Napa Master Gardener Column

One of my neighbors, David Graves, is a partner in the Carneros winery Saintsbury. It's a small but thriving enterprise and very attractive because of its garden, making it a pleasant place to sit and enjoy the flowers and the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds attracted to them.

Napa Valley has a unique plant growing along its waterways, especially along the Napa River. It is Dutchman's pipevine (Aristolochia californica) and it is native to California.

Keep your soil covered. This is only one of the decrees from a recent presentation by the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County. But what does covering the soil mean? Why do we want to cover it and with what? The answers are pretty simple.

Every year I have a different favorite plant. Last year it was brugmansia, the year before that monarda, but this year--which has already had a couple of scorching days--it is the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia).

When I first moved to Napa Valley many years ago, olive trees were everywhere, both on the hillsides and in the valley. There was a large grove high on a hill on Silverado Trail, but over the years those trees have disappeared.