No Water Shortage in So Pas

As soon as Halloween passes two things occur - commercials for holiday shopping flood the air waves, and the city of South Pasadena starts to smell like a farm. Residents here rush to spread manure and rye grass seed on their close-cropped lawns. As Thanksgiving approaches the daily irrigation and pungent air yield bright green yards that make the Emerald City look dull.

This lawn was overseeded last week and is now bright green with fine grass seedlings growing over the pre-existing lawn.


A few words of explanation are in order for those of you from other parts of the world who, like me when I arrived, find this behavior to be bizarre. Although you may hear "southlanders" bemoan the lack of seasons, when the weather starts to change, people go to amazing lengths to keep everything else the same. Summer annuals are pulled out and cool season flowers are planted. As warm season grasses start to tone down with decreasing sun and temperatures, out comes the manure and grass seed. What, no seasons? There is summer grass and winter grass - both very green and thirsty. There are salvias, petunas and impatiens for summer time; snapdragons, pansies and primroses for winter. All colorful, all thirsty.

Lawn across the street from my house was overseeded this morning. The brown patches are manure with grass seeds on it. All you are missing is the smell!



So why is it that people in my city, South Pasadena, can so readily embrace landscape practices that are the equivalent to driving a Hummer? Do we not have a water shortage here? To get the answer I first checked the city's website to find out what water restrictions exist. I clicked on City of South Pasadena, Department of Public Works, Water. To my surprise I found nothing about watering guidelines or restrictions. So I called the city to see whether I just missed it. A city employee carefully instructed me to click on Municipal Code, Chapter 35 (Water), and then Article II: Water Conservation (not Article III: Water Conservation in Landscaping). On the next screen I was instructed to click on Water landscape. And finally it appeared:

35.43 Water landscape.

It shall be unlawful for any person to water landscaping, including lawn area, between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m. Lawn areas shall be deep soaked, but in no case longer than fifteen minutes per station or location or in violation of Section 35.42 of this chapter. Drip irrigation is exempt. (Ord. No. 1992, § 3; Ord. No. 1995, § 1.)

So here it is: no watering between 9 and 5. That makes sense, water during cool hours of the day to reduce water loss through evaporation. Though the city encourages this practice there is no actual enforcement of the ordinance. Still I do observe during my daily walks with my dog, Milo, that residents typically, though by no means always, follow this practice.

The next part of the ordinance - water deeply but in no case longer than 15 minutes per station or location - makes no sense at all. In 15 minutes the water will barely penetrate the soil, resulting in shallow-rooted plants, whether they are grasses or large majestic trees. This watering recommendation requires frequent, possibly daily, watering to keep plants alive. The shallow roots are susceptible to heat, and the frequent constant moisture encourages the growth of soil pathogens (disease-causing bacteria and fungi). This recommendation puts the wonderful coast live oak trees that our city is so fortunate to have at great risk.

The part about "in violation of Section 35.42 of this chapter" states that irrigation cannot runoff into the street or on walks.

It shall be unlawful for any reason to allow water to run in such a manner so as to have runoff overflowing the walkway on private property or the sidewalk on public property. Where no sidewalk exists, water shall not be used in any way so as to flow over the curb or into any gutter or street, private or otherwise. (Ord. No. 1992 § 2.)

My informal observations are that this one is not followed or enforced. The occurrence of broken or misaligned sprinkler heads is extremely common. The streets here are well-watered.

Next I called the City Water Manager. He explained that the residents of South Pasadena are actually doing a good job of conserving without further restrictions. He stated that there was a 15% reduction in water consumption over last year. Furthermore, he told me that South Pas is purchasing little water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).

Again, for those unfamiliar with the water practices of our state, water is provided to municipalities in many different ways. Some get water from municipal water districts that are sister agencies of MWD. Our city is its own water provider. Most of our water comes from local groundwater wells in the nearby town of San Gabriel. Any additional water that we require is sold to the city by the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. I was assured by the Water Manager that the water quality from these wells has been improving. Only one of the three wells occasionally exceeds the maximum allowable pollutant levels for drinking water. When this happens, additional water from the other two wells brings the supply into compliance, with little USGVMD water required.

Although it is reassuring to hear that our water supply is clean and adequate, I find it very difficult to believe we are somehow exempt from the water crisis that MWD and the governor have been inundating (pun intended) the populace with. I have asked the Water Manager to send me water usage figures for the past five years. I'd like to see how our water consumption compares with other cities in our area. As I get more information I will be sure to pass it along. In the mean time, remember water is a precious resource. Keeping your lawn emerald green right now may result in much greater sacrifice later.

Gardening Season

While much of the rest of the country prepares for winter dormancy, here in California it is finally time to get dirty. The best time of the year to plant in the garden is right now. Temperatures are dropping, especially at night, and hopefully more rain will follow. This is also the time of year for native plant sales. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden has one of the largest, if not the largest, native plant sale in California. The sale is this Saturday and Sunday. Members can enter at 8 AM (memberships are available at the door), and the general public is welcome from 11 AM to 4 PM on Saturday. The hours on Sunday are 9 AM to 2 PM. If you cannot attend the sale, Rancho sells plants in their Grow Native Nursery on Wednesday through Sunday from 9 AM to 4 PM. Although the Garden now charges an admission fee for non-members, the plant sales are open free of charge. I will be helping out at the sale on Saturday also. For a listing of other native plant sales, check out the California Native Plant Society website. They have information on plant sales and nurseries who sell natives year around.

I spent all day Monday at the Garden helping out with the plant list and labels. You can register on the Rancho website to download the list. If you have trouble with this, try calling Rancho (909-625-8767), or let me know and I'll see if I can email you a list. The list will continue to change right up until the sale, so check often. When I left on Monday evening there were over 15,000 plants on the 24-page list, with over 1,000 lines (there are often several lines for a given taxa representing different sizes and sources). I'd estimate there are many more than 700 taxa, including native and non-native plants. Some orders were not yet in, and the seeds and bulbs were not listed yet.

The other activity that has kept me from posting on Wild Suburbia was a talk I gave at the Los Angeles Arboretum, Lili Singer's Thursday morning Garden Talk (as I mentioned in the last post I uploaded the talk on WeedingWildSuburbia).

Today I finally got to spend some time in the garden. I spent several hours chipping and shredding green waste. Here's what we are up to now.

The deck - mostly torn out. Go Jim!


Chipper/shredder and a big pile of green waste.


Here I am all protected - except for my thumb, which got smashed really badly.


Got to go now - there's coffee ice cream calling to me...

But where will I sunbathe?

Both Milo and Sophie are wondering where they will be able to sunbathe when the deck is gone. I too wonder what the backyard will be like. Right now I am thinking about the best surface to put under the dripline of the avocado that won't endanger its health.



Other than the deck, cleaning up the yard waste, and planning for the fall planting season (the RSABG plant sale is November 7/8), the veggies are looking good too. Think I'll make a salad with the lettuce and arugula, and use the swiss chard on a home-made pizza for dinner tonight.

Forgot to mention - I gave a talk at the LA Arboretum yesterday for Lili Singer's Thursday Garden Talks. The group was really great. Lots of questions and discussion. I know it is kind of cliche to say this, but I think I learn as much from giving these classes as the people who attend. I am uploading the presentation, Easy Gardening with California Native Plants.

Have a great weekend!

What do you mean, you didn't mean that deck?

And the work goes on.

Age Happens

News flash - I'm not as young as I used to be! Today I finally had a chance to work in the garden. I cleaned off the deck that my husband is working hard to dismantle. Yup, moving pots, clearing up garden debris, digging and turning the compost pile, weeding, snipping and otherwise puttering around in the garden has exhausted me. Kind of pathetic! Anyway, thought I'd share some pictures of the backyard wedding project

Starting at the northwest corner, some planks have been removed.


View from southeast corner.


The avocado tree has a large gall that was being constricted by the deck. A perfect area for rot and disease. Hopefully the tree will remain healthy. It is currently loaded with small avocados that should be ripe by about January.


Supporting beams show lots of decay.


Following last week's rain and this week's warm sunshine, the fuchsia-flowering gooseberry is covered with young green leaves.


Phacelia, gilia and CA poppies are all sprouting (as are some weeds).


Milo is just pooped from working so hard!

Change in the Native Garden

Last fall’s wildfires in Southern California epitomize the changing nature of landscapes. Change can come suddenly through disturbance that accompanies catastrophic events like fires or floods, or it can be incremental occurring slowly over years. Stasis, or the lack of change, is non-existent in nature.

Too often we forget that gardens, also, are systems that change both gradually and abruptly. When we remove lawn to create a garden, we are the instrument of disturbance. Although we may try to rush the first stage of change by installing plants that have gotten a head start in a nursery, the garden knows what is happening. Like wildflowers that follow devastating wildfires, seeds lying in wait in the garden are ready to go. Most of these seeds are non-native weeds that germinate easily in the tilled soil, and so young gardens require conscientious weeding.

Tidy tips (Layia platyglossa) and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesi) in sidewalk garden


In my yard I sow native annual seeds after removing lawn for new garden beds in order to mimic the appearance of wildflowers that follow fires. When spring arrives, young perennials are hardly noticeable among the riotous color of poppies (Eschscholzia californica), tidytips (Layia platyglossa) and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesi). In addition to adding excitement to the new garden, I believe - though I have no hard evidence - that the practice of sowing wildflower seeds is helpful in controlling weeds and improving the soil. As the garden matures, and change occurs more gradually, there is less room for wildflowers but the larger specimens provide structure, and with less soil disturbance, fewer weeds emerge. Though the garden is no longer subject to major disturbance, change continues. In my sidewalk garden, oak saplings (Quercus agrifolia) will eventually shade out the sun-loving plants beneath them. This was understood when the trees were planted. The smaller herbaceous plants were selected as filler while the trees mature. Monkeyflowers (Mimulus), buckwheats (Eriogonum), sages (Salvia), native bunchgrasses and other perennials grow rapidly in the early years and give a young garden a lush, full appearance. In time, as the oaks mature - and I grow old - the smaller, sun-loving perennials will be removed. Oak leaf duff will cover the ground, and the sidewalk garden will require little work on my part.

When planning a garden visualize it both in its initial state, and as it will be in years to come. As unlikely as it seems, the spindly twig in the one-gallon pot will reach its mature size, and if you do not leave room, you will be confronted with an overcrowded garden, requiring frequent pruning. Remember also to plan for the shade that larger plants will cast. If you wish to preserve a sunny space, locate trees on the north side of the bed. Plant trees south-west of the house to cast cooling afternoon shade that will make the house more comfortable and save you money.

Recently, while looking at an old, dilapidated fence on the side of our yard my husband asked, “Can’t we do something about that?” I saw the fence, as if for the first time, but was more focused on the small shrubs in front of it that I know will provide excellent screening in a few years. Our different perspectives are clear. He sees what is there now, while I see the future, sometimes missing the present. The best gardeners see both what is there now and the changes that the future will bring.

It must be fall

The days are getting shorter and cooler. The toyon berries are blushing and the fuchsia-flowering gooseberry's buds are swelling! I miss the east coast fall but revel in our own.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) berries are beginning to blush.


Fuchsia-flowering gooseberry (Ribes speciosum) went dormant and is now loaded with leaf buds.