“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”

~ George Carlin

Normally the spring bloom would be in full swing across our local foothills and outlying areas. This year, though, our anticipated April showers never materialized. Even though the Crescenta Valley got more rain than many locations, most of that came in a few big storms early in the season.

Some of us here in the Crescenta Valley are under extremely tight water restrictions. For those of us who live under the Crescenta Valley Water District we have been granted a little more leeway because CVWD has multiple water sources. Nevertheless, as has been said many times, we live in a desert and water conservation is always important. The images on the news of empty reservoirs reinforce this idea.

Like many of our neighbors we gave up on trying to water our backyard lawn a couple of years ago. So, with a white flag of surrender flying, we transformed our backyard into a native plant landscape complete with a dry rock streambed, drip irrigation and lots of moisture-holding mulch.

At the suggestion of a local nursery worker we included milkweed in our garden. At the time we hadn’t planned on an unexpected benefit from some frequent visitors – monarchs! Attracted by the milkweed monarch butterflies flutter around the yard so even if the vegetation is dry and brown we have the beautiful butterflies with their stained-glass window wings to add color.

Butterflies’ symbiotic relationship with milkweed is one of nature’s miracles. Monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed and, when the eggs become caterpillars, milkweed is their only source of food. You can find milkweed at local nurseries and even at big-box stores where it might be called Butterfly Weed.

As we move into the hot weather there are some simple steps we can take to stretch the available water and help our gardens survive. Watering before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. prevents evaporation. Hand watering – allowed at any time – concentrates water where it is needed. Mulch prevents water loss by evaporation and drip irrigation delivers the water to where it is needed. But what about our trees?

When we’re on dog walks in the neighborhood with Brighton we really appreciate the neighborhood trees. According to Melanie Lenart, an urban forestry writer, trees can reduce temperatures up to 10 degrees and shaded areas may be 20-40 degrees cooler, so it’s a priority to keep trees healthy even during drought. Trees want a good drink, but not every day. Depending on the soil type and the weather conditions new trees might need 10-20 gallons of water twice a week. Mature trees generally require less frequent watering. The watering zone extends from about nine inches from the trunk to the drip line of the canopy. If you want to check the soil around the tree for moisture, dig down at least four inches to get a more accurate reading.

Weatherwise, our hot spell is expected to continue into the weekend with today and tomorrow being the warmest days at around 90 degrees. Saturday and Sunday are projected to be cooler by a few degrees each day. Monday’s temperatures are expected to be close to average. Even though this month is known for “June Gloom,” warm, mostly clear weather is expected next week.

It seems like summer is just around the corner and pool time is here.