Under the Solano Sun

When you mention sugar plums, the first thing that pops into most people's minds is Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, or the poem Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore and the line While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.

They have returned from break they begin another year of growth Like fresh plantings...

After two years of markedly low winter rain totals, we again find ourselves praying that the coming winter brings us abundant amounts of water. Our hillsides attain that bleached wheat color in July instead of September.

My parents were avid gardeners, and this was one of Mom and Dad's prized plants. They had an interesting garden arrangement: she gave all the directions, and he did all the work. Mom had a knack for plant selection and planning, and Dad had a green thumb. Their garden was gorgeous.

I have enjoyed growing broccoli in my garden for many years. I just have a few plants in one of my raised beds. When I hadn't pulled the plants up and replaced them with warm season crops in some mild winter years, I found that the plants would sometimes over-winter.