California Native Plant Garden Design Course - Part 2

We went to Part 2 of our 3-part landscape design class today at the Theodore Payne Foundation. We brought in our base plan for our house along with some bubble diagrams depicting some general ideas in the garden like a bird bath and a sitting area.

The course outline for Part 2:

• Questions
• Review - Start Creating Your Native Landscape Design
• Select Materials
• Develop Your Final Garden Design
• Soil and Site Preparation
• Irrigation Techniques
• Individual Design Projects
• Work Session

I didn't feel like I learned a lot today. The instructors went over different ideas for designing a garden, but they were very general. The main ideas were to create groups of similar plants, create curvy borders between planting areas, and to create focal points. This is useful, I guess, but I didn't feel like it was getting me any closer to designing my garden. I still have no idea what plants to pick.

I had heard before that native plants won't require any watering or soil amendments. Today, the instructors said that the plants do need watering in their first few years until they become established. They also said that in some cases, you should add compost or gypsum to the soil. One of the main reasons I am interested in a native plant garden is that I wouldn't have to do these things. I think I am going to try leaving the soil as-is and not watering and see what happens. I have planted a few natives already and they seem to be doing just fine with no watering and the unamended soil I planted them in.

At the end of the class, one of the instructors looked at the photos of your yard and our initial base plan. He didn't really have much to suggest except that we try to make some meandering curvy paths -- that seemed to be his thing -- and that we might want to put a tree or two on both sides of our front yard. I'm not sure if I'm going to take that advice since I enjoy being able to see a lot of the street from my front window.

On the way out, I stopped by the Theodore Payne shop to buy some wildflower seeds. I wanted a different color flower to compliment the orange California Poppies that I already planted. The woman there recommended Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes). I think they'll look great next to the Poppies.

On the way home, we stopped at Langer's for the good ol' #19. We would have strolled in the park afterwards, but it was raining.

Langer's Deli

This morning, I went to go jam with some friends from work at a music studio they rent on Cotner in West LA. After our jam, one of them had a craving for a pastrami sandwich at Langer's Deli near MacArthur Park. That area is known to be a pretty dangerous area with lots of crime and drug deals, although I suspected is had been improving lately as with the rest of Los Angeles. Eager to try a new restaurant and see MacArthur park for the first time, I agreed to make the trek out there for lunch. My friend raved about how Langer's was by far the best deli in LA, especially for a pastrami sandwich.

I have to admit, the food was pretty good. I was told to get
#19 - PASTRAMI, SWISS CHEESE and COLE SLAW Russian Style Dressing $11.25. I have been slacking on my effort to be vegetarian and today I slacked again and ordered #19 as my friend recommended. I have to admit, it was pretty darn good. In addition, I ordered matzo ball soup and we shared an order of potato pancakes which came with apple sauce and sour cream. It was all very good.

Our waitress, Eveline, was a 69-year-old charming woman with an accent that sounded Scottish. For my friend who recommended Langer's, chatting with her was half the reason he liked to go there. She delivered great service with a smile.

After lunch, we decided to walk off our big meal at MacArthur park which was across the street. The park was lively with people strolling, resting, and, of course, peddling fake ID's and who knows what else. We got approached by at least 2 men asking if we needed any fake ID's. I guess if you need a fake ID, this park is the place to go!

It was really a beautiful day in LA since it had rained during the last week. It was one of those warm sunny fall days on which you can see all the surrounding mountains, landmarks like the Hollywood sign, and the shiny buildings downtown. It was a perfect day to visit MacArthur park for the first time.