Due Diligence: Four O’clock Plants

Four O'clock flowers

Our family lives in a historic neighborhood of Chico, California called the Barber Neighborhood. Our neighborhood was named after O. C. Barber, the founder of the Diamond Match Company, who had a factory built nearby to process lumber for matches at the turn of the twentieth century. Our home was built in approximately 1909. Because of the age of this neighborhood we have found in around our property an abundance of old trees and shrubs of what many this day would consider cottage garden or great-grandma plants. One of which is the Four O’clock growing prolifically near our garage and Mandarin tree. Not many people go out of their way to buy and grow this plant in their gardens anymore. Why? I couldn’t say as I’ve found it is a really interesting and beautiful plant with a long history of cultivation.

An Elderberry Volunteers -Applying Permaculture Principle Number One in Our Backyard

Work With Nature Rather Than Against It: We can assist rather than impede natural elements, forces, pressures, processes, agencies, and evolutions.

Observe and Interact: By taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.

Elderberry volunteer 4-25-08

This beautiful California native shrub (photo above) is a volunteer plant.  He sprouted up a few years ago, probably from the seed of a passing bird, and staked his claim on what our family had planned to be a sunny Zone 2 herb garden… and we let him take over.  Once we did our due diligence of his habits and functions, that is.  What we found are shrubs like the native Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) are insectary plants and provide pollen, nectar, shelter, as well as undisturbed habitat, for beneficial insect predators and parasites. 

From grass to habitat garden... our front yard 2005-2011

Our rural 1/3 acre of land in Northern California has been our home and office as well as a continual experiment in ecological land care and permaculture for over 6 years.  Our decision to relocate to the 'city' this month has us pondering just how much we've improved this particular piece of land in the short amount of time we've been here...  so I decided to take a journey back in time. 

Rope swing 2011

Unbeknown to us in 2005 we moved into a chemical dependent neighborhood; neighbors who rely on pest control companies, Round Up and weed/feed for regular property maintenance.  Within our own property we found enamel paint had been washed out on the back lawn and evidence of recent herbicide and pesticide spraying around our new house (pest company sticker in the garage with the date of application).  Gardening ecologically for a long time we have learned a lot about how to make the transition from a chemical dependent landscape to an organic and biologically based one and how to do it with little time and effort.

Volunteer plants in a Feijoa arbor guild

I love plants that volunteer in the garden.  Some of my favorite and most cherished plants have been volunteers.  They’re almost always sturdy and very healthy having found an ideal niche to germinate and grow in.  Two volunteers I found this year are equally useful and beautiful -Borage (Borago officinalis) and English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata).  Both volunteered in our Feijoa arbor guild.

This particular guild’s central plant is the Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana).  Actually 2 Feijoas create the arbors’ archway between two of our gardens and each has a nestling of plants at the base which spread outward.  The Feijoa started out with only Lavender and Calendula for companions but this spring they have many, many more friends; loads of which were volunteers (or spreading volunteers, like apple mint).

Feijoa arbor guild plants early Spring 2011

Calendula officinalis

Calendula, sometimes called Pot Marigold, is an easy and carefree addition to any garden.  Its origin is practically unknown but history shows it was readily used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics.   This versatile plant has too many functions and benefits to list here but a few of them to include are:

• Medicine –used to treat skin problems and inflammation
• Companion plant –attracts beneficial predatory insects to gardens
• Human Food –leaves and flowers are good in salads and sandwiches
• Nutrient accumulator –stores nutrients vital to soil health/compost activator
• Self sustaining –self sows and maintains itself in the garden
• Yellow dye –food coloring or cloth  
• Cosmetics –salves, creams and hair coloring