A place to rest and enjoy the garden. Here are some examples of benches at Dawn Gardens. 4′ teak bench on flagstone pavers. Bench to view the upper pond and waterfall. Rocking bench to view the upper garden. Patio table and chairs. Back patio and view of bowl fountain. Lone garden chair with view of…

Viburnums are a varied genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs with beautiful flowers and blue or red fruit. DECIDUOUS VIBURNUMS Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Mariesii’) Viburnum ‘Summer Snowflake’ Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Molly Schroeder’ European Cranberry Bush (Viburnum opulus) Viburnum opulus ‘Aureum’ Viburnum dentatum Viburnum lentago Viburnum carlcephalum Viburnum rhytidophylloides ‘Allegheny’ EVERGREEN VIBURNUMS Viburnum davidii…

Commonly called the Sticky Monkey Flower, Mimulus is a common native plant that has been hybridized to produce plants with many different flower colors. Mimulus aurantiacus is a tough plant blooming in the late spring that can survive poor souls and no water all summer in its native habitat. Here are some of the hybrids…

There are many animals that live in Dawn Gardens including my cat, Sweetie; fish; frogs; birds; squirrels; bats; snakes; gophers; moles; voles; worms and insects. Outside the fence are deer, mountain lions, wild pigs, raccoons, skunks, possums and beavers.  Most of these animals are hard to get pictures of because they are nocturnal but here…

Around the year 2006 I took my truck to Oregon to visit my Mother in Portland. While I was there she took me to a Heather nursery and I fell in love with the plants. I decided to bring some Heathers home and plant a Heather garden. I knew the climate in Grass Valley was…

Rocks and boulders add to the naturalism of a garden. From a small rock on the edge of a path to large boulders used for a waterfall they all help make a garden beautiful. Many beautiful lichens and mosses grow on rocks. In the summer you can bring them to life by spraying them with…

The Russian Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) is a very valuable plant for the garden because it blooms in the fall. It mixes well with ornamental grasses because it likes full sun and tolerates poor soil and dryness. The flowers are like small daisies in large clusters at the top of a 6′ – 8′ plant so…

With the coming of the rain and cold weather people don’t get outside as much and they miss the beauty of winter. Here are a few photos of plants at Dawn Gardens in the winter. Trunk and bark of the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’) Winter foliage and winter bouquet of Hydrangeas. Mexican Sage (Salvia Leucantha…

This blog will be a sequence of photos showing the progression of the changing of the fall colors from week to week on certain selected plants at Dawn Gardens. October 20 October 27 November 3 Weeping Cherry   October 13 October 27 November 3 November 10 November 17 Japanese Maples   October 13 October 20…

Liriope and Ophiopogon are tough shade plants often used as ground covers in the garden. Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) is a dark green grass like plant that is actually in the lily family. It creeps slowly with underground rhizomes becoming a dense shade loving groundcover. It can get 6” tall and has purplish flowers rarely….