Hillside Serenity Garden needs to be adopted
Tule River Parkway gardens clean-up
It was already getting warm on Saturday, August 28, down by the gardens south of the river at the Tule River Parkway. Cathy Capone, President of the Tule River Parkway Association, was hard at work cleaning up brush, collapsing plant containers and had been working hard by before 9 a.m. William “Beau” Keen from Quercus Landscape Design also put in a full day of work at the gardens, replacing watering valves and timers, clearing out brush, and removing invasive trees.
Capone explained that cadets from Strathmore and Burton Elementary and Middle schools did a lot of work in the gardens on Saturday, August 21, and she was very pleased with what they’d done.
15 of the various gardens in the parkway have been adopted by community or school organizations, school districts, families, community members, and students to maintain and clean up once a month.
The Hillside Serenity Garden still needs to be adopted.
Each of the gardens was designed using different plant palates using California native plants to show people what native plant gar
dens look like.
A large bush in the Hillside Serenity Garden designed by Capone has a bladderpod bush, which is a native to Tulare County and has fragrant yellow flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies and is easy to care for. Other plants in the garden are white sage, foothill yucca, and buckwheat.
The butterfly habitat garden was built by Girl Scout Troop 638 with the girls and their parents building an ingenious willow fence that surrounds native milkweed plants, sunflowers, and other plants.
There is a spectacular four quadrant garden with a thriving sycamore tree in the plaza that was built by cadets from Strathmore and Burton School districts, as well as the willow forest which is doing very nicely.
Another garden planted in 2020 was the yearround color garden that was adopted by Leticia Barron and her family. It has beautiful blooming desert willow trees in a light pink, or lavender color. The native desert willow comes in multiple colors including pink, white, purple, and maroon.
As Keen and Capone walked along the paths to the gardens, Keen answered questions about the watering systems and the repair work, and he helped Capone adjust water valves in a couple of the gardens.
Nancy Bruce and friends had a garden that had lavender flowers called the Seaside Daisy that is also a native plant, as well as wild marigolds that were full of yellow fragrant flowers.
The gardens are just an oasis to work in, or enjoy in the morning, or when the weather is cooler. There were a few bicyclists on the paths or a few joggers in the morning. With all the trees and interesting plants to look at the gardens will be a real haven early in the morning for gardening enthusiasts.
The California Native Plant Society has a garden with boulders, red California native fuchsia plants, and other plants that is near the Tule River Parkway sign and the beginning of the demonstration garden project.