50. The Native Meadow Experiment - Drought Rebound

The Meadow Experiment has now been through many phases, with the first plantings installed over 4 years ago.  For most of its life there has been a serious drought here in California, so the plants have been well-tested for how they do in that environment.  But we are now emerging from a very wet rainy season, ending the drought, and the meadow has responded with a gorgeous burst of growth and flowers.  As you can see below all the plants have put on new growth and things are so lush that the stone spiral is mostly obscured.

When viewed at eye level the plants are a beautiful chaotic mass of flowers and foliage:

Yarrow and Poppies

The White Flowering Yarrow plants (Achillea millefolium) have shot up quickly and are in full bloom.  They are giving the fast-growing California Poppies  (Eschscholzia californica) a good run as they compete for light and space.  The Poppies were started from seed but at this point are almost a weed in this garden, spreading extremely fast and laying their branches down over top of the other plants – but I’m not complaining, the many flowers are great!

White Sea Thrift

The rain also did wonders for the White Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima 'Alba’) in the corner of the meadow reserved for lower plantings.  Except for a few ones only recently planted they are full of lovely puffy white flowers on stalks.

Outside the Meadow

It is a great spring for all the gardens of the Bay Area and I couldn’t resist showing a few photos of the rest of the garden.  The purple Iris (Iris macrosiphon) is having a great blooming moment, and my little hillock of well-draining soil is looking great with lots of colorful succulents, grasses and a couple of Monkey Flowers (Mimulus aurantiacus ‘Eleanor’) in the background.The challenge this spring is to keep the faster growing plants from overtaking the grasses and the Buckwheat (Erigogonum sp.) which should have their own moment of peak beauty later in the summer.  So great to see the garden go through some hard dry times and then bounce back so beautifully!