When I was growing up I remember a time when all the adults were discussing which three books they would take with them if they were stuck on a desert island.  Later top ten lists became popular for books, records, and numerous other categories.  Some of these lists became very important for sales and marketing, while others were more for entertainment, think David Letterman.

I was thinking about what I would put on a favorite garden tools list.  I think I would start with nitrile gloves, also known as mud gloves.  Prior to their invention most gardeners used fabric or leather gloves, neither of which was pleasant when things got damp.  These gloves have made gardening so much easier, neater, and the gloves last longer.

The next tool on the list would be the hand pruner.  I use it almost every day whether it is dead heading, pruning, grooming, harvesting or root pruning.  Its sharpener allows me to maintain a nice sharp edge on the blades.  The third tool would be the transplanting spade.  This narrow spade allows me to remove and replace old woody plants without harming their neighbors.  It can go where many other spades and shovels cannot.

My fourth tool on the favorites list would be my suede gauntlet gloves.  These were developed for working with roses but are handy for working with all kinds of spiny plants.  Having suffered from rose thorns under the fingernails and others into the palm when wearing regular gloves, I am very fond of these with extra protection.

The fifth tool on the list is a combination one. Turned one way it is a padded garden seat that allows you to sit while doing deadheading or light pruning.  If you need to be working at a lower level, you flip the tool over and it becomes a padded kneeler with long handles to help lower yourself down or raise yourself back up. This tool can really be wonderful if your back or knees are giving you problems.

Now a favorite garden tools list is not static.  It could change if you moved to a different location or took up a new garden interest. I would think bonsai might require some different tools than carnivorous plants, etc. It would certainly change with the different seasons of a person's life.  In my twenties, the combination seat/kneeler would not have made the list, but it sure does now.

With that in mind, I thought I would throw in two honorable mentions.  Loppers allow you to cut larger branches and roots that are beyond the realm of the hand pruner.  The hand trowel can be used for digging small holes, loosening plants in pots, scooping soil into pots, tamping soil down and many other things.

So that's my list. I'll bet yours would differ. I'd love to hear your favorites.

As most of you know by now, I usually have my nose in a book!  Going to the doctor or dentist, going to Sacramento, or just being at home, I have at least one book with me at all times.  Heck, I even take a book with me to the Farmers' Market in Vallejo, just in case I get there before the other “panel” members and have some extra time for a paragraph or two. 

There are two books though I would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for a particular plant or is interested in the history of roses in California.  The 1^st is the newest edition of “WHERE ON EARTH', subtitled “A Guide to Specialty Nurseries and Gardens in California” and well written by Nancy Conner, Demi Bowles Lathrop, and Barbara Stevens.

If you are looking for particular plants, then this is the book for you: addresses, email #s, listing of types of plants, etc; all listed by geographical regions that are easy to locate.  Most of all, this book makes sense of the search process for those of us who NEED and DEMAND that one plant, whether a rose, succulent, or tree.  Available at a lot of book stores or on-line.  I now have all 5 editions and confess to using it quite a bit!

The other book, I am highlighting is by one of our Master Gardeners (you know who you are Darrell) and a rosarian of no little local fame!  Titled “RAINBOW!” and subtitled “A History of the Rose in California”, Darrell g.h. Schramm leads us not only into rose history, but also the beginnings of ornamental plant nurseries here in California as well as the timeline of these nurseries which started the great horticultural power house that is California.  With oodles of pictures and illustrations of roses at their absolute best, Darrell has written an enjoyable book which is easily read and the roses savored! ** Bravo, Darrell!!

The project of the summer at Casa Buxton (or the weed patch) is finished, finite, done, over!!  The 8 ft X 4 foot X 24 inch planter box is built, put into place, and finally filled by 5 clematis plants interplanted with 5 or 6 kinds of bulbs.  Only 1 year from the purchase of the lumber to completion!  Next will be the replanting – correctly – this time of the back side yard with the camellias on order, the ferns, and hostas; then YEA!! , that part of the yard will be done.  Next year's project is the area bordered by the clematis box, the 2 large planted beds which run the length of the “dirt pile” and the gazebo.  I just have to find plants that like to grow in the full Suisun City summer sun and the “oops, we're under water” during a rainy winter.  Trout eggs have been suggested, but I really would prefer plants there instead!

Now for the mystery:  does anyone out there have an idea as to the invertebrate I found this morning when installing a box to raise a hydrangea up in an area under the pergola.  This “thing” I thought was a very large earthworm is long (about 14”) is light brown-grey with thing dark lines running its length.  The head is triangular with what appeared to be undulating sides as it went from the sidewalk where I apparently put it with some weeds I pulled.  It moved across the sidewalk like an earthworm but much fast and appeared to have a somewhat slimy coating on its skin.  I tried to look it up on the internet but found only something called a “ribbon worm”.  Any suggestions or answers will be appreciated.  I didn't get a picture of it as I was so fascinated by its “turbo” speed and its length!

So there you have all the news: 2 books to read, the latest on my project, and most of all – a mystery to solve!

**  As in “eye candy”