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ST. JOHN GARDEN TOUR
Frogs are a common element found throughout the garden at the home of Larry and Michelle Brockett in north Chico. The garden will be
one of those on the St. John Episcopal Church garden tour.
WATER-SAVING
MAKEOVER
Submitted
Welcome to what we like to
call “Brockett Park.” It’s one of
four gardens on the St. John
Episcopal Church garden tour,
which is May 6 this year.
When we moved into our well-
established north Chico neigh-
borhood in 1999, we had con-
sidered adding a pool to our
moderate-sized back yard. Our
plans were quickly changed by
the expansive root systems of
two large dawn redwoods and
a tall ginkgo tree that provided
substantial shade.
Both the front and back yards
were all lawn, and surrounded
by a plethora of agapanthus and
irises. Over the next few years,
we removed half of the back
lawn and put in raised vegeta-
ble beds surrounded by gravel.
More projects followed includ-
ing the addition of a small med-
itation garden, a planting shed,
and patio space designed for en-
tertaining.
A good portion of our back-
yard is shaded in the hottest
part of the day and is home to
the nearly 90 azaleas and 10
Japanese maple trees we have
planted.
Mandarin orange, Meyer
lemon, fig, red delicious apple,
and navel orange trees flank the
vegetable garden. Border vege-
table beds include blackberries
on trellises, artichokes, blue-
berries, and year-round herbs.
Summer annuals are intermin-
gled with vegetables and herbs
for contrast.
For privacy, two-thirds of the
perimeter fence is covered with
nandina and privet.
Our biggest garden project
started two years ago just be-
fore water rationing was the
norm. We removed 1,400 square
feet of lawn in the front and had
a landscaper create a dry creek
bed garden that was inspired by
hours of searching on Pinterest
for drought-tolerant ideas.
By trial and error we discov-
ered what plants would tolerate
being surrounded by black lava
and river rock as well as the di-
rect sun all day. We worked with
the landscaper to supply just the
right amount of water to each
plant with an intricate drip sys-
tem for both our front and back
yard.
Our efforts paid off and we
have seen an approximate one-
third decrease in our water us-
TOUR » PAGE 2
PHOTOS BY BILL HUSA — ENTERPRISE-RECORD
Tour garden traded front lawn
for drought-tolerant landscaping
GARDEN TOUR TICKETS
St. John the Evangelist
Episcopal Church’s 34th an-
nual Garden Tour is planned
11a.m.-4 p.m. May 6in
Chico. It will feature four
gardens.
Tickets are $30in advance
and $35 on tour day. The
price includes visiting four
gardens, luncheon and a
plant boutique. Garden loca-
tions and a map are printed
on the tickets. Some gar-
dens may not be suitable for
the mobility-impaired. Only
A sitting area framed by a Japanese maple and a fig tree is a trained and certified service
feature in the garden of Larry and Michelle Brockett in north dogs may accompany tour
Chico. guests.
Tickets may be purchased
at the following Chico
outlets:
Christian and Johnson, 250
Vallombrosa Ave.
Little Red Hen Gift Shop,
897E. 20th Street.
Little Red Hen Therapeutic
Plant Nursery, East Eighth
and Wall streets.
Little Red Hen Kids and
Kitchens, 959 East Ave.
Little Red Hen Vintage
Shop, 215Main St.
Magnolia Gift and Garden,
1367East Ave.
Zucchini and Vine, Second
and Main streets.
TJ’s Nursery and Gifts, 2107
Part of the backyard is seen here during a tour of the garden of Kennedy Avenue.
Larry and Michelle Brockett in north Chico. The Plant Barn and Gift
Shop, 406Entler Road.
St. John’s Church office,
2341Floral Ave.
Tickets are also available
at Mendon’s Nursery, 5424
Foster Road, Paradise; and
Hodge’s Nursery and Gifts,
9681Midway, Durham
For more information, please
St. John the Evangelist
Episcopal Church at 894-
1971.
The committee is currently
looking for gardens for next
year’s tour. If you have or
know of a garden that would
The frontyard at the home of Larry and Michelle Brockett in north be appropriate, please call
Chico has been landscaped to be drought-tolerant. the office at 894-1971.
» chicoer.com
SOW THERE!
BILL HUSA — ENTERPRISE-RECORD
In late March, and again last
week, the gravel bar along the
Sacramento River at Big Chico
Creek was closed to travelers.
Growing in
succession
for times of
uncertainty
I’m feeling more cautious
about weather these days.
Surely it’s the lingering impact
of hard rain be-
ing less than a
friend. We wished
for the end of the
drought, then we
wished for the
rains to stop.
Heather Problems at
Hacking Lake Oroville,
scars along the
riverbanks, de-
bris strewn across once famil-
iar walking trails …
My favorite spot along the
Sacramento River is blocked
by a gate. A thick layer of fine
silt remains on the road, where
the river rose and fell and rose
again. The fact that I can’t go
there makes me want to go
there all the more.
This isn’t the first time I’ve
lost a favorite spot along the
river. Once upon a time I spent
many hours casting a fishing
line near a rock outcropping
where a twisted tree grew.
Back then you could walk
down a steep path to a thin
beach.
Over time, the river changed.
The beach disappeared and a
new gravel bar emerged down-
stream.
The last time I drove River
Road, I saw that old tree — my
old tree — toppled over on its
side.
Does anyone else remember
that old, rusted car near this
same bend in the river? How
that car landed on the bank
and how it was removed will
remain one of those great mys-
teries.
The older we get, more and
more of our favorite places and
things become only memo-
ries. Yet we must feel thankful
we are old enough to have so
many memories.
Moving on
Thank goodness for garden-
ing.
Change in the garden is
never permanent. When a
plant grows and dies, we can
rush down to the local nurs-
ery and find something bright
and new.
Many garden books talk
about succession planting.
Usually the term is used for
food crops. You plant a row of
lettuce one week, then plant
more seeds a few weeks later.
If your life depended on the
food grown in the garden, suc-
cession planting would help
avoid hunger if a sudden cold
snap or storm obliterated your
careful cultivation.
A website called Growing
for Market, http://tinyurl.com/
l8xtr5l provides some rules of
(green) thumb for planting in-
tervals, which are used on the
farm and can be used in your
backyard.
• Green beans, every 10 days
• Cucumbers, plant new seeds
after three weeks
• Kale, three weeks
• Lettuce, 10-14 days
• Spinach, 7 days
Other sources say to pull
plants after they pass their
prime. This beats going out each
morning and snipping off the
flowers when the plant is trying
to go to seed and die.
More succession planting
One way I’ve been practic-
ing this idea of succession plant-
ing is to buy seasonal flowers
one six-pack at a time. This way
I have one small project, and an-
other excuse to buy plants the
next weekend.
If you visit the nurseries of-
ten, you’ll also have more vari-
ety in the yard. Nurseries stock
SOW THERE » PAGE 2