Dave Egbert is a professional nurseryman and gardener who hosts the popular national syndicated television show, The Coastal Gardener is Dave Egbert.  He is an avid plantsman who gardens in the rugged Big Sur landscape.

Dave is honored to be a firefighter and first responder with the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade under the leadership of Chief Frank Pinney, Admin. Chief Martha Karstens, Asst. Chief James Barrow and Captain Preston Sult, assigned to engines 7831 and 7811.  Dave brings over 20 years of garden experience to his viewers and readers.

The Coastal Gardener TV show was recently honored with two Telly awards for excellence in videography and entertainment value.

Please visit www.thecoastalgardener.com to learn more about the plants mentioned in this article or watch my national syndicated TV show, The Coastal Gardener is Dave Egbert, on your local cable or satellite channels.

Enjoy your garden!

Dave Egbert

Fall, A Time of Renewal in the Fire Safe Garden

By Dave Egbert, The Coastal Gardener

Ever notice that chaparral shrubs will sprout anew just weeks after a fire has destroyed their tops? Even in the dry fall months, the charred stumps are already decorated with fresh healthy new foliage. They will bloom heavily the following spring and form neat compact bushes for the next few years. So when I think of fall as the time of renewal in the garden, the first thing I grab are the loppers! I love to prune, it is very satisfying to take an unruly shrub and bring it into line. There is an almost meditative quality to seeing the way the stems grow and pruning to enhance and reveal a stunning growth pattern.

Reducing the fuel load or burnable mass of a shrub is the most overlooked facet of fire safe gardens. Yes, you can choose less flammable plants. But even the toughest among them will catch alight if it has grown dry and woody. An actively growing, healthy shrub with little dry deadwood inside will be less likely to burn.

Pruning can take many forms. But the key is to remove any dry old stems toward the center. You can open a plant up, allowing light and air to get into the center or skirt up older shrubs to show off interesting bark or branch patterns.



manzanita
yerba buena
chilean strawberry
ceanothus
narcissus
muscari

Manzanitas look especially handsome when skirted up, revealing their glossy red bark, and contorted stems.The resulting open ground beneath their canopy could be planted with Yerba Buena, Chilean Strawberry, or a mix of spring flowering bulbs. In my own garden, a veteran Ceanothus, which bears a cloud of deep blue blooms in spring is under planted with 'February Gold' narcissus and delft blue muscari. A real must see in March! Careful pruning also keeps your plants in proportion to the overall landscape.

In my own garden, I tend to encourage shrubs to spread outward, not upward, by removing any up-tending stems cleanly at the source. I leave no stump behind to spout awkwardly, instead of shearing, to produce a single flat surface. I lelectiely cut deep within the foliage, removing whole stems, but always leaving enough behind to avoid that "cut up" look. Most shrubs will look more natural this way. Others, like Cotinus, or Purple Smoke Bush, get a hard pruning each fall to stumps. This hard cut encourages lush new growth in spring with a rick purple flush. Older stems would hae produced a duller color and grown out of bounds anyway.

Many native plants, contrary to opinion thrive on a hard pruning. It simulates the effect of the wildland fire. I have a beautiful Carpinteria or Bush Anemone on my bank that had simply grown tired looking. But instead of ripping out this lovely evergreen shrub that bears large clusters of white blooms in May, I tried some tough love.

Back in August, I cut in back very hard, down to 10 inches from the ground. Already, it has healthy green leaves sprouting from dormant buds and should shape up into a nice bush by next summer. Perennials will love the same treatment: a good hard cut will bring out a neat bun of new leaves to keep the garden looking happy all winter. Whichever way you prude, the point is to do it. It makes your garden look better, grow better and be more safe for you, your family and the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting us from wildland fire.

Must have plant of the month:
Mahonia repens. Creeping Oregon Grape.

Here is a great native shrub that will grow nearly anywhere and look good while it does. Leathery dark green holly like leaves on stems up to 2 feet tall. Bright golden flowers in late winter followed by tiny purple grape-like fruit. Ideal as a groundcover under oaks or high trees but tough enough for full sun in planted in deep soils. It it gets out of hand, take the week whacker to it. It thrives on hard pruning!

Enjoy your garden!

Dave