Note: This article was first published in July 2011. Since that time our summers seem to have gotten hotter, with some record-breaking highs. I am writing another article on summer water that addresses the stresses on plants and how to deal with them in these extreme climate events. Are you ready for the 4th […]
horticulture
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 […]
Keeping Plants Alive in Extreme Heat
We are currently enjoying a balmy 99+ degree day. After the record breaking heat of 114º F on Friday, this is somewhat of an improvement. In this blog post I will 1) suggest practices to help your plants make it through the extreme heat; 2) share temperature data from my garden; and 3) give an […]
Lawn-less Sustainable Garden Finale
The work on the front yard patios is completed. I planted some grasses and other perennials but am waiting until next winter to plant a few shrubs. As promised in the previous blog post, here is a slideshow containing pictures from late February, when work started, to early April, after it was completed. I’m loving […]
Pruning (continued)
The last two posts – Garden Gloves, and Pruning Gooseberries – segue into today’s piece perfectly. Since we returned from the Pacific Northwest I have been cutting back the humongous sunflowers in the front yard. I don’t usually pull them out; rather, I cut the branches and smaller stems until there is only a main […]
Pruning Gooseberries
The following is a video of me pruning a fuchsia-flowering gooseberry (Ribes speciosum). I certainly hope it is helpful because it is definitely embarrassing! It is my hope that with time I will get better at this video thing, but for the time being, please bear with my amateur attempts. If you must laugh, please […]
Westminster Library: Wild Suburbia – Gardening with Native Plants
Horticulturist and author Barbara Eisenstein will guide us through the process of transforming a traditional, high water-use garden into a peaceful habitat garden abounding with native plants. Supplementing her advice with personal stories from her decades of experience working with native plants, Barbara will share her joys in creating a native garden and ways she […]
OC-Calif Native Plant Soc: Wild Suburbia – Book Talk & Signing
In her recently published book, Barbara Eisenstein guides us through the process of transforming a traditional, high water-use yard into a peaceful habitat garden abounding with native plants. Because there are so many variables in gardening, answers to even simple questions about establishing a native plant garden are rife with caveats and exceptions. Wild Suburbia […]