Green Wednesday: Building Community and Noticing Nature’s Fall Clues
By Cindy Watter, U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County / Kathleen Scavone, Environmental Contributor
Green Wednesday: Gardening and Ecological Insights
Every Wednesday Napa Valley Features brings you Green Wednesday, featuring articles from environmental voices and the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County. These contributors share research-based horticultural advice, insights on sustainability and climate topics relevant to our region.
Summary of Today’s Stories
In "Make New Friends as a Master Gardener," Cindy Watter highlights how volunteering with the U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County connects people through shared curiosity, practical gardening experience and community education.
“Our columns used to be mostly how-to articles. But now we have more articles on sustainability, the climate and water-wise gardening.” — Penny Pawl
In "Early Fall Findings," Kathleen Scavone explores how native plants like wild rose, tarweed and California buckeye signal the changing seasons and offer ecological and cultural insight into the Napa Valley landscape.
“Wild roses flourish in damp canyons and near streams, but they also tolerate the warmer, dryer open valleys.” — Kathleen Scavone
Early Fall Findings
By Kathleen Scavone
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — As the annual activity of veraison occurs in the vineyards of Napa County, the wild world of fall begins stirring even before August commences. Just before the mountains and valleys intensify with colors to break your heart, nuanced layers spell out the language of fall's imminence. California native plants that are portents of true fall-to-come include wild roses, California buckeye, tarweed and a show-off that you will want to avoid, poison oak.
Wild Rose
Wild roses, Rosa californica, sometimes called California wildrose, appear gangly with their thorny shrubs standing approximately 4 feet in height and are sporting rose hips laden with seeds. Wild roses are delicate miniatures of those plump and vibrant hybrid tea varieties found in our gardens. In bloom, wild roses are delicate five-petal beauties that may be colored pink to white. Landscapers love to plant wild roses as
Wild roses flourish in damp canyons and near streams, but they also tolerate the warmer, dryer open valleys. Pollinators such as the gray hairstreak and variable checkerspot butterflies are supported by the flowers, along with polyphemus and alfalfa looper moths.
Many Indigenous groups throughout the Napa Valley and what is now California utilized the gifts that rose hips provided. They were valued as both a food source and for medicinal purposes by brewing them in teas, consuming them fresh or dried. The rose hip is in fact the fleshy portion of the rose, forming after pollination, and is recognized by its vibrant red or purplish colors. Wild rose hips are high in nutrition since they contain an abundance of vitamin C, carotenoids such as beta-carotene, as well as lycopene and lutein. Scientists currently study rose hips' value for reducing the pain of arthritis. Today some enjoy creating jams, syrups or wine with the multipurpose plant.
California Buckeye
California buckeye, Aesculus californica, is sometimes called California horse-chestnut, and is a showy, early deciduous tree endemic to California. As an endemic species, it is found exclusively in California. You can easily recognize buckeye trees in the spring as they are usually the first to bloom and sport showy, banana-shaped inflorescences that are 6-8 inches in length. The sweet-scented flowers are pink to creamy white.
Now, however, buckeyes possess the intelligence to drop their leaves to avoid the heat of summer. Their fat, brown, nearly 3-inch seeds are the largest California native plant seed and hang from the 40-by-40-foot trees like shiny mahogany ornaments. This drought-tolerant tree is often found growing near native spice bush, bush monkey flower and coffeeberry plants.
Many California Indigenous groups such as the Pomo, Luiseño and Yokuts utilized the seeds much like acorns, gathering and pounding them into a type of flour. However, acorns were much preferred over buckeye seeds. The seeds from the buckeye tree required much in the way of processing to avoid neurotoxic glycosides. For example, the seeds needed to be boiled and leached by pouring water over them continuously before they were ground into a type of meal to consume. Another use by Native groups was similar to that of the native soaproot plant. Buckeye seeds were used in fishing to temporarily stun fish in lakes and streams to easily catch the fish.
Tarweed
After the brilliant pigments of a showy spring fade, cheery, yellow tarweed, Madia elegans, decorates the landscape like bright stars, and invites pollinators such as various butterflies and bees and also supports caterpillars. This annual wildflower adores hot, dry summers. Tarweed can be seen along roadsides and in fields and meadows. This plant received its moniker due to its sticky, resinous stalks and leaves which hold an odor that some enjoy.
Along with tarweed's hosting pollinators, these plants contain tiny seeds that are beneficial to birds like goldfinches as well as small mammals. These wise little flowers can preserve their moisture by closing or curling up during the heat of a summer-to-fall day. Then, when you take your early morning walk, these little beauties will be open and ready to greet the day.
Indigenous people made use of the tarweed's seeds since they are chock-full of protein and nutrients. Controlled burns encouraged the proliferation of tarweed plants; and when the seeds were harvested, they could be added to other grains and seeds for a tasty food treat called pinole.
The famed Mendocino County painter Grace Hudson (1865-1937) painted many of the Pomo people she befriended at her home in Ukiah. If you get a chance, visit the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah to view her painting called “The Tarweed Gatherer.” This beautiful rendering respectfully portrays a Pomo woman holding a basket-type tool called a seed-beater. The museum sometimes holds workshops on pinole making.
Poison Oak
Poison oak is to be avoided since contact with skin causes itching and blistering. However, this wild plant that shows off now in crimson colors does offer benefits to nature. Many native bird species feast on its yellow-white berries, and believe it or not, our local black-tail deer dine on its leaves, as do western gray squirrels and California ground squirrels.
This plant grows as a dense shrub, or it can climb up a tree with a hardy and lengthy 100-foot-long vine. Since poison oak is deciduous, dropping its leaves in winter, the plant's stems are still to be avoided as they cause a rash as readily as when its lobed leaves are present.
The National Park Service’s website explains that in times past the Chumash people of Southern California utilized the plant to rid themselves of warts and other skin problems. Today it is wise to heed the old saying, “Leaves of three, leave them be.”
—
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., retired educator, is a potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora and Fauna Tour of a California State Park,” "People of the Water" and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She loves hiking, travel, photography and creating her single panel cartoon, “Rupert.”
Make New Friends as a Master Gardener
By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are currently recruiting for the class of 2026. I joined the group nine years ago. My reasons for joining were varied: I am not industrious enough to have a showplace garden, but I am curious about why some plants do better than others in Napa, and I enjoy observing birds and pollinators (otherwise known as bees and butterflies).
I didn’t bet that I would make so many new friends. After all, I was 65 then and already had friends. However, the great people I’ve met have turned out to be the most fun part of membership.
At the first meeting I attended after taking the course and passing the exam an enthusiastic woman was telling us about the butterfly cocoons at her place. In fact, she had brought in a sample: She was holding a branch festooned with future butterflies sleeping in their cocoons. I thought, “Well, she’s pretty eccentric. This should be interesting.” That was my introduction to Penny Pawl.
Those of you who read our Master Gardener columns will recognize Penny’s name. She is our most prolific writer and a world traveler, and her gardening interests range from bonsai to butterflies to worm compost.
Penny is one of the longest-serving Napa County Master Gardeners (along with John Chwistek, Kathy Tranmer and Denise Levine). She joined in 1997, two years after the program came to Napa County. Two members of the bonsai society, John Hoffman and Jim Gillespie, suggested she join, and she has been active ever since.
In addition to writing columns, Penny is the compost queen of the Napa County Master Gardeners. She is an instructor at most of the compost workshops we do, and her enthusiasm for red wiggler worms is unbounded.
Penny moved to Napa County from Davis when she was 8 years old. Her father was a veterinarian, and she is an animal lover. She always has a noisy rescue dog, but she also likes the wild creatures that are on her property, whether they are birds, lizards, toads, coyotes or snakes. She is the only person I know who constructed squirrel houses for the fluffy-tailed creatures that ravage our yards: “But the squirrels finally chewed up the houses,” she says.
Penny enjoys the educational aspect of being a Master Gardener. (This is consistent with another interest of hers, the Napa Valley College Foundation.) Everybody in her family loved gardening, but Penny had a curious nature and liked knowing the “why” behind success and failure. What she appreciates most about the UC Master Gardeners is its emphasis on science and verifiable results. She enjoys doing research for the many articles she writes.
If you visit Penny’s garden in Napa, you will likely see many works in progress. Compost is being turned, plants are being weeded and mulched, trees are being pruned. Something is always happening.
However, Penny’s greatest love is plant propagation. She has a hothouse where she keeps bonsai and tender plants during the winter. The hothouse is also where she has her cloner, a small device that constantly circulates water to encourage root formation on plant cuttings. The water circulation gives faster results than my old-fashioned method of jelly jars on the windowsill.
Penny’s favorite plants to propagate are scented geraniums, lavenders and salvias. She says they all root easily and quickly. She also propagates native milkweeds to attract monarch butterflies.
When I asked Penny how Napa Valley had changed over the years, she said, “When we moved here there were eight bonded wineries. Now there are 500.” She added that she never used to check the water level in her well. Now she does, often.
Penny was one of the first Master Gardeners to write our columns, and she says those have changed, too.
“Our columns used to be mostly how-to articles,” she said. “But now we have more articles on sustainability, the climate and water-wise gardening.”
UC Master Gardeners is a public service organization with an educational mission. We host more than 40 events a year, from a spring tomato sale to a science-focused Fall Faire, as well as public workshops and library talks. Members have many opportunities for hands-on volunteering, such as helping maintain the Las Flores Learning Garden or the Fuller Park rose garden. We also partner with other organizations at community events such as Earth Day.
If you are interested in joining a dynamic organization, learning how to improve your garden and meeting people with a variety of interests, consider attending one of the three informational meetings on joining the 2026 training class. You must attend an informational meeting to receive an application. The meetings will be on Sept. 16 from 1 to 2 p.m, Sept. 9 from 10 to 11 a.m. and Sept. 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the UC Master Gardener meeting room at 1710 Soscol Ave., Napa. For more information about the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County, visit our website.
Events
Workshop: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a workshop on “Welcoming Pollinators Into Your Garden” on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Ave., Napa. Monarchs and other pollinators are in serious decline. Learn what you can do to help by creating habitat to support these essential creatures. Registration required.
Library Talk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a talk on “Compost: It’s Alive!” on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 7 pm to 8 pm via Zoom. Learn how decay breeds life in your garden and how you can harness the power of compost. Register to receive the Zoom link. Note that the meeting will lock and allow no further entry at 7:15 p.m. Please join prior to 7 p.m.
Tree Walk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a docent-led tree walk of Fuller Park in Napa on Friday, Sept. 12, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Historic Fuller Park is an arboretum with many exotic and native trees planted over the past 120 years. Meet at the corner of Oak and Jefferson streets in Napa. Registration is required for each participant.
Fall Faire: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for the annual Fall Faire —“Where Science Fair Meets Carnival”—on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the UC Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Ave., Napa. Enjoy kid-friendly demonstrations and talks that range from dehydrating produce to designing a pollinator-friendly garden, along with plenty of gardening advice. A plant sale will feature ornamental plants and seven varieties of winter vegetables, with all proceeds supporting Master Gardener programs. Event entry is free.
Become a Master Gardener Volunteer: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County is now accepting applications for the Class of 2026. Visit napamg.ucanr.edu for more information and register to attend a mandatory information session for applicants. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Sept. 25.
Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description of the problem. For best results attach a photo.
—
Cindy Watter is a UC Master Gardener of Napa County.
Explore These Related Articles:
Browse All Napa Valley Features Stories
You should have another choice for your first group of questions--something like, "I am already a Master Gardener". Thanks!
I am a prescribed burner so the land and ecology are forefront in my mind at all times. I cannot get enough of learning TEK. The more I learn the more questions I have.