Northern California Coastal & Inland Valleys Regional Report

Working Plants

Plants have jobs too -- they just don't get weekends off like the rest of us, and the pay isn't great. A working plant lives for it's job. When a particular plant has been assigned a specific task, it is a lifelong commitment. Security Plants that...
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Resources

Pruning Trees, Shrubs and Vines
Western Redbud

Pull Annual Weeds
Cultivate Soil
Sharpen Pruning Tools
Clean Under Daphne
Bird Baths

Create a Colorful Hanging Basket

San Francisco has a glorious display of baskets hanging on the lamp posts in front of City Hall. If you have never created this kind of planting, why not give it a try? Winter is probably a good time to start because you wont be a slave to the watering...
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Resources

Watercolor Exhibit
Nemesia

Water Plants Under Eaves
Frost Watch
Sharpen Cutting Tools
Cut Back Flowering Perennials
Care for Living Christmas Trees

Winter in Sunny California

Winter gardening in California involves more than sitting at the kitchen table reading seed catalogs. For those of us who are inspired, winter is the time to get organized, rake and clean the garden, pull weeds, plant, prune, and get muddy. Mud...
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Resources

Golden Gate Express
Sweet Olive

Care for Poinsettias
Plant Narcissus
Holiday Treats for the Birds
Protect Citrus Bark from Sunburn
Check Drainage on Container Plants

Little Choices, Big Problems

We are so lucky to live in California where earthquakes and droughts are our only major natural problems. I have never heard of anybody whose garden was damaged by an earthquake. Imagine living where hurricanes wipe out your greenhouse or where...
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Resources

Holiday Traditions at Filoli
Myths and Miracles of garden plants

Plant Spring-Blooming Bulbs
Kill Moss on Shady Sidewalks
Awaken Amaryllis
Fertilize Rhododendrons
Indoor Plant Care

Spider Watch 2008

I saw an amazing thing last week. While we were shooting in Los Gatos with the Bartlett Tree Experts, one of the arborists happened to notice a Thumbelina drama taking place close to the ground. Stretched between a landscape rock and a nearby pebble...
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Resources

Recipes from the Garden
Cast Iron Plant

Discontinue Deadheading Roses
Wash Summer-Weary Plants
Dig and Divide Perennials
Save Fallen Leaves
Last Call for Cactus Watering

Garden Easy

Everybody is talking ergonomics. I have a new ergonomic keyboard for my computer and it's like learning how to type all over again. Why do I always have go back to square one? There are many ergonomic garden tools available, but so far nobody has...
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Resources

Bird Walk at the Arboretum
Gardening with Disabilities

Store Summer-Blooming Bulbs
Snail Watch
Cymbidium Switch
Decrease Water
Fall Cleanup

Drought Precautions

The State of California Department of Water Resources has announced that the outlook for the drought in 2009 is the worst in history. The Department has also announced the development of a "water bank," where the State will act as a broker between...
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Resources

Botanical Painting
UltraGrow Pot Liner

Plant for Winter Color
Turn Saucers
Plant Cool-Season Vegetables
Store Tuberous Begonias
Give Tree Trunks Breathing Room

Older Gardeners Share Old Traditions

I just came back from a shoot for Henry's Home and Garden (note the new name) in Atherton. The home was on a 1-acre lot and had just been totally landscaped. The extensive lawn was surrounded by beautiful curved beds of perennials. Mature trees shaded...
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Resources

Neighborhood Plant Exchange
Harvest Basil All Winter

Refresh Yellow Jacket Traps
Shop for Winter-Blooming Annuals
Shop Online for Spring-Blooming Bulbs
Cut Back on Watering
Shower Indoor Plants

For the Love of Roses

I miss tending roses. There was a split rail fence that surrounded the Sunset magazine property when I worked there. On the fence we grew Mrs. Sam McCready roses that we trained as espaliers. Mrs. Sam was a hybrid tea that didn't mind all the fuss...
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Resources

Tomato Fest
Roses

Create a Birdbath
Patrol for Tomato Hornworm
Control Budworm
Groom Agapanthus
Apply Mulch Under Japanese Maples

Late-Summer Lawn Care

The Henry's Garden show received a new manual reel mower from a publicist a few weeks ago, and is it ever a honey! Do you remember how torturous it was having to mow the lawn when you were a kid? The mower we received is a modern version of the...
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Resources

Garden Feast
Reseeding Alyssum

Replenish Yellow Jacket Traps
Cut Back Fuchsias
Scare Birds Away From Fruit
Renovating the Lawn
Protect Trees From String Trimmers

Old-Fashioned Weed Pulling

Today I watched a gardener work for about an hour to pull a handful of tiny weeds out of a patch of Irish moss. I guess there must be something wrong with me, but I actually enjoy pulling weeds. I find gratification in managing to extract an invader,...
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Resources

Cat Stop
Live at the Garden

Pinch Basil
Harvest Herbs
Switch Cymbidium Fertilizer
Patrol for Mosquitoes
Watering Daphne

Northern California Coastal & Inland Valleys Regional Report

Working Plants

Resources

Reminders

Create a Colorful Hanging Basket

Resources

Reminders

Winter in Sunny California

Resources

Reminders

Little Choices, Big Problems

Resources

Reminders

Spider Watch 2008

Resources

Reminders

Garden Easy

Resources

Reminders

Drought Precautions

Resources

Reminders

Older Gardeners Share Old Traditions

Resources

Reminders

For the Love of Roses

Resources

Reminders

Late-Summer Lawn Care

Resources

Reminders

Old-Fashioned Weed Pulling

Resources

Reminders