Canadians inspired by protea garden to make Ramona their home

Kim J. Clark

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

On a distinct day they have unobstructed sights to the ocean.

But it wasn’t just the spectacular perspective that prompted the two Canadians to shift from Toronto to settle in Ramona. They were also drawn by an exotic back garden planted with 5 acres of proteas, which are brilliantly colored bouquets with strange shapes and textures.

In the early 2000s, the partners ended up searching for a trip home in an location with a warm local weather where they could be “snowbirds” in the wintertime months, MacDonald reported. Throughout their research, they frequented Florida, Texas and Arizona but none of them experienced what they were being on the lookout for — a residence surrounded by nature, loads of land and entry to the mountains and ocean.

Daniel MacDonald and Stephen Leonard grow a variety of Proteas on their property on the northwestern slope of Mt. Woodson.

Daniel MacDonald and Stephen Leonard are growing a wide variety of Proteas on their house positioned on the northwestern slope of Mt. Woodson.

(Courtesy Daniel MacDonald)

When MacDonald was attending a meeting in Rancho Bernardo for his work as a portfolio supervisor at a public pension system in 2005, he termed Leonard and asked regardless of whether they’d take into account Southern California for their 2nd home. MacDonald had in no way been to San Diego County right before and Leonard experienced only been there once before, so they gave it some believed.

“In 2005 true estate was nuts costly so we started off our search following that,” mentioned MacDonald, who previously experienced done a presentation on proteas for the Ramona Back garden Club). “We initially frequented Ramona in 2007. We were seeking for property in San Diego County with acreage.”

A serious estate agent took MacDonald and Leonard on excursions of space qualities and the associates also drove all-around on the lookout on their very own. They identified 15 acres around Lake Sutherland that suited them, but 3 months after they purchased the open up land the October 2007 Witch Creek fireplace went as a result of and burned a ton of the trees, MacDonald reported.

“In 2008 and 2009 we created a smaller dwelling that was meant to be our wintertime area as snowbirds,” MacDonald reported. “We had been heading back again and forth.”

Then in April 2009, MacDonald and Leonard observed an announcement about the Ramona Backyard garden Club’s annual backyard tour in the Ramona Sentinel and determined to go. They have been awestruck by 5 acres of proteas on the house of Joann Cruz on the self-guided tour.

“I assumed, there is no way these can expand on planet Earth,” MacDonald stated. “I thought they were being so wonderful. It was seriously in just 15 months soon after that that we noticed the home for sale and jumped on it.”

As an alternative of coming to Ramona as snowbirds, the two made a decision to keep. Apart from the back garden, the assets had a Southwestern-fashion household with a wraparound deck, and a few of drinking water features in a secluded area. In 2016 they received their inexperienced playing cards to are living in the United States total time.

Even though continuing to get the job done in their fields, MacDonald as a marketing consultant in the financial commitment area and Leonard as a residential residence supervisor in San Diego, they mature protea, Leucospermum (pincushions), Leucadendron (cone bushes), Banksia, Grevillea and other African and Australian indigenous crops for the reduce flower industry.

Their flowers are slash on and off all through the year by the global wholesaler Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, based in Rainbow close to Fallbrook.

“The bouquets are in this kind of higher desire and they have longevity in floral preparations,” MacDonald claimed. “They ship well and very last long.”

Proteas make beautiful, long-lasting floral arrangements.

Proteas make stunning, prolonged-lasting floral preparations.

(Courtesy Daniel MacDonald)

MacDonald and Leonard also propagate by cuttings and seeds and provide a compact assortment of protea and Australian native crops for sale at their dwelling-based Mt. Woodson Flora enterprise. Later this year, they approach to sell vegetation, cut flowers and seeds via the Etsy online keep.

The Ramona Back garden Club questioned MacDonald to give a presentation on protea at the May perhaps 11 conference, held at Mountain See Local community Church. In the course of his slideshow of colorful bouquets in the Proteaceae family, he gave suggestions for expanding them. Between all those highlights were being Banksias and Grevilleas.

Most species of Banksias are from Southwestern Australia and can vary from groundcovers to workable huge bushes to trees. They require effectively-drained soils, complete sun, superior air circulation and very low humidity, he stated. Even though they are not drought-tolerant, they really do not require a good deal of drinking water, primarily in the winter months. Unique species flower during the calendar year and draw in hummingbirds and bees.

Like the Banksias, most species of the Grevilleas are from Southwestern Australia and can array from groundcovers to small bushes to trees. Grevilleas are low servicing and develop colourful, spiderlike or toothbrush-formed flowers.

Southern and central California places are amid only 3 percent of the earth that has a climate exactly where proteas can mature and prosper, MacDonald reported. Other locations are Chile in South The usa, Southwest Australia, the Cape location in southwest South Africa, and the Mediterranean.

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

For much more info, MacDonald endorses the books “A Manual to Cultivated Species and Kinds of Protea,” by Lewis Matthews, and “Proteas of the World,” by Lewis Matthews with illustrations by Zoe Carter.

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

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