Page 8 - Sonoma County 2016 Gardeners Resource GUide.indd

Lessons from “Our Front Yard”
Selecting Native Plants for Cultural
Significance, Beauty and Medicine
By Michael Sturgis
If you’ve visited or passed by Sebastopol City Hall and Library in the past
two years you’ve probably noticed the flourishing gardens filled with flowers, shrubs and fruit trees surrounding the buildings. These gardens are known as “Our Front Yard” since they surround the communal living room that is the City Hall and Library. However, they are more than just ornamental gardens; they are divided into four distinct sections, with each section telling part of the history of the city and the region.
So far three sections have been completed, the contemporary Sebastopol section, the Luther Burbank section and the Pioneers section. On April 2nd, a community-powered planting day will install the fourth section of the garden which will feature culturally significant native plants. The public is invited to help complete this final phase of the planting.
The garden design and plant selection is currently underway, with staff from local nonprofit Daily Acts and from landscape design/build firm Permaculture Artisans leading the efforts. A few of the species of native plants that will appear on this special plant palette are described below. These plants were important to the native Pomo Indians and other tribes in the region and they are important habitat providers to hundreds of birds, animals and insects as well. Perhaps this list will inspire you to add native plants to your garden.
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
This iconic wildflower is not only a glowing golden beauty on the hillsides and roadsides but it’s a powerful medicinal plant as well. A tea or tincture made from the plant has a mildly sedative effect, promoting restful sleep and calming the nerves. The unopened buds are the most potent but the whole aboveground plant can be used. Poppies are drought tolerant, easy to grow (they re-seed readily), and attract pollinators as well. Their golden yellow blooms make a great addition to any garden.
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp cerulea)
The blue elderberry, along with its close cousin the black elderberry is a deciduous shrub that grows up to 15 to 30 feet tall. The flowers can be made into elderflower wine and the ripe berries are a powerful immune system booster, often made into a syrup. The unripe berries are mildly toxic and
the ripe berries are best when cooked.
Elderberries are easy to propagate from
cuttings taken in the late fall and winter,
before new growth appears. Elders prefer full sun and moist soil and are often found along creek banks. They can grow tall and rangy so consider planting them along a fence line or some out-of-the-way place.
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NATIVES cont’d on page 9
Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
This evergreen shrub flowers from March through May and offers beautiful, delicious fruit in the late summer and fall. The fruit is tart and sweet and can be used like blueberries; eaten fresh, dried, cooked or preserved. Huckleberries prefer to grow at the edge of the forest in a mostly sunny to partially shady area, and they grow