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Make yourself at home. Put your feet up. Grab your favorite beverage and prepare to enjoy the reads.
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Saturday

How to Starve a Gopher (part 2)



I'm hoping these plants will help protect my garden from a Gopher. I did a search for "what gophers wont eat", and these are some of the suggestions for my region, central coast California.


Escallonia is an evergreen shrub often used for hedging



Fuchsia is one of my favorites.




Grevillia is an evergreen flowering plant. I know little about it, but there are 350 species. I wouldn't have room for them all in my yard. And I bet if the gopher doesn't like them he/she wouldn't want them there!

I still have a long list of these trees and bushes that gophers are not supposed to like. It just occurred to me that posting a picture for each one is going to take me a long time. I still have another list of other kinds of plants that I want to post information about. So, I will make links out of the following names and you can click to go see them.

Check out what the gopher did to my garden!

Hydrangea

Lantana

Nandina

Oleander

Pomegranate

Ribes

Rosemary

Salvia
(native and nonnative)


How to Starve a Gopher

I've been thinking about how to get rid of my unwanted garden guest. What if I had plants that the gopher didn't like? What if he or she or they couldn't find any good munchies?

So, I did a search online for "what plants don't gophers like" and came up with an interesting list for my area of the country. Don't know if these plants are available elsewhere or in what other places they will grow.  The article I read had all their fancy names, so I've looked up their popular names and I've decided to post some pix of some of them here.



Arbutus unedo is also called Strawberry Tree. One of my neighbors has this in her garden. Sure is pretty.


Buddleja is also known as Butterfly Bush. This is one I've been planning on putting in my garden anyway, so the sooner the better!



I have a Callestemon in my back yard. Well, actually it's on the other side of the fence, in the neighbor's yard. But, it hangs over into my yard. It's commonly called Bottlebrush. The hummingbirds LOVE it!


Ceanothus, also known as California Lilac is not a Lilac at all. I found this interesting bit of information on them. "Gather a handful of "Blue Blossoms", add a few drops of water, and one has a fine soapy cleanser, a feature used by Native Americans who also bend the flexible stems for the circular frames of their basketry."



Cistus is also known by the common name of Rock Rose. I've seen this in gardens around here (Central Coast California). It makes a good ground cover without being invasive, from what I've observed.

Tomorrow, I will post some more pictures.

Please note these are not my photos, but are from links throughout the web.