past posts from the thicket
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Tag Archives: native plants
butterflies in golden gate park: anise swallowtail
I have been noticing butterflies in the park lately. This Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) was flitting around a patch of yarrow and sticky monkey flower near the reservoir above the falls on Strawberry Hill this past week, while I was busy sketching a … Continue reading
Posted in animals, insects, wildlife
Tagged butterflies, golden gate park, native plants, urban ecology, urban parks, urban wildlife
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zen in golden gate park: the art of nature journaling
Recently I spent a week in the Sierras “nature-journaling” with John Muir Laws: http://www.johnmuirlaws.com If you aren’t familiar with Jack Laws, I highly recommend getting to know him. Whenever I’m in the Sierras I depend on The Laws Field Guide … Continue reading
the oldest trees in golden gate park: coastal oak woodlands predate the park
In the north east corner of Golden Gate Park, along Fulton Ave. behind McLaren Lodge and the Conservatory of Flowers, a grove of native coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) offers a glimpse of what the San Francisco peninsula was like before the … Continue reading
Plants with a mean streak
Check out the new exhibit that just opened at the Conservatory of Flowers (and will be on view through mid October). “San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers spokeswoman Nina Sazevich quips, “Chomp: They Came from the Swamp,” is bound to be … Continue reading
sudden oak death found in golden gate park
‘The number of oak trees in California that died from the virulent forest disease known as sudden oak death has increased tenfold in just a year’s time as the pathogen spread into several new parts of the Bay Area, including … Continue reading
native plant strikes again
“Three San Francisco cops remain on disability after suffering “severe” reactions to poison oak during a Sept. 9 scuffle with a tree-branch-wielding homeless man in Golden Gate Park, police said Thursday. The incident erupted about 9:15 a.m. when transient William … Continue reading
quail in golden gate park
According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society web page: “The haunting call of the California Quail, the California State bird, is now rarely heard in Golden Gate Park. Historically, San Francisco’s streams and coastal scrub vegetation provided the food, cover, … Continue reading
horses and the founding of golden gate park
A horse actually played a key role in the founding of Golden Gate Park. The story goes like this: In the early 1870s, faced with the daunting task of establishing a vegetative cover on the sand dunes that had been … Continue reading
the vigor of weeds: got to admire them!
Working at the San Francisco Botanical Garden nursery, repotting native plants for the past few weeks in preparation for the annual plant sale, I’ve noticed a miniature battle going on in the pots. It’s actually the same battle that goes on … Continue reading
Posted in plants, san francisco botanical garden, urban ecology
Tagged golden gate park, invasive plants, native plants, urban parks
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botanical garden: california section prime time
The next couple of weeks are going to be prime time for California wildflowers in the Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park. You can wander through drifts of irises and poppies, with backdrops of ceanothus and currant . . . … Continue reading
golden gate park: views from the thicket 