Learn how to transition from a resource-intensive yard to a more natural, low-water-use landscape in this lecture by horticulturist Barbara Eisenstein, author of Wild Suburbia: Learning to Garden with Native Plants. A book signing and plant sale will follow the talk. Free; no reservations required. Ahmanson Room, Brody Botanical Center
books and tools
Book Signing at Heyday Holiday Sale
Heyday’s Holiday Book Sale! Join us Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 12-5 p.m. 1633 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 2 p.m. book signing and gardening tips with Wild Suburbia‘s Barbara Eisenstein 30% off all books; 75% off dinged and damaged books Beverages and cookies (gingerbread and otherwise)
Wild Suburbia – native plant gardening
After many years, lots of writing and rewriting, and tons of rejections, it is finally out! In August, Heyday Books released my book, Wild Suburbia – Learning to Garden with Native Plants. And now a new chapter begins – promotion. Not my favorite thing to do, although the first book talk and signing, held on […]
Warning: For plant geeks only
Way back in 1993 a large, imposing and impressive book was published by UC Press. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, edited by James Hickman, was a revision of Jepson’s 1925 Manual of the Flowering Plants of California. It became the go-to reference for all serious California native plant geeks. When there were disputes about the […]
In the beginning
In the heat of the summer of 1999 I take pieces of scrap paper and sketch the long, narrow parkway bed on the east side of our corner lot. It is about 170 feet long and six feet wide, and covered with weedy grass. Two books, Bob Perry’s Trees and Shrubs for Dry California Landscapes, […]
Keeping cats out of the veggie garden
This post is not about cats or vegetable gardens, but I will get to that later. It is about an old fashioned tool, a scythe. Yes, scythe, like in Grim Reaper; and no, not for a Halloween costume. A few weeks ago I ordered a ditch scythe from Scythe Supplies, a company located in Maine. […]
And the good news is….
…my son is getting married. He and his fiancee would like to have a simple backyard wedding… in our backyard. And the deck that I have mentioned in previous posts has not improved over time. Now when I walk out on it I wonder which plank will be the next one to go. If the […]
Selection and Care of California Native Plants Slide Presentation
I totally cannot believe I didn’t see this before, but here is the slide show in full, without me having to upload each and every slide. Phew! As a reminder from an earlier post, most of the information for this slide show comes from my experience growing native plants, my work at Rancho Santa Ana […]
Native Grasses, Sedges and Rush for the Garden
From Grass_090618 While working at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden I wanted to order lots of native grasses for our native plant nursery and annual sales. I love their texture and motion, but as my boss reminded me, they are not big sellers. Non-native bunch grasses, in contrast, have achieved some level of popularity. Unfortunately […]
12 Favorite Native Plant & Gardening Books
From FavoriteBooks Back in February I posted a piece on my favorite gardening tools. Today I am going to list my favorite of favorite garden and plant books (alphabetically by title). I still refer to these books often, but more importantly each has helped me determine what kind of gardener I am. Let me know […]