Green Wednesday: Sticky Monkeyflowers and Discovering Western Fence Lizards
By Penny Pawl, U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County / By 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 "Growing Sticky Monkeyflowers," Penny Pawl explains the growth habits, propagation methods and ecological value of this drought-tolerant native plant that supports pollinators and butterflies.
“They are called monkeyflowers because the flower resembles a monkey’s face.” — Penny Pawl
In "Western Fence Lizard," Kathleen Scavone highlights the habits, adaptations and cultural significance of this common California reptile, including its role in reducing Lyme disease.
“Western fence lizards have a protein in their blood that can kill the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.” — Kathleen Scavone
Sticky Monkeyflowers: Growth, Care and Ecological Role
By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa Valley
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — One of my favorite native plants is the sticky monkeyflower bush. It grows well in all types of soil but especially likes to be under oak trees. I have several of these plants growing in my garden, and they seem to thrive without much water and in sun or shade. Hybridizers have developed monkeyflowers that bloom in a range of colors.
Diplacus aurantiacus is the plant’s botanical name, but it is more commonly known as Mimulus, which is what most nurseries call it. Most of the species are perennials, but they are not long-lived. The most common flower color is yellow. The plant provides food for the larval stage of both the checkerspot and common buckeye butterflies and is pollinated by bees and hummingbirds. They grow in many parts of North America, Africa and Asia.
Sticky monkeyflowers owe the first part of their name to a resin in the leaves that helps them retain water and makes them drought-tolerant. They are called monkeyflowers because the flower resembles a monkey’s face. I don’t see that, but I do find the flowers to be charming. They last for a long time, which makes them especially appealing.
Monkeyflowers are native to southern Oregon and most of California. They are even planted at the San Diego Zoo. However, they do not do well in very dry climates. If you want to try them in a dry climate, plant them in full shade. In that case leaves and flowers will be farther apart.
I have been told that monkeyflowers grow in the mountains around Napa Valley although I have not seen them. They do not seem to be particular about soil.
If you want a second bloom, be sure to cut the flowers back when they fade and before they have a chance to go to seed. Cut them back to a node where new leaves can emerge. Once the plant sets seed, it thinks it is done for the year. Deadheading (removing spent blossoms) is important to the critters that feed on these flowers.
Monkeyflowers can be propagated from cuttings. Cut off a healthy growing tip 4 to 6 inches long. Strip off the bottom leaves and put the stem in a moist growing medium. I prefer a mix of sharp sand and pumice; it drains well but still retains moisture. I tried to root monkeyflower cuttings in my cloner without success. Possibly the cloner’s continuous washing of the stem with water was not what this plant wants.
A cutting should root in about two months. If you tug gently and feel resistance, your cutting has rooted. After a few months, replant in a larger pot with well-draining potting soil and place in partial sun.
This year I am going to try to grow monkeyflowers from seed. I love propagation, and these plants seem to be easy to grow. Instructions say to either plant the seeds outside to get winter chill or put them in the refrigerator for a few weeks to chill them. In my refrigerator they will be next to native milkweed seeds, which also need a winter chill. Once planted in a seed mix, they need sunlight to germinate.
After the seeds sprout, I will put the seedlings in my hothouse under grow lights. And of course I will report on what happens. I am hoping for a rainbow of colors.
Events
Workshop: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a workshop on “Cool-Season Vegetables” on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Ave., Napa, or on Sunday, Aug. 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington St., Yountville. Now is the time to plan for a harvest in fall, winter and early spring. This hands-on workshop will help you understand which vegetables thrive in cool or even cold weather and why you need to start planting while the weather is warm. Register here for the Napa workshop. To register for the Yountville workshop, call the Yountville Recreation Department at 707-944-8712.
Tree Walk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a docent-led tree walk of Fuller Park in Napa on Sunday, Aug. 10, 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 required.
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.
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Penny Pawl is a UC Master Gardener of Napa Valley.
Western Fence Lizards: Behavior, Ecology and Cultural Lore
By Kathleen Scavone
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Western fence lizards, sceloporus occidentalis, are as common as popcorn at a movie theater this summer. These 5- to 8-inch-long reptiles can be observed across Napa County, from Calistoga to American Canyon, according to iNaturalist. Also called blue bellies, these lizards don't hibernate; however, they are sluggish in cold weather. Despite their commonality, western fence lizards still have a way of producing a smile every time I spy one doing push-ups on a moss-laden rock or lounging in the sun on my deck's railing.
Gray to black or brown, western fence lizards sometimes darken in warmer seasons. Since the adult lizard's ventral abdomen is blue, they are known as blue bellies. Their range is from the Pacific Coast states down to Baja California, and they are found in many Western states.
Years ago I spotted a lizard with a forked tail, which I have since learned is an autotomy or caudal autotomy. This can occur when a critter drops its tail to elude a predator. In the case of the lizard I saw, the first tail hadn't dropped completely before the new tail grew in. As handy as it may seem to possess the ability to grow a new appendage, it is costly to the lizard when it occurs. Losing and regrowing a tail plays havoc with the lizard's immune system, weakening it and potentially allowing illness and disease to occur or in some cases shortening the lizard’s lifespan.
Push-ups are the lizard's method of asserting their machismo as well as dealing with the occasional skirmish. Springtime brings out more of the blue coloration in blue bellies during mating season, but they retain some blue year-round. Since lizards don't call out to communicate like birds, they use visual cues to call attention to themselves during mating season. The electric blue color can also appear as a throat patch or as spots on their rough and spiny backs. Western fence lizards usually mate in their second year, when the females dig a pit for three to 17 eggs in the months of April to July. Little lizards hatch in August, using their egg tooth to bust their way out of the egg.
Western fence lizards consume ants, beetles, spiders, scorpions and more. They are preyed upon by owls, hawks, snakes and raccoons. A cool fact found on the University of Washington's Burke Museum website is that western fence lizards have a protein in their blood that can kill the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease is considered the most widespread tick-carried disease in our hemisphere. As diseased ticks feed on the lizards' blood, the harmful bacteria are eliminated and the ticks don't carry the disease any longer. Some scientists believe these superhero lizards are the reason the West has less Lyme disease than other regions.
Lizards have held a place in the myths and legends of many cultures. “Pomo Myths” by S.A. Barrett explains via the myth “Coyote Falls From a Tree” that Lizard wondered just why it was that Frog, who was Coyote's wife, had been lamenting the fact that Coyote was starving and was always getting hurt. To stop Frog from wailing and mourning this sad fact, Lizard asked Frog not to cry for Coyote any longer since he, Lizard, would love Frog. It wasn't long before Coyote got well and came back to Frog.
The Miwok Native American myth holds that Coyote, who made humans, was told to give them hands like lizards for the purpose of using tools.
Greek mythology holds that lizards signify a host of positive associations, such as regeneration, wisdom and good fortune. According to “Stars of the First People” by Dorcas S. Miller, Lizard can be found in the constellation between Cepheus and the Great Square of Pegasus.
As you soak up the warming rays of summer's sun, watch for the antics of the colorful California native western fence lizard as he appears to play upon rock walls and fences. Ponder the lizard's significance over the millennia and how it was woven into star stories and those of the landscape.
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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.”
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Penny, I always learn something new from you! Kathleen, this is a delightful and informative article about the Western Fence Lizards!