The Station Public House is an outdoor restaurant in Auburn, California maintained by Dawn Landscaping. It was opened in 2020 and has been very successful. We try to keep flowers in the beds blooming year around. Tulips, Daffodils and Grape Hyacinths are the favorites for Spring. Zinnias and Vinca are the best for tolerating summer…

Trees create the ambience of a garden. They provide shade to cool off the day and provide color in their flowers, seeds and fall foliage. Without trees a garden would not have a feeling of space or protection. Deciduous Trees Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) This is a dwarf variety of the Smoke Tree (Cotinus…

Junipers are some of the most drought and poor soil tolerant plants used in gardens. They have been used so much in the 1950’s and 1960’s that they have become a cliche and are seldom used any more. Junipers are so carefree that I have started to use them at Dawn Gardens. Here are four…

Winter and spring bulbs at Dawn Gardens are in bloom from January through May. About 5,000 bulbs have been planted almost every year since 2002. Even though over 50,000 have been planted there are probably more than 250,000 flowers now every year because the bulbs, especially the daffodils, multiply every year. Many people ask how…

I have used many different vines to grow on the wire fences and trellises at Dawn Gardens. Here are a few of them: Chilean Bellflower (Lapageria rosea). National flower of Chile. Variegated Porcelain Berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata ‘Elegans’)  The birds and the bees love these berries which are green, purple, rose, blue, white and pink. Deciduous…

The following is a series of photos of the same spot at Dawn Gardens showing different weather conditions at different seasons. The photos go backwards in time. Note the different lighting conditions in the different seasons and different weather. April 2, 2022 March 14, 2021 February 21, 2021 before sunrise. Hills are getting green –…

The most floriferous plants in the garden are the deciduous shrubs which include plants such as: Bridal Wreath (Spiraea thunbergii) Spiraea prunifolia ‘Plena’ Spiraea japonica ‘Neon Flash’ Deutzia ‘Pink-a-boo’ Hydrangea ‘Fire and Ice’ Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood’ Beauty Bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) Beauty Bush fruit Lady in Red Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Lady in Red’) Weigela florida…

The structure of the garden is more evident in the winter than any other season. At Dawn Gardens the grasses don’t get cut back until February so they are very visible.   Some details in the garden are more visible such as bark, winter foliage color, fruit and branching structure. Strawberry Tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’) bark…

Guavas are plants that have edible fruit and are also beautiful landscape plants. Chilean Guava (Ugni molinae) These small fruits are delicious and taste like strawberries. 3-6′ slow growing shrub. Strawberry Guava (Psidium cattelianum ‘Red Strawberry’) These fruits taste good too but have lots of seeds. Lemon Guava (Psidium cattelianum lucidum) Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana)…

Many plants have beautiful berries usually in the fall. Here are some examples at Dawn Gardens: Variegated Porcelain Berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata ‘Elegans’) is a deciduous vine. I am not sure of the sequence of the color of the berries but I think it is: Light green, light blue, purple, pink Deciduous Holly (Ilex ‘Berry Nice’)…