oh! you’re in central california! there’s some really cool stuff out there. there’s cool drought tolerant tall purple grasses.
or you could grow something more utilitarian; like vegetables or herbs or something. that’s also really nice. they don’t look as pretty, but they smell AMAZING. plus you can attract cats.
I edited this in after you posted. Right now I’ve got California Poppies, Black Sage seedlings and Coyote Mint seedlings. There’s an epilobium species growing here that might be native and edible or non-native and poisonous (I’m an experienced and cautions forager; seems like epilobiums can be kinda bastards to tell apart, so I’m not going to proceed further there), and red clover. I’m looking into getting some Nodding Needlegrass, Three-awn grass, and some Triteleia spp. I was looking at Owl Clover, but it’s parasitic on grasses, and I don’t to piss off the neighborhood by setting off an epidemic of parasitic owl clover (my power level isn’t quite that high yet). I’ve also scattered some nettle-leaf hyssop seeds, but I seem to be coming up zeroes on that front. Now, my neighbor is a heavy irrigator and always floods my side yard after years of asking them to manage it better. Nothing grows there but mud or water-loving non-native grasses, so I got my hands on some cattail seeds (and dill and fennel) and scattered them in there. I’m curious to see if I can get some cattails going.
fennel is great for spots you expect to flood. lots watery spots in CA have fennel, and it’s a unique regional anisette flavor nobody can ever put their finger on. great for salads and tomato sauces.
you could also try putting in a water break, or doing the owl clover just so your neighbor has nothing to water. fix the problem.
oh! you’re in central california! there’s some really cool stuff out there. there’s cool drought tolerant tall purple grasses.
or you could grow something more utilitarian; like vegetables or herbs or something. that’s also really nice. they don’t look as pretty, but they smell AMAZING. plus you can attract cats.
I edited this in after you posted. Right now I’ve got California Poppies, Black Sage seedlings and Coyote Mint seedlings. There’s an epilobium species growing here that might be native and edible or non-native and poisonous (I’m an experienced and cautions forager; seems like epilobiums can be kinda bastards to tell apart, so I’m not going to proceed further there), and red clover. I’m looking into getting some Nodding Needlegrass, Three-awn grass, and some Triteleia spp. I was looking at Owl Clover, but it’s parasitic on grasses, and I don’t to piss off the neighborhood by setting off an epidemic of parasitic owl clover (my power level isn’t quite that high yet). I’ve also scattered some nettle-leaf hyssop seeds, but I seem to be coming up zeroes on that front. Now, my neighbor is a heavy irrigator and always floods my side yard after years of asking them to manage it better. Nothing grows there but mud or water-loving non-native grasses, so I got my hands on some cattail seeds (and dill and fennel) and scattered them in there. I’m curious to see if I can get some cattails going.
fennel is great for spots you expect to flood. lots watery spots in CA have fennel, and it’s a unique regional anisette flavor nobody can ever put their finger on. great for salads and tomato sauces.
you could also try putting in a water break, or doing the owl clover just so your neighbor has nothing to water. fix the problem.
Fennel is actually an invasive species in CA so I wouldn’t recommend this.
However, foraging for it is great. Plenty to go around already.
okay, yes, but it’s invasive and delicious and I do not currently have any outdoor space suitable to grow it in.