I almost passed up an opportunity to visit Hudson Ranch and Vineyards with a group of my Master Gardener friends. Thankfully, good sense and curiosity prevailed and I made the trip.

What a glorious sight greeted a succulent lover like me–agaves and yucca on the left, a beautiful barrel colony on the right and a delightful assortment of aloes everywhere I looked. To the west at the top of the hill were flowering curly leaf Echeveria gibbiflora in bloom. Their inflorescence positively glowed in the late afternoon light.

We met our host, Lee Hudson, a charismatic fellow who warmly greeted each of us in turn. It didn't take long to feel his passion and excitement for Hudson Ranch and Vineyards as he shared his bubbly enthusiasm for his operation and belief that employees are every bit as valuable as the commodities he sells. He started the tour with a history lesson about the operation, but I was distracted by all the loveliness I could see out the windows. Closest to us was a Japanese style minimalist garden comprised of Dasylirion wheeleri and olive trees. Around the corner, we were treated to the sight of tree aloes whose gnarled trunk shapes echoed the 150-year-old olive trees.

The next round of oohs and aahs were the fault of an Agave ovatifolia or whale's tongue agave. She looked like a spiky dream right out of a watercolor painting with her soft blue-green variegated toothy leaves. Then I got to see that adorable barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) colony up close. The spines have grooves on them like a deadly version of a zip-tie. We saw yucca, palms, Dracaena draco, aloes, and several more species of agave. Lee Hudson named each plant with ease and shared a story about where it came from or why it was chosen for the garden.

We wound our way down the hillside to Leo's garden and the famed Gourd Alley. Who's Leo? He is Leonardo Urena, Production Manager, responsible for supervising the garden, landscaping, and livestock crews.A lovable and humble host, he shared his vast knowledge, beautiful garden, and his infectious love of gardening and plants with us. He showed us a giant steel structure in the middle of the garden that had 4 small vines starting to reach up the supports at each corner. Those gourd vines now cover the whole structure sprouting impressive long thin cucuzza squash reaching to the ground. Leo and Lee would like to break a world record, but this year's batch is coming up a few feet short. Finally, we made our way to gourd alley where we encountered several varieties of gourds, some larger than I could wrap my arms around hanging in custom hammocks made by Leo.

 

As we left Leo's garden, we rounded an impressive wall of opuntia cactus over 7 feet tall. We took a break for a group photo around Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival's third place pumpkin grown by Leo!

We continued our tour loop back up the hill towards the tasting room where we encountered a Hercules aloe over twelve feet tall. We next passed an agave that was starting to bloom. This is both a cause for excitement and sadness as agave are monocarpic, meaning they only bloom once and then die. Looking at the eight-foot-tall bloom spike, it was easy to see that the agave is in the Asparagaceae family. Across the path were several Agave vilmoriniana (octopus agave) that bloomed 7 months ago. The spent leaves of the plant were removed leaving the ten-foot bloom spike. After flowering, the spike is covered in bulbils, tiny clones of the mother plant. Lee let us pick one from the stalk to take home. The baby agaves are so tiny and soft at this stage it is hard to imagine it in its adult form.

We finished the tour just west of the parking area at the top of the hill with a breathtaking view of blue glow agave backlit by the setting sun, several palms, and more agave. I'm thankful that I seized this opportunity and grateful to Lee Hudson for sharing his magical property with us.

Happy New Year, everyone! While January is the month to plan and dream about your yard and garden, it is also time to make a fresh start with some good gardening habits. It's an ideal time to start recordkeeping or get started with a garden calendar or journal when it's too wet to play in the soil. The Month-by-Month Guide to Gardening in Napa County, is a great way to get a started. It's available for purchase through the UC Napa County Master Gardener office: https://napamg.ucanr.edu/Our_Books/

If you need some more inspiration, there are many websites with suggested new year gardening resolutions. Most of these suggestions include building a compost bin, growing your own food, doing something beneficial for nature, and adopting a natural approach to gardening that more closely mimics nature.

A few examples are below.

 

Treehugger

https://www.treehugger.com/new-years-resolutions-for-gardeners-4860393

The Treehugger website has some good general advice, quoted below:

Treehugger is the only modern sustainability site that offers advice, clarity, and inspiration for both the eco-savvy and the green living novice. If you're among the almost 50% of Americans who statistics show make New Year's resolutions, be sure to remember gardening when setting your goals for a new year. In fact, consider putting gardening at the top of your list.

Gardening can help you achieve some of the other resolutions that are often at the top of resolution lists, such as slowing down, living a simpler life, and exercising.

Suggested resolutions

• Reduce Your Lawn Area
• Add Native Plants
• Add One New Sustainable Method to Your Gardening Routine
• There are many sustainable practices you can use to increase your gardening enjoyment. One example would be to resolve to eliminate chemical fertilizers.
• Another would be to install one or more rain barrels to capture rain runoff from the roof.
• You could also start using a drip or soaker hose that would put water directly on the plant root zone rather than broadcasting it to unintended places from an oscillating sprinkler.

 Garden Design

https://www.gardendesign.com/holiday/new-years-resolutions.html

 These are the topics they suggest as resolutions. Check out the website for details for each:

• Choose plants strategically
• Continue learning
• Care for pollinators and wildlife
• Make maintenance easier
• Deter pests naturally
• Nurture nature

 Chicago Botanic Gardens https://www.chicagobotanic.org/ has an exhaustive list of resolutions. Some of these suggestions might better be described as projects, since they are “one and done” instead of the concept of a continued commitment. Their ideas are divided into seasons; a few are listed here.

 

Winter resolutions

• Hang a bird feeder.
• Build a compost bin.
• Invest in an excellent pruner.
• Prune a crabapple or pear tree into an espalier.
• Get to know orchids at the Orchid Show.
• Build a raised bed.

 Spring resolutions

• Start a compost pile.
• Test your soil.
• Plant flowers in Pantone's color of the year: rose quartz and serenity blue.
• Switch to organic fertilizers.
• Weave native plants into your flower beds.
• Plant milkweed for monarch butterflies.
• Provide a water source for bees and butterflies.

 Summer resolutions

• Install a rain barrel.
• Plant peppers in honor of the genus Capsicum, the 2016 Herb of the Year.
• Mix vegetables and flowers together in beds and borders.
• Transform a balcony or patio into a container garden.

 Fall resolutions

• Grow three new varieties of lettuce.
• Rethink all that lawn.
• Plant a berry-bearing tree or shrub to feed the birds.
• Preserve your vegetable harvest by learning how to can.
• Rake and save fallen leaves for winter mulch for your garden beds.
• Grow your own garlic.
• Add allium bulbs in fall to deter deer.
• Save seeds from flowers and vegetables to plant next year.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

 

Fall is upon us, but the work continues in the garden.  In the spring and summer months, warming up is almost as easy as walking out the door and letting the sun shine on you. Warmup is as simple as walking through the garden and looking at what needs to be done. You are warmed up when you have the urge to unzip a jacket or windbreaker and put down your coffee.

However, nowadays when you go outside, the light might be there but the warmth is lacking, yet your body still needs to warm up. Let's look at the easy way of doing this in cooler weather.

BASIC WARMUP PROTOCOL BEFORE STARTING GARDENING TASKS

 

Stretching starts at the top by reaching up and forwards over your head as far as you can easily go. Then bring your elbows back behind you as far as you can, stretching the front of your shoulders and chest. Do the motions SLOWLY by breathing in on the way up, then blowing out slowly through pursed lips while moving elbows back. Take 5-10 seconds to go through the motions ending with arms behind you. Do 3 reps.

 

 

Left: Stretching your trunk is done by placing your thumbs and hands just above belt level and slowly leaning backwards over your hands (DO NOT bend your head backwards while you do the ex.). Hold for 5-10 seconds and return to upright posture. Repeat 3 times. Left Middle: Hold a stick or long tool, slowly twisted as far as you can to the right then to the left taking 10 seconds to complete the motions. Repeat 3 times. Middle Right: Do a partial squat by going down slowly ONLY as far as you can comfortably go. Hold for 3-5 seconds then return to standing. Repeat 3x's. Right: Stand with your feet apart, shift your weight sideways stretching slowly the inside of your thighs. Hold 5-10 sec. at the end of each motion. Repeat 3x's each leg.        

Left:With a stick or tool, reach overhead as far as you can comfortably go, then side bend to one side. Hold 5-10 seconds then side bend to the other side. Slowly do 3 repetitions to each side. Left Middle: Now that you are feeling warmed up, start circling your hips 5-10 times each direction. Middle Right: If you really get into it, try a Hula Hoop! Right: Or maybe you should quit while you are ahead.

Just like a car engine that goes from a cold start to full speed can be damage the motor and transmission, your body needs a little warmth to lubricate the body. Increasing the flow of blood to warm the muscles and tendons keeps the body moving easier. As a physical therapist would say, “use them or lose them.” Your muscles need to be warm for flexibility to last longer. It is not hard to do; just don't spill your coffee while doing them.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photos by: Olga Morham
Demonstrations by: Dr. Bob Niklewicz PT DHSc

 

Many of us have probably wondered about the landscaping decisions of previous owners when moving into a home.  This was true for us in several instances. Why were azaleas planted where there is blazing afternoon sun? Why did one of the conifers shoot up twenty feet before any branching occurred? Most of all, why would someone plant a ponderosa pine, a tree that seemingly loses every needle every fall, be planted next to the house? It wouldn't be so bad if the needles fell all at once, but that is not the case. Starting in late September, their leaves start to fall. Fast forward to January and they are still coming down. I know people gripe about raking leaves in the fall, but a ponderosa pine is in a different category altogether. The needles are hard to rake and impossible to sweep with a broom. They “decorate” bushes by straddling small branches and each one must be removed by hand. Being very lightweight and aerodynamically shaped, they find the furthest reaches of the yard (and the neighbors). The needles grow in groups of three to a fascicle, and as stated above, these trees drop thousands of needles every year. The typical needle retention is three to four years, which means that one quarter to one-third of the needles in a ponderosa pine tree come down every year.

After we moved into the house, we had the tree pruned. It started to ooze sap so sticky it might rival super glue. To step on a bead of sap doomed a pair of shoes to being outside footwear only. Ponderosa pines belong in a non-subdivision area, i.e., a forest. Clearly, not much research was done when the tree was planted years ago. Our tree is large, so it has been there for quite a while. The Ponderosa pine is a fast-growing tree and can grow more than 12 inches per year. At full maturity, it will reach a height of 125 feet.

Is there anything positive to share about this poor, huge tree? Ponderosa pines are handsome trees with their reddish-brown bark and invoke the western United States. They are drought resistant trees, fire-resistant (as long as there aren't thousands of dry needles on the ground), and provide habitat for wildlife. They also make great lumber.  Master Gardeners are taught right plant, right place from the beginning of training class. Given the right place, that being a very large property or a forest, this plant is a beauty to behold.

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photos by Jane Callier