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May 2012
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  • May is Wildflower Month May 17, 2012
      May is underway, the month that is the bridge between Spring & Summer.  In the Santa Monica Mountains, it is a month of vibrant color.  The hillsides are bejeweled in blooms of yellow, orange, pink, white, purple & blue.  Flowers are strewn from here to there, seemingly at random, as if at the whim […]
    Kathy Vilim
  • The Wildlife Pond at Mount Cuba Center May 16, 2012
    I was thrilled to be invited to visit Mount Cuba Center last week, to interview some of the staff, and spend several delightful hours wandering around with my camera collecting images of this beautiful place, which is devoted to preserving the native plants of the Piedmont region. Mount Cuba Center is a 600 acre preserve […]
    Carole Sevilla Brown
  • My Garden’s Carbon Footprint May 15, 2012
    “It is difficult to bring people to goodness with lessons, but it is easy to do so by example.” ~Seneca   With spring we turn our attention in earnest to our gardens.  And this year as Earth Day loomed, I also turned my attention to what I was doing to be more environmentally conscious and earth friendly […]
    Donna Donabella
  • Build-A-Wetland May 14, 2012
    So I had my driveway re-done a few weeks ago, as I believe I mentioned, and as I was planting in the newly cleared space, it chanced to rain. And I discovered that while most of the area was pretty much exactly as it had been, there was a large section that now, as soon […]
    Ursula Vernon
  • A Tale of Quail May 11, 2012
    Just when I think I’ve run out of critters that will come to visit, someone new shows up. Wednesday we had some much-needed rain and the storm was ending. I glanced out the window that overlooks the backyard and I spotted a bird taking shelter under a wax myrtle. At first glance I thought it […]
    Loret T. Setters

#GardenChat

A Forty Dollar Hole

Happiness is sharing a bowl of cherries and a book of poetry with a shade tree.

He doesn’t eat much and doesn’t read much, but listens well and is a most gracious host.

~Astrid Alauda

Cherries! The mere mention of the word conjures images of summer sun, picnics, and [...]

March Garden Chores

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

~Theodore Roosevelt

With the “official” first day of spring merely eleven (!) days off,  it’s a good time to plan monthly garden chores. It’s helpful to keep track of progress and record [...]

Stop Poking Around

Some seeds are just plain pokey when it comes to germinating. My general observation: the smaller the seed the longer the germination. Larger  seeds like beans and squash may sprout in one week or less. Tiny pepper, eggplant and tomato seeds can take up to three weeks. Pre-sprouting seeds is one way of checking the [...]

Lights, plants, action!

I just love it when things work as planned. The shelf unit and lights for the “growing station” are perfect and take up minimal space. That’s good because, Lord willing, as the plants get bigger I’ll need to extend the area to accommodate them. The heating pad remains under the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant until [...]

Planting day

Let me start by saying I never really woke up this morning. I did manage to make Andrew’s breakfast and see him off to Middle School, but my mind was on auto-pilot. A quick breathing check showed my asthma isn’t “controlled”, bummer… I hope I’m not getting a cold! Anyway, after a clumsy morning of [...]