Napa Master Gardener Column

A few weeks ago, some friends were over for dinner, and I was throwing food scraps into my miniature compost bin that fits under my kitchen sink (free from the City of Napa). One gentleman told me he didn't compost. It's easy, I said. The UC Master Gardeners have workshops on it all the time.

When I was still living at home with my parents, I remember my mother loving the succulent known as hens and chicks (Sempervivum spp.). They were often planted along highways. To be honest, I was not impressed with them. But today, I am very impressed.

Sometimes I think I should write a book called Gardening for Geezers. For those of us of a certain age, the idea of creeping about on all fours, even equipped with kneepads, is not a felicitous prospect. Some of us even need canes or wheelchairs.

I always love the bulb catalogs that drop through my mail slot at the end of every summer. I once overbought and then procrastinated on planting them. This was when I lived in Humboldt County.

My daughter gave me a wonderful, scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) for Mother's Day several years ago. It flourishes on my side porch, and I repot it regularly. I like it so much that I have rooted sprigs of that plant and given them as gifts.