FIRE-SAFE BACKCOUNTRY GARDENS SAVE WATER AND WILDLIFE,TOO

Native Gardens Tour April 2-3 previews

East County News Service

April 1, 2016 (Deerhorn Valley) --Two Deerhorn Valley couples who addressed their need for a fire-safe landscape using native plants discovered that native plants in the garden not only save water and reduce fire risk, but provide year-round beauty that appeals to all the senses.   They will be sharing their gardens and their experience as part of the California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) Garden Native Tour, April 2^nd and 3^rd, which features a total of twenty gardens in inland San Diego County.  

“Trinchera Ranch”

Bob and Suzy Bullock named this 2.5-acre site after a narrow stream that cuts a deep trench through the chaparral and oaks in Deerhorn Valley.  In 2005, Bob got serious about removing the weeds to reduce the risk of wildfire spreading up the canyon.  “Where I had killed the weeds, I started to notice that lovely native wildflowers and shrubs started to pop up.  I was amazed at how much was in the ground just waiting for the chance to come out.” 

Bob was inspired to augment the natural regeneration with addition natives.  He hired a landscape designer who identified 14 different micro-habitats on the slopes and canyons.   “We hired a contractor to install 160 plants and build pathways winding through them.  The path leads down to and along the stream to a wooden statue of St. Francis that I put up.”   The resulting two-acre garden is sensitive to its environment, with distinct manzanita and mixed chaparral, oak woodland, cliff, and meadow habitats all visible during a short walk.

 “Rancho Chuparosa”

Bob Hill and Mary Jane Quinn also started planting their 40-acre property with native plants in 2005.  “My main criteria for planting was that plants be drought tolerant (preferably native), habitat friendly, fire resistant and not (too) attractive to rabbits!  We were fortunate to have an abundance of native plants already growing, so it seemed logical for any new plantings to be other varieties or species that would thrive in this environment.” 

Now gardens sprawl over 2½ acres amidst patios, walkways, fountains, and ponds.   “We now have over 80 Tecate cypress and a wide variety of sages, as well as specimen plants such as desert willow, palo verde, and Santa Cruz ironwood,” Mary Jane says with pride.  The austere desert trees set off the fuller evergreen shrubs and trees, creating the relaxed feel of a back country retreat. 

But don’t confuse relaxed with old-fashioned.  The buildings used environmentally friendly straw-bale construction (you can even take a peek at the guts), earthen plaster, reclaimed wood, and photovoltaic panels.  Rainwater is shed off the metal roofs and funneled down a network of buried pipes that recycle the water to feed the gurgling stream below the house.  A 6,500 gallon storage tank captures more rainwater which the couple uses for their organic vegetable garden and fruit trees. 

“These larger native landscapes are a great addition to the tour,” says organizer Dave Flietner.  “Not only are the properties huge, the plants have had time to mature, so folks can get an idea what there garden will look like in ten years. We wanted to make sure that people got a chance to visit these far-flung, so we decided to keep them open a little longer than most of the other gardens on the tour.”

These gardens, were grouped along with two others in the Jamul area as ‘Worth a Sunday Drive” and will be available for tour attendees to visit up to 6 p.m.  This configuration turned out to be a great fit for the Deerhorn Valley Community Association.  “We’re a tight community that enjoys getting out and doing thing together.  We hadn’t planned a garden tour for this spring, so it fits right into our schedule,” says DVCA President Kim Hamilton.  Joining forces with CNPS, they are offering a one-day tour of the four Sunday-gardens in the main tour, naming it “Native Jewels of Jamul.”  This is a convenient way for local people to see what their neighbors are doing, Kim explains.  “People can drop by our home in Deerhorn Valley to get their tour guidebooks, visit over coffee and snacks, and hopefully head out together.” 

The rest of the larger weekend tour, “Landscaping for the Future” includes a variety of gardens styles: wild habitat gardens in eastern San Diego, hillside gardens on Mt. Helix, large suburban yards in El Cajon, and more.  Tickets are $25 for the whole weekend and $15 for the Sunday tour and can be purchased at gardennative.org.