Just got home from Mandatory Evacuation

I am still a novice gardener. I live in Silverado Canyon and have been struggling for years trying to get beautiful flowering plants growing.

I was one of many that was the first to be evacuated, and the last to come home due to the Santiago Canyon Fire - in fact, the helicopters are still flying around dropping water.

I was away for two weeks. The good news - I still have a home. The bad news - I lost almost my entire garden. Between the high winds and then the lack of water while being gone for so long - very very sad.

All my brugs were in full bloom before I left - and now they are all twigs. My datura, daylilies, canna - gone.

Will they come back or do I need to start all over again?

What should I do?

Any suggestions would be GREATLY Appreciated.

Very Sad Gardener
Sherri

Keep your chin up, Sherri, help will come!

We've been talking about how to help those who had losses in the fires. I've posted a link to your message on that thread.
We'll get you back in green soon!

So glad you still have a home and are safe!!!!

Kathleen

This message was edited Nov 6, 2007 10:54 AM

What kind of daylilies did you lose? Would just some very pretty 'no-name' things help get you started again? I may be able to help with replacing some of them if you aren't looking for anything specific.

So glad you have a home to come home to! We'll get your gardens back for you!

Sherri, can we point people to your journals for ideas on what you need?

Sherri,

do not despair, am sure most of ur plants will come back in due time. u are in much warmer zone than i am. usually when the winter is harsh [temperature where i am go down to 10 degs, sometimes we have snow], during winter time most of the plants u mention die back. and comes back to life immediately when the weather warms up.

when the winter is mild, they respond to proper care. don't lose hope am sure they will come back for u.

if and when u have the time to play on the ground, i am positive u will find the rhizome or roots of the above plants u mentioned.

more power to u and urs.

HI Sherri,
Just read in the Register yesterday you guys got to go home. So relieved Silverado was spared. I'm afraid one of these years it will be us, as we back up to hills of Laguna and I still remember the 93 fires. Sends chills up my spine! I'd be willing to bet your daylilies and cannas will come back next spring, especially if we get some rain. Don't know much about the brugs or datura, tho. You might be surprised with a little tender loving care. DON'T fertilize right now. Plants that are stressed can't utilize it and they would definitely end up on the compost pile! :).

Sherri, I've got some Tropicanna Canna and a handful of different cultivars of glads, would you like either/both of those? I also have an extra Altered State daylily I could send, and enough daylily seeds for an army, if you are interested.

I bet most of those daylilies will return with watering, they are surprisingly resilient. I once had an order that took 3 weeks to get to me, they all survived. Perhaps water them with a few drops of Superthrive.

I have a few daylilies I can send you too when you're ready. Do you do seeds?? I have canna, datura, zinnia, asclepias, purple millet, caster beans that could at least give you a quick start and fun winter project. Let me know.

Sherri, so sorry to hear about your garden! I don't grow a lot of the plants that you lost, and I can't offer to send you plants or cuttings because of the apple moth quarantine, but I do have seeds from some assorted pink salvias, a pink & white hollyhock, and a bunch of seeds from Cassia phylodinea. I think I have a few other sorts of seeds too, I'll check when I get home but if any of those sound interesting to you please let me know, I'd be happy to send them to you.

I think the daylilies will probably come back too, but we can fill in where you've got bare spots. I've got seeds of several milkweeds if you like to garden for butterflies too.

sherri, i can supply the canna next year. please put me in a file somewhere and get back in touch with me. you can look at my trade page but the canna list is not up to date.

Jazz,
I've been thinking about you and am relieved to find out you are back home; did any houses in Silverado burn?

You are welcome to come up to Orange and see if there is anything there that you could use.

arlene

Sherri,
I have a lot of cannas I can send you or drop by. I'm a novice too so all I know is they are yellow with red specks. And there are a lot of them! Let me know - Karen

All of you are far too kind. Thanks for the kind words and offering to help. I am still a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start. I can send you individual d-mails for those of you that have generously offered some cuttings and seeds.

I am hoping that some of the plants will return. I havent had the chance yet to check each individual plant to see what kind of shape they are in. I am hoping I can get to it this weekend.

Thank again for all your generosity. It is appreciated more than you know.

Sherri

"Sherri, can we point people to your journals for ideas on what you need? "

Oh dear - I dont think my journals will help anyone. I havent been very good on keeping them up. That was one of my goals before the end of the year to get caught up with them. If you find anything I put in them useful - by all means. I can use all the suggestions and help I can get.

Overwhelmed Gardner !!!
Sherri

It at least gave me an idea that you had a somewhat cottage garden and what type of plants you had collected.
Please don't hesitate to D-mail, gardeners love sharing!

That was what I thought, Sue. I plant mostly CA natives, so cottage garden plants would be of no use to me. Since Sherri does have a lot of things she likes in her journals, it is a starting place.

I know it's hard to wait, Sherri, but Spring is something to look forward to. Pray for gentle rains.

I am praying for gentle rains. The community had a big meeting this past tuesday teaching us how to prepare for rain. They are offering free bails of hay to put on the bottom of our slopes to hopefully prevent flooding. Thankfully I put in wire fencing last year - part of my yard is the slope of the mountain - this should help to prevent any large boulders that might get dislodged if we have heavy rain.

I guess this is part of the danger living in a canyon. It is absolutely beautiful here and that's why I live here. Silverado Canyon has never had a fire - there is something special about this place. It was a complete miracle that nothing was destroyed - not one home in our canyon. Modjeska Canyon - our sister canyon - lost some homes - but not us. The fire started in a far corner of our canyon - burned all around us and we were spared. The fire still isnt fully contained. They keep pushing the containment date out. So hopefully soon.

The fire was at the peak of the mountain in my backyard. The fantastic firefighters fought it off. That is part of how I lost my garden. They had to chop down the natural trees that were surrounding my yard. If they had caught a spark - it would have destroyed my home. So they were stomping around where I planted everything. They got broken and crushed.

Bless their hearts - isn't it amazing to watch them? We had a grass fire across the highway from our house a few months ago and they had helicopters, planes, and a hand crew there lickety split. We stood and watched them and wondered how on earth they carry on like that for days at a time!

The firefighters were/are absolutely incredible. Words can not explain it. Did you see the photo of the firefighters in Modjeska Canyon that were engulfed in flames - they were under some type of protection blanket and all of them survived. All they wanted to do was get back to the fire to help put it out. Unbelievable.

I just received the news that the fire has been fully contained as of last night !!!!

Whoopee! That's good news.

Here's a list of tips from a native plant nursery I go to. The owner built a dream house in the mountains, all to high fire specs, and it burned from the inside out! There should be some useful information for your neighborhood.

http://www.treeoflifenursery.com/main/involvement/blog/news.html

What a fantastic article. Thank you !!

I wish I could do more, Sherri. Perhaps a planting party in the Spring? lol

Kathleen

I'd be up for a planting party!

I think you guys are supposed to get the storm that was here all night last night. Very gentle and soothing rain, just what you need. Today maybe?

Bright and sunny here, unfortunately.

Well it was bright and sunny all day yesterday, and is again this morning (with big fluffy clouds). Our chance of rain was 30% and it rained all night, lucky us. Here's Laguna Beach's forecast. 40% sounds hopeful.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sgx&smap=1&textField1=33.55575&textField2=-117.78581

Weather update - no rain. It was cloudy for awhile over the weekend and I thought it would rain, but it didnt. We need rain so I am not sure if I am relieved or disappointed. Now we have the winds again.

A planting party - that sounds totally fun !!!

Sherri

Sherri, how are you doing with the rain? Fingers crossed for you.

Kathleen

Thanks for asking Kathleen - we had a mandatory evacuation the other day. We didnt receive the amount of rain they anticipated and let us back in. We are on alert - and will be throughout the winter. I live on higher ground, so I think I am safe.

It never gets dull around here :)

Sherri