Northern California Coastal & Inland Valleys Regional Report http://www.garden.org/regional/report/current/3 en-us Pandemonium! http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3275 My guilty secret? I'm a big kid at heart. I had a romping good time planting at an all-native garden with the kids from the Claire Lilienthal K-8 Alternative School in San Francisco. There were about 25 kids ranging in age from 7 to 13 who were studying...
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Resources

  • Holidays at Filoli
  • Mini Greenhouse

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Reminders

  • Dig and Divide
  • Plant Garlic
  • Care for Indoor Plants
  • Ornamental Grass Care
  • Groom Dusty Miller

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]]> Pits and Bits http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3261 Attention, Gardeners of All Ages! We all love to watch things grow. That's why we became gardeners. Sometimes, as we get older, we focus on the big picture and forget the little things that give us pleasure. I want to share with you a few very easy...
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Resources

  • One-Day Garden Workshop
  • Organic Disease and Pest Control

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Reminders

  • Cymbidium Switch
  • Rake Under Fruit Trees
  • Dig and Store Summer Bulbs
  • Apply Beneficial Nematodes
  • Fertilize Lawns

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]]> Go Wild! Plant Wildflowers! http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3217 Imagine yourself walking through a meadow on Angel Island, Mt. Diablo, or Edgewood Park in the early spring. The air is fresh with the scent of recent rains, bees are humming, the green grass is plump and lush, the wild cyclamen are just beginning to...
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Resources

  • Botany of Desire
  • Birds of Napa County

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Reminders

  • Fall Lawn Care
  • Deer Repellant
  • Purchase Spring-Blooming Bulbs
  • Thin Camellia Buds
  • Reduce Water

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]]> Water Conservation http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3225 Oh my, everything is so dry. The native grasses are crackly from lack of moisture. The foliage on trees is muted with dust and creek beds are bone dry. Animals are coming out of rural woodlands in search of water. I saw a flock of thirsty Canada geese...
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Resources

  • Living Stonework
  • Open Clay Soil

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Reminders

  • Reduce Irrigation
  • Provide Water for Wildlife
  • Purchase Spring-Blooming Bulbs
  • Mulch Bearded Iris
  • Rose Care

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]]> Failure and Success http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3216 Well, Henry's garden in San Mateo is looking heavenly, but my personal garden here in Brisbane is looking very sorry and neglected. Perhaps it's because stairs are involved in the maintenance process and my new knee is still a bit gimpy. The asparagus...
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Resources

  • Garden Feast
  • Seafoam Statice

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Reminders

  • Late Summer Rose Care
  • Pick Up Fallen Fruit
  • Groom Vegetable Plants
  • Plant Citrus
  • Root Herb Cuttings

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]]> Helping Hands http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3204 Well, I finally did it. It took years to gather the courage, but I had a huge project at Henry's that was more than I could handle on my own. I needed the help of someone willing to dig in less-than-ideal soil (read; concrete). Henry's wife was all...
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Resources

  • September 2009 Plant Sale
  • Leaf Cuttings

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Reminders

  • Cymbidium Switch
  • Yellowjacket Alert
  • Deep Water Landscape Trees
  • Allow Perennials to Go to Seed
  • Fire Prevention

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]]> Pocket Gardens http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3195 I was in San Francisco last week and came across a delightful little garden planted in front of a basement apartment. That the site was dark, damp, and receiving only an hour or so of direct sun was taken into consideration when this little plot was...
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Resources

  • Orchard Tours
  • Two Green Thumbs

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Reminders

  • Protect Drip Irrigation
  • Tomato Tips
  • Weed Patrol
  • For the Birds
  • Fertilize Rhododendrons and Azaleas

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]]> Garden Installation http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3186 My dear friend Jean asked me to help her redo her father's front yard. The garden is located in South City where the wind has teeth. It was a typical front yard with a battered lawn, brick planter boxes full of weeds and a plastic seagull on an old...
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Resources

  • Summer Gardening Fair
  • UC California Garden Web

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Reminders

  • Irrigation Check
  • Clean is Healthy
  • Rhododendron Tune Up
  • Maple Mulch
  • Plan Winter Gardens

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]]> Squirrel Control http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3178 Are squirrels driving you to drink? Are tree squirrels digging up your bulbs and helping themselves to your bedding plants? Are ground squirrels excavating your fields and pastures? I lived with a garden full of squirrels for 14 years, so I know...
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Resources

  • Wild Wing Company
  • Outwit Squirrels

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Reminders

  • Water Trees Deeply
  • Plant Warm-Season Vegetables
  • Pull Weeds
  • Check Drip Systems
  • Deadhead Rhododendrons and Azaleas

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]]> Doing What I Love http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3175 Gardening is harder work than I remember. Perhaps it's because I'm older, or perhaps it's because I haven't been doing it for hours at a time over the last 10 years, but it is still just as rewarding and captivating as it always was. Starting My...
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Resources

  • Foxglove
  • Cultivate Soil

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Reminders

  • Refresh Annuals
  • Fertilize Citrus
  • Fertilize Shade-Loving Plants
  • Control Mint
  • Calla Lily Care

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]]> Love of Lemons! http://www.garden.org/regional/report/arch/3141 Looking through my files I see that I haven't written a word about citrus. Hey, we live in California, the land of fruits and nuts. We put up with traffic and smog and political weirdness so that we can grow stuff nobody else can grow. How could I have...
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Resources

  • Citrus
  • Plant Sale

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Reminders

  • Fertilize
  • Pest Control
  • Apply Mulch
  • Mole Patrol
  • Vacation Care for Indoor Plants

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