Nature does not stand still and wait for us to catch up. It’s a glorious spring after all the winter rains we finally enjoyed after so many drought years. Verdancy is erupting in the garden and the air is abuzz with activity. There are summer veggies to plant and damselflies to admire. The ladybugs areContinue reading “Spring Awe–Buds and Bugs”
Tag Archives: gardening in Sonoma County
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 ourContinue reading “The Frogs are Happy, Dormant Pruning Is Done, Bareroot Is Planted, Fungi Is Fruiting and Seedlings Are Started–Whew”
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.
How to Spook Gardeners on Halloween
Tongue in cheek… just for some Halloween fun, I thought I’d see if I can spook any gardeners with some garden Goth. What might cause my gardener’s soul some sleepless nights? Night Raiders of the Orchard Ghosts would be welcome over these nocturnal haunters: mule deer, raccoons, foxes. At least ghosts can’t eat fruit orContinue reading “How to Spook Gardeners on Halloween”
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 grandfatherContinue reading “October Garden–fall harvests, winter crops, tucking the worms in & sharing the abundance”
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 allContinue reading “First Monarch Butterfly Sighting, Saving Seed from California Poppies, & an Unfortunate Contaminant”
Petals Aplenty — six snapshots of spring from a Sonoma County garden
The petals are popping and the juice of spring is coursing through my veins like so many shots of espresso. The spring garden is a party not to be missed, and just to sit at my computer to post this blog, rather than be out with the surging sap and sunshine, is requiring a strongContinue reading “Petals Aplenty — six snapshots of spring from a Sonoma County garden”
Our Garden Seems To Be Marie Kondoing Itself
Nature in the form of our garden is having a purge. First, a huge branch of a decades-old willow tree dropped, narrowly missing our most productive mulberry and blueberry patch. Next, a sizeable limb of an old red maple fell. And then one evening while knitting, I heard a splitting crack and felt the house shutter. Was it an earthquake? No, it was a pine tree up on the hill splitting at the base and hitting the ground with force. Our garden seems to be Marie Kondoing itself and has inspired us to have a thorough garden clean-up.
Saffron Crocus — Exquisite In Every Way
Something new and vibrant waved at me from across the garden this last week–a bright horizon of purple, beckoning me to come near. As I got closer, an exotic perfume wafted out to greet me and drew me in like an embrace. The new saffron crocus have popped up and burst into little violet-colored stars!Continue reading “Saffron Crocus — Exquisite In Every Way”