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malibusurfsidenews.com News<br />

Malibu surfside news | April 12, 2018 | 11<br />

Malibu Club meets for springtime garden chat<br />

From native<br />

plants to birdbath<br />

maintenance,<br />

Brusius shares tips<br />

Suzanne Guldimann<br />

Freelance Reporter<br />

Master gardener Dani<br />

Brusius knows a lot about<br />

plants, especially the kind<br />

that attract bees, butterflies<br />

and birds to the garden.<br />

Brusius shared her<br />

knowledge with the Malibu<br />

Garden Club at its springthemed<br />

April 4 meeting at<br />

the Point Dume Club.<br />

Brusius encouraged her<br />

audience to think about<br />

their gardens as wildlife<br />

habitat. One way to start is<br />

to reconsider the need for a<br />

lawn.<br />

“Lawns aren’t all bad,”<br />

she said. “They are good<br />

for keeping the soil cool,<br />

they are a place for kids to<br />

play, but NASA estimates<br />

that there are more than 30<br />

million acres of lawn in the<br />

U.S., making it the single<br />

biggest crop cultivated.”<br />

Brusius recommends<br />

taking a look at local open<br />

space to get ideas about<br />

the types of native plants<br />

that will thrive in a Malibu<br />

backyard setting, as well as<br />

which plants grow together<br />

in nature.<br />

“This is a good time for<br />

inspiration,” she said.<br />

She recommends planting<br />

a variety of species.<br />

“Not just flowers, but native<br />

grasses that produce<br />

seeds, and shrubs that provide<br />

twigs and buds,” she<br />

said.<br />

Balancing plants that<br />

bloom or fruit throughout<br />

the year can help attract and<br />

sustain wildlife.<br />

Hummingbirds are attracted<br />

to tube-shaped red<br />

and orange blooms, bees<br />

are often drawn to blue or<br />

white flowers, and many<br />

butterfly and moth species<br />

prefer flat flower heads and<br />

blossoms that are easy to<br />

land on.<br />

“Make sure you have<br />

fall-flowering plants,” she<br />

said.<br />

Brusius isn’t a native<br />

plant purist.<br />

“Not all exotics are bad,”<br />

she said. “But concentrate<br />

on Mediterranean plants<br />

and avoid invasive species.”<br />

Brusius pointed to periwinkle<br />

and feather grass,<br />

two non-natives that have<br />

escaped from gardens<br />

and are creating problems<br />

throughout the Santa Monica<br />

Mountains, where they<br />

crowd out native species.<br />

She recommended growing<br />

a mix of plants that can provide<br />

birds, butterflies and<br />

bees with food, cover and<br />

shelter. The other ingredient<br />

for a successful habitat<br />

garden is water.<br />

“A birdbath needs to be<br />

maintained,” she stressed.<br />

The idea water source<br />

should be no deeper than<br />

three inches. Pebbles can<br />

be used to fill a deeper vessel,<br />

or to provide a place for<br />

birds to perch. Birds also<br />

appreciate a rough surface<br />

with a gradual sloping bottom.<br />

Brusius suggests adding<br />

a flat rock to provide an<br />

extra perching surface.<br />

“Birdbaths should be<br />

refilled every two to three<br />

days to prevent mosquito<br />

larvae from hatching,” she<br />

said, adding that all water<br />

features, big or small, need<br />

to be cleaned frequently<br />

with bleach and water to<br />

prevent the spread of avian<br />

illness.<br />

It’s also important to<br />

make sure the water is in a<br />

sheltered area that is out of<br />

reach from neighborhood<br />

cats and screened from<br />

hawks.<br />

“Consider adding another<br />

source of water if there’s<br />

a crowd,” she said. “This<br />

isn’t the Serengeti.”<br />

Brusius isn’t a fan of<br />

leaving brush piles or dead<br />

wood around for wildlife<br />

cover because of the fire<br />

risk. She prefers to create<br />

shelter and cover by incorporating<br />

elements like<br />

shrubs and stones.<br />

“A stacked stone wall<br />

provides habitat — one<br />

with concrete doesn’t,” she<br />

said.<br />

A small weedy or bare<br />

area in a back corner of the<br />

garden can also provide essential<br />

habit for several native<br />

species of butterflies<br />

and bees. She explained<br />

that 75 percent of the 1,600<br />

species of native bees<br />

found in North America are<br />

solitary. Many tunnel underground<br />

and benefit from<br />

a backyard patch of undisturbed<br />

Earth.<br />

“They don’t produce<br />

honey, but they are important<br />

pollinators,” she said.<br />

“Native bees pollinate between<br />

35-38 percent of<br />

California’s crops.”<br />

“Bees appreciate structure,”<br />

Brusius said. “To<br />

attract them, plant flowers<br />

in patches at least a meter<br />

square.”<br />

Bee and butterfly plants<br />

should be in a sunny location,<br />

and, with bees, far<br />

enough away from human<br />

activity to prevent unwelcome<br />

interaction.<br />

Brusius reminded her audience<br />

that even droughttolerant<br />

native plants require<br />

regular watering.<br />

“Don’t let them get<br />

stressed,” she said.<br />

She also recommended<br />

selecting plants that are compatible<br />

with Malibu’s coast<br />

A monarch visits a Malibu backyard’s native California bush sunflower. Attracting<br />

birds, butterflies and bees to one’s garden was the topic of the Malibu Garden Club’s<br />

latest meeting on April 4. Suzanne Guldimann/22nd Century Media<br />

and canyon microclimates.<br />

“Just because something is<br />

native doesn’t mean it grows<br />

in every zone,” she said.<br />

Working with a neighbor<br />

to extend naturalized<br />

areas can help reconnect<br />

CITY OF MALIBU<br />

Certified O.W.T.S.<br />

and N.A.W.T.<br />

Septic inspectors<br />

for all single family,<br />

multi-family and<br />

commercial properties.<br />

fragmented habitat or create<br />

new corridors for birds,<br />

butterflies and bees.<br />

Brusius’ most important<br />

tip for a wildlife-friendly<br />

habitat? “No pesticides.”<br />

The Malibu Garden Club<br />

McDermott<br />

meets every first Wednesday<br />

of the month at 9:30<br />

a.m. at the Point Dume<br />

Club Community Room.<br />

More information is available<br />

at malibugardenclub.<br />

org.<br />

• Residential • Commercial •<br />

310-456-1173<br />

McDermott Pumping has provided excellent service to Malibu for over 23 years!<br />

310-456-2286

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