Subject: Re:Native Gardens/Wil;dlife Gardens
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@flash.net>
Organization:
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 98 12:02:23
Message-ID: <MOD$980731.273@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
Zvan wrote:
>I am not so sure what you mean here. If the place >was just mature oaks,
with nothing underneath, and >had evolved naturally, I can't see the
trouble. In >Northern California, that's just the way it is, not >much grows
under oaks.
You may well be right and there may not be a problem. The canopy for
California Natve Oaks
is very dense which keeps out a lot of sun and
umbrellas away a lot of rain. The environment on the
floor of an oak forest is pretty dark and dry
and your right that "not much grows under oaks".
The article in Pacific Horticulture talked about
opening the canopy - just a bit - by cutting out
dead, diseased and/or broken wood plus the
removal of some marginal growth to the
point that native plants could be added and
directly or indirectly, the bio-diversity of the various creatures in the
oak forest sharply increased.
The thing that caught my notice is that in addition to
making a very beautiful garden with a broad bio-diversity, it SEEMS that
the oaks are doing very well with this thinner canopy and have been doing so
for a number of years.
Bill
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