In early April, we enjoyed a visit to the Native Garden at the entrance to the public parking lot at Lema Ranch, off of Shasta View Drive, Redding. Out of an empty patch of ground, Jeremey Kelley has created a wonderful native plant garden that was a stunning sight in early April, with waves of silverbush lupine in full bloom and California poppy accents scattered around. Jeremey has also planted several trees and shrubs – blue oaks, redbud, and snowdrop bush – mindful of how they will fill out as the garden matures.
To continue the flowering season into May and June, Jeremey also planted western yarrow and valley gumplant. Jeremey explained how he set about creating such an abundant garden out of nothing – he added several inches of fall leaves and chipped branches and let those layers compost to create a layer of soil suitable for native plants. Over several years, he hand watered the plantings until they became established. He also hand weeded season after season, to the point where there are very few weeds now. When you head out to enjoy Lema Ranch’s miles of beautiful trail, take a moment to enjoy the result of years of hard work that is now a sustainable native garden and a pollinator’s paradise! -Margaret Widdowson
