- Author: Lanie Keystone
It all began when we made our first visit to Thomas Jefferson's magnificent hilltop Plantation, “Monticello” just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Wandering the magnificent gardens of this horticultural wonder, I happened on a peach pit sitting in the pathway of his wondrously designed orchard. I can confess now, 22 years later, that looking around to see if anyone was watching—(and with great apologies to UNESCO World Heritage), I stealthily picked up that pit and slipped it into my pocket! And that's when I was overcome with a love of Colonial Gardens. So, when Andrea Wulf wrote her excellent history, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, 2011, I was thrilled.
The book is focused on the “Big Four”—Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison. In Founding Gardeners, we get a front row seat to view the impact that gardening had on the formation of our nation and the first wave of “industry” in the country…agriculture. For these iconic men, gardening, agriculture and botany were not just basic passions, they were deeply ingrained in their core character psyche as they fought for liberty and the formation of our nation.
Wulf presents a heart-pounding yet intimate history of our nation's battle for freedom. They're interwoven with detailed and poignant stories of how these men and their wives cradled young shoots and seeds through botanical experimentation that led to the foundation of our agricultural greatness.
We learn of Washington writing letters to his estate manager about repurposing his gardens and orchards on the eve of preparing for battle against the British as their warships gathered in front of him off Staten Island. We travel with Jefferson and Madison on a tour of English gardens and back home again carrying a renewed faith in their “seedling” nation. And, Wulf reminds us why James Madison is the forgotten father of environmentalism. Through beautifully, often sharp-witted stories, Wulf brings these men and times to vivid reality—making them human, visceral and, best of all—inveterate Revolutionary gardeners. Along with that peach pit that I still lovingly preserve in my desk drawer, “The Founding Gardeners”, truly makes history and gardening come alive.
- Author: Trisha Rose
A few years ago I took Ken Williams Irrigation class at Solano College. One evening our class was charged with revamping the green house irrigation system. Students were climbing on shelves and hanging every which way removing old pipes and installing new fittings. At the end of class as we were cleaning up the mess, there were a number of broken bits of plants on the floor ready for the compost bins. With permission I snagged a few "fingers" of Bromeliad. My, my how they have multiplied. I don't know the variety but found they like to be watered occasionally via the natural funnels the tall leaves form. They are epiphytes like Cymbidiums so I treat them the same way, just bring them inside during the coldest days of winter and keep them close to the house in filtered shade the rest of the year.
- Author: Martha White
A very handsome fellow has been visiting my back yard recently. His distinctive voice first called me to the window to see who my visitor might be. A beautiful ring-neck pheasant has been my guest! I live in Vacaville, near Centennial Park. My pheasant friend must have wandered the short block from the park, hoping to expand his territory. He even came up to tap on my French doors, possibly admiring his reflection, or maybe looking for a friend!
Wanting to know more about my visitor, I have learned that the male ring-neck pheasant usually lives in woodland areas, and spends most of his time on the ground. He can only fly a short distance, but might perch on a tree at night. In the spring, the male (cock) begins to establish his territory. He attracts females (hens) by showing off his elegant feathers, and by his distinctive whistles, cackles, crows, and screams. All of this noise must be impressive to the girls, because the male often has several hens taking care of nests (yes, he has a harem!).The female builds the nest on the ground, using twigs and leaves. She can lay between 2 and 15 eggs.
The California map I consulted indicated that my ring-neck pheasant visitor isn't that unusual to Central California, but I still feel honored that he has stopped by my back yard to visit!
- Author: Mike Gunther
Love the Blessed Rain
giving green plants growth
turning to Sierra snow
- Author: Sterling Smith
Spring is nearly here! Everywhere I look, shrubs and trees are in bloom and leafing out. It's beautiful; inspiring us to spruce up landscapes, which includes planting trees.
Right tree, right place is a common thread between the plethora of websites offering advice, procedures and sourcing for what's needed. It cannot be overstressed to properly site the planting, what's difficult is projecting what you are planting today will look like in 15-20 years or longer. Don't forget to look up.
With Arbor Day just around the corner, what event is your community planning? It's commonplace to have an Urban Forest Manager or Parks and Recreation Manager arrange to have trees and assistance available to pair new trees with homeowners to improve the Urban Forest. Often these events are partnerships with other entities: i.e. Utilities who tend to remove trees along power line right-of-ways and look for ways to give back to the community. So check out your city website and ask questions!
Hey, it's a made to order family activity. Whether it's introducing impressionable preschool children to gardening/landscaping, or your seasoned teenagers who need community service hours in order to graduate from high school; it's a nice discrete morning length project that helps everyone.
A brief checklist of considerations:
-Right Tree-Right Place.
-Don't know how to plant a tree? Lots of advice and diagrams to help…ask questions until you are comfortable with the process.
-Make sure water is available, especially for the first year.
-Find out what's required to ensure a successful planting, then, make it happen!
-Being knowledgeable ahead of time will facilitate success in your endeavor.
Google Search: Tree Planting
Have fun!