It is a hot day. As I sit down to write this article on summer garden care, I decide to check the temperature. It is 84 degrees Fahrenheit at 4 […]
garden chores
CA Poppies: How to Harvest Seeds & Extend the Bloom
People often ask me how I manage my California poppies. This is what I do to extend the bloom period and collect seeds for next year. Poppies emerge in early […]
What to do with green waste in the garden
Learn to use your garden green waste sustainably without power machines or sending it to the landfill. And for everyone’s health: NO BLOWERS!
Summer Water
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 […]
3 Garden Pests – Thrips, Scales, Ants
Learn to keep your native plants healthy without resorting to toxic chemicals. Control garden pests, ants, thrips and scales.
How to Prune CA Buckwheat
How to prune CA buckwheat
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 […]
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 […]
Starting a new garden
Starting a new garden is big. It fills me with enthusiasm, excitement, and joy. However, this act of optimism has another side. In a time when Facebook highlights only the […]
Garden care while you travel (Part 2)
The garden prep for our summer absence has been paying off. Yesterday my daughter took me on a virtual garden tour on Facetime. Things are looking good! The native sunflowers […]