How to Plant a John Muir Garden
John Muir (1838-1914) was an American naturalist, traveler, writer and explorer. His enthusiastic support for the outdoors helped establish Yosemite and other magnificent national parks. He has been called the father of the national parks. Muir said that everyone needs natural beauty. He said this need for beauty is "made manifest in the little window-sill gardens of the poor, though perhaps only a geranium slip in a broken cup, as well as in the carefully tended rose and lily gardens of the rich, the thousands of spacious city parks and botanical gardens, and in our magnificent national parks." Here are easy ways to bring the world of John Muir into your garden. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Plant a fruit tree. The John Muir home in Martinez, California, was once a 2,600-acre property where John Muir and his family were prosperous fruit growers. The Muir National Historic Site near Martinez, California, preserves the Muir home and about 9 acres of fruit trees including apples, peaches, figs, cherries and pears.
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Scatter spring wildflowers. The Muir National Historic Site embraces a 325-acre preserve that rises to a viewpoint overlooking oak trees and wildflowers. Muir named the viewpoint Mount Wanda after his daughter. In spring he took his family up the hill to study the wildflowers including shooting star, mule's ear, buttercup and purple owl's clover.
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Pay tribute to Muir's devotion to the great Yosemite Valley. Tuck popular valley flowers in your garden between rocks and perennials. Yosemite is home to dozens of wildflower species. Popular varieties include the shooting star, California poppy, blazing star and shade-loving mariposa lily. If you prefer shrubs, Yosemite is home to trees and shrubs like dogwood trees and incense cedar.
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Select plants of the Muir Woods trails. Muir Woods National Monument is just north of San Francisco, California. Redwoods and Douglas firs provide the tree canopy for redwood sorrel, ferns, and mosses. The wildflowers that thrive in the shady conditions include trillium, clintonia and redwood violet. If your garden needs a shade-tolerant plant, check out your garden center for these perennials.
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Search for plants named after John Muir. Muir's Fleabane, Granite Mousetail (Ivesia Murii) and Muir's Tarweed are three California plants named after the outdoor enthusiast. John Muir said, "Keep close to Nature's heart and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."
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- Photo Credit Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
