Last week, we spent time at Lusardi Creek.  In addition to the usual Artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) and Carnation spurge (Euphorbia terracina), we treated a variety of undesirable plants.  The most numerous of them was Purple salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius).  A perennial herb originally from Europe, it is not invasive but it does displace natives.  We found it intermixed with Prickly lettuce (Latuca serriola), both of which share the same habitat of disturbed ground.  The salsify was a bit difficult to distinguish as they are the same color and the salsify jus ..read more

We treated artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) at Lusardi Creek.  We also treated four areas where Carnation spurge (Euphorbia terracina) is persisting. One of these was near the end of a berm extending into the Creek.  We had to fight our way past thick native brush that we had restored in order to reach it.  This was encouraging despite our leaning toward despair at ever getting rid of this invasive. There are two additional areas but we didn’t have time to tackle them.  This week's photo is of native Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) against a backdrop of drying ..read more

Our July newsletter just dropped! There’s a whole bunch of activities going on this month, from field trips to nursery work, to potluck discussions. Read it to get all the details. As always, our activities are open to everyone and many are kid-friendly! July Newsletter ..read more

More and more people are recognizing the benefits of planting native gardens and your garden could be their inspiration to make that leap. Experienced native gardeners also come to our garden tours to discover new native plants and explore new ideas to add to their own gardens. Learn more ..read more

We surveyed current restoration sites in the San Dieguito River Valley and potential sites near Santa Ysabel in the upper reaches of the watershed. California False Indigo (Amorpha californica). Photo by Bob Byrnes. Here is a photograph of California false indigo (Amorpha californica).  We see this native along the San Dieguito River every spring.  This year it is appearing much more robust than we've seen in the past.  This is probably because we've removed the invasive weeds which confined it at these locations.  The high water which lasted for months likely also contrib ..read more

Purple salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) along with prickly lettuce. Photo by Bob Byrnes In addition to dealing with the usual invasives Artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) and Carnation spurge (Euphorbia terracina), we surveyed a part of Lusardi Creek we hadn't been able to access for several months because of mud and high water.  We found more Carnation spurge as well as familiar invasive Algerian sea lavender (Limonium ramossissimum).  In addition we saw a clump of a nonnative species we've encountered only once before, Purple salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), an edible herb fr ..read more

The native Garden Committee received a $10,000 sponsorship from San Diego County Water Authority to create a native garden with this year’s theme “Get Out There”. The landscape design was finalized by Greg Rubin with input from NGC members. The garden was installed over two days with NGC volunteers, Leo Hernandez and Greg Rubin and their crew. Plant material for the exhibit came from Native West and Moosa Creek nurseries. Redwood logs donated by Urban Timber and artwork figures and exhibit backdrop were created by Ed Piffard. Boulders on loan from KRC Rock. Budget: We are within budget for thi ..read more

We treated Carnation spurge (Euphorbia terracina) and Artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus).  This is the sixth time this year we have dealt with Carnation spurge and, judging from the rate new plants are appearing, this is likely to continue. We were able to survey the San Dieguito River Valley after release of water from the Lake Hodges dam was stopped and the river dropped to a normal level.  This effort was made in order to plan restoration during the remainder of the year.  Below is a photograph of Brass buttons (Cotula coronopifolia) with rabbitfoot grass (Polypogon monsp ..read more

Cream cups, goldfields, and native and non-native mix of dandelions edge on the Water of the Woods where Los Rasalies Lake feeds into Noble Canyon. April 22nd: The group heads out into the Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) forest near the Laguna campground. Photo by Justin Daniel. Our Field Trips to Mt Laguna this year started around the time we expected the bloom to be in full swing.  In late April, with the help of Lauren Quon, Forest Service Botanist for the Cleveland National Forest, we toured around the Laguna Lakes meadows from the campground.  We quickly found plenty of gre ..read more

Last week, we continued treating Carnation spurge (Euphorbia terracina) pictured at right.  The seed of this invasive perennial germinates and continues growing over a period of many months.  This year the number of new plants seems worse than usual.  Let's hope that the extensive efforts we've been putting into controlling it put a significant dent in the seed bank. Euphorbia terracina Photo by Bob Byrnes Below is a photo of non-native Canarian sea lavender (Limonium perezii) at Lusardi Creek not far from Camino del Sur.  This species is not described as invasive in Calif ..read more