Nearby Nature

Save Our Live Oaks

We live in Oakland, after all.  The Oaks are a symbol of our area, and one of the true natives surviving in Montclair and the hills.

We could end up losing these natives, according to a trained botanist who lives in town.  It turns out that many Oaks are stressed and need a bit of calcium to stay healthy.  To get started, here’s the preventative treatment for trees on your property.

Oak in Oakland

What are we preventing?

Sudden Oak Death, which can strike when a fungus (p. ramorum) runs amuck.  Threats come from ecosystem problems including a “loss of food sources for wildlife, a change in fire frequency or intensity, and decreased water quality due to an increase in exposed soil surfaces.”

Yes, there’s a threat from fire changes.  When Oaks live in a natural environment, they are able to control this fungus due to fires.  The ashes then become a source of phosphorus and calcium. Yet we live in a place where fire suppression is a top priority.

How can you help?

There are several ways to make a difference, by monitoring nearby oaks and identifying if they have problems.  If you are lucky enough to have oaks on your own property, consider feeding them a bit of calcium.  Also make sure their root systems aren’t disrupted or upset by nearby construction.

Take the time to read through “more info” below, since UC Berkeley has incredible resources devoted to Sudden Oak Death.  It hasn’t hit our area yet, but it can be devastating and quickly wipe us out.  Marin has suffered already, and we can learn from experience.

More info:   Homeowner’s Guide – Treatment Video – Oak Mortality Task Force – Alameda Specialists

Montclair Snail Welcomed, Post-Rains

Here’s a local snail that appeared the other day.  This specimen seems a bit out of sorts beyond the garden, but is a welcomed sign – it emerged after the storms.  At least this guy isn’t wreaking havoc on your vegetables and flowers.

Montclair Snail

Most of the time snails are seen as the scourge of gardeners, who try to make sure they don’t see the light of day.   In Oakbook, Ruby Blume recently advised readers to drown these destructive devils:

The best hope you have is to interrupt their breeding cycle.  Put on your headlamp and go out to your garden every night for two weeks to pick them off of the plants.  They mostly feed at night when it is cool, and if you water at dusk, more the better for snail hunting.  You can kill them by drowning them and they may then be added to your compost.  For a truly evil act, export them to your worst enemy’s garden.

For years, gardeners have tried to banish snails from local gardens.  They can destroy an entire plot!  Yet there’s something kind of sweet about this lone snail up on the concrete, just trying to catch a few rays like us.

Wildflowers Showing Off At the Museum

Rather than hike in the Sierras, here’s a lazy way to appreciate the spring profusion of wildflowers.  All you have to do is head to the Oakland Museum of California (map) – and see colorful evidence at the 40th Annual California Wildflowers Show.

The show officially opens this Saturday from 10am – 5pm, and Sunday from 12 noon – 5pm.  There’s also a preview party on Friday night from 5pm – 10pm.  Or start now and gawk at the beauty right here.

Purple Mouse-ears

(Purple Mouse-ears)

Seep Monkeyflower

(Seep Monkeyflowers)

Indian Warrior

(Indian Warrior)

Cliftons Fawn Lily

(Cliftons Fawn Lilies)

Fresh from the foothills, the wildflowers will be showing off their best colors at the show.  There will be full displays, microscopes available to study them closely, and botanists around to describe the flowers.

Various lectures take place at the museum, about the wildflowers and even how to cook them!  Here’s the schedule for Saturday and Sunday:

  • In the Shadow of Darwin –  Dr. Richard Beidleman – Sat, 11:00 am
  • Sierra Nevada: A Celebration of Wildflowers – Dr. Linda Vorobik – Sat, 12:30 pm
  • Sustainability and the Living Roof of the New Cal Academy – Dr. Frank Almeda – Sat, 2:00 pm
  • Native Plants for the Garden – Glen Schneider – Sat, 3:30 pm
  • Invasive Plants:  A Serious Threat to California Wildflowers – Bob Case – Sun, 1:00 pm
  • Slide lecture about cooking with native plants – John Farais – Sun, 3:00 pm

The Wildflowers Show takes place through support from the California Native Plant Society, the Jepson Herbarium, the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour.

More info:   The Oakland Museum of California is located at 1000 Oak Street (map).  Admission to this weekend’s show runs $8 for adults and $5 seniors/students with ID.  It’s free for kids age five and under, City of Oakland employees, and museum members.  For questions, please call 510-238-2200.

Picking Up After Park-Goers

Montclair Park is our local oasis, loved by many who hang out there.  Easy Bay Dads appreciate the park because it “has a fenced-in tot lot as well as a bigger playground for bigger kids, plus grass to run on, fake horses to sit on, geese to get bitten by, and a small lake to fall into.”

However you use the facilities, the reality is that Montclair Park needs additional resources to stay clean and green – which won’t be coming from city coffers anytime soon.

As you are aware, Oakland is under water financially and has already cut back on Parks and Recreation dollars this year.  The department funds will likely get tapped again, to help close the $70+ million budget gap soon.

Montclair Park Celebration

Cleaning Up The Park

Montclair Park’s trash situation is simmering since the staff cutbacks a few months ago.  If you frequent the park, then you may see litter, graffiti and random vandalism of bathrooms.  Something should be done here.

Remember those after-school kids who hang out at the park?  Maybe they could be put to work for a nominal rate, via donations.  Alternatively, a volunteer corp of kids might be assembled by kids (!) to clean up, on a scheduled basis.

Adding More Greenery

For plantings, the park is entering a fallow period too.  We caught up with Jill Broadhurst, leader of Montclair SIC’s beautification team, who said that plantings are on hold but there’s still work to do:

We need money for new plants which the city does not have.  Nothing has been planted.  Right now, we need to focus on removing the reeds in the pond, the broom on the hillside and mulch all the beds.  Planting is a few years away.  We will eventually apply for larger grants to accomplish new plants selections.

She still enourages interested neighbors to offer their resources and elbow grease.  Please reach her at gncmontclair-at-yahoo.com to find out what’s happening, and join the Montclair GreenNClean facebook group.

Who Cares Enough

We know that Montclarions have plenty of civic pride, and cherish their Montclair Park.  Park Director Mark Zinns is also doing a nice job with his hands tied, and there are many activities and offerings underway for everyone.

However with some financial support and volunteerism by locals, it seems like we would keep the place spit-shined.  In honor of the real Earth Day tomorrow, are there folks out there who can step up with resources and leadership?

Hillside Gardeners Quietly Toil Away

Have you even heard of the Hillside Gardeners of Montclair?  The Hillsiders have been quietly toiling away and making our public gardens flourish since 1947.  Since these gardens don’t live by sweat equity alone, the group will host a fundraising garden tour – this Saturday, April 18th, from 11am – 4pm.

Our interest in this gardening club was piqued, because we seldom hear about them.  We were able to catch up with one Hillsider, Barbara Goldenberg, who graciously filled in the blanks and shared their history and projects with us.

Conquering the Difficult Hillsides

As part of the post-WWII civic boom, Hillside Gardeners was founded in Montclair.  “Women were interested in putting in gardens into their new homes, and sharing information about gardening on these difficult hillsides,” explained Goldenberg, who has belonged for years.

“There were 10 ‘founders,’ all known by their husbands’ names, as was typical of the times.  All have passed away,” said Goldenberg.  However one long-time member of the Hillside Gardeners, Marj Saunders, is nearing her centennial and has been a club member since 1950.  She is a well-known green-thumb around Montclair, and even has an eponymous park!

Marj Saunders - Park Dedication

Hillside Gardeners Thrive Today

Today, the group is thriving while others have become extinct.  Under the current leadership of President Merle Boese, VP Ann Livingston and four other board members, there are 120 members and 21 standing and special committee chairs.  The point isn’t to bestow titles on members – it’s to assign and oversee many projects on a long-term basis.

Over the years, the membership has evolved well beyond Montclair borders.  Last year, the former Skyline Garden Club officially merged into this Hillside Club.  Today gardeners come from all over Oakland and carpetbaggers have been welcomed from Alameda, Berkeley and San Leandro.

Where the Green Thumbs Go

Hillsiders have restored and maintained some interesting gardens in publicly-owned places as well as health care locations.  Here’s where they till, plant, weed and prune these days:

  • Montclair Library Garden – about 10 years
  • Joaquin Miller School Gardens and Ecology Club – more than 12 years
  • Joaquin Miller Community Center – since the late 1980s
  • Moraga & Masonic Neighborhood Garden – after the 1991 firestorm
  • Lakeside Park Gardens – old Sensory & new Mediterranean Gardens – in the last five years
  • Water’s Edge Nursing Facility in Alameda, Horticulture Therapy – over 10 years

Each location requires around a day or two of monthly work, with Hillside teams ranging from six to 15 volunteers.  Lakeside Park requires more time, and Hillsiders work one evening a week from late spring until early fall.

From Earth to Table

The Joaquin Miller School gardens take even more time and attention.  Originally Montclarion Peggy Hulse had grand kids at the school, and she convinced their principal that growing food there was a good thing.  While Peggy has moved away, her legacy continues and the grade schoolers grow vegetables and native plants – and make nutritional snacks from their harvests.

Kids from first to fifth grades participate in three different weekly classes.  Lots of students get hands-on experience in the garden, and new participants join every half-semester.  Future gardeners naturally emerge, when a few older ones help the first and second graders.  It’s a rewarding project for the volunteers as well.

Sowing Oats with Scholarships

Hillside Gardeners also encourage college students through scholarships and part-time jobs.  They award horticulture and ecology students at Merritt College, granting enough for their expensive textbooks.  In addition, the Hillsiders hire and pay UC Berkeley students to work in the Botanical Gardens.

The club’s investment works well, since Merritt students and alums turn into active volunteers.  Barbara Goldenberg gave a shout-out to the Merritt pruning class who has helped restore the Sensory Garden at Lakeside Park, by pruning old camellias and other specimen trees.

Over the years, some Merritt graduates have joined the club and contributed their expertise.  Other grads just show up anyway – and pitch in with garden planting and clean-up efforts.

The Ups and Downs of Hillside Gardening

Earth Day is celebrated by Oaklanders this Saturday morning, but the afternoon is free and clear.  Why not take a tour of some extraordinary gardens and support the Hillside Gardeners?  They only hold a fundraiser every two or three years, and here are the official details:

The Hillside Gardeners of Montclair present “The Ups and Downs of Hillside Gardening,” a self-guided tour of eight fabulous Oakland gardens on Saturday, April 18th from 11 am – 4 pm.

See a terrific succulent garden, a butterfly garden, a sculpture garden, spectacular water features and four different vegetable gardens.  The gardens range from tiny and personal to large and household-sustaining, with lots of variety in between.

Each garden has a different way of using water wisely, including drought-tolerant plants, a home-made rain barrel, a well and a sophisticated rainwater collection and distribution system!

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 that day.  For tickets, email hgmgardens@gmail.com or call (510) 530-1681.