Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 2, 2013

HOMES & PROPERTY

12

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 2, 2013 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people who create them Story by Chris Bertrand

Editors Note: I’ve been told that all good things must come to an end, and sadly, I must say, in the instance of Chris Bertrand as a regular contributor to the Mountain Views News, that 
statement is true. Chris, who has written more than 350 articles over the last seven years submitted her final work for One Of A Kind this week. Last year, she and her husband Dick, 
returned to the Bay Area to be with their new grandson and family. Being the loyal and committed person that she is, however, she continued to submit articles for our readers to enjoy. 
Chris will continue to write for the Mountain Views News on special assignment, but for now, our good friend is leaving.

 Thanks for all you’ve done Chris. You have been a wonderful team member, a critical part of our Mountain Views Family and you are still a very dear friend. We miss you already! 
- Susan Henderson, Publisher/Editor 


LANDSCAPING WHEN YOU HAVE DEER FOR NEIGHBORS

Many 
gardening 
enthusiasts 
fret over the 
voracious 
appetites of 
local deer. Especially in the residential 
areas of the San Gabriel Valley that 
border on the Angeles National Forest 
and other dedicated open space, 
landscape choices determine whether 
a home’s plantings hang out a welcome 
sign indicating “Lunch is served here!” 

Many a time, as I sat at my desk in our 
Sierra Madre home, I could almost set 
my clock for the group of deer who 
visited my neighborhood for a meal of 
roses at one yard, shrubbery at the next, 
and dessert of flowers at yet another 
home. If the windows were open, I 
could even hear them coming, hooves 
clattering on the pavement, during 
their regular daily journey downhill 
from their Bailey Canyon abode.

When living in the Bay Area in the 
1990’s, I even thought I had found the 
ultimate “deer proof” floral display, 
confidently using broad masses of lilac 
colored sedum in my deer prone yard. 
That worked well for ten years, til one 
fall it didn’t. One September morning, I 
awoke to a barren garden. Every sedum 
chewed down to the nub.

Is there a solution? “No plant is deer 
proof,” according to the Rutgers 
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment 
Station (NJAES). Instead, the Rutgers 
University Cooperative Extension 
personnel and Master Gardeners in 
North New Jersey allocated possible 
landscape choices into Rarely, Seldom, 
Occasionally and Frequently Severely 
Damaged” categories.

The key phrase, “Severely Damaged,” 
used in all of the above categories is 
most distressing for avid gardeners in 
areas with large deer populations. Any 
plant, even those listed as the most deer 
resistant may succumb in a dry year 
or a season with a burgeoning deer 
population.

There are still landscape choices that are 
low on the deer’s culinary interest list. 

A great place to start is the Sunset 
Western Garden Book, the landscape 
bible for many a SoCal gardener. If you 
don’t own one, Home Depot and other 
Gardening Retailers usually have one 
on hand for reference.

I also avidly read up in home and 
garden periodicals about success stories 
of plant versus deer. One such resource, 
Better Homes and Gardens has a nice 
website, www.BHG.com, with a deer 
resistant search category. 

In my own local research for my Sierra 
Madre landscape, I took clues from 
municipal and commercial shopping 
center plantings that matured and 
flourished with success. With the caveat 
that sometimes even those landscape 
choices might get eaten if conditions 
were unfavorable.

In the Ralph’s Shopping Center in 
Hastings Ranch, I took notice of 
magnificent flax or Phormium (Latin 
horticultural name) plantings that 
remained untouched. A New Zealand 
native that flourishes in hot dry weather, 
the dramatic spikes of this plant provide 
a lot of architectural interest, as well as 
a decent bet for remaining low on the 
deer interest list. 

Phormium comes in varieties that 
mature up to a dozen feet tall and nearly 
as wide, so caution is advised regarding 
reading the growth information on the 
pot’s label. A wide variety of colors, from 
the “mundane” greens, to reds to bright 
yellow and variegated varieties offer a 
lot of options. One of my favorites is the 
crimson colored “Sunset.” 

In downtown Monrovia, the landscape 
plantings including Heavenly Bamboo 
or Nandina Domestica and the striking 
purple flowers of Statice or Limonium 
perezii were choices I added to my 
“safe-ish” list. 

I have enjoyed relatively consistent 
success with Society Garlic or 
Tulbaghia. An African native, the 
plant gives off a distinctly garlicky odor 
when touched or bruised. At least at 
my home, the deer don’t choose to rub 
their noses in this highly fragrant plant. 
Long lasting purple flowers provide 
nice color for several months, in areas 
that might otherwise remain bereft of 
interesting landscape. I have planted 
Tulbaghia around plants that might 
otherwise attract deer attention, with 
good success… so far!

Most gardeners are drawn to grow 
plants with fragrant flowers, and the 
Bearded Iris, particularly the old 
fashioned varieties seem to provide 
that pleasure to the humans, but deer 
seem to find it as offensive as the stinky 
Tulbaghia! Same goes for lavender and 
rosemary plants. Nice fragrance and 
low interest from the deer. 

Another interesting successful choice 
seems to be plants with velvety leaves, 
like Lamb’s ear or Stachys byzantina, 
with soft silvery, fuzzy leaves, as well as 
the artichoke.

A plant that www.BHG.com deems 
“majestic” bears the unusual name 
of Bear’s breeches or acanthus. The 
shape of the huge acanthus leaf is 
used frequently in design. It can easily 
mature to twenty square feet, BHG 
waxes poetic about a plant that thrives 
in poor soil, “A majestic plant, bear’s 
breeches is like a living sculpture in the 
garden. It offers sturdy spires of white 
or pink blooms with papery purple 
bracts that make a dramatic statement, 
as does the rich-green, spiny-looking 
foliage.” An added plus is that the 
flowers are suitable for cut or dried 
flower arrangements.

Good luck with Bambi-resistant 
gardening! 


FREE NATIVE PLANT CLASS

 Foothill Municipal Water District (Foothill) has scheduled a FREE Native Plant Primer 
Class for Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 9AM to noon. The class will be held in the Fellowship Hall 
of the La Canada Presbyterian Church located at 626 Foothill Blvd. 

 Ellen Mackey who is a Senior Ecologist certified by the Ecological Society of America, and a 
staff ecologist with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will be the presenter. She 
is currently on assignment to the Council for Watershed Health. Some of the topics discussed will be 
Why Native Plants?, Are They Economical?, How to Avoid Killing Them, What Plants Work Well 
Where You Live?, and Resources For A Successful Garden. 

 Please RSVP to (818) 790-4036 or email to koblak@fmwd.com to reserve your spot. 

 Foothill serves the areas of La Canada, La Crescenta and Altadena . Please visit our website at 
www.fmwd.com for more information.

LIKE MOTHS TO A FLAME

CITY OF DUARTE AND ARCADIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 
TO HOST FREE SPRING HOME BUYERS FAIR, APRIL 13

Potential home buyers can get a leg up on the home buying process at the Spring Home Buyers 
Fair, Saturday, April 13, hosted by the City of Duarte and the Arcadia Association of Realtors®. The 
free community event will provide valuable information and opportunities to connect with industry 
professionals, including Realtors®, lenders, non-profit housing and other agencies. The free Home 
Buyers Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Duarte Community Center, 1600 Huntington 
Dr., Duarte.

Learning sessions throughout the day will provide attendees with what they need to know to be 
successful in today’s challenging home buying market. They can also learn about what the City of 
Duarte has to offer. Raffle prizes will be awarded at the event and a free lunch will be provided from 
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

For more information, contact the Arcadia Association of Realtors® at (626) 446-2115 or visit www.
TheAAR.com and click “upcoming events”.

Representing local Realtors® in the San Gabriel Valley for 89 years, the Arcadia Association of Realtors® 
is one of the oldest trade organizations in California. The AAR is dedicated to the advancement of 
professionalism in real estate and is an advocate for private property rights. A.A.R. is headquartered 
in Arcadia.

Have you done your “spring cleaning” yet? If you’re selling your home, it’s essential to take care of 
the details, both inside and out. Since buyers first see your property from the street, there are some 
steps you can take to pique their interest in seeing more.

Obviously, color makes an impact. Emphasize two or three colors in your flowerbeds and shrubs, 
and coordinate your blooms with the seasons, be it spring or summer. Also make sure your trees 
and shrubs are properly sized to the house and grounds, and not blocking any of your home’s positive 
features.

Perfectly maintaining your lawn is critical while you’re listing, since a well-manicured lawn powerfully 
symbolizes your pride of ownership and attention to maintenance. You can reduce the time 
invested in mowing and watering if you can do some simple landscaping with rocks, ornamental 
grasses and drought-tolerant plants.

The sound of water also turns buyers on. Even if you don’t have a pond, you can achieve the same 
effect by installing a small fountain in the front yard, or even running an electric fountain on your 
porch or deck.

Finally, there are a couple of architectural flourishes that add interest, such as colorful window 
boxes, a trellis with flowering vines, or even a pretty new mailbox. Contact your agent for a wealth 
of other ideas to attract buyers.


CONTINUED SHORTAGE OF HOMES ON THE 
MARKET AND SEASONAL SLOWDOWN SEND 
CALIFORNIA HOME SALES AND PRICES LOWER 
IN JANUARY, A.A.R. REPORTS 

ARCADIA (Feb. 28) – A typical seasonal slowdown, combined with a scarcity of available homes for 
sale put a damper on the California housing market in January, with both home sales and median 
price declining from December, the ARCADIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (A.A.R.) reported, 
based on findings by the California Association of Realtors®. 

 “A rush by home buyers trying to complete sales of higher-priced homes by the end of last year in 
order to avoid capital gains increases pulled forward sales that might have closed in January instead,” 
said 2013 A.A.R. President Andy Bencosme. “Additionally, the extreme shortage of homes for sale 
continues to hinder California’s housing market, as demonstrated by the nearly two months’-supply 
drop compared with last year.” 

 Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally 
adjusted annualized rate of 491,720 units, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more 
than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. Sales in January were down 6 percent 
from a revised 523,090 in December and down 3.9 percent from a revised 511,760 in January 2012. 
The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2013 if 
sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors 
that typically influence home sales. 

 The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home fell 8.1 percent from 
December’s $366,930 median price to $337,040 in January. January’s price was up 24.1 percent from 
a revised $271,490 recorded in January 2012, marking the 11th consecutive month of annual price 
increases and the seventh consecutive month of double-digit annual gains. 

 “The drop in the median price from December to January is in line with the seasonal pattern that 
we’ve observed in recent years, when the sales share of lower-priced homes usually increases at the 
start of the year,” said A.A.R. Executive Vice President Andrew Cooper. “For example, homes priced 
under $200,000 made up 28 percent of sales in January, up from 25 percent in December. Conversely, 
homes priced $500,000 and higher made up nearly 24 percent of sales in January, down from nearly 
28 percent in December.” 

 Other key facts of the January 2013 resale housing report include: 

• The available supply of homes for sale loosened in January, primarily as a result of fewer home 
sales. The January Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes rose to 
3.5 months in January, up from 2.6 months in December, but down from a revised 5.8 months 
in January 2012. The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes 
on the market at the current sales rate. A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.
• Mortgage rates edged up in January, with the 30-year fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 
3.41 percent, up from 3.35 percent in December 2012 but down from 3.92 percent in January 
2012, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates also edged up, averaging 2.58 
percent in January, up from 2.54 percent in December but down from 2.76 percent January 2012. 
• Homes moved off the market faster in January, with the median number of days it took to sell a 
single-family home decreasing to 36.6 days in January, down from 38.1 days in December and down 
from 59.6 days for the same period a year ago. 

Representing local Realtors® in the San Gabriel Valley for 89 years, the ARCADIA ASSOCIATION OF 
REALTORS® (www.TheAAR.com) is one of the oldest trade organizations in CA. The AAR is dedicated 
to the advancement of professionalism in real estate and is an advocate for private property rights. A.A.R. 
is headquartered in Arcadia.