Under the Solano Sun

Thomas Jefferson continues to be a source of fascination, controversy, and historical debate, as seen in hundreds of books and even a musical. Having visited his historic Virginia home, Monticello, many years ago, his gardens have always been of great interest to this blogger.In fact, an overview of…

Is summer over? Witches, bats, and pumpkins loom  Halloween harvest  

One morning, on my walk to my backyard to water my plants, I meandered over to my avocado tree to water it and admire its fruit in all its sizes: some the size of large, elongated grapes, and others that looked like they could be picked any day now. As I tried to restrain myself from counting the large ones,…

Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease that affects many varieties of plants across California, including dahlias. For several years, beginning in mid-July, my dahlia bed has suffered from a persistent and extensive infection of powdery mildew. Part one of this two-part blog provided an overview of…

My husband finally retired this year.  One of the benefits of all his extra time is that he has taken over pretty much all the tedious chores, including weeding.  It's been nice.  He is a pruner unlike me, and sometimes it can be quite stressful watching him prune plants and trees.  Once…