April 11, 2009 Clean-up: Enemy No. 1

From Native By Design

On another beautiful day at the Nature Park, our efforts went to removing a lot of garbage (some rather interesting in nature) and finding and removing the above seedlings: castor bean (Ricinus communis)- enemy no. 1.

For the last few months, we focused our attention on the milk thistle, but there were few of these in evidence this time. Now the castor bean is sprouting. If you go to the park feel free to remove any of these that you find. Here's a picture of one still standing. Notice the large oval first leaves (cotyledons) and the palmate true leaf. It is often reddish in color.

Castor bean seedling

From Native By Design

Be very careful to avoid poison oak. This is an important native plant that has good habitat value: it provides cover and food for many animals.

Beware - Poison oak

From Native By Design

Poison oak

From Native By Design

The park is doing well as the following pictures attest.

Park Entrance on Pasadena Ave. (Bush sunflower, black sage and poppies in bloom)

From Native By Design

Baby blue eyes

From Native By Design

Info sign on Pasadena Ave.

From Native By Design

Mexican elderberry

From Native By Design

Sugar bush

From Native By Design

Native plant, everlasting, sprouting on its own

From Native By Design

Deer grass, black willow and coyote bush

From Native By Design

But not all is perfect. The following picture is taken of the main central part of the park. It was supposed to be a grassland but became overcome with weeds during the first winter and spring of its existence. The city then added mulch to smother the weeds. We need to direct our attention to this area. I am hoping to level the area this year in preparation for planting in the winter. Since birds need high, medium and low cover - and we already have nice medium and high vegetation - we should consider using low-growing scrub plants. Buckwheat, black sage, deer weed, monkey flower, bush sunflower are all good candidates that are native to the Arroyo Seco. A generous sprinkling of wildflower seeds would be just the thing!

Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

From Native By Design

Park Clean-up: April 11, 2009. 9 am - noon

I realize I have not but updating this blog much but will try to get something up after this weekend's clean-up. I also realize that many of you will be busy with Easter/Passover family activities. If you get a chance to stop by, please do. I'm not sure I will be there for the whole time, but I will try to arrive by 9 am.

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

For more information email me at: barbara.eisenstein@gmail.com.

Upcoming Clean-up, Saturday, March 14, 2009, 9 am - noon

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

For more information email me at: barbara.eisenstein@gmail.com.

Video on Invasive Plants (Garlic Mustard)

Garlic Mustard Identification and Control from Barbara Lucas on Vimeo.

Although we do not seem to have garlic mustard here in So. Cal., we have many similar invasive weed problems. This video demonstrates what invasives can do, how, why and what we can do to combat them. Our efforts in the Nature Park to control castor bean and milk thistle are good examples. Next we may try to get a handle on the non-native mustards that paint the park yellow in spring.

Park Clean-up (Feb. 14, 2009)

Oregon grape (Berberis sp.)

The Nature Park was very pleasant on Saturday. Sugar bush, mulefat, wild cucumber, golden currant, and barberry were a few of the native plants in bloom. We saw two lupines and many California poppies getting ready for the spring wildflower display. The black sages by the entrance, along with buckwheat and bush sunflower, are doing well, and getting ready to bloom also.


milk thistle (if you see this, kill it!)

The weeds are abundant. Last year we focused on eliminating castor bean (Ricinus communis), and it is still nearly non-existent. Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is mostly gone as well. The weed we are now focusing on eradicating is milk thistle (Silybum marianum) - shown above. If you see it, pull it out or just kick it over with your foot. We want to get rid of these seedlings before they flower and spread a great abundance of seeds in the spring. The plant grows to six feet tall. A couple of years ago a boyscout troop worked hard removing it. We now have to keep after the offspring!

Enjoy the rest of the pictures and do take some time from your busy schedules to walk around the park yourselves.


oak tree


miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)


mushrooms

Park Clean-up (January 10, 2009)

Had a large turn out at the Nature Park on this beautiful January morning. As planned we focused on removing milk thistle seedlings. Most of them are in the central part of the park. We worked north of the central info kiosk.






milk thistle seedlings

We also removed an old, apparently abandoned encampment on the southeast part of the park near the stairs. The garbage was left at the entry behind the stone wall for Athens to pick up.



The signs in the center of the park and on the east side were both defaced with graffiti. I will contact the graffiti hotline. The city should consider removing the signs since they are scratched and a constant target for graffiti.



We sowed California wildflower seeds in the central part of the park. Many of the poppies sowed last year are returning and it should be a great wildflower display again.

We also planted a monkeyflower that was grown from a cutting of an Arroyo Seco watershed plant.


Boy digs hole while dog looks on


Girl carefully pats down soil

It was a beautiful and fun day. Join us next time.


Jogger runs up and down ramp


Shopping cart and defaced water fountain mar Nature Park entry


Oregon grape getting ready to bloom in Nature Park

Happy Holidays from the Nature Park (next clean up: Saturday, 1/10, 9 AM)

Tinsel on coyote brush (Photo by Lizzie Eisenstein)




Today I went to the Nature Park for the first time since last month and was very surprised to find it lovingly decorated for the holidays. Red, white and silver tinsel adorned the native shrubs and trees.

There was not much litter around and the weeds are still fairly well under control. TruGreen must be keeping after the Ailanthus because it isn't really coming back. I saw a few germinated seeds of milk thistle (Silybum marianum). If any of you go to the park, please look for these and either pull them out or just kick at them with your foot. This noxious, annual weed is easy to remove at this stage but is a real bear later. The picture below the seedling is a stand of milk thistle in the Nature Park in spring 2005. The prickly plants stand about 5 -6 ft. tall. Boyscouts assisted in it removal.




Remember park clean-ups are informally scheduled for the second Saturday of the month and I do expect to be at the Park on January 10th at 9 AM.

As always:

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children are welcome but must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

For more information email me at: barbara.eisenstein@gmail.com.

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!

Barbara