"What's native to my area?" Gardeners are asking that a lot these days.
It says a lot about how thoroughly we have changed the landscape that many people have almost no experience with the plants that are native where they live.
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| historical back yard, no natives |
We see the world around us, but we can't see what it was. Visiting San Francisco in November, the National Park Presidio was full of informational signs about the history of the site, pointing to multiple transformations since Spain established a fort there in 1776. (Native Americans left their mark too, as mounds of discarded sea shells, which have been dated back to 740 CE).
Some changes were dramatic. This is the creek as I saw it, the drainage full of shrubs (Thompson Reach).
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| Stream zone that was covered, then restored |