To Eat or Not to Eat Before eating the blue elderberries that are ripening up right now, I decided to check to make sure they are safe. An online perusal left me a little confused and unsure. There was only one report from the CDC of poisoning from elderberry juice. It happened here in California
Elderberry Season
Joshua Tree National Park
Last week I went to Yucca Valley to visit my daughter who lives and makes pottery there. Check out her website, zzieeceramics, and Etsy site to see or purchase her pieces. On June 8th and 9th she will be selling her work at the West Coast Craft Fair, so unless you can visit her in
What’s Blooming?
The South Pasadena – Arroyo Seco Woodland & Wildlife Park (a mouthful for the South Pas Nature Park) is still ablaze with colorful blooms. Here’s a list of what is flowering right now. Did I miss anything? (Picture gallery follows) Blooming Now Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) Blue Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea)
Anza Borrego Wildflowers
It is February 27th and I am having the hardest time pulling myself away from Michael Cohen’s testimony to Congress. But this is not a political blog – oh no! And so with all of the willpower that I can muster, I opened my Lightroom file to last week’s wildflower trip to Anza Borrego. Here
Spring is coming
Visit the South Pasadena Nature Park to enjoy the CA native wildflowers.
How to Prune CA Buckwheat
How to prune CA buckwheat
Planting season for California native gardens
Long time since I checked in with you all. It has been a super, busy fall – wedding, plant sale, autumn foliage trip, another trip to Pacific NW, along with the more mundane activities of playing with grandkids, working at the nature park, and even doing the laundry once in a while. All of this
Tips for Native Plant Heat Wave Gardening
Now that last summer’s extreme heat is behind us, it is time to take stock and see what we have learned. Although I have seen numerous articles (here and here – thank you, Jane S. for sharing these) on garden tips for nonnatives, including subtropicals, vegetables, and fruit trees, I have not found much related to
PechuKucha, anyone?
Almost two months since my last post. Are you still out there? Well, it isn’t cause I ain’t been busy. Spent the summer in the Pacific Northwest and was relieved to get back to LA where the air is clear. Funny when our air is better than Seattle’s but that’s what happens when there are
Heat Wave in the Nature Park
The South Pasadena – Arroyo Seco Woodland & Wildlife Park (S. Pas Nature Park) is usually hotter than my home garden by a few degrees. It measured 114º at home and so we were concerned about how new and old plants survived the heat wave in the park. As expected, it was a mixed bag.