An ideal plant list for new Sierra foothill garden

Drought tolerant and colorful plants for any garden... Sometimes you find an ideal list of plants suitable for your area…

11 years ago

Violas over daffodils

Violas and pansies are perfect daffodil partners Last year, I planted violas over the mini daffodils in patio pots and…

11 years ago

A favorite junk store and favorite day

My Favorite Junk Store and Why I Like It I'm itchin' to go to the junk stores again. Boy do…

11 years ago

California native meadow project – third year

To prepare for a community garden club talk on this meadow project today, this slideshow was put together to show…

11 years ago

When every leaf is flower

One evening near dark, I lost myself as I wandered, looking for turning leaves around the place. "Autumn is a…

11 years ago

Fire and manzanita myths

It is a commonly heard in casual remarks on gardening topics and maintaining a landscape in the Sierra Foothills that…

12 years ago

Larry Rettig’s melancholy and ‘Summer Treasures’

Here in the Sierra foothills of California, sometimes the Autumn season brings a feeling of melancholy to gardeners, faced with…

12 years ago

Bringing home ‘rescued’ plants

How to choose end-of-season sale plants Every year, while visiting my favorite nurseries, I prowl the sale tables in late…

12 years ago

Spicy mints in the foothill garden

Spicy mints? “Much Virtue in Herbs, little in Men.” - Benjamin Franklin The rich, spiciness of these plants makes them…

12 years ago

Tim and Barbara’s carefree artist garden

A nearly native drought tolerant garden Tim and Barbara Fruehe came into the True Value Garden Center with a list…

12 years ago

Gardening around new construction in the Sierra foothills

Starting from scratch - Then and now Laying out garden beds in clay and decomposed granite is the way you…

12 years ago

Who needs mosquito repellant when you have your own bats?

"The more people know about bats the more they'll care about them." Sitting out tonight, while watering, I noticed a…

12 years ago

What to plant under Native Oaks and Pines?

or ...Why I remember a Sunset Magazine article from 1999. A few months before we bought our place here in…

12 years ago

Up at dawn

Do you get up early?  I do,...but have found that many couples have one.  One that gets up at dawn…

12 years ago

Weed and more native plants will come

The natural meadow in the second year By that, I mean, this is the second year that I have weeded…

12 years ago

Native California meadow in the second year

Big changes all around The meadow in May...checking the progress and weeding, weeding... Last year, here in the Sierra foothills,…

12 years ago

Babes in the woods- preparing place to build our house

I'm only mentioning my impressions of the house pad prep, because to tell it all would be very boring.  Although,....we…

12 years ago

Melding gardens and gravel in the Sierra foothills

Many of us here in the California Sierra foothills have gravel driveways, paths and roads.  This can be a help…

12 years ago