It just so happened that the year I was nudged and inspired to begin this gardening blog about my twenty-year old Northern California garden, was during the first year of the pandemic–a year with so many changes and challenges. One good change — one of the few bright spots in it all — was the tremendous surge of pandemic gardening that happened, among both beginning and seasoned gardeners.
As I said in my welcome post, the garden has for decades been an important source of sanctuary for me, of de-stressing, of nourishment, exercise, inspiration, enjoyment and connection. I wish that for everyone, especially during these continued difficult times!
So I hope this helps fertilize the inspiration — that as many of you as possible can find continued sustenance and peace in your potagers or local parks, your windowsill greenery or indoor oasis, your allotment or balcony gardens.
And if you cannot go outside right now, I hope you will find some measure of relief and feeling of nature’s connection here and with other gardeners sharing what they do online — and that you have a nearby window filled with open sky and visiting birds and the waft of fresh air carrying the scents of nature to you.
Below are gardening-specific posts. To meander through all the posts of The Compulsive Gardener, including ones on upcycling and garden-inspired creativity, visit the blog page here. I hope you will enjoy them and write in to chat — over the garden fence, as it were. Check back often for more posts on all things gardening!
The Heat Is On–in the garden and on the planet
Today is a toasty 92°F (33°C) but that is normal for this time of year for us. We’ve actually had an unusually cool summer so far and our tomatoes and zucchini are only just starting to ripen. I’m grateful that our area has been spared the intense heatwaves so many areas of the world have…
The Frogs are Happy, Dormant Pruning Is Done, Bareroot Is Planted, Fungi Is Fruiting and Seedlings Are Started–Whew
I’ve lost track of how many atmospheric rivers have come through California so far this rainy season, so I just looked it up. The answer is fourteen! (KGET) Not that I noticed when one ended and the next began. I’m not complaining. I’m delighted to see that Lake Sonoma is full again, as is our…
Winter Garden Reflections
The winter shadows are long across the landscape, creating dramatic patterns amongst the fallen leaves. We’ve awakened to ice on the bird fountains many mornings and felt grateful for the warmth of our wood stove at night. Even Puffball Kitty, well-outfitted in her full-puff winter coat, and not put off by a bit of cold…
Sowing A Wildflower Meadow
Sow your wildflower patch in winter to enjoy the blooms in spring. Read about when I broadcast California poppy and arroyo lupine seeds and how I tend to them in my native wildflower meadow. Watch the lumbering native bumblebees collect pollen.
October Garden–fall harvests, winter crops, tucking the worms in & sharing the abundance
The October garden is a wild thing–overgrown and intertwined–with the last of summer’s exuberance. The squash tendrils have crept like fog and pulled themselves into uncharted lands and left behind bizarre shapes in their path. Cooler nights are leaving little patches of plant cemeteries littered here and there, joining the falling leaves of the grandfather…
A Summertime Saunter Through the Garden — butterflies, pruning winter squash, hand-pollinating corn, saving seeds
Stroll thru the summer garden with me and see some butterflies, help prune the winter squash, hand-pollinate the corn, save seeds for next year, put out some free cucumbers for neighbors, taste a ripe Asian pear, and ponder how to keep the squirrel from harvesting all the walnuts.
First Monarch Butterfly Sighting, Saving Seed from California Poppies, & an Unfortunate Contaminant
Monarch Butterfly Sighting Today I let slip a little scream of excitement when I spotted the first monarch butterfly here in our garden–at least the first one I can remember in the two decades we’ve been at our current location. Growing up in the Midwest many decades ago, we used to see Eastern Monarchs all…
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