We are gardeners but we can also wear other hats! Conservationist! Restoration specialist! Education! Preservation supporter!

While researching family histories I was curious as to the ecosystems, both in pre-European and post European times, encountered as ancestors moved from east to west, through the soon to be territories, states, and counties.  As Master Gardeners we know that there are gardening basics, but within each state and each county there will be very differing climates in which native plants adapt and thrive.

A description from a ‘History of Hamilton County, Indiana' brought me up short and encapsulated the drastic and overwhelming changes that have occurred in what truly is the blink of an eye in historical time.

LEVELING THE FORESTS

After the first settlement was well-established the industrious farmers began to cut their way back into the dense forest and by slow but steady degrees to transform this vast, dreary wilderness into the beautiful country it is today. They struck out boldly in all directions … here and there over the township* sprang into life the busy villages … a network of gravel roads replaced the Indian trail… Where once the Indian hunted and his campfires gleamed, the waving fields of corn, oats, rye, and wheat now flourish abundantly, while orchards of apples, plums and peaches lend their charm to the picture.

*township was an area of land that was divided into acreages around villages.

This perfectly described the European settlement hubris and the presumption of ‘Manifest Destiny' of the western movement.

Thinking locally my thoughts then turned to how much have we lost? How much can we conserve? How much can we restore? What have we protected? Can we as gardeners contribute?

How much have we lost? Much of the California landscape has been affected but there are many projects that contribute to the preservation of our original ecosystems. One local example is the Yolo Bypass.

California has lost millions of acres of wetlands that used to be across the valley floor. As we have built and farmed, we have diverted streams, dried out marshlands and built dams that have reduced the support system of wetland plants and water for the Pacific Flyway, which is the west coast migration route for birds from the Artic to the tip of South America. I love to hear the call of the geese and ducks as they pass overhead, for me that is the sign that fall is here. This is a great source for information on how wetlands work and why they are important. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dcfa9c9fa6464e89a45924a4ebec5a15#

What have we restored? “The Yolo Basin was once nearly 80,000-acre wetland teeming with wildlife from herds of tule elk roaming its marshes to dense clouds of migratory waterfowl seeking winter food and shelter. Over time, the basin has been profoundly altered by human activity.” We drive over the causeway back and forth in our busy lives while just below us is the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, https://yolobasin.org/yolobypasswildlifearea/ a wonderful conservation project that supports the Pacific Flyway. “The Bypass is a key component of the habitat restoration planned as part of the Cal/Fed Bay Delta Accord process now underway and is a vital element of the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture's habitat restoration goals. The Foundation is an important local player in implementing these many plans.”

This is a wonderful place to visit and there is nothing more magical than the large flocks of redwing blackbirds with their burbling calls as they flit in the reeds.

A gardener can't build a Pacific Flyway but we can build a pond to provide habitat for dragonflies and damselflies and provide a water source for native bees and birds.

Yolo Gardener Summer 2019 “My First Wildlife Pond

https://vms-mg.ucanr.edu/files/mg/documents/6215The%5FYolo%5FGardener80452.pdf

What have we protected?

The Central Valley used to be home to many vernal pool ecosystems (seasonal lakes that exist only in the winter and spring) locally we have Jepson Prairie just a short drive to Dixon. These Vernal Pools of the Jepson Prairie Reserve provide wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and wading birds and is home to 5 rare and endangered animals.  Altogether over 400 species and 64 families of plants, including 15 rare and endangered plants. I have been on several docent led tours and I always marvel at the lifecycles of both the flora, fauna and insect life.

https://naturalreserves.ucdavis.edu/jepson-prairie

Reflection on a Vernal Pool  by Willa Pettygrove

https://vms-mg.ucanr.edu/files/mg/documents/6215The%5FYolo%5FGardener69778.pdf 

Can we as gardeners contribute?

As gardeners are we accepting our local climate? There are many plants that are exquisitely beautiful, such as azaleas and rhododendrons, but they don't belong here. Our soil is alkaline – they love acidic soil; we have a dry hot summer climate – they love moisture and cool temperatures. We are even pushing it to grow redwoods, they thrive in the forest environment, and they can uptake 160 gallons of water per day in the dry summer months and actually receive 40% of their moisture requirements from the fog as it condenses on the canopy and drips to the forest floor.

Here are some places where information and plants are available so that when you add to or redesign an old garden it is a more complimentary selection of plants that will be happy in our climate. By planting natives, we provide sustenance and habitat for the great variety of native insects, birds and pollinators of our region.

1)      The Putah Creek Watershed Native Reserve is a great example of a fairly new project with careful consideration of the local CA Native plants of the area. The site is divided into three areas that are examples of native plants found in the surrounding watershed area of Putah Creek. “The goal is to educate community members on attractive species they can use to replace their lawn, to provide a seed collection source for the nursery and a place to experiment with propagation and weed control.”https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/efcc7294662b4cfb92c72283ceff8715

2)      UC Davis Arboretum – a wonderful place to walk and see plants in all seasons making it easy to decide if a plant is too big, too small or the ideal Goldilocks plant for a certain place in your garden. The website has both general plant information https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu and detailed information on Climate Ready Gardening https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/climate-ready-toolkit.

3)      The California Native Plant Society has a chapter in Sacramento. The SacValley Chapter's Homegrown Habitat initiative promotes increased individual, community, and civic engagement in the effort to significantly increase the number of native plants in landscapes to support wildlife habitat and ecosystem. They also have a newsletter that is full of information, you do not need to be a member to receive the newsletter. https://www.sacvalleycnps.org

We, as gardeners, and our gardens, are examples to others walking or driving by, we can educate and teach by example the wonderful CA Natives and plants from other similar regions that will thrive here.

“My Orb Spider friend” was in a Sacramento Digs newsletter last year when I first read about Orb spiders. Before reading the article, I had mistakenly assumed the ones I had seen were poisonous.  I had recently learned what a black widow spider looked like, and we have a lot around our house, so all webs were considered fair game for extermination.  I had walked into some webs that spanned impressive distances: between Rose of Sharon bushes six feet apart, across the back walkway from citrus tree to a raised wall, across Smoke Trees. Fortunately, the spiders did not land on me.  Now, I admire the beautiful webs spun in such an intricate and strong pattern that Charlotte and Wilbur would approve of.  It is fun to show my grandchildren the webs and the insects that have been caught and bundled.  The spiders themselves, now that I know they are friendly, are also fun to observe.  Up close, their markings look ferocious;  from far away, they blend into the landscape.  I have become much more aware to look for them before I go down a path, or water the cherry tomatoes in the garden bed that has a small pomegranate tree next to them.  I have noticed that they like to anchor on trees or plants that have slender protuberances, like redwood needles or the pomegranate thorns.  That said, one guy, or gal, had the audacity to spin a web right across the door frame of one the sheds in the side yard.  Thankfully I saw it, at eye level, or I would have been wearing it.  I gently loosened one side of the web and the spider moved with haste on the web to the side of the door and curled up, or whatever spiders do to hide.  I wouldn't exactly say that I am having a similar experience to “My Octopus Teacher” (sweet documentary from 2020), but my Orb Spider friends have certainly enriched my outdoor time and added to my overall garden knowledge!

Before moving to California about a decade ago, I lived in Tucson, Arizona. Although my new home in Woodland is rightfully known as the Food Front, thanks to the fertile farmland that surrounds it, Tucson also has a highly regarded relationship with food. Tucson is one of two cities in the United States recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a City of Gastronomy in recognition of its Sonoran food culture. The city is a center of regional foods that arose in northern Mexico and the Southwestern US. These run the gamut from Sonoran-style hot dogs to wild foods like cactus fruit to local varieties of squash and beans developed by the indigenous people of the border region.

One Tucson crop that I brought with me to try in the fertile soils of the Sacramento Valley is my favorite bean, the tepary. Tepary beans were domesticated by the Tohono O'odham nation of the Sonoran Desert. Tepary beans are a cultivar of Phaseolus acutifolius, a bean species well adapted to life in the desert. The bean plants have narrow teardrop-shaped leaves that turn their surface parallel to the sun's rays to reduce water loss when the sun is too intense.

Traditionally, tepary beans are planted in areas of stormwater runoff from the late summer monsoons in the Southwestern US. They need wet soils to germinate but then are extremely drought tolerant and can survive the vagaries of desert rain and the dry autumn that follows the monsoon. Too much water actually reduces the number of beans produced as more energy is put into growing foliage. The plants grow quickly and beans may be harvested in as little as two months.

The beans are small, about the size of a lentil, with a nutty taste and firm texture. Different varieties are colored brown, black, or white. They are high in protein and research has identified amino sugars specific to the species that protect the bean from heat and prevent the bean's protein from denaturing. I love the beans in my vegetarian chili, but they make a great bean dip or pot of beans as well.

I had always assumed that tepary beans were only known in the Tucson area so I was surprised when I spotted them as an ingredient in snack foods from India. While trying to discover when they were introduced to India, I found that they were once grown in California as well. A USDA pamphlet states that in 1918, California had 17,000 acres planted in tepary bean, but market forces and public preferences caused the tepary bean to fall from favor in the 1920's.

There has been some recent interest in harnessing the tepary bean's heat and drought tolerance as the world becomes warmer which has led to reduced yields in common beans that don't do as well in the heat. A 2015 NPR story describes how Colombian researchers have managed a cross of tepary and common beans that is already benefiting farmers in Central America and Africa. I'm happy to see a little respect for tepary beans, but don't understand why they aren't more widely grown as they are delicious and already adapted for a warmer future.

NPR report: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/25/395096885/meet-the-cool-beans-designed-to-beat-climate-change

USDA information: https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs-pg_phac.pdf

The Importance of Native Bees in Ecosystems

When we consider the health and balance of our ecosystems, native bees emerge as unsung heroes playing a crucial role. These incredible insects are primary pollinators for a wide array of wild plants and crops, significantly contributing to biodiversity, food production, and the overall resilience of ecosystems. Unlike honeybees, which are often non-native and managed primarily for commercial purposes, native bees have evolved alongside local flora over millions of years. This co-evolution makes them uniquely adapted to their specific environments, enhancing their effectiveness as pollinators.

The pollination efforts of native bees are vital as they support the reproduction of plants that provide habitat and food for other wildlife. This intricate relationship ensures that ecosystems maintain their biodiversity and can adapt to changing conditions. On an agricultural level, native bees play an essential role by ensuring genetic diversity within plant populations. This diversity is critical for ecological stability, allowing plant populations to adapt to pests, diseases, and climate change.

By making efforts to preserve native bee populations, we extend our protection to these vital pollinators and, by extension, the intricate web of life they support. Their survival is directly linked to the sustainability of our natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity.

In both natural and agricultural ecosystems, bees serve as vital pollinators. As they collect nectar and pollen from flowers, they inadvertently transfer pollen grains from one blossom to another, facilitating plant fertilization. This activity is the backbone for the production of fruits, seeds, and nuts, which constitute a significant portion of the human diet. Beyond human needs, the pollination services rendered by bees are crucial for the reproduction of wild plants, maintaining biodiversity, and the health of ecosystems. Without bees, many plant species would face reduced reproduction, leading to lower crop yields and a decrease in floral diversity. This reduction would have profound implications, not just for nature but also for agriculture and the global food supply.

Impact of Climate Change on Bees

Climate change is having a profound impact on the natural world, and bees are particularly vulnerable to its effects. One of the most significant challenges they face is the alteration of flowering times in plants, which disrupts the synchronized relationship bees have with their environment. Bees rely on specific bloom periods for foraging, emerging from hibernation, or developing based on temperature cues. However, when climate change causes plants to bloom earlier or later than usual, bees can find themselves facing periods of food scarcity. This mismatched timing can weaken bee colonies and reduce their reproduction rates, threatening their long-term survival.

In addition to changes in flowering times, bees are also affected by temperature fluctuations and extreme weather events. The increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, and heat waves pose significant risks to bee habitats, including their nesting sites and foraging grounds. Ground-nesting bees are especially vulnerable to flooding, while those that nest in wood or stems may find their nesting materials drying and cracking, making them unusable.

Rising temperatures further complicate matters by impacting bee physiology and behavior. Higher temperatures can increase bees' metabolic rates, meaning they need more food, yet also reduce their foraging efficiency and lifespan. This precarious balance can lead to higher mortality rates and lower overall fitness among bee populations, compounding the challenges they face.

The threat climate change poses to bees is not just a concern for these insects but also for the ecosystems and agricultural systems that depend on them as pollinators. Disruptions in bee life cycles, reduced food availability, and habitat alterations can have cascading effects throughout the environment, impacting plant reproduction and food production. Addressing climate change through comprehensive conservation strategies is crucial to protect bee species, maintaining ecological balance, and ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems and agriculture.

Creating a Bee-Friendly Habitat

California, with its Mediterranean climate, presents an ideal environment for creating a bee-friendly habitat. To develop such a garden, it is crucial to select the right plants. Focus on native California plants, as these have evolved alongside local bees and provide the essential nutrients they require. It's also important to consider bloom times by planting a diverse range of flowers that bloom throughout the year, ensuring bees have a continuous food source. Opt for drought-tolerant species, since California's climate can be dry, to sustain your garden during periods of water scarcity. Some excellent native plant options include California poppies,yarrow, sage, lupine, and ceanothus. Providing nesting sites is another essential aspect of fostering a bee-friendly habitat. Leave patches of bare ground to support native bees that nest in the soil and preserve dead wood or create a brush pile for those that nest in hollow stems or dead trees. Building a bee house for cavity-nesting bees is another option, but ensure it is well-ventilated and placed in a sunny location. Additionally, bees need access to water. Offer a shallow dish with pebbles or marbles for bees to land on and change the water regularly to prevent mosquito breeding.

Further tips for attracting bees include avoiding pesticides, as chemicals can harm them. Instead, use organic pest control methods. Also, try to create diverse habitats, as different bee species have varying preferences, which will help attract a broader range. Educating your neighbors and encouraging them to plant their own bee-friendly gardens can also help expand the habitat.

To provide blossoms throughout the seasons, consider the following flowering plants:

In spring, California poppy, ceanothus, and lupine are great choices. California poppies feature vibrant orange flowers, while ceanothus, or California lilac, produce clusters of blue or white flowers, and lupine offers spiky blossoms in colors like purple, blue, and yellow.

During summer, Matilija poppy, coyote mint, and yarrow bloom beautifully. Matilija poppy has large, white, crepe-paper-like flowers with bright yellow centers. Coyote mint offers fragrant purple flowers, and yarrow displays flat-topped clusters of small white or pink flowers.

In the fall, consider planting California fuchsia, goldenrod, and other autumn-blooming plants. California fuchsia produces bright red, tubular flowers, ideal for attracting hummingbirds and bees, while goldenrod presents tall spikes of golden yellow flowers.

Winter, though challenging for many regions, still allows certain hardy species to thrive in California's mild climate, providing bees essential resources. Examples include manzanita, with its small urn-shaped pink or white flowers blooming in late winter, and California redwood sorrel, which produces delicate white or pink flowers in shaded areas under redwood trees. Hummingbird sage often begins blooming in late winter with magenta flowers, while toyon, or Christmas berry, has small white flowers followed by bright red berries. Western redbud's vibrant pink flowers can appear as early as February in mild climates, and mahonia, known as Oregon grape, offers bright yellow flowers in late winter.

Bees Throughout the Seasons

As we mentioned before, California's mild climate and rich biodiversity create an environment where different native bee species can thrive in distinct seasons. Here's a look at how these bees operate throughout the year:

Spring (March-May): Spring is one of the busiest seasons for native bees in California. As the weather warms, many bee species, including bumblebees, mason bees, and sweat bees, become active. They're drawn to the abundance of flowering plants such as California poppies, lupines, and ceanothus. These bees are crucial for pollinating both wild plants and agricultural crops, as they emerge just in time to match the bloom period of many native flowers.

Summer (June - August): As spring fades into summer, other bee species become more prevalent. The hot, dry conditions favor bees that are well-adapted to less water, such as leafcutter bees. During summer, bees can be found pollinating a variety of drought-tolerant plants like yarrow, coyote mint, and sunflowers. These bees play a vital role in the ecosystem by supporting plant reproduction during a time when water availability is low.

Fall (September - November): In the fall, certain native bees are still quite active as they prepare for the upcoming winter. This period sees bees frequenting late-blooming flowers such as California fuchsia and goldenrod. Some bees start to reduce their activity as the days shorten and temperatures drop, while others, like some bumblebee species, remain active until hard frost signals the end of their foraging season.

Winter (December - February): Winter is a challenging time for most bees, but California's climate allows for some activity during the milder periods. Bees like the bumblebee queens that overwinter can occasionally be seen on warmer winter days. Plants such as manzanita and California holly (toyon) provide crucial resources during this time. These plants are important because they offer one of the few reliable food sources in winter, allowing certain bees to continue foraging during mild weather.

In each season, the native bees of California showcase incredible adaptability to their environment. By aligning their life cycles with various flowering periods, they help maintain the health and biodiversity of the state's ecosystems, making them indispensable components of California's natural landscape. Protecting these bees and their habitats is essential to ensuring the persistence of these critical pollination services.