- The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook has opened to the public!

The grand opening was April 18th, 2009--Here are photos, maps, planting lists and more...  

https://goo.gl/photos/pL1V2WRXAg4mfdPP6 

https://goo.gl/photos/cMh7KUtw5yaPh9uf6

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Local Garden Tour Showed How to Have a Colorful Yard Without Watering

By Rex Frankel

4/7/2009--Local gardeners opened their wildflower-filled yards to the public over the weekend to show how removing the old green lawn can give you a beautiful garden and use a fraction of the water.

The native gardens tour was sponsored for the sixth year by the Theodore Payne Foundation, which operates a plant nursery and “wildflower hill” in the eastern San Fernando Valley. The tour showcased front and backyards that were converted entirely to drought-tolerant plants that were here in L.A. before man arrived.

The native gardens featured an explosion of color, including orange California poppies and mallows, purple lupines and wooly blue curls, red clarkias, monkey flowers and hummingbird sages, and blue lilacs. While a garden full of rose bushes is a feast for the nose, many of the native wildflowers have strong minty aromas, such as sages.

One of the Payne Foundation’s displays documented the benefit of restored native gardens in that they attract native butterflies, birds, bees and lizards.

Yet another benefit of native gardens is that they help homeowners save a lot of money on their water bills.

One of the tour destinations was the “garden/garden” at Santa Monica College. There, two houses at 1718-1724 Pearl Street have completely opposite landscaping, and dramatically different water and maintenance costs. For the front yard that was converted to all natives in 2004, water use is only 15% of the cost for the lawn and rose bushes next door. Maintenance for the native garden costs half as much as the conventional garden.

Saving water has been big in the news lately because the normal drought conditions that L.A. always faces has gotten much more acute this year due to a federal court decision to protect fish in the Sacramento River. The River located 400 miles from here is the source for up to half of Southern California’s water supply. Recently, populations of fish in the river have dropped to near extinction-levels, and this has caused the enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act to protect the fish. For Southern California water users, this has resulted in a 30% cut in the water supplied from that river.

Several of the gardeners proudly pointed out that they never water their yards because the winter rains are enough. Once native plants are established for one season, typically, watering is unnecessary except in a severe heatwave.

While most of the gardens were at private homes, there are several parks that feature all native landscaping in our local area.

Two are at the local Ballona Wetlands:

--Check out the Ballona freshwater marsh at the corner of Lincoln and Jefferson Blvds.

--Also try the Ballona bluffs trail at the top of Bluff Trail Road, which can be reached by going up the hill from the intersection of Lincoln Blvd. and LMU Drive. Park at the mini park and follow the trail the runs along the top edge of the hill.

The Baldwin Hills/Kenneth Hahn State Park features several miles of trails through native sagebrush and wildflowers. The parking lot is reached from La Cienega Blvd. a quarter mile south of Rodeo Road.

Finally, a beautiful 8 acre native park and lake that was created from a power company storage yard is Augustus Hawkins Park, located at Slauson and Compton Avenues south of downtown L.A. To see more: http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=2

GET MORE INFORMATION:

Santa Monica College’s Garden/Garden: http://www01.smgov.net/epd/news/gardengarden.htm

Theodore Payne Foundation: http://theodorepayne.org

Ballona Plants compendium: http://ballonaplants.blogspot.com

Horned or annual sea-blite (suaeda depressa, variety erecta or suaeda calceoliformis)

B (only seen by Gustafson)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=suaeda+depressa

Woolly sea-blite (suaeda taxifolia also called Californica, variety pubescens)

B, C

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=suaeda+taxifolia+

Sea-blite (suaeda esteroa)

Listed in Existing Conditions study

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=suaeda+esteroa&btnG=Search

Parish’s pickleweed or samphire, (Salicornia subterminalis or arthrocnemum subterminale)

B

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=salicornia+subterminalis

pickleweed (salicornia virginica or sarcocornia pacifica)

A,B,C, D

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=salicornia+virginica

Annual pickleweed (salicornia bigelovii)

Listed in Existing Conditions study

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=salicornia+bigelovii&btnG=Search

Coast goosefoot (chenopodium macrospermum)

Brandman described it as extirpated from B

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=chenopodium+macrospermum&btnG=Search

Mexican tea (chenopodium ambrosioides) also called epazote

B, D (Existing Conditions study calls it non-native)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=chenopodium+ambrosioides

netseed lamb's quarters, chenopodium berlandieri, variety sinuatum

B, C , D

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=chenopodium+berlandieri

NPS Photo by Jim Pisarowicz

Netseed Lambsquarters - Chenopodium berlandieri

lamb's quarters, fat hen, goosefoot (chenopodium album)

B (Existing Conditions study calls it non-native)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=chenopodium+album&spell=1 

Spearscale (atriplex triangularis)

Listed in Existing Conditions study, found in saltmarsh

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=atriplex+triangularis&btnG=Search

spear saltbush (atriplex patula, subspecies hastata) found by Gustafson and Brandman

Henrickson calls it non-native

B, D

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=atriplex+patula

from http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/stivers/miscellaneous_plants.htm

Saltbush Atriplex patula NATIVE

This annual plant has, broadly triangular leaves. It has small greenish flowers without petals that blooms June to November. The arrow-shaped leaves help identify this salt-tolerant plant. It is common along the San Francisco Bay’s edge. It sheds salt through it's leaves and the crystals can be seen on the underside of the leaves. Because these plants are in a fresh water environment, you will not find any salt on the underside.

coastal or big saltbush or quailbush (atriplex lentiformis, subspecies breweri)

A,B,C

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=atriplex+lentiformis

California saltbush (atriplex Californica)

GOOSEFOOT FAMILY

A, B

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=atriplex+Californica California saltbush is a low, usually prostrate, monoecious perennial with many much- branched spreading-to-decumbent stems which inhabits sandy soils on sea bluffs, and in coastal dunes and salt marshes. It is an inconspicuous plant which is easily missed unless one knows what one is looking for.

sand spurrey, spergularia villosa

B, D (Existing Conditions study calls it non-native)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=spergularia+villosa

spergularia marina “salt marsh”,

B

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=spergularia+marina

Photo © Carl Farmer
6 Aug 2003 Dunvegan

spergularia macrotheca “large flowered”,

B

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=spergularia+macrotheca

sand spurrey (spergularia bocconii)

PINK FAMILY

B,C (Existing Conditions study calls it non-native)

http://images.google.com/images?q=spergularia+bocconii&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images