Springtime at Grimm Gardens!
Spring! 🌱
Land of Yuhaviatam (Serrano) people. This land isn’t mine, it’s borrowed from the future inhabitants, stolen from past inhabitants. It seems like we’re in the era where we are working toward restoration, reparation & reconciliation across generations. Things might seem hopeless at times but every person’s healing and every act they take toward healing others is worth it. I feel grateful I get to enjoy this land’s blooming flowers, butterscotch-scented pines and animal visitors.
Pic info / plant facts:
1st pic is showing my work last season to get rid of invasive grass. The foreground is where I worked the ground so far, with many silver bush lupine and royal penstemon and other wildflowers thriving without weeds and with the added security of rock mulch to keep the roots cool & moist. The background is part of the area I didn’t work on yet, and is covered in grass. I painstakingly remove it by hand so that I can leave the native plants undisturbed. In every square foot of land I’ve done this, I’ve found at least 1 or a few native plants sprouting or even coming back.

2nd pic is my favorite native, miner’s lettuce. Here we have a lovely local variety called Redstem Springbeauty (clatonia rubra). Not only is it adorable, it’s delicious!

3rd pic is my white sage. I use it for sacred purposes so growing my own means I don’t have to use any from sources I don’t know. I only use the leaves it “gives” me & I give it a strand of hair 🙂
4th pic is some of the silver lupine, my yard is covered in this and I couldn’t be happier. It’s going to bloom with big tall purple stalks soon. Its leaves are just as pretty to me though, and so soft you wouldn’t believe it’s a plant.
5th pic is common yarrow (Achillea millefolium). I love this plant, it’s so fuzzy! I wish people used it for lawns instead of grass. It’s super soft, propagates easily, is edible and medicinal. It also flowers in little tiny white bouquets!
6th pic is my happy little Jack-o-the-rocks (pink alum root). I got this one at a native plant sale and knew it’d love the mountain climate and it sure seems to so far! I can’t wait to see it bloom, it should have pink flowers!
7th pic is showy penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis), it was another native plant purchase and it was 1/3 this size when I got it! Looking forward to seeing its purple blooms. We have about a dozen clusters of the royal penstemon and they’re so pretty and thrive here.
8th pic is royal penstemon (Penstemon speciosus). Last fall I was dividing & transplanting them all over the place and they are liking it so far! These have been growing all over my yard since we became its caretakers, I suspect they’re descendents of royal penstemon that’s always been here!
