so stunning one can forgive the arrogance of the poppies and the reticent nature of the sages. The ever-silver Canyon Prince Giant Rye Grass agrees.

The Formula:

7 ea - Bee's Bliss Sage (Salvia 'Bee's Bliss) planted 4-5' apart

1-2 ea - Seed Packet of California Poppies sprinkled starting in Nov. or w/ the rains

3 ea - Canyon Prince Giant Rye Grass (Leymus condensatus 'Canyon Prince') planted 4-5' apart

Photo by Julie Gonella

Volunteers are Gold

With over 12 volunteers this past Friday, the garden was bustling like a Sonoran bumble bee in a California Poppy. They planted new grasses by the stream. They laid down tons of mulch. They weeded the wildflower area. We love our volunteers!

Volunteers Juan, Lee and Celeste pictured planting grasses. Photo by Julie Gonella.