In Praise of Local

A Deeper Knowledge of the Place One Calls Home


In SLO, I really discovered my love for local, for delving into local history; buying local vegetables, fruit, eggs, cheese, and hormone and antibiotic free meat at farmer's markets; meeting local Native Americans - I discovered a couple with an herb and honey (home grown business); shopping local businesses; volunteering in local non-profits; working to keep the local environment clean and healthy for all; and getting involved in local issues.

My love of local native plants and wildlife are very much a part of my love of my locale and my desire to become as much as possible a part of the local ecosystem.

Discovered recently a website which says very well the part about living in the locale in which you reside. The author, Arvind Kumar, titles many of his articles A Sense of Place.

" On the East Coast, in winter, plants are dormant, leafless, or dead. In California’s winter, plants get plenty of rain, and their root systems grow like crazy.

"In summer on the East Coast, plants grow lush green, helped along by periodic showers, high humidity, and sunshine. In California’s desert-like summer, there is sun all right, but not a drop of rain. Plants that do best in California know how to survive six months or more without water.

"This simple but subtle fact is lost on many gardeners, especially those accustomed to the East Coast climate. They go nuts trying to make sense of California’s seasons, wondering why a California garden needs so much water in summer. Gardening books are of little help, most having been written by and for East Coast gardeners.

"Happy are those who grasp the essential facts about California’s unique climate, and who learn to adapt to California instead of forcing California to adapt to their ideas.

“ 'Being from New York I always used to say that I missed the seasons back East,” recalls Barbara Springer of San Jose. 'What I didn't realize was that I was overlooking the seasons of California and trying to make them fit into the East Coast model. I now have a new perspective where I look forward to each new ‘season’ of rains, germination and growth, blooms, seed collecting, and dormancy.'

"Gardening with nature brings great rewards, not the least of which is a deeper knowledge of the place one calls home. Anyone can create a lush summer garden by watering, watering, watering.The real challenge lies in creating a garden that is appropriate to its environment, to its soil and its climate. Such a garden thrives without consuming large quantities of scarce natural resources.

"The secret to keeping a California garden looking beautiful through summer lies in picking plants appropriate to the site. You can’t go wrong by choosing locally native plants, which are naturally adapted to your soil and climate. California is blessed with a great diversity of native plants, which have unique evolutionary mechanisms for staying alive during the long dry summer. "

Source: www.gardeningwithnatives.com