Concrete Chaparral

Exploring and Expanding the Urban Wilderness

Main Menu

Home
About
Contact
Photos from the Urban Wilderness
Resources for the Urban Wilderness

Category Archives: Articles/Links

Murphy Ranch: Nature, Graffiti, Intrigue

June 11, 2017by concretechaparral 1 Comment

Between the multi-million dollar houses of the Pacific Palisades and Will Rogers State Park sits Murphy Ranch where truth and myth blended together.

Read Article →

Abandon Sites/Ruins, Articles/Links, Habitat & Wildlife, Hikes/Walks, Native Plants, Urban Parks

‘Western Cities Try to Cut Light Pollution’

March 10, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

Article from High Country News

Read Article →

Articles/Links

‘Where the Wild Things Swim’

February 27, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

A great article from ‘High Country News’

Read Article →

Articles/Links, Habitat & Wildlife

‘Western Monarch Butterflies are Still in Trouble’

February 12, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

From 89.3 KPCC

Read Article →

Articles/Links, Insects

‘Lions of Los Angeles’

February 7, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

An article from the New Yorker

Read Article →

Articles/Links, Habitat & Wildlife

Avoiding Unintentional Poisoning

January 11, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

Rat Poison & Local Wildlife

Read Article →

Articles/Links, Habitat & Wildlife

‘Greater than the Sums of its Parts’

January 8, 2017by concretechaparral Leave a comment

You can’t talk about urban wilderness without talking about coyotes.

Read Article →

Articles/Links, Habitat & Wildlife

Search

Follow Concrete Chaparral on WordPress.com

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Concrete Chaparral @ Facebook

Concrete Chaparral @ Facebook

Instagram

My clovers! Among the wildflowers sowed this year I included two native Californian (as well as native Angelino) clovers: Tomcat clover (Trifolium willdenovii) and Foothill clover (Trifolium ciliolatum). Alas, very few made it. I will try again, sowing them before the first rains so the poppies, which reseed themselves, won’t get a head start on them and smother the clover seedlings. The other issue is being eaten by bugs! Hopefully with plants now established in the yard, those lil’ buggers will chew on bigger plants. #nopesticides As an old adage goes, sports fans and gardeners share a common phrase, “Wait till next year!”

Nobody said being a flower was easy... California bush sunflower (Encelia californica) showing a little wear and tear #inthegarden.

An exuberant June grass (Koeleria macrantha). I love this little native bunch grass with its bushy seed heads. Even when dormant, the seed heads remain upright and attractive.

Just a shot that makes me wistful for Ireland...

Sacred datura (Datura wrightii) flowers are beautiful, large, graceful, and white. Before it unfurls though, the flower shows how ingenious nature’s designs are.

If only my sage would flower more... A hybrid between two SoCal natives - Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii) and Purple sage (S. leucophylla) - Allen Chickering sage (S. ‘Allen Chickering’) is a strong garden performer.