Arbor Day and the Dogwood

Arbor Day is April 24th this year and what a great time to plant a dream tree from your garden wishes list. There are a few I would love but number one is a Dogwood. These trees are dressed up with elegant pink or white blooms covering the entire tree. In front of St. Michael's Parish in Boulder Creek is an amazing Dogwood that blooms with both colors and seems to be in bloom right around Easter time.
According to Wikipedia, "there is a Christian legend of unknown origin that proclaims that the cross used to crucify Jesus was constructed of dogwood. As the story goes, during the time of Jesus, the dogwood was larger and stronger than it is today and was the largest tree in the area of Jerusalem. After his crucifixion, Jesus changed the plant to its current form: he shortened it and twisted its branches to assure an end to its use for the construction of crosses. He also transformed its inflorescence into a representation of the crucifixion itself, with the four white bracts cross-shaped, which represent the four corners of the cross, each bearing a rusty indentation as of a nail and the red stamens of the flower, represents Jesus' crown of thorns, and the clustered red fruit represent his blood ."

Nature's Treasures

We took a nature walk with Blake and found lots of treasures.
Here we are starting on the walk.
Here's Popo and Blake looking for wild animals.
A beautiful mushroom.

January is a great time to take a nature walk.

Jack O' Lanterns

Aye- have you ever wondered where the tradition of carving a pumpkin came from? According to Irish mythology, there was once a greedy, cruel man named Jack who fooled the Devil twice! Stingy Jack was so cheap that he asked the Devil to turn into a sixpence and Jack would pay their bar bill. Stingy Jack pocketed the coin and placed it next to a silver crucifix. The devil couldn't change back into his original form until he agreed to leave Jack alone for the next year. So the devil agreed and left Jack alone. Stingy Jack kept up his drinking and carousing. One dark evening, the devil appeared along Stingy Jack's path and once again was fooled by his lies. " Go up in the apple tree devil and bring us a nice juicy apple" said Jack.The Devil foolishly slithered up the tree and picked some fruit. Meanwhile Stingy Jack carved a cross at the foot of the tree and the Devil was stuck! This time Jack made him promise to leave his soul alone for ten years if he wanted to get down from the tree. Well once again, the devil was forced to agree. Less than ten years passed and Jack's drunkeness caught up to him and he died a miserable death. St. Peter wouldn't let him in through the pearly gates because Stingy Jack was a miserable, cruel, worthless being beyond redemption.The devil had made the promise back at the apple tree and couldn't let Jack into Hell but he took pity on Stingy Jack and tossed him a burning ember from the depths of Hell. Turnips being plentiful in Ireland, Jack placed the hot coal inside a turnip and carved out a face. Jack was left to wander the world for the rest of eternity. When the Irish immigrated to America they found the native pumpkin and began carving " Jack O' Lanterns" to place at their front doors on all Hallow's Eve to ward off the evil spirits.As for Stingy Jack... he's a wandering spirit on his never-ending journey caught between Hell and Heaven. So now you know why we carve pumpkings on Halloween!

Falls first rain

Tonight is the beginning of the rains here in Central California. All the plants are in need of a wee bit of water. Our last rainfall was in April so it has truly been a drought all summer. Don't forget to blow the leaves off the roof and clean out your gutters now to avoid doing this later in the season. Make a nice fire and enjoy the pitter patter on the rooftop.Thanks be to Jesus for the nourishing rain!

Magical Midsummer's Eve

Midsummer Day was celebrated on June 24th in honor of St. John the Baptist who baptized our dear Lord Jesus Christ. Festivals were held to enjoy the warmer days and nights. Some whispered that if women plucked seven different varieties of wildflowers and tucked them under their soft pillows, visions of future loves would color their dreams. Young people would dress up in folk costumes and go out dancing, drinking, and singing until the wee hours of the evening. It was a night when water was turned into wine and the angels watched over the faithful. Religious folks might visit a holy spring to give praise to St. John the Baptist. Many considered Midsummer's Day Eve an auspicious time to wed. Do you have plans to acknowledge this special day?

Bee Basic

Disease, bad weather and chemicals have lead to the bee die-off in California. Natural remedies include creating a bee habitat that encourages our little native hummers. Plant a wide variety of flowers that entice bees such as native wildflowers and flowering trees. Bees need cool water just like us so put out a pan of water, fill up your birdbaths or design a pond. Provide some bare ground and the native bees will make a home in the soil and set up housekeeing. Before you know it the native bees will be pollinating your strawberries, zucchini and tomatoes. This is a picture of the Cottingley angels and looks like a nice place for our native bees to visit.

Back to Bees

Last month I mentioned that the bee population is diminishing. Today I read an article by Juliana Burbassa and learned over 30% of commercially managed hives have been lost this year. Gardeners, our bees are so important for pollination that we can not afford to lose anymore. Plant a bee loving plant this May and help keep our bees buzzing around the yard. Ceonothus ( Mountain Lilac) is covering the hillsides now and is a native, drought-resistant plant to add to your garden. There are many varieties to choose from such as "Julia Phelps" that can attract bees and offer a hazy mist of flowers for your gazing pleasure.

Riparian Corridors

Riparian corridors are areas of land next to creeks and rivers. Santa Cruz County has the San Lorenzo River and all the "feeder" creeks such as Boulder Creek, Two Bar Creek and Bear Creek. A tip to help maintain a healthy riparian corridor is to remove the non-native, invasive species (scotch broom, ivy, periwinkle) and replant with natives such as Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)), California Blackberries (Rubus ursinus), and the Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). Be sure to net any slopes before planting to prevent erosion.

Here's Trace picking out the perfect Christmas tree in the Two Bar Valley.