From The Santa Cruz Sentinel
December 22, 2005
Back to Nature:
Chuck Blair creates his own native plant park
Ever wonder what it would be like to have your own native plant Shangri-La? A special place landscaped with local natives to share with family and friends. Through a series of unplanned events and lots of hard work, Chuck Blair no relation has created just that with Blair Ranch.
Seven years ago the only thing on Blair's mind was to get a handle on the erosion caused by logging in the mid-1850s in his redwood grove. He turned to friend and neighbor Bill Mohrmann for help.
"We didn't really have a plan," recalls Mohrmann. "In situations like this it is best to think on your feet and see how it evolves."
And evolve it did! Once the grove stabilized, Blair began to spend more time in it and realized how special it was.
"I liked landscaping," explains Blair. "With no plan in mind, I started moving in plants."
Raised on the family apple ranch, Blair was no stranger to caring for the land and environment. Natives had caught his eye 20 years ago while building trails on the property. The grove provided the ticket to delve deeper into natives. Of his 45-acre ranch, his park comprises three acres.
"People can live here all their lives and not realize what is here. Once I got started I really got into it and wanted to expose native plants to other people, so when they landscape they would know what's here naturally," explains Blair.
Sharing Natives
The park of today evolved out of Blair's sharing.
"Some people may think it strange to have a park in your backyard, but it does come in handy," Blair said, laughing.
As friends and family experienced what Blair was accomplishing, it began to take shape. Early on, close friends asked to say their I do's in the grove. In need of seating, Blair created tables and benches out of downed redwoods to accommodate guests. As other uses for the park emerged, more improvements came about to fit the needs including a barbecue area.
Today the park entrance is marked with a redwood sign. A carved quail perches on top, guarding the simple inscription Blair Ranch Native Plant Park. Winding paths lead through the native plantings where many of the plants are labeled for easy identification. "I get the most questions about the cow parsnip," says Blair. "Its large, tropical-looking leaves make it really stand out."
Blair put his creativity and talent to work for the younger set. Giant carvings of local wildlife such as a banana slug and scorpion are found in the grove. Longtime friend Marie Imai knows the effect the park has on kids from firsthand experience of taking her preschool classes on field trips.
"The kids just like climbing on the stumps and the freedom to run on the trails. I like the early spring when the iris is in bloom, and it is moist. The kids can pet the soft moss on the logs. It almost glows" says Imai.
Coaxing the natives
To keep the grove as natural as possible, natives needed to complete the landscape were brought from other parts of the ranch. As new plants were discovered, Blair turned to "Plants of the Redwood Region" by Kathleen Lyons and Mary Beth Cooney-Lazaneo for identification help. Landscaping with natives took Blair into uncharted waters, but slowly through trial and error, he discovered what worked best for him.
"He's the Johnny Appleseed of the redwoods," says Julia Niland, friend and neighbor who enjoys walking the trails. With the goal in mind of not destroying what was already out in the woods, Blair focused on using divisions and transplanting seedlings. Through painstaking hours of hard work, invasive exotics such as pampas grass and non-native berry vines were removed by hand. With the non-native intruders at bay, the planting began.
Slowly, plant by plant, the landscape took shape blending the existing natives with transplants. The resulting diversity is staggering, native ferns including western chain Woodwardia fimbriata, lady Athyrium filix-femina, coastal wood Dryopteris arguta, five finger Adiantum pedatum and western sword Polystichum munitum are all represented in the grove. A bed of iris divisions should produce an amazing spring display. Natives that often go unnoticed such as fetid adder's tongue Scoliopus bigelovii, red clintonia Clintonia andrewsiana and western hound's tongue Cynoglossum grande are all showcased.
The list goes on including ribes ribes spp., yerba buena Satureja douglasii, snowberry Symphoricarpos albus, wild ginger Asarum caudatum, redwood sorrel Oxalis oregana, wild rose Rosa spps and more.
We may be thinking holiday, but this time of year finds Blair hard at work with the natives. "The middle of winter, in fact the earlier the better, is a good time to transplant natives," explains Blair.
When dormant, "You can tell where it is by looking for the outline of it."
Julia Stevens, friend and trail walker, often sees Blair in action. "You will see him on the path with a bucket moving an iris to a place where it will be better," she said.
When asked about his success renovating the grove Blair replied, "This place has its own energy. It's like I can't do anything wrong."
Abbie Blair, a member of the California Native Plant Society, has a degree in horticulture and has spent 25 years in plant and cut flower production, at one point operating a nursery in Gilroy. She lives on Mount Madonna and is waging hand-to-vine combat against the ivy and vinca displacing the native plants. Contact her at svreeken@santacruzsentinel.com.
Need Natives?
Native plants are available at local nurseries including Native Plant Revival in Aptos and Elkhorn Nursery in Soquel. Please do not remove native plants from public lands as they are protected by law.
For more pieces by Abbie Blair, check out the archives of her work at the Santa Cruz Sentinel Archives