Photograph featured in the Contra Costa Times

Check out this article in the Contra Costa Times that features one of my photographs promoting the use of natives in home landscapes:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_12115805?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

Mimulus hybrid

Penstemon heterophyllus

This penstemon began my love affair with california native plants. The subtle, purple-blue flowers are irresistible.

Monkey Flower and Penstemon

Soft orange monkey flower and iridescent purple penstemon make a splendid pair. They put on a long show together starting as soon as the weather warms up in spring as part of a dry, sunny border planting.

Betty Brodeia

Betty helping to take a portrait of Brodiea californica, a lovely bulb native to grasslands.

North Garden View

South Garden View

Humming bird with Salvia spathacea

A hummingbird indulges in the sweet nectar offered by magenta hummingbird sage.

Purple Finch

A bird takes a moment to bathe and take a sip of water.

Pond Detail

Detail of dry-stack stone encircling water reflecting nearby poppies.

Water Feature

Poppies and lupine create an inviting entrance, framing a basalt water feature and pond surrounded with a with stone and gravel pathway. The gentle sound of water attracts wildlife and people.

Wildflower Meadow

Purple nodding needle grass elegantly sways in the wind enlivening a wildflower meadow. The annual wildflowers self-seed, returning each spring with no extra irrigation to put on a showy display that changes from year to year. This spring the show begins early with a cheerful moment of 'five-spot' sparkling in a sea of red and orange poppies. Later purple 'bird's eye gilia' and pink 'farewell-to-spring' provide the finale through late summer. Lupine and fragrant hummingbird sage act as the backdrop.

Phacelia viscida

Stylomecon heterophylla "Wind Poppy"