…and still have a pretty garden With a busy household and jobs, we are sometimes just too busy to get into the garden. If you acquire a second career in retirement or set out for traveling adventure. You still miss your garden and want to enjoy it when you can. Here are some tips!…
Your water-wise veggie garden Does everyone in our Mountain Community grow at least one tomato? I think so! For me, sun-ripe, sliced tomato sandwiches, with slivers of cheddar, a little lettuce, salt and mayo is the goal. Planning now Now, in spring, is the time to plan and build that deer fence or raised bed…
Winter chores and pleasures! It’s sunny and 70º as I write this and it’s a reminder that our winter weather can be rainy, snowy or sunny with brilliant blue skies! It also means that we can still get out into the garden; we just need to don our flannel shirts and jackets in the early…
First exercise,…then relax……completing a ‘relaxing’ project! Friends, I’ve been stretching, doing knee bends and weight-lifting! At the gym? No,…my latest big garden project! Not too big a deal but I’ve been meaning to spiff up my sad, little sitting area under the big oak and started this week, by finding new chair cushions.. Serene and…
Happy discovery! On Crane Valley Rd (221), just north of Manzanita Lake Rd,(222) going toward Bass Lake, I discovered something quite wonderful! Two full grown California Bush Anemones! That may not sound exciting, but in my own garden I had just discovered that my own California Bush Anemone, Carpenteria californica, finally, finally, had pushed up a…
How to grow a Salad! Thinking about ‘Cut and Come Again’ salad gardens…you may have already started lettuce or mesclun seeds or found some healthy starts to plant. For Cut and Come again, you snip off the leaves about an inch and a half from the soil, make your salad, then two weeks later you…
Learning to grow from seed It’s Spring! My friend, Marie, inspires me so much with her courtyard garden fitted with raised garden beds she and her husband built. Each year she plants a garden and this one is all from seed. Here she shares a few easy secrets. Also, which flower seeds transplant best, building a…
Winter and early spring blooming plants Brighten these grey, rainy days in the foothills with cool-season bloomers in containers and areas close to your home where they can easily be seen. Annuals can provide quick color and perennials and shrubs will reward you year after year with reliable and surprising blooms, should you forget they…
Propagating plants in a Sierra foothill garden Propagating plants is making new plants from existing ones in your garden. Anyone can be a plant propagator with these easy, traditional and low-tech techniques that are perfect for our California foothills. It’s fun and economical, and you’ll be surprised to see how easy it is with these plants…
Fall is time for dividing iris, planting and sowing wildflower seeds… Bearded Iris Growing Tips Spring-flowering bulbs thrive in full or partial sun. Good drainage is important for most bulbs, so avoid placing them in soggy areas and in low-lying parts of the garden where water pools during wet winters and spring thaw. Dig a…
What I’m REALLY doing in the garden…last day of June I just came in from an hour out in the garden! Yep, from 6:30am to now, I puttered in the garden doing what I call ‘watering as needed.’ Lamb’s ears are a good ‘indicator plant’ for watering and when this VERY hardy plant droops, you…
Just came in from the garden,…perfect day to be out there, especially with my camera. There was really nice, even lighting. Come see what I’m doing in the garden and what is blooming now in June. I’ve been trimming the lower branches off oaks and manzanita, …I’ll pull all that ivy, (from 1 4″ pot!)…
This Year’s Veg Garden Experiment: The last two years have been straw bale gardens with great success! This year, there is still so much straw that I decided to see how the tomatoes and peppers would do in the remnants of composted soil and leftover straw. When observing the garden for the first time after…
In a series of Then and Now photos, it’s satisfying to look back nostalgically to see how far we have come. Bought in 2000, and in a completely natural area, we’ve striven to preserve the beauty of our 7 acres near the Sierra foothills of California, as we make a place for ourselves in this beautiful spot.…
A Winter walk-around What’s blooming? What’s happening? A walk through my garden just before Winter begins. First off, the patio has been cleared of summer projects, tools, soil and extra containers! I’ve put three sugar cones in three pots to act as a winter centerpiece for the table and all the cushions are in the…
October in the foothill garden Walking around the garden here in the foothills of Central California, I feel we’re really nearing the end of the gardening season. I’m tired. Tired of watering and ready to rake everything, gather up the rest of the clippings, neaten the garden and come in for some rainy days. I…
Harvesting the straw bale garden I call this experiment a success! After reading and reviewing the book Straw Bale Gardens sent to me by author, Joel Karston, I became intrigued by the concept of growing a garden in straw instead of soil. I wondered if this would be a good idea here in the Sierra…
I’m a fan of this chair! Take a couple old pieces of junk and transform them into into a tiny little garden scene using just a little imagination. It’s sometimes difficult to find outdoor decoration that will fit into a ranchy/foresty type garden but this wicker chair is a classic. Here’s how I planted my…
