Frequently asked questions
What kind of landscape consulting do you do?
I advise on landscaping projects whose aim is to enhance our local ecosystem. Our specialty is combinations of mostly native plants with non-natives to make a landscape that meets your needs and fits into the ecology of our area.
Our major concerns are:
- Lot size, condition and whether urban, rural or WUI
- Water use
- Weed management
- Habitat enhancement
- Pollinator and insect-friendly practices
- Maintenance
Why focus on removing non-native plants?
Non-native invasive plants are a threat to our local ecosystems. They crowd out native plants which support a vast array of native insects and pollinators, which are facing an historic crisis.
What do you do first?
How do you know what comes back isn't worse?
Here removal of a massive thistle stand reveals thousands of broom seedlings (but they will not flower for a couple of years, so it's prudent to let them stay until the few strongest emerge, which can then be removed before they begin to flower).
It takes initial work but then maintenance becomes easier each year as the seed bank of these invasive plants becomes depleted. But it requires real weeding which must be done manually.
Are there ways to make this easier?
Pay attention to and work with the biology of the plants.
For example, mow or weed-whack grasses when their flowers are forming to prevent seeds from maturing.
Other weeds require pulling out by the roots so they don't regrow.
Understand the system
After soil is disturbed it rapidly loses the microbial support system that keeps native plants happy. Allowing native plants to grow, even "weedy" species, helps heal the soil more rapidly. These can be removed when the desired plants become established. Non-native weeds can not provide the function.
Understanding this dynamic is critical to a successful landscape project.
What if we find something rare?
If I don't know what it is, I will figure it out
What is a weed? Wrong plant in the wrong place
Broom does not belong here - not native, invasive and crowds out everything else
Poison oak is native
But most people don't want it near their house
Native blackberries
Himalayan blackberry is always a weed. Our native berry, Rubus ursinus, has a weedy habit but it is a wonderful habitat plant in the right place - and the berries are delicious