I am so grateful for the change of seasons. It’s not only brought striking autumn colors and cooler temperatures but also the rain! Yes, here in one of the most dangerous wildfire zones in the western United States, we’re celebrating having rain for several weeks now, which has provided quite the exhale because it is …
Have you ever been so swept away by the anticipation of getting your spring garden planted that you slid down the slippery slope of being overzealous and perhaps just a tad unrealistic about what you can reasonably accomplish in an afternoon? This is the time of year when we’re most apt to take chances by …
When we try something new in life OR in our garden and what we’d envisioned doesn’t happen, we might come to the conclusion that we weren’t cut out for what we’d set out to do or that we don’t have what it takes to be a successful gardener. Most of the lessons I’ve learned in …
In last month’s blog, I wrote about Finding Joy in Turbulent Times. Little did I know at the time just how turbulent our lives were about to become. A few weeks ago, most of us couldn’t spell pandemic. Now we have a name for the fear and anxiety many of us are experiencing. We’ve moved …
One of the many light bulbs that went off in my head when I became a Master Gardener was the concept of right plant, right place. When I began to speak and write about adaptive gardening, I knew I needed to include it. After all, we strive to save time, money, and energy, right? Using …
It broke my heart to see my beloved fig tree being carried out of my garden. I had made the ultimate gardening mistake: I did not pay attention to the concept of right plant, right place when I purchased my Black Mission fig tree. It was the right plant. My husband and I fell in …
There’s nothing I relish more than saving time and energy. My friend Heidi feels exactly the same way. She loves to have blooming flowers year-round (we’re lucky that our mild climate allows this) in certain places and especially in front of the fountain she sculpted years ago. She came up with an idea I think …