April: "What's In Bloom?"

 

 

 

 

Certified Wildlife Habitat

In August 2024, the All Saints Parish Garden was approved as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest wildlife conservation and education organization. Now, while this may sound impressive, it's available to any garden that meets certain criteria and some people see it as gimmicky. But bear with me, and I’ll tell you why I pursued this for the church garden and think it’s a good thing. 

The National Wildlife Federation offers this certification for $25, for qualifying gardens, and the fee includes a 1-year NWF membership and other perks and discounts. To qualify, you have to affirm that your garden meets certain criteria including having a water source, food source, and suitable habitat for animals to inhabit. If you want a sign for your garden, it costs extra ($30 or $99, though there are often coupons). Also, Certified Wildlife Habitats don’t really have special state or federal protection like parks and wildlife refuges and don't impose an encumbrance on the deed. You could say it’s a type of fundraiser and way of marketing for NWF, but I actually think it serves a greater purpose. For the church garden, it shows an intentionality around the garden, and demonstrates values of commitment to the creatures that share that space with us. It’s a form of ecological, public witness to values that extend beyond the human community. This is why I pursued this certification. 

According to their website, “An ideal Certified Wildlife Habitat® provides food, water, cover, and places to raise young for wildlife with a minimum goal of 70% native plants that provide multi-season bloom and are free of neonicotinoids and other pesticides or herbicides.”

Food:

While we have many plants that provide food for birds and bees, the large Grevillea (either 'Superb' or 'Robyn Gordon') is a favorite source of food for our hummingbirds who frequent the garden. It seems year-round we always have something in bloom feeding the bees, moths, and other winged friends. I've seen sparrows, towhees, crows, Anna's hummingbirds, and various other birds visit our garden. 

Water:

In order to provide water, we purchased a bird bath for the garden (pictured above), which I clean and refill regularly. Also, just recently a friend donated another bird bath, so we now have two sources of water in the front garden. In addition to this, we've been creating a Peace Garden on the side of the church where we have a running fountain. I've seen various birds visiting the larger bird bath, especially crows. I know that some birds like crows or ravens will soak or "wash" their food before feeding it to their young or even before eating it themselves. 

Cover and Places to Raise Young:

We also have a number of large street trees, two podocarpus (smaller one pictured below), and two large cedar. These all provide good cover and habitat for birds to nest. The reason I included this photo below was because it is a favorite perching spot for a lady hummingbird who hangs around the garden. For several weeks, I could always find her perched on this podocarpus on one specific branch. Our parish administrator recently saw a female hummingbird buzzing back-and-forth in front of her window under the roof. I went out to investigate and saw only cobwebs in the area she pointed out. I imagine the hummer was collecting webs for a nest. I can only hope the nest is somewhere on our property, as hummingbird nests are the most incredible sight to behold. 

There you have it, the All Saints Parish Garden, a Certified Wildlife Habitat. We have set our intentions, and I hope it becomes a home and haven to many creatures for years to come. 

Featured Plants: Brahea 'Super Silver' & Aloe barberae

Now that I've caught you up to date on the big picture of the garden transformation, I can focus on plant features, as well as day-to-day excitement. The first plant I want to highlight is a palm named Brahea 'Super Silver.' It was not in the original design of the garden, but my designer Troy Stephens had access to a couple great two-gallon 'Super Silver' palms so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. As young palms they are more green, but as they age the silver emerges. Here are the two that Max and I planted at the church:

We have a more mature one in our garden, and here is a photo that Max took at a friend's garden:

It will be exciting to watch as these two palms grow and start to show their bluish-silver true colors. You can learn more about Brahea 'Super Silver' in the Palmpedia here, and the website Flora Grubb's Guides also has some great info as well as a fabulous photo showing how they look when they trunk. One of the really exciting things for me when I look at the garden is not just how things look right now, but knowing the potential hidden within these plants and having a sense of how they might look someday. Another one that excites me in this same way is the Aloe barberae, which I guess technically has been renamed Aloidendron barberae (also formerly known as Aloe bainesii). Here's a recent photo of one of the ones in the church garden:

Someday this could grow as tall as the gutter on the church roof, or even taller. Here is an incredibly old one from the Wikipedia article on Aloidendron barberae:

This Aloe bainesii tree aloe is growing at Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland, New Zealand, and is about three meters tall. This photo has been released into the public domain by its author, Jasper33 at English Wikipedia.

In a Year's Time

It's incredible what can happen in a year! We completed the initial planting and mulching at the end of March 2024, so it's been almost exactly a year since this garden was planted. As you may recall from my last blog post, the preliminary planting according to landscape design looked a tad sparse. While it might seem sparse, it was intentional because Troy and I knew how these plants would fill in within no time. Here's a photo from March 26, 2024:

Over the course of the past twelve months, while plants were growing in and gaps filling, my husband Max would visit the church with me after work or on weekends and would add new "plant residents" to the church garden. These surprise additions included: 2x Dioon edule, 2x Brahea 'Super Silver' palms, Scabiosa ochroleuca 'Moon Dance', a Ceroxylon quindiuense palm, Sedum 'Cherry Tart', one Lupinus pilosus (which deserves its own blog post, since it bloomed and self-seeded...you can imagine), Bouteloua 'Blonde Ambition', Verbena lilacina 'De la Mina', Cussonia paniculata (who has a wonderful new flush of growth right now), Senecio mandraliscae (which were just small cuttings from our garden and have taken off like crazy), Amaryllis belladonna (a party favor which is blooming as I write this post), and Aechmea 'Red Dragon'. You could say he's a believer in 'cramscaping' :-) We also planted some White Cupcake Cosmos, which just loved the garden. They grew gargantuan, bloomed, and eventually had to be removed. But they definitely reseeded on their own and now we have cosmos coming up all over the garden. Here's a glimpse of the cosmos in their glory:

Just a reminder, for any of the photos, you can click them to make them full-size ;-)

JUNE 2024:

AUGUST 2024:

JANUARY 2025:

APRIL 2025:

I took this above photo just yesterday. When I scroll back to the beginning of this post and look back at when it was first planted, I am left in awe of what can happen in just one year. And all along the way there have been wonders and dramas happening in the garden. The spreading of the cupcakes and lupines, the amaryllis emerging from its bulb, and recently I've added a half dozen Boophone haemanthoides which will be amazing to watch grow. A friend who volunteers at the Gardens at Lake Merritt has also promised me a half dozen Boophone disticha for the garden. Stay tuned for more! Now that I've caught you up with the big picture, I can do more focused posts on smaller and more specific dramas and wonders in the garden. 

A Garden Is Born

With the lawn removed and the new soil in place, it was now time for the fun part...actually planting a garden! Much like painting a house, a huge part of the project is the prep work. While planting seems straightforward, there were actually five phases to this chapter of the project: 1. Procuring the Plants (within our shoestring budget), 2. Placement of Plants, 3. Actually Planting the Plants and Installing a Border, 4. Running Irrigation, and 5. Mulch. And while mulch sounds like the easiest of those tasks, it was actually a full day involving a dump truck, half a dozen church volunteers, and countless hours. 

1. Procuring - An instant, striking garden planted with 5, 10, and 15 gallon specimen plants would be amazing, but was not economically feasible for this project. In fact, there is something magical about planting tiny four inch plants and watching a landscape transform from a polkadot grid of plants to an emerging jungle. I think it's probably better for the plants too, as they wont be root-bound having never been cooped up in pots for who knows how long. My husband, Max Cannon (the infamous "Planty Magoo") is a Plant Wizard. He has worked almost ever position in the plant industry: as a landscape designer, an estimator, a nursery salesperson, a Plant Buyer (that was actually his title...a job he had been preparing for his whole life!), and Horticulturist. Procuring plants is Max's specialty-- he is connected to every obscure grower and nursery from Washington State to San Diego. Another incredible plant guru is the illustrious Bill Holliday who is a dear friend and travel companion. Because the church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Bill helped us get a $200 donation (credit) from Devil Mountain Wholesale Nursery for this project, and my husband Max helped me procure the list of plants from our design from Devil Mountain and other wholesale nurseries. We even received some plants from Farallon Gardens where David works, an inspiring landscape design company in the SF Bay Area owned by our friend Mat McGrath. It takes a village, and thankfully my village is full of "plant people." 

2. Placing - When you lay something out on paper, especially when it's not exactly to scale, it's hard to imagine what it will look like once planted. We did our best to layout the plants according to the plans, making some adjustments for the bonus plants, which included various agaves. 

 

The thing about placing plants is you have to be ready to plant the same day, lest people walk off with your plants. Once the plants were in place, I remember the excitement of actually being able to see this glimpse of a "real" garden emerging. It was no longer a concept on paper, or a vast field of just grass, or dirt-- it was the foreshadowing of a true garden that by the end of day would actually be planted!

3. Planting + Border - We installed a nice rusty metal border that we bought from American Soil, which would serve to hold in the mulch. According to the grant from EBMUD, the newly planted landscape had to be covered by three inches of mulch! With the plants placed, we were now ready for the slow and careful work of planting. Holes must be dug deep enough, and roots carefully tended to, as you plant. 

I know it might seem silly, but I ran a string held up by stakes the whole length of the landscape along the sidewalk to discourage people from walking on it. With the elementary school next door, I knew soon we would have hundreds of children and parents walking by. Miraculously, the little string worked! It was just strong enough of a message that, as I peeked out my office window, I could see children walking by and running their hands along the string, clearly understanding its intent. 

4. Irrigation - In order for this, or any garden project, to thrive at the church irrigation is essential. While many gardens I know of in the East Bay, including my own home garden, are purely hand-watered, at the church irrigation is essential. Our church gardener is contracted for 4 hours every other week and I run a church full-time. Also, we can't forget that throughout the year staff take vacation and sometimes the garden goes weeks without attention. Have I mentioned already that this project wouldn't have been possible without the help of my friend David? He works full-time, so he assisted me with this garden project on weekends and evenings after work, and was the force behind getting this extensive drip irrigation system in place. David is one of those gardening superheroes who can do anything!

5. Mulch - With plants and irrigation in place, the final step was to have a dump truck of mulch delivered and rally a team to cover the garden with mulch. We ordered 12 cubic yards of 1/2 fir bark from American Soil, which was delivered smack dab in the middle of our walkway. I chose that location because it was a midpoint between the two sides, and it forced us to complete the mulching in a day. A group of us gathered on Earth Day 2024 to mulch the garden including a whole team from our church: Greg Nunes, Dawn Cassasola, Ray Glassley, Joy Korst, and Larry Churchill. What a great team!

Nothing pulls a new landscape together like a fresh, thick layer of mulch. I know we could have saved a lot of money by having the free wood chips delivered that you can get from tree-trimming companies, but my plant gurus recommended this 1/2 inch fir and I think it looked incredible! I believe this garden project came in close to $8,000 total, including everything, and I am so proud of the team of people who helped make this happen. Now that you have the backstory, and have witnessed the birth of this garden, it will be fun to share some posts on its transformation over the past year.

The Beginnings

Ever since I started working at All Saints, I had dreamt of replacing the lawn in front of the church with stunning landscaping. When the lawn was installed, well before my time, it was hoped it might be a space where children would play and people could enjoy the space. But in reality, it was a place where dogs did their business and the summer heat did its number. If we didn’t irrigate daily, by mid-summer the lawn would look like matted straw on dirt as hard as concrete. East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), our water provider, actually has a Lawn Conversion Rebate program, for both residences and businesses. In 2023, before going on a summer adventure to France with my mother, I applied for the grant. Upon returning from my adventure, I learned that we got the grant!

Now, mind you, the grant we received for converting almost 1200 square feet of lawn was about $1,500, which doesn't come close to covering the full cost of this kind of project. But hey, every bit helps! You could say EBMUD covered the cost of the soil, or the irrigation, or whatnot. In a garden like this, there are so many expenses including the design work, lawn removal and disposal, soil delivery, irrigation system materials and installation, plant procurement, cost for planting, and let’s not forget topping everything off with mulch. 

1. Design - Before applying for the grant, I recruited the help of a friend who is an incredible plant guru, the esteemed Troy Stephens. He consulted with me at the church, as we scoured through books, discussed aesthetics, simplicity, and repetition. Troy and I came up with a rough sketch and plant list, which I carefully drafted into this plan:

The above design was required for the grant, but once the grant was awarded I had to figure out a path forward. A contractor I have worked with on hardscape gave a bid to do the full garden project for about $15,000. From a fine landscaping company, it likely would have cost at least $30,000. But both of those were far outside our budget, so I embarked on this endeavor serving as priest and overseer (i.e. contractor, but am I allowed to say that without being a licensed contractor?). 

2. Lawn Removal - A garden is only as good as the soil it's planted in. Next step was to completely remove the lawn, which is easier said than done. I recruited the help of my friend and industrious gardener David Neumaier (sorry folks, he has a full-time job-- so many people who see the garden wasn to hire "our landscaper"). With the assistance of a gas-powered sod cutter, David carefully sectioned the lawn into strips that he removed one roll at a time. Tough pieces throughout and the edge were finished off by hand. 

Of course we could have sheet-mulched and waited for the grass to die, but that would have set us back significantly in our timeframe. I was eager to move forward. Without David's help, this would have never been possible. 

3. Soil - As I said, a garden is only as good as the soil it's in. Next step was to manage a delivery of 12 cubic yards of soil and get it placed. We ordered General Landscape from American Soil & Stone and a delivery was scheduled for March 3, 2024. American Soil describes the soil blend in this manner: "A generously amended sandy loam soil and one of our original mixes that is ideal for soil replacement or to raise the level of your soil. No additional amendments or fertilizers are needed prior to planting. It can be used as backfill around trees and shrubs. Contains: Sandy Loam, Aged Wood Fines, Wonder Green™ Compost." There's a reason I share this description. Keep in mind, our church is right next door to Roosevelt Elementary School, and let me just say that American Soil doesn't skimp on the compost. That's some strong $#!+. Kids walking to school would plug their noses and more than once I heard a kid exclaim to his mother, "Ewww, it smells like poop." Mmm, rich, fresh soil. With the help of a few volunteers from the church we spread a dump truck full of soil. 

 

With the lawn removed and rich soil in place, the garden was ready to be planted. I am actually quite eager to complete this backstory because, honestly, I am more excited about sharing the daily wonders of the garden than the history of the past year. Everyday there is something magical happening-- flowers unfurling, plants visibly growing (or so it feels like), and garden visitors of all kinds. Rumor has it that there's a female hummingbird collecting cob webs who may be building a nest very, very near. Is it the same hummingbird who often could be spotted in the newly pruned podocarpus? 

In my next post, I will share about getting help from the most amazing Plant Buyer in the Bay Area, planting the original Troy Stephens design, and placing the irrigation.

An Exciting Transformation

I have been the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, San Leandro, for just over nine years. Over the past year, an exciting transformation has taken place right in the front of our church. In February 2024, we had our front lawn completely removed and we planted a drought-friendly garden. It has been incredible watching this space transform into what is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat exploding with myriad colors, intricate patterns, and creature visitors both winged and four-legged. I have one regret: I wish I had blogged about the garden project from day one. I continue to oversee this operation and have been wooed by hummingbirds, Cupcake Cosmos, and the overwhelming wonder that can emerge from four inch plants in just one year's time. Here's just one glimpse of the transformation I am talking about: 

The change in perspective makes it look like we expanded the footprint of the space, but it's the same area. There have been miracles emerge from the soil, and daily wonders that I have sometimes shared on my Instagram account @microbotanica and also on the All Saints Facebook Page. But the transformation has been breathtaking to witness and be a part of: from when the lawn was rolled up and removed like a blanket, to the design, the laying of irrigation, the first planting, and the incredible growth over the past twelve months. Thankfully, I've taken photos along the way. And I want to share with you the journey that has led to this point, as well as post regularly about the latest happenings in the garden: what's in bloom, new arrivals (plants), plant identification, garden visitors (birds and otherwise), and other excitement. Be sure to subscribe and my next post will give you some of the background including some early photos from February 2024 and onwards. I look forward to sharing and delighting in this space with you all for years to come. 

Fr. Justin+ 3/31/3025