Under the Solano Sun

Tucked away on 382 acres in the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is the Kauai Hindu Temple. It is located in the town ofKapa'a on the eastern side of the island, near theWailua river and MountWaialeale.

Has this been an amazing spring or what? Everything is so full of promise in the garden, and we've been having one of those long springs .

As I was driving around my old neighborhood I saw a splash of color that caught my eye and piqued my curiosity. As I kept driving I kept seeing this fuchsia colored flowering shrub. I immediately came home and identified it. It was Centranthus ruber, commonly known as Red Valerian or Spur Valerian.

Gardening takes karma very seriously. Last year, I was bragging about my incredible tomato-growing skills. This year in mid-January I started pre-sprouting tomato seeds and by March very few of those 30+ varieties ever made it to a pot. By very few, I mean about five out of every hundred seeds.

Just too many to eat! It's July and thepluot tree is an explosion of purple fruit! Everywhere there arepluots ready to pick.Omigosh so many precious purple gems.