I left you at the end of my last blog post with a cliff hanger. I showed a picture of four Rain Bird valves with combination DIG filter/pressure regulators and hoses hanging off the […]
trees
Front yard vegetable garden
Our front yard makeover began on the night of November 30-December 1 of 2011. The avocado tree in the front yard was “deconstructed” by winds that roared through our area in the wee hours […]
Drought and the garden
The news reports on California’s drought are dire. However, the drought did not happen overnight, we are now in our fourth year of drought. Nevertheless, for years my city, South Pasadena, like […]
Smother it
It is already March and if you have not planted your native plant garden you might want to consider putting it off until next year. Once again this rain year […]
Make room for the young
The avocado tree is gone. Fortunately, the heat wave is over. Nevertheless, my office located upstairs in the front of our south-facing house, gets very hot in the afternoon. Anyone […]
RIP Avocado
A couple of months ago the bee hive in our avocado went silent. The hive, located in a cavity, was there when we moved into this house in 1998. We […]
Acorn season
I am collecting acorns from Engelmann oaks here in South Pasadena. Engelmanns, also known as Pasadena or mesa oaks, are not only rare and unusual, but magnificent as well. When […]
How to water established trees
I have been doing some online research on watering established trees. It is amazing how much contradictory information is out there! Some say water once or twice a week for […]
Oaks in Garfield Park
A week ago last Sunday, on June 16, another mature specimen oak went down in Garfield Park. It was a sunny day, there had been no wind, no rain, no […]
Indian Institute of Science
Within the bustling city of Bangalore is the venerable Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Founded in 1909, the guest house we are staying in, Centenary Visitors House, was built and named for […]