Gottlieb Garden and Cat Run

Matilija Poppies in September?

Tue, 7 Sep 2010 14:23:49 -0700

Matilija Poppies (Romneya coulteri) are spring/summer bloomers. So what are these two doing opening up this late among all their past prime and ready to be cut back compatriots??? Don’t they know they should have gone to seed by now? Never mind, they are beautiful and welcome - whenever they appear.

Crickets vs Grasshoppers

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:38:17 -0700

A friend recently asked me what the difference is between a cricket and a grasshopper. As I didn’t know the answer, did a little research and thought I would share my discovery with you.
Singing
Crickets are nocturnal and “sing” at night in an effort to communicate and attract a mate while grasshoppers are diurnal.
Grasshoppers tend to sing less, and typically not at night, as they can rely on their eyesight to check out other grasshoppers. And, they use their long hind legs rubbing against their wings to sing while Crickets simply use their wings
Color
There is also a distinction in color, grasshoppers are a vivid green which allows them to fit in well with their surroundings while crickets are a darker brown/green so that they can hide in the shadows at night.

Flying
Grasshopper fly and often show their brightly colored wings to other grasshoppers while in flight while crickets can not fly.
Ears
A cricket’s antennae are long and it has ears in its legs - single white dot near the bend of the front leg. Grasshoppers have ears in their abdomen.

Food
Believe it or not, crickets eat grass but are also partial to animal protein while grasshoppers pretty much stick to grass.

Acorns Found on Oak Tree

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:30:13 -0700

Dan Cooper was here today as we continue monitoring the native bird species that are being attracted to the Gottlieb Garden.
We took a walk down the hill and I was thrilled to discover that two of three Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees I planted 8 years ago have actually produced acorns.
The Coast Live Oak is one of the most beautiful of trees and, when mature, one tree can produce up to 500 pounds of nuts in a good year. These nuts have high wildlife value as jays, band-tailed pigeons and California woodpeckers feed on them. Purple Finches and Juncos feed on the buds and leaf galls.
Coast Live Oak is the food plant for the beautiful California Sister butterfly.
What’s exciting about this discovery is that the acorns will attract Acorn Woodpeckers.

voice of America

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 11:30:46 -0700

The Gottlieb Garden is now known internationally!
Monaliza Noormohammad with the Voice of America’s Persian News Network recently came out to interview me. They broadcast over 1500 hours of news, information, educational and cultural programming every week to more than 138 million people world wide and have programs produced in 45 languages.
The interview that took place on March 25, 2010, can be found by clicking here.
(If you don’t speak Farsi, you may want to scroll until about 3/4 of the way through the interview to get to me.) English version to come....
Monaliza’s focus for her piece was on conservation and as you know, we have it all - bird, water and plants.

Earthjustice Fights for Awareness

Tue, 25 May 2010 15:01:20 -0700

This saturday we hosted an Earthjustice gathering at the house. The garden was the perfect backdrop for this event.
As the sun was setting and birds were flying around in the background, Doug Honnold and Trip Van Noppen from Earthjustice discussed Earthjustice’s unique niche among environmental advocacy groups which ranges from work to protect grizzly bears and wolves in the Northern Rockies to employing legal strategies now to curb climate change. Doug will be taking a trip to Washington to further this cause.
There were also a lot of questions about the wolves in Alaska, even one about why there is an f in wolf but not in wolves!
The evening ended with a wonderful serenade from the Pacific Tree frogs that reside in our yard!

Fly In My Orchid

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:52:29 -0700

I am lucky enough to have this native California orchid blooming in my yard and on close inspection saw this unusual “wasp” working in it. Waning more information, I asked my good friend Garry George who happens to be a collector of orchids. Here is what he said:

It’s an Epipactis gigantea stream orchid. They are pollinated by syrphid flies (as pictured). The orchids emit a honeydew odor that attracts this genera of flies. Also known as “hoverflies”. They look like wasps but are flies.

So next time you look to run from a wasp, take a second look and see if it isn’t really a fly!

Virginia Robinson Garden Tour Recap

Tue, 18 May 2010 11:30:54 -0700

On Friday a group of us went on the 22nd annual Virginia Robinson Garden tour. Each garden was remarkable in it’s own way..

One garden entitled Le Petites Bijoux, landscaped with many edible plants - fig and lemon trees, grapevines, rosemary...

Another garden had a most beautiful pond that ultimately emptied into the swimming pool. One garden had once belonged to Harold Lloyd.

The grand finale was a delicious luncheon at the beautifully decorated Virginia Robinson mansion.

As a “gardener with a wild heart” I found the lack of wildlife in the gardens disappointing. I saw two California Towhees on the Harold Lloyd estate, some koi and little crayfish in one pond and nothing else. It gave the otherwise beautiful gardens a rather sterile feel to me.

Friends of Robinson Gardens is a non-profit group charged with the preservation, renovation and restoration of the Virginia Robinson mansion and gardens as well as educating the community through children's programs , botanical illustration workshops, community outreach, tours and educational lectures.

If you had an an opportunity to take the tour or visit the gardens, I would enjoy getting your feedback.

Bobcat Prowl

Thu, 13 May 2010 12:32:36 -0700

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we have a bobcat visiting our fountain. Over the years that we have lived here, we have had occasional bobcat sightings and it is always such a thrill to see such a beautiful, wild and elusive animal.
In this case, had the camera not caught him as he came to drink, we would not have known of his presence as these cats avoid human contact whenever possible.
Dan Cooper who is an expert on the natural history of Southern California describes Lynx rufus “... while they are fairly common, they are rarely seen residents in the Santa Monica Mountains and lightly developed areas around the LA Basin. They eat rodents and rabbits, and have their kittens in small caves, especially in rocky terrain. They’re habitat “generalists”, which means they accept a wide range of vegetation, from desert to woodland, and as a rule, anywhere you see deer, you probably have bobcats.”
“For identification, note the black tufts on the tips of the ears, in case you can’t see the stubby tail.”
Have you had any sightings to report?

GREAT Eco Guest Hand Towel Discovery

Tue, 4 May 2010 12:19:37 -0700

I am very excited about this latest discovery. While searching online for earth friendly paper hand towels for the powder room, (since some people don’t like using cloth towels), I discovered Earth Wise.
The name is stamped right on the towel so guests can feel comfortable knowing that they are using an eco friendly item. Or if you prefer, you can show the unlabeled side! These towels were very popular with the guests that came through my home during the Theodore Payne Foundation Garden Tour. Many asked where to get them so, here is the info:
Earth Wise by Hoffmaster Group Inc.
And, no, I have no affiliation with the company! :0)
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TPG Tour Day two

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:41:10 -0700

Despite an overcast day, we had over 90 people come to explore the garden. While the birds were not quite as active as the day before, they did come out to take the occasional bath which generated interest in our use of birdcams (to see the still photos taken by these cameras see our gallery at: Flikr )