People    Website    ︎


Welcome to the Test Plot log. Please check back for seasonal updates from our volunteers and stewards. You can also search by location in the footer.

2024

10/24 RAINBOW CANYON KICKOFF 
by Tatianna Velicer 

10/22 GREEN RAVINE  @ CATALINA ISLAND TURNS 1!
by Alex Robinson

7/08 DISTURBANCE
by Jenny Jones

6/20 SUMMER SOLSTICE CHECK-IN
by Anthony Martin

6/08 BALDWIN HILLS TURNS 3!
by Jen Toy

6/07 DEBS FIRST FRIDAYS
by Cody Porter

5/25  EUCALYPTUS UNDERSTORY 
1 YEAR EVALUATION
by Jen Toy

1/15 EUCALYPTUS 2nd PLANTING
by Jen Toy



2023

11/13 UNDER THE EUCALYPTUS
by Victoria Bevington

11/06 STARR KING INTRO
by Terremoto SF

10/16 WATCHING WEATHER
Q&A with Joey Farewell

9/18 CATALINA SOIL TEST #1
Q&A with Alia Harris and Emersyn Klick

7/10 DEBS FIELD SKETCHES
by Hannah Pae

6/08 IT’S RAINING OAKS 
by Joey Farewell

5/25 SECRET SUPERBLOOM
by Jenny Jones

3/29 RAINBOW RIVER
by Dani Vonlehe, Jenny Jones, Dante Inguinez

3/23 VERTICAL MULCH
by Nina Weithorn

3/10 SPRING AT DEBS
by Adrian Tenney

3/07 WHAT’S IN BLOOM AT BALDWIN
by Arely Media Perez

2/15 USC NEW PLANTS
by Nina Weithorn

VALENTINE’S DAY AT RIO
by Daniela Velazco

1/30 ELEPHANT HILL RAINS
by Joey Farewell


2022

FIELD DRAWINGS FROM SAN BRUNO MOUNTAIN
by Lian Mae Tualla, Tera Johnson

10/22 RIO FIELD NOTES
by Daniela Velazco

STARTING THE USC CAMPUS PLOTS
by Alex Robinson

10/13 ELYSIAN AFTER 3 YEARS
Q&A with Jenny Jones

10/06 RIO AFTER 2 YEARS
Q&A with Jen Toy


2021

STARTING BALDWIN HILLS
by Daniela Velazco



MEET THE SUPER STEWARDS
All interviews by Daniela Velazco + Hannah Flynn

TANIA ROMERO

DANTE INIGUEZ + ANTHONY MARTIN

LUIS RINCON




PORTAL * INTERNAL USE
RAINBOW CANYON KICK-OFF

Rainbow Canyon Test Plot (Mt. Washington neighborhood) 
By Tatianna Velicer
USC Student

DATE: Oct 24 2024


Rainbow Canyon has a homey community feel with beautiful sheltering trees, a riparian area, a scenic viewpoint of the city, and switchback trails. It is a peaceful oasis surrounded by the sounds of lawn work, neighbors out and about, barking dogs, birds chirping, and coyote howls. There is a characteristic rotting pumpkin, a chair with a tire perched on top of it, and lots of forgotten tidbits of plastic and metal.

On our site preparation day on October 26th, we divided and conquered tasks to prepare the area for planting. Volunteers conducted weeding, invasive species removal, trash removal, site maintenance, and debated design options for the new Test Plot. The switchback area was altered to have a longer entrance, a less steep gradient, and logs were added for trail identification. Castor bean and tree-of-heaven were removed. The trash cleanup group found all sorts of treasurers from lego figurines to seemingly ancient cans and bottles. A majority of the cleanup work focused on picking out tiny bits of plastic, glass, and styrofoam scattered in the soils.

We asked each volunteer to place a flag at their favorite place in the Canyon. I retrieved these flags from every corner of the Canyon but many were placed along the riparian area and central gathering spaces. We received feedback with exciting ideas for transforming the space, such as the addition of benches, a bridge, an art installation, a space for classes and events, and educational signage. Volunteers gathered to review potential designs and then had the opportunity to show us with rope where they would add a plot to the space. We received sketches with a Yin and Yang plot formation and a few designs with large central ovular plots.

The most heartwarming aspect of the day was the Mount Washington Community members and all the volunteers who showed up with a smile to help us with these preparation activities. With our volunteers, we were able to not only envision the future of Rainbow Canyon, but hear stories from its past. Rainbow Canyon has a rich history of community advocacy that led to its preservation. It has proven to be a space worth protecting and loving. We even learned that Rainbow Canyon was the venue of a wedding for a local resident. We hope to honor the combined natural and human history of the Canyon with our Test Plot, coming on December 8th, 2024.





GREEN RAVINE @ CATALINA TURNS 1! 
Catalina Island Test Plot 
By Jen Toy
Test Plot Lead

DATE: Oct 22 2024
TIME: 10AM-2PM
TEMP: 73 F
︎ WEATHER: Sunny, Blue Skies, Warm
WIND (SPEED/DIRECTION): Not notIceable
SOIL MOISTURE: Dry

︎ PLANT SIGHTINGS:  
Out of the 174 plants planted one year ago (Nov 2023), about 30 have perished according to Lauren Czarnecki, the Test Plot lead steward of Catalina. Reasons include lack of water (see notes on irrigation system below), browsing by ground squirrels (esp loved wooly sunflower and don’t like golden yarrow) and transplant shock. Endemic species include Wallace’s nightshade, Catalina ironwood (not Santa Cruz which is more popular on the mainland), Mountain mahogany, Island Ceanothus, and the Catalina Island Manzanita. They are all surviving!

WEED SIGHTINGS:
We were lucky to be joined by a team from the Catalina Conservancy Invasive Plant Management team joined our group. Aaron Kreisberg, Plant Conservation Manager, walked the ravine and identified the major weeds, which were all located on the western edge of the plot.

They included:
Atriplex semibaccataAustralian saltbush
Brachypodium sylvaticumFalse brome
Brassica nigraBlack mustard
Bromus diandrusRipgut brome
Bromus hordeaceusSoft brome
Centaurea melitensisMaltese star thistle
Cynodon dactylonBermuda grass
Erigeron canadensisHorseweed
Foeniculum vulgareFennel
Rumex crispusCurly Dock
Salsola australisRussian thistle
Salsola tragusRussian tumbleweed
Stipa miliacea Smilograss

He also suggested this amazing resource WEEDRIC (Research & Information Center) by UC Davis which lists invasive species A-Z and offers management strategies. He says he uses it every day!

︎WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS:  None in the immediate plot area except a wicked spider web. 

HUMAN ACTIVITY: Our team consisted of USC students from Alex’s class, Tawny de Guzman from Community Nature Connection plus 2 colleagues, Julio Soria from LA Nature for All, and Scott Applebaum from the ENST program. We weeded the ravine, planted 30 new plants, and gave the existing and new plants a deep water.

“ My favorite part of the day was when we got to dig holes for some replacement plants in the ravine. Some areas were very easy to dig down into whereas others were quite rocky and dry, so it was great to see our group really begin to cooperate more and work together on the harder spots. I also enjoyed locating a Dudleya that was hiding underneath some Encelia californica, and pruned back the shrub to provide more sunlight. “ - Mark Reid, USC Student

GENERAL NOTES: It was a beautiful day, with multiple dolphin and gray whale sightings on the boat ride there and back. Lauren has been an amazing steward over the last year, but watering is challenging and time consuming. She has been underwatering the plants (twice in the fall and spring and 3-4 times over the summer). The IBC tote (250 gallons of collected rainwater) was placed upstream and gravity feeds into 4 drip irrigation lines, with 1 emitter covering each plant (at least most plants). However it turns out the head pressure is only great enough to run one line (the top one) so the plants towards the bottom of the swale did not receive as much water. It takes several hours to drain one tote, and requires machinery to replace the totes. It is also tricky to find time to water during the cooler times of day.  She learned a trick to spray the water to create more humidity, which helps against the dry Santa Annas.

SOIL: Scott Applebaum’s class spent time over the summer, and conducted more soil tests to compare with those taken in September 2023 (see LOG POST HERE). They found that the soil cores are shifting away from clay to include more silt.

COIR MATS: This is the first time we tried coir mats, and they are all still holding their form and intact. Lauren’s thoughts are that they have helped with water retention in the dry months. She noticed that if they were not staked down very well, they would rip and pull the plants away during winter when the ravine had active water flow.

TIMELAPSE: The Chronolog has been up and running since July. It’s a community science app that takes photos that people can upload and creates a timelapse video.

SUMMARY: Lauren reminded us the goal is 3 S’s : slow the water, spread it, and sink it. The rock check dams are working, and she observed standing water in July, which allows for species like the Baja Choir Frog to visit through June.













DISTURBANCE 
Elysian Test Plot 
By Jenny Jones
Test Plot Co-Founder, Terremoto Partner
July 08 2024

This post is long overdue. I kept meaning to write, but each time I was ready to document the latest events in the plots, something exciting would happen. Or, something devastating—making it hard to write an objective update without being clouded by emotion. But time has passed, dust has settled, and hopefully this entry has just the right amount of both objectivity and heart. 

We started the year extremely hopeful, bolstered by the success of the Rainbow River and our experiments with seed in 2023. We planned to expand the Rainbow River with wildflowers from seed, but also created a new plot, our biggest one yet, to test establishing shrubs from seed. We call this new area the Row Plots, as we decided to lay out the plots into agricultural rows, to make for ease of weeding and management. The Row Plots are also a nice foil to the snaking form of the Rainbow River.

The first seeding of the season started very organically: we were simply inspired by the beautiful tufts of seedheads that were proliferating on our goldenbush, goldenrod, and coyote bush plants within the existing plots. One original dream of the Test Plots at Elysian was for them to serve as seed sources for further expansion of native ecologies, outward from the plots. This past fall, it was obvious that the plots were ready to play this role. The seedheads were calling to us, and were just begging to be cast around. Over a series of weeks when I was at the park alone, on a daily walk, I would stop at the plots, and simply break the branches of the bountiful plants. Then I would walk the adjacent hillsides, beating the branches together to dislodge and spread the seed. I felt like a true plant witch, casting spells with my wands, sending dreamy drifts of seeds floating through the air.  It was easy, free, joyful work. 


Then we got a little more serious and made our plans. We re-seeded the Rainbow River, unable to let ourselves be patient and see if it would reseed itself. It was simply too beautiful last year to not do it again. Maybe next year we’ll hold back and see what comes up on its own. We also laid out the Row Plots, and used flags to carefully mark both seeded areas. While the Rainbow River was about putting on a show of wildflowers, in the Row Plots, we seeded mostly shrub species. We dappled in some clarkia and poppies for a little splash of color in the first year. The rains blessed us big time this year, and our adorable seedlings quickly started coming up.




Enter the first setback. One day in February we showed up to work at the plots, to weed among the seedlings. And we found every single one of the hundreds of flags we had laid out, simply gone. We were confused for a bit, wondering if possibly Rec and Parks didn’t like what we were doing this year and had intervened. But then we found all the flags, along with some lovely hand-painted signs we had made, all thrown down the hill scattered in the brush. We still haven’t found the logic in this act, as none of the plants themselves were damaged. All of our work was technically still intact, which was a relief, but it still felt like a violation, nonetheless. We collected the flags we could reach, some of us getting poison oak in the process, and we re-placed the flags as best we could. And kept going.

In March we held several events to bring in and train new volunteers. It was heartwarming to see so many folks come out to lovingly tend to the seedlings, pulling invasive grass and mustard by hand to allow the wildflowers a chance to compete. In addition to hand-weeding, we did a lot of scything this year. We had been experimenting with simple hand-mowers for a few years, but this year Terremoto acquired two real scythes, and we sure had a lot of fun with them. We decided to scythe all around the Rainbow River, thinking it might just be helpful to slowly beat back the mustard and interrupt is cycle of going to seed. We also used the scythes in the Row Plots, both to do the initial site clearing, as well as to keep the weeds between the rows in check. We found that the scything is indeed helpful, and gets a lot of work done in a short amount of time. We also found success in the Row Plots with scything as the only site prep. When timed perfectly before a big rain, no other soil or site prep was needed to see seedlings come up and compete with the invasives. This bodes well for expanding, getting more seedlings established at a larger scale throughout the park, because the labor inputs are fairly low.



By April we had blooms coming along nicely, and we kept weeding out the grass and mustard. Critters started appearing on the blooms, butterflies, bees, flies, and moths. We suffered another little setback when someone decided to walk through the Rainbow River, leaving a little path of destruction in their wake. We decided to not assume it was intentional, and we simply adjusted some of the wood stakes we had out there marking where to walk across the river. We propped some of the seedlings back up and hoped they’d bounce back. The Row Plots were a few weeks behind the Rainbow River in terms of growth, a mixture of slightly later seeding and the fact that they are on a north-facing slope.



When May came, so did the flowers. The Rainbow River seemed to pop overnight, into a technicolor array of blooms: Owl’s Clover, Phacelia, Poppies, Lupines, Chia, and of course Clarkia. This year we added in Clarkia bottae that we had collected from the next ridge over in Elysian Park. It’s a tall, striking Clarkia with flowers that are perfectly freckled with dark pink spots. We hope to do even more seed collection from around the park this fall. This year did not bring the massive amount of White Lined Sphinx Moth Caterpillars that we saw in 2023. We did see a few, but nothing like the hundreds if not thousands that were on the Rainbow River last year. We can’t say whether that was just nature’s way, or whether it’s because we did something different. We can’t control all the variables at the plots, and we’re ok with that. We still worshipped the few that showed up.


Then on the morning of May 22nd, I went to check on the blooms, and saw that the Rainbow River had been trampled. I was devastated. I wondered if there’s any way it could have been coyotes having a romp, or someone accidentally walking through at night when they couldn’t see. But then I noticed that all the flags in the Row Plots were gone again, and my only conclusion was that it was another intentional act of vandalism.  My heart was broken at the thought of someone deciding to trample all those heavenly beings. After all the hours and hours of loving care that dozens of people put into bringing these wildflowers into the world, over months and months, one person in one night trampled it all. I couldn’t understand, and I was angry.

But I called Jen Toy, who kindly commiserated with me, but then also wisely reminded me that we are working in an urban park, where realities like this are inevitable. She reframed this event as simply one of Disturbance, just another Test for us. Once that sank in, I calmed down and was able to see the trampling as an event to witness and to work with, not one to get defeated by. I moved through the sadness to see the good: that our Row Plots were still coming in, and miraculously hadn’t been damaged; that all of our original plots with fencing were unharmed and were in full glory of flower and abundance; and that actually, people walking through the park were still stopping to tell me how beautiful the flowers were, even though they were now lying down on the ground, broken and withering. And in fact, the bees were still visiting them.

However there was more Disturbance to come. A few weeks later, the brush clearance crews swept through the park. Despite the fact that we had already cleared most everything with scythes, the weed whackers still came through and went scorched earth on the land. A saving grace for me after the flower trampling was that there were still many tiny goldenbush and coyote bush seedlings that were coming up all over. But the crews came through and cut down everything in their path, unless we had a fence around it, or there was a flag marking it. I realized when I witnessed the crews doing this, how very violent and counterproductive this annual brush clearance is. Any tiny native that tries to come up in the spring is destined to get mowed down, essentially maintaining the park as a constantly disturbed site where no native ecology is allowed to live. Not to mention the countless birds, insects and small mammals whose lives are disrupted or destroyed when an army of men with machines tear through the park. Rec and Parks should be caring for the park, not inflicting this violence upon the land. Their brush clearance this year has upset other community members as well, when they destroyed a beloved children’s garden that was full of mature native plants, all in the name of fire safety.





So.

What can we do? We’re trying to help regenerate an urban park that suffers from constant vandalism and violence, from without and within. We plan to speak with our coalition of concerned community members to see what we can change with the overall management of the park. We have a proposal brewing for a pilot project of turning brush clearance duty in and around the plots over to our coalition of community groups. Although we were hoping to be able to not always need fences at Elysian, we’ve learned the hard way that the plants need protection. The disturbance we experienced this winter has lit a fire in our bellies, and we are planning to go even bigger with our scything and seeding work in the years to come.

And as it turns out, a few of the goldenbush that were whacked down are actually still alive, eager to persist. We’ve marked them, protected them, and are watering them this summer. We will keep going with our steady acts of care, moving slowly, gently, and lovingly, inspired by the resilience and persistence of our beloved California plants.





3 YEAR UPDATE
Baldwin Hills Test Plot 
By Jen Toy
Test Plot Lead

DATE: June 08 2024
TIME: 7:30am
TEMP: 62 F
︎WEATHER: Overcast, warm and gray
WIND (SPEED/DIRECTION): 5 mph from north
SOIL MOISTURE: Didn’t test
︎PLANTS SIGHTINGS: Everything is super dense and lush.
WEED SIGHTINGS: Some black mustard popping up here and there, and still on the perimeter
︎WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS: Hummingbirds
︎HUMAN ACTIVITY: Lots of folks walking on the road for their morning exercise. The plot remains closed via wire fencing.
GENERAL NOTES: The oak woodland and coast scrub species are thriving and quickly crowded out grassland species. There’s still a good amount of diversity. I observed 18 out of the original 37 species planted.  Most of what didn’t make it are wildflower and grasses in the seed mix. Detailed notes below.


SUMMARY: After three seasons ofwinter rains, the Baldwin HIlls plot is looking lush and impenetrable. I think this plot is most similar to the “microforest” strategy as it’s one larger plot planted with a ton of biodiversity and densely packed. Background refresher: Back in November 2021 we planted 250 x 1 gallons and seeded with 1 lb. of a custom grassland seed mix created with Theodore Payne  - all in an area of ~5,000sf. The original experiment was to test 3 different plant communities: oak woodland, coast scrub and grassland to see which would fare better given continued disturbance, the extremes of climate change, andthe evolving dynamics of our urban ecology. The first winter (2021-2022) was fairly dry (12.4”) and we watered the plot monthly for that first year or so. The second two winters (2022-23 and 2023-24) were unprecedented, dumping 28.4” and 25.2”, respectively. As noted in Arely’s 2023 post the perennials and shrubs were fairly established by early in the second winter.

While visiting the plot on June 8th, I took note of the species that I saw and was curious which ones would be dominant and/or thriving after 3 years. The plot is so dense that you can’t walk around it. There’s a narrow maintenance path through the middle and you can go partially around the perimeter to the left, but the right side is busting at the seams to the fence edge. I think it is time to remove the fencing and expand the area. Nature Nexus Institute has started to clear the adjoining hillside of black mustard and plant along the upslope.



Here’s what I saw by plant community:

OAK WOODLAND
  • Juglans californica (CA walnut tree) - we planted 4 along the perimeter and I saw one that has taken off and now leafing out and 4-5 feet tall.
  • Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea (Blue elderberry). There was one existing that we planted around and has benefited from the plot. We planted 4 and I  could see at least 2 from my cursory look. 

These shrubs are all taking off:
  • Lonicera subspicata (Southern honeysuckle)
  • I also saw a white flowering species of honeysuckle (perhaps Lonicera albiflora) which wasn’t on our original plant list (mystery where it came from)
  • Ribes aureum (Golden currant)
  • Ribes speciosum (Fucsiaflower gooseberry) is completely spectacular and not a common plant in the area, but is so happy
  • Keckiella cordifolia (Climbing penstemon)
  • There was a bit of Rosa californica (CA wild rose) but it was low and I only saw a handful of flowers… perhaps it doesn’t have enough room to really become a thicket like it wants to.
  • The Salvia spathacea (Hummingbird sage) is also doing ok, though as a low grower it needs to fight for sunlight. I mainly saw it along the edges of the central path. 
  • I did not see any oak or toyon, but they may have been hidden. We planted 4 each.



COASTAL SAGE SCRUB
This is the dominant habitat across Baldwin Hills that the NNI has been working to restore. And for good reason. There was an existing black and white sage that we planted around and those both have expanded and take up close to 10’ diameter each.

These gals are dominant:
  • Artemesia californica (CA sagebrush)
  • Encelia californica (Bush sunflower)
  • Salvia apiana (White sage)
  • Salvia mellifera (Black sage)
  • Acmispon glaber (Deerweed)
  • Peritoma arborea (Bladderpod)

I did not see these species:
  • Eriogonum fasciulatum (CA buckwheat) which is interesting b/c it is thriving along with Bush sunflower and white sage all around nearby areas. Perhaps because those areas were seeded, the buckwheat was able to compete? At Rio, our “seed only” plot is now all buckwheat, so when it’s happy it takes off quickly.
  • Epilobum canum (CA fuschia)
  • Calystegia macrostegia ‘Anacapa pink’ (Island morning glory)
  • Salvia columbariae (Chia)




GRASSLAND
In general, I think the plot is too dense and tall for these species to have taken off. We also mostly planted this community via seed. If I were to do this again, I would have planted the woodland and sage less densely, maybe 5’ o.c. and increased the density and quantity of grassland live plants. So the effect would be islands of taller shrubs/perennials surrounded by lower areas of grassland/wildflower species, at least in the first 3 years. After that I’d guess the woodier species would take over given regular rainfall, but it may have been a fairer start for the grassland species.

That said, the grassland species I observed are:
  • Asclepias fascicularis (Narrowleaf milkweed) is pretty prevalent along the western edge and is spreading and creating babies at the edges of the plot.
  • Solidago velutina ssp. californica (Goldenrod) is currrently in full yellow glorious bloom.
  • The Helianthus californica (Sunfower) are rising up and peeking their sunny sunflowers out all over the plot, which is pretty cool since they were all seeded.
  • There was a bit of Eriophyllum confertiflorum (Golden Yarrow). 

I didn’t see any of these grassland species:
  • Achillea millefolium (Common Yarrow)
  • Bloomeria crocea (Goldenstar)
  • Clarkia unguiculata (Elegant clarkia)
  • Corethrogyne filiginfolia (CA aster)
  • Deinandra fasciculata (Clustered tarweed)
  • Dichelostemma capitatum (Blue dicks)
  • Eschscholzia californica (CA poppy)
  • Gilia capitata (Globe gilia)
  • Lasthenia californica (Goldfields)
  • Lupinus succulentus (Arroyo lupine)
  • Nemophilia menziesii (Baby blue eyes)
  • Stipa cernua (Nodding needlegrass)
  • Stipa pulchra (Purple needlegrass)

 



DEBS FIRST FRIDAYS  

Debs Test Plot 
By Cody Porter
Test Plot Volunteer

DATE: June 07 2024
TIME: 8:00am
︎︎WEATHER: Overcast for the first hour and half, then sunshine 
︎PLANTS SIGHTINGS:  Ripe fruit on Golden Currants - delicious, too ;). Everything is much bigger than when I was last there a couple months back, and certain pathways are now inaccessible and I’m ecstatic about it. It seems several bunches of native needle grasses have propagated on their own along the northeastern-most section of the plot. All the Walnut saplings are developing with little to no die-off as far as I can tell. Redberry fruit developing for summer arrival. Bush Monkey Flower looking great and not quite in dieback mode yet, like the Sages are gearing up to do. Heart Leaved Penstemon all looking healthy.
WEED SIGHTINGS: Lots of tall Italian thistle and robust yellow star thistle amidst the usual bed of now crisp grasses, including some tall wild oats. For as unwieldy and thorny the Italian thistles are, I didn’t notice them having too deep of roots or putting up much of a fight when pulled up.
︎HUMAN ACTIVITY: You’ll encounter the obligatory several piles of dog waste. No trash in the Test Plot itself but there’s always plenty at the trail’s entrance.

GENERAL NOTES: The ground was mostly so forgiving and soft that one could pull lots of weeds with minimal frustration. All the previously planted Bush Sunflower is outlined along the main trail with a carpet of dry grasses that I wish we’d get a handle on, but it’s a lot of tedious effort with stiff, dry soil to contend with. My vision for a fix is to get the grasses gone and then flood the area with native wildflower seeds when the wet season arrives, a la the Rainbow River + Field at Elysian Test Plot. From there I envision delicate pulling of weeds while the wildlflowers develop and in the long run sprout annually ever after. In short, where there were weeds lining the trails and native plants, there’s now wildflowers/perennials - Chia, Whispering Bells, Wild Canterbury Bells, Golden Yarrow, Poppies, Clarkia, Fiesta Flower, Lupine, Chinese Houses, Blue Dicks, Blue-Eyed Grass, Baby Blue Eyes, Cardinal Catchfly, Phacelias, Cryptantha, California Aster…Nothing that can’t be found at Griffith Park… MAXIMALISM.

For me, the secret is simply showing up - being there. Make the time for the land and beauty will follow. And by “beauty,” I mean the realization of positive intent. Appear, and you’ll discover improvements that can be made.

I subscribe to the belief that each weed plucked from the garden liberates vital resources, no matter how small of an amount, that can then be embraced by the chosen plants being raised - those gorgeous, gorgeous California natives! So in my book, no weeds allowed.

And when the ground, the soil, supports you in this endeavor, it’s a divine cooperation. To pinch at the base of a tuft of foreign grass or thistle and a tug brings it up roots and all, it’s a sensation that urges, “again.” So I do it again. Again. Again. Again and again. I become bloodthirsty and I toss the murdered invasives in a pile atop others still living in hopes of their own gradual demise through smothering.

And they’ll call to me, “hey, we didn’t ask to be here. We’re just doing the only thing we know how to do.” In a flash I respond, “yes, I hear you. Please try to see things my way. This is an act of love. The plants I’m supporting are much more in line with those that have served their vast evolutionary time and have the right to exist here, with those that fulfill their obligations to the other historic living beings that should also prosper here. You all take so much more than you give. Your understanding is sincerely appreciated.”

Then before I know it, the vision is complete and we have immaculate, clean ground to work with. Clean ground to cover with mulch until fresh natives can expand into it. But there must be vigilance. Weeds know how to revive and thrive. But if you can be there and you can disrupt their programming again and again, they’ll get the hint and vanish. Then you’ll be left with land that knows how to give, and does so with serious style.