Ongoing research

The Nutrition Policy Institute's CalFresh Healthy Living Evaluation team, in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health, is thrilled to announce recognition of 129 schools, 79 early care and education programs, and 77 out-of-school time programs across California as recipients of...

Who would have thought that the tree in Betty Smith's famous novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, was the infamous Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)?

Do you feel a bit of trepidation as you prepare to prune a favorite shrub that has become overgrown? Pruning can be a daunting task, especially knowing that plants can be damaged or even killed with incorrect pruning.

These are a few of the plants I've been enjoying recently in my garden. PERENNIAL SHRUB: Flowering maple, Abutilon x hybridum. This genus is comprised mostly of hybrids. It is called a maple because of its leaf shape but it is not in fact a maple.

What to do with all that jam and jelly that you made throughout the year. If you're like me you have made a lot, given away a lot and realized that you cannot eat what you have left before fruit will be in season again and you'll start all over.

Join us for our next 3rd Saturday "Learn it! Make it! Take it!" workshop on January 18th from 9 AM to 2 PM.

It was good to see Sonoma County's "Queen Bee," Ettamarie Peterson of Petaluma, bee honored on the cover of the December edition of Bee Culture magazine. She often submits articles for the magazine. I decided it was time her to be featured and wrote a two-page article, illustrated with six images.

There have been a number of calls about damage to citrus tree trunks. Lemon is especially delicious, it seems.

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants was first published in 2007 and set off an enthusiasm for native plant gardening. This practice is now known as rewilding in horticulture circles. Author Doug Tallamy is an entomology professor at the University of Delaware.

A while back, I wrote a blog on the fun notion of converting one of my raised-bed veggie gardens into a pollinator-friendly flower garden. I imagined this would bring a splash of color to the yard for most of the year. It became a fun project, and I loved the results.