What killed this tree? It was a combination of Oak Root Fungus, rotten roots, soggy soil, heavy rain and high winds. Oak root fungus is a common root problem of ornamental plants. It is a common cause for the death of trees and shrubs. The scientific name is Armillaria mellea and the visible signs are…

Grey plants are usually drought tolerant because they reflect the light and don’t get as hot as other plants so they don’t need as much water. Grey Leaved Groundcovers: Tanacetum densum ssp. amani Artemisia versicolor ‘Sea Foam’ Silene uniflora ‘Druetts Variegated’. Many of the variegated plants like this one have a grey effect in the…

During the hot months of summer a lot of water is required to keep a large garden looking good. Fortunately Dawn Gardens has an inexpensive source of water from a canal about a mile away. The canal delivers water to an 8” pipe through stainless steel filtering screens to homeowners in Iron Mountain Estates and…

  As I get older I realize that it will be harder and harder to maintain a large garden. Rock gardens are becoming more interesting to me because you can fit a lot of plants in a small place. Rock garden plants blend with rocks to give an alpine feeling to the garden. The rock…

There are many plants in Dawn Gardens that are interesting and unusual. I am a plant collector at heart and have plants that have unusual flowers, leaves, bark, fruit or roots. Here are a few of them: Beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri)   Double Clematis (Clematis ‘Multi Blue’)   Deutzia ‘Pink-a-Boo’ Pink Leaved Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Tricolor’)…

It is hard to find a plant that loves full shade but Hostas have hundreds of varieties and all of them do well in full shade. They are completely deciduous in the winter so it might be prudent to plant them with evergreen ferns so there will be something to look at in the winter….

Digger Pine (some people prefer to call it the Gray or Foothill Pine) is native to California’s foothills up to 4500’. Its botanical name is Pinus sabiniana. One of the most notable aspects of the Digger Pine is the huge cones. The pine cones are very large and heavy and can be dangerous if one…

Dawn Gardens are mainly for ornamental plants but I installed some vegetable beds and a fruit orchard for clients who want to see how it is done. FRUIT: Raspberry ‘Heritage’ Raspberry ‘Fall Gold’ Watermelon Bartlett Pear Apple-Pear Dwarf Peach 6 different types peaches grafted on one tree Pluerry (Plum/Cherry hybrid) Pluot (Plum/Apricot Hybrid) Pumpkin Cantaloupe…

Bog gardens are places where water loving plants are grown especially plants that can tolerate water around their roots most of the time. The bog garden at Dawn Gardens is created by water flowing down from the ponds onto a flat area before it flows off the property under the fence. The tree that is…

The weather is warm and beautiful and it is a good time to work in the garden in the morning. Here are a few plants that you can use in the summer garden: Globe Thistle (Echinops). Good dried flower. Lobelia tupa Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) This plant can also grow in bog conditions. Lobelia gerardii…