Observations in a Small Garden
I gave myself time on July fourth to simply relax in the garden and watch the comings and goings of birds and insects attracted to the flowers. High o…
Regions: Northern California
Nor. Cal
Hallberg Butterfly Gardens
Located on nine acres in the rolling hills of West Sonoma County, the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens may be the oldest butterfly garden in the country. Si…
My Garden Notebook: July to September
Years ago, when we first lived here, the farmer whose field is directly over my eastern fence kept a flock of sheep—one ram and many ewes and lambs.…
Central Valley Gardening, Mediterranean Style
The UC Davis Arboretum has opened a new educational resource for Central Valley gardeners—the Arboretum Terrace home demonstration garden. Located i…
What Happened to California’s Garden?
California. They thought it paradise.
This was a land still untouched but by the hand of its aboriginal people. Shimmering vistas extended across m…
Sudden Oak Death
Sudden oak death and oak death syndrome are names given to a recently recognized disease in oaks in central coastal California. It is so named because…
A Gardener’s Notebook: April to June
There’s a gazing ball, one of those mirrored silver orbs, in a vase in the gazebo, put there a long time ago when some project going on elsewhere th…
Most Wanted
It is late winter as I walk along a coastal trail in northernmost California. Spanish heath (Erica lusitanica) in all its glory is growing up against …
A Gardener’s Notebook: January to March
I was given as a gift, recently, a thermometer that records, for a twenty-four-hour period or until reset, the highest and lowest temperatures reached…