It’s a new year. And in the first days of this New Year, I’m planting a new garden. In many ways, this garden – like this year – is a blank slate. The new garden is on an oddly shaped… Continue Reading
PHOTO: The “poinsettia house” at the Plant Barn in Chico, where (including the many years under the umbrella of Chico Propagators) poinsettias have been cultivated for a dozen winters or more. Most good nurseries and garden centers will have greenhouse… Continue Reading
as I eat a persimmon? the bell starts ringing? at Horyuji Temple Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) PHOTOS above: firm rounded persimmon ripening at the Genetic Resource and Conservation Center, also known as the Tree Farm, in Chico. Persimmon have long represented… Continue Reading
The beauty of the garden in winter is a unique pleasure: fragrant, fresh evergreens, bright berries, frosty mornings. Photo: Frosty Indian hawthorne on a cold North State morning. Seasonal greens, winter fruits, and sculptural cones have long been associated with… Continue Reading
This time of year is marked for me by the early morning calling of a great horned owl, who roosts (and hunts) from a line of blue oaks at the end of my garden. In the mid-day, the sound of… Continue Reading
PHOTO: Autumnal bumble bees resting in an an aster. Timing is everything isn’t it? It’s as true in baseball as it is in politics as it is in the garden. Good timing, and an intuitive understanding of timing, makes everything… Continue Reading
As I compose this month’s calendar piece two things are foremost in my mind. The first is that it is raining. Really raining and the sound and smell and light of this much anticipated seasonal weather has a forceful and… Continue Reading
PHOTO: Ripe Ribes sp. (roezlii?). September in the North State garden begins in earnest our biggest and best window of opportunity to plant in our gardens. From mid-September to the end of October, from Davis to Redding, a generous number… Continue Reading
On Sunday September 14th, 2014 the Mt. Lassen Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will host a day-long symposium on designing your garden space to include more native plants while at the same time using far less water, creating… Continue Reading
I never did get a get picture of her. Not a drive-by snap shot, not a proper portrait. Despite regularly remarking on how lovely she was. And now that she’s gone – with the others – I go out of… Continue Reading
Recent Comments