Currents

In Marin

CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND CAUSES OF THIS UNIQUE COUNTY

CALIFORNIA NATIVES

A beautiful and practical solution to the drought starts in the garden.

BY CALIN VAN PARIS

LYNNE LAW

The garden of Lynne Law as designed by John Greenlee.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

LAST YEAR WAS the driest year on record in California history, and we’re adjusting our lives accordingly this year — starting with our garden beds. Native gardens are both beautiful and practical, and although they too need winter rain, proper care in the initial planting stage can result in plants that are a bit more drought-resistant than your average daisy. Kevin Sadlier of Green Jeans Garden Supply advises watering native plants very well initially, so they establish deep taproots to sustain them during the arid months, and suggests beginning to build your beds with these five plants. Want to learn more about adaptable plant life? Head to the S.F. Flower and Garden Show March 19–23 for some basic training and eyecatching blooms. greenjeansgardensupply.com, sfgardenshow.com

PLANT NAME CALIFORNIA LILAC MANZANITA CALIFORNIA POPPY COYOTE BUSH STICKY MONKEY FLOWER

SCIENTIFIC

USES

Ceanothus

Can be planted as ground cover and is also available as a medium or tall shrub or a small tree. Arctostaphylos

Can be used as ground cover, but is also available in shrub or tree form. Eschscholzia californica

Pop of color — can be found in yellow coastal and the more familiar orange, but has been hybridized to produce other shades and colors. Baccharis pilularis

Can be used for ground cover; also useful for hedging and fence lines. Mimulus aurantiacus

Colors range from yellows and apricots to pinks and reds.

FUN FACT

California lilacs are evergreen and one of the most fragrant shrubs in the state. As manzanita is a winter bloomer, planting it is a great way to provide forage for pollinating insects during the dormant months. Picking California poppies in the wild is illegal, as they are our state flower. Grow your own so you can pluck all you want. Aside from being drought tolerant after maturity, coyote bush are deer-resistant. The foliage is so sticky it was reportedly used by Native Americans as a butterfly-type bandage.

All Aboard

With the ever-increasing traffic in Marin, ditching your car (and the gridlock) in favor of a more efficient mode of transportation seems ideal; unfortunately, the public transit options in place aren’t exactly quick or easy. Sausalito architect Allen Nichol has a solution: Marin trolleys. Nichol’s nonprofit organization of the same name aims to garner support to bring back the tracks that once wove through Marin, though instead of steam trains, Nichol’s vision centers on environmentally friendly electric light-rail trolleys. “We need to return to our past, when streetcars and trains traveled all over the county, creating the charming towns and villages that make Marin a special place,” Nichol says. “The electric streetcars will be quiet, for everyone, and will come right through your neighborhood.” Nichol’s trolleys would also decrease greenhouse gas emissions, being powered instead by batteries and hydrogen. The idea has already gained traction — the Transportation Authority of Marin plans to conduct a study on the feasibility of the Ross Valley Trolley (an example from Texas is shown here), which would run from Fairfax to Fourth Street in San Rafael, in the coming year. Future lines could connect to Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley and Sausalito. marintrolleys.org C.V.P.

BOOKS

Reading List

Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair

by Anne Lamott, Riverhead Books, 96 pages, $17.95. One of Marin’s favorite authors explores ways to “find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times.” This small and

beautiful book makes a thoughtful gift. The author resides in Fairfax.

The Valley of Amazement

by Amy Tan, Ecco, 589 pages, $29.99. Tan, who lives in Sausalito, has written another best seller (The Joy Luck Club was her first). This one centers around an exclusive courtesan

house in 1912 Shanghai where Violet Minturn, the daughter of an American madam, grows up. Great read.

Cool Gray City of Love: 49

Views of San Francisco by Gary

Kamiya, Bloomsbury, 384 pages, $27. Booksellers love this book. Forty-nine concise yet colorful essays on 49 of San Francisco’s favorite subjects. Herb Caen, the Tenderloin, cable cars, Beats, Chinatown, Rice-A-Roni commercials and the Golden Gate Bridge — they’re all here.

Around the Bay: Man-made Sites of Interest in the San Francisco Bay Region

by the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Blast Books, 150 pages, $19.95. A nifty book of aerial photos and brief descriptions of 73 Bay Area landmarks. Among them: Treasure Island, SFO, San Quentin and Angel Island.

Tatiana: An Arkady Renko

Novel by Martin Cruz Smith, Simon & Schuster, 292 pages, $25.99. From the Marin author of Gorky Park and Polar Station, an international crime thriller inspired by the questionable truelife suicide of controversial Russian

journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Many say the KGB assassinated her. JIM WOOD

A Stand for a Stand

You may have heard of Vivienne Harr (perhaps from our September 2012 issue, photo above), the 10-year-old philanthropist who nearly two years ago began selling lemonade in an effort to help stop child slavery. Now Harr’s (and her family’s) social justice charity corporation Make a Stand is the focus of #Standwithme, a feature-length nationally showing documentary chronicling child slavery across the globe. standwithmemovie.com C.V.P.

RICHMOND COUNTRY CLUB

Established 1924

E-BORROW

Those who assumed

the digital age would bring an end to libraries are in for a pleasant surprise — our favorite institutions are adapting. The Mill Valley Public Library recently introduced a Digital Drop-In program that allows members to enjoy their reading material any way they choose. “The Digital Drop-In is designed to meet patrons where they are, whether tech savvy or novice, and help them read, listen to or view their favorite e-books, from Jane Austen to Dave Eggers, on their favorite device,” says Carol Brancoli, head of reference at the Mill Valley Library. The library has more than 13,000 e-books and downloadable audiobooks as well as e-magazines available; just swing by with your library card during the designated digital hour (Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m.) for instructions on how to access the material. millvalleylibrary.org C.V.P.

If you are looking to join a golf club; please contact Rose at (510) 495-4909 for a hosted, complimentary round. Visit our website for full description of our great course and an introduction to our community of golfers.

1 Markovich Lane, Richmond, CA • (510) 232-1080 • www.myrichmondcc.org

Picture Perfect

Photography is no longer a hobby reserved for the artistic set. With social media quickly becoming the primary means of keeping up with friends and family and high-quality cameras readily available, snapping lots and lots of photos has become second nature. We asked Glen Graves, local photographer and founder of Photo Arts Marin, to share his top three SLR and point-and-shoot camera tips for the burgeoning image addict. ggravesphoto.com C.V.P. 1 “Full Auto” is OK if the photo taker has been consuming adult beverages and doesn’t want to think about it.

2“Shutter Speed Preferred” (TV for Canon; S for every other manufacturer) is a much more useful auto setting. Use this to stop motion — bicyclists during a race or the 2-year-old who is moving at close to the speed of light. Set it and then increase the setting until the motion can be stopped.

3Avoid situations where there is backlighting until you know how to use the manual functions of the camera, or if the camera has the ability to do “fill flash.”

4Start taking pictures of your kids when they are young and involve them in the process. Kids pick up the technology fast and will want to join in.

5Don’t buy mega memory cards; they are a waste of money. The bigger/faster/ more expensive cards are for shooting movies.

6Never “modify,” “change” or “adjust” any image in camera. Download your images after every photo shoot and use post-production software such as Photoshop Elements or Picasa.

7Buying a better camera will not make you a better photographer, unless you are moving up to a camera capable of manual settings and are determined to learn how to use them.