Canadians inspired by protea garden to make Ramona their home

The 26-acre house Daniel MacDonald and Stephen Leonard call property is on the northwestern slope of Mt. Woodson overlooking Lake Poway and the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve.

On a crystal clear working day they have unobstructed views to the ocean.

But it was not just the gorgeous view that prompted the two Canadians to transfer from Toronto to settle in Ramona. They were also drawn by an unique back garden planted with 5 acres of proteas, which are brilliantly coloured bouquets with strange designs and textures.

In the early 2000s, the associates were wanting for a holiday vacation residence in an place with a heat climate exactly where they could be “snowbirds” in the winter months, MacDonald reported. Throughout their look for, they visited Florida, Texas and Arizona but none of them had what they have been searching for — a home surrounded by character, lots of land and access to the mountains and ocean.

When MacDonald was attending a meeting in Rancho Bernardo for his work as a portfolio manager at a community pension system in 2005, he termed Leonard and requested regardless of whether they’d take into consideration Southern California for their 2nd residence. MacDonald experienced in no way been to San Diego County ahead of and Leonard experienced only been there the moment in advance of, so they gave it some thought.

“In 2005 serious estate was ridiculous high-priced so we begun our look for after that,” mentioned MacDonald, who earlier experienced carried out a presentation on proteas for the Ramona Backyard garden Club). “We to start with frequented Ramona in 2007. We were on the lookout for residence in San Diego County with acreage.”

A real estate agent took MacDonald and Leonard on tours of region homes and the companions also drove about seeking on their own. They uncovered 15 acres in the vicinity of Lake Sutherland that suited them, but a few months right after they purchased the open land the Oct 2007 Witch Creek fireplace went through and burned a lot of the trees, MacDonald said.

“In 2008 and 2009 we crafted a smaller property that was meant to be our winter place as snowbirds,” MacDonald said. “We had been heading back and forth.”

Then in April 2009, MacDonald and Leonard saw an announcement about the Ramona Back garden Club’s once-a-year back garden tour in the Ramona Sentinel and made a decision to go. They were being awestruck by 5 acres of proteas on the assets of Joann Cruz on the self-guided tour.

“I assumed, there is no way these can improve on planet Earth,” MacDonald explained. “I considered they have been so stunning. It was genuinely in just 15 months immediately after that that we noticed the home for sale and jumped on it.”

Rather of coming to Ramona as snowbirds, the two made a decision to stay. Apart from the backyard, the house had a Southwestern-style property with a wraparound deck, and a pair of drinking water features in a secluded site. In 2016 they bought their environmentally friendly playing cards to are living in the United States total time.

Even though continuing to function in their fields, MacDonald as a guide in the expenditure area and Leonard as a residential home manager in San Diego, they increase protea, Leucospermum (pincushions), Leucadendron (cone bushes), Banksia, Grevillea and other African and Australian native vegetation for the slash flower business.

Their flowers are reduce on and off all over the yr by the intercontinental wholesaler Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, primarily based in Rainbow close to Fallbrook.

“The bouquets are in this kind of superior desire and they have longevity in floral preparations,” MacDonald mentioned. “They ship very well and past extensive.”

MacDonald and Leonard also propagate by cuttings and seeds and offer you a compact variety of protea and Australian native plants for sale at their household-based Mt. Woodson Flora company. Afterwards this 12 months, they approach to market vegetation, minimize flowers and seeds by way of the Etsy on the net store.

The Ramona Yard Club requested MacDonald to give a presentation on protea at the May 11 meeting, held at Mountain Watch Group Church. For the duration of his slideshow of colourful flowers in the Proteaceae household, he gave ideas for increasing them. Amid those highlights have been Banksias and Grevilleas.

Most species of Banksias are from Southwestern Australia and can selection from groundcovers to workable substantial bushes to trees. They have to have well-drained soils, comprehensive sunshine, great air circulation and very low humidity, he reported. Though they are not drought-tolerant, they do not need a whole lot of water, particularly in the winter season months. Distinct species flower through the yr and bring in hummingbirds and bees.

Like the Banksias, most species of the Grevilleas are from Southwestern Australia and can array from groundcovers to little bushes to trees. Grevilleas are reduced upkeep and develop colorful, spiderlike or toothbrush-shaped flowers.

Southern and central California places are among only 3 p.c of the world that has a local climate wherever proteas can develop and thrive, MacDonald stated. Other areas are Chile in South The united states, Southwest Australia, the Cape location in southwest South Africa, and the Mediterranean.

In addition to Mt. Woodson Flora, proteas can be obtained at Gnosis Nursery and Farmstand 67 in Ramona, at Walter Andersen’s Nursery in Poway or on-line at eBay or Etsy.

For additional data, MacDonald suggests the guides “A Guideline to Cultivated Species and Types of Protea,” by Lewis Matthews, and “Proteas of the World,” by Lewis Matthews with illustrations by Zoe Carter.

To invest in proteas from MacDonald and Leonard by appointment, call 760-315-2260 or e mail them at [email protected].