Renowned American wildflower and native plant advocate Lady Bird Johnson, founder of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in central Texas, once wrote: “Wherever I go in America, I like it when the land speaks its own language in its… Continue Reading
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his mid-1840s poem “Hamatreya” the famous line: the “earth laughs in flowers.” It’s difficult not to agree and easy to know just what he meant – whether you are a gardener or not.
Even as spring rains pepper us with damp and cool, on the eve of the vernal equinox on March 20th, the Northern California landscape all around us is bursting forth in laughter, chuckles … Continue Reading
“Other holidays repose on the past. Arbor Day proposes the future.” – J. Sterling Morton – Founder of Arbor Day in 1872.
“Can I run out to the trees?” my 9-year old asks me on a regular if not daily basis. I almost always say yes. By “trees” my child is talking about a row of adolescent sycamores planted in a graceful curve as your enter our neighborhood. With their milky white … Continue Reading
On February 27th 2011 the Gateway Science Museum celebrated its one year anniversary of being open to science and nature lovers from around our region. With a stated mission to “create a life-long learning environment that enables people to explore,… Continue Reading
Ahhh, what the Sufi poet Rumi called “Smiling Spring” is upon us – in all her mystery. Like falling in love, spring makes us gardeners both ecstatic and yet restless/agitated. Some of the year’s sweetest and yet most ephemeral blossoms… Continue Reading
There’s a lot to love about the garden in winter. But I do miss some things from the summer garden. For instance, I miss my bats. Of course, they are not technically “my” bats, but rather a small colony that… Continue Reading
I am going on several winter weeks without rain (or snow) on my garden. I am enjoying the sun, but I am very aware of the lack of needed water as well. If you are a gardener (or living creature… Continue Reading
“I like to think they are shy,” David Walther tells me, speaking of his beloved hellebores. David is co-owner of Spring Fever Nursery in Yankee Hill with his wife Cathy. “Many varieties of hellebores have flowers that face downward because, as winter bloomers, they are trying to protect their pollen from wind and rain and snow until pollination takes place. But the difference … Continue Reading
In February we continue to prune out the old and plant seeds for the new. Brian Marshall and Nancy Heinzel of Sawmill creek farm in Paradise wrote this beautiful description of February on their market farm: “February is often the… Continue Reading
Winter in the garden involves – or is supposed to involve – a lot of pruning. In January of 2010, I recorded an interview with horticulturist and arborist Rico Montenegro, working with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, about the pruning… Continue Reading
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